Somali pirate attacks sliced nearly in half

By Jim Michaels

The number of successful pirate attacks in the Horn of Africa region declined nearly 50% last year, the first significant drop since the international community established counterpiracy naval forces in the area three years ago.

The number of successful pirate attacks dropped to 24 last year, from 45 in 2010, according to NATO. Many other attacks were disrupted by naval vessels or merchant ships that were able to evade pirates, most of whom are based in Somalia.

“We’re starting to see a payoff from the naval presence as well as increased security measures taken by shipping companies,” said Daniel Sekulich, author of Terror on the Seas, a book on piracy.

The international community had established anti-piracy naval forces several years ago to counter a sudden spike in attacks from bands of Somali pirates that threatened to disrupt shipping. Most of the hijacked ships were taken to Somalia, where bandits demanded millions of dollars in ransom.

NATO and other forces in the region attribute recent progress against pirates to the increase in naval ships and the use of armed guards and other security measures taken by merchant vessels transiting the region.

Merchant vessels also use techniques such as barbed wire or fire hoses to prevent bandits from attempting to board merchant ships.

Naval officials caution that the pirates are far from defeated. Pirates have proven resilient and roamed farther from the coast of Somalia in response to the stepped-up pressure. Pirates regularly use mother ships with longer range than the smaller skiffs that are launched with gunmen to board ships.

“The fight isn’t over,” said Canadian Navy Commodore Bruce Belliveau, an operations officer with NATO’s counterpiracy command in Britain. “Clearly, if the maritime forces weren’t there, the pirates would be back in force.”

Currently six ships and 175 hostages are being held by Somali pirates, NATO said.

“They’re suffering and so are their families,” Belliveau said. “It’s part of the story that doesn’t always get mentioned.”

The pirates continue to attempt to target merchant vessels despite the improved security on the waters. There were 129 attempted attacks last year and 132 in 2010. The attacks were aborted because of defensive measures taken by merchant ships or for other reasons.

NATO ships also disrupted 96 pirate attacks last year, according to NATO statistics. Part of the success against armed pirates is a result of better intelligence and a growing understanding of pirate tactics.

“The naval units are using a lot more intelligence-driven and surveillance-driven targeting,” said Cyrus Mody, a spokesman for the International Maritime Bureau based in London. That allows forces to identify suspicious ships and intervene before pirates have a chance to approach merchant ships.

Source: USA TODAY News