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| Great White North | |
| Today in piracy: Somali pirates have Canadian connection | |
| 2008-12-01 | |
Those Somali pirates have a Canadian connection. The autonomous region of Puntland, from where many of the pirates hail, is presided over by a former Ottawa gas station operator named Mohamud Muse Hersi, the CBC reports. Hersi has been the president of Puntland for three years. Hersi emigrated to Canada in the 1980s, bought a gas station and raised a family, but his clan connections to Somalia remained strong. When the elders of Puntland were looking for a new president in 2005, they chose Hersi. There are doubts as to how vigorously Hersi's government has denounced piracy in Puntland: Hersi's critics accuse him and his ministers of taking bribes from the pirates to look the other way. Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress, says he lacks evidence of such corruption but adds: "It would be inconceivable for all this piracy to be going on on the coast of Puntland without at least the knowledge, if not the collusion, of the Puntland government." Hersi vigorously denies the charge. As proof, he points to two successful counterattacks against the pirates mounted by Puntland's coast guard. Yet according to Roger Middleton of London's Royal Institute of International Affairs, Hersi and his government stood to benefit from those specific attacks. "In one case, the cement that was in the ship belonged to one of the ministers in the government, so there was clearly a reason why they wanted to get involved," he told CBC News. If you've ever wondered why piracy makes such an attractive career choice (maybe not every Canadian turns out to be the president of Puntland), don't worry: Reuters columnist Bernd Debusmann makes the case for piracy as a business. As far as illicit businesses with low risk and high rewards go, it doesn't get much better than piracy on the high seas. The profit margins can easily surpass those of the cocaine trade. The risks? "There is no reason not to be a pirate," according to U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney, who commands the U.S. navy's Fifth Fleet. "The vessel I'm trying to pirate, they won't shoot at me. I'm going to get my money." Even pirates who are intercepted have little to fear. "They won't arrest me because there's no place to try me." And as if all that wasn't enough, a report today said the Indonesian Navy expects the global economic meltdown to create a jump in pirate activity in Southeast Asia's busy Malacca Strait. From Agence France-Presse and MSN: The economic turmoil means shipping in the strait between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- one of the world’s busiest -- will be at extra risk, navy spokesman Sagom Tamboen was quoted as saying by news website Detikcom. [...] "Coordinated patrols with Malaysia and Thailand will be maximized,” Tamboen said. According to AFP, patrols have reduced the number of piracy attacks in recent years in the Strait, which handles 30% of all sea transport globally. The patrols have been so effective that there have only been two attacks in that area from January to September. By way of comparison, there were 38 total in 2004. | |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #2 Drink up, Shipman! |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-12-01 15:08 |
| #1 Stopping the attacks IS possible. But only if certain "unacceptable" methods are used. First start with 'take NO prisoners'. Second use 'Q-boats' (see WWI British policy againts U-boats) Third escort high profile ships. There others but these are a few that will work. |
| Posted by: palladium 2008-12-01 09:36 |