Somali pirates seize Turkish ore freighter

Five other attacks were foiled this week, authorities say. But a unified international response could be difficult.

By Arthur Bright

from the November 1, 2008 edition

Somali pirates captured a Turkish freighter in one of a spate of pirate attacks this week. Although most of the attacks were foiled, the high number of raids highlight the pirates' increasing danger in the Gulf of Aden, on Africa's east coast between Somalia and Yemen.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that the freighter, the MV Yasa Neslihan, was seized Wednesday, despite NATO's increased naval presence in the region, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

At least 77 ships have been attacked in the African waters this year. Thirty-one ships have been hijacked, and 10 remain in the hands of pirates along with nearly 200 crew members....

Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency, quoting unnamed Turkish maritime officials, said Turkey had asked NATO forces to help end the hijacking off Somalia.

The Yasa Neslihan was carrying iron ore from Canada to China. Fehmi Ulgener, a spokesman for Yasa Holding, which owns the vessel, said the company learned the ship had been seized through the vessels' alarm system.

He told the Associated Press that Turkish authorities were in contact with "various authorities" to find a way to rescue the ship but have had no contact with the pirates.

The AP adds that the US Navy said Wednesday pirates launched five other attacks recently, but all were foiled.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) writes that in one of those attacks, a Spanish patrol plane fended off a pair of pirate launches, which were attempting to reach a Panamanian oil tanker, by throwing smoke bombs at them.

The P-3 Orion aircraft received a call for help from the crew of the Panama-flagged Leander on Tuesday who said pirates on two boats were trying to board their vessel when it was about 210km north of the coast of Somalia, it said.

"To deter the pirates, the plane flew over the hostile boats three times and launched a smoke bomb at them each time," the statement said.

"After the third launch, the crew of the P-3 noticed that the boats gave up their attempt to board and separated themselves from the oil tanker," it added.

The aircraft was on a routine patrol of the area when it received the call for help.

The International Maritime Bureau, which has a center dedicated to monitoring high seas piracy, called for international forces to launch pre-emptive strikes against the Somali pirates' "mother ships" in order to stymie their attacks, reports Reuters.

"We want pre-emptive action against the mother ships before the pirates carry out a hijacking," said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, director of the London-based International Maritime Bureau, which monitors international piracy, referring to the ships pirates use as bases from which to launch attacks.

"The positions of the mother ships are generally known. What we would like to see is the naval vessels going to interdict them, searching them and removing any arms on board.

"That would at least force the pirates to go back to Somalia to pick up more arms before they could come back again," he told Reuters in an interview.

A commentary in The Star of South Africa calls out the Egyptian and South African navies in particular, arguing that those two nations "have the naval capability to do something useful, have a very real interest in safe sea routes, and yet have failed to do anything at all...."

Many nations have committed forces to the region since September, when pirates seized a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks to Kenya. But even with sufficient naval power committed to the region, there are other complications in stopping the pirate threat. German magazine Der Spiegel writes that despite the EU's commitment of ships to police the area, it is unclear how effective those ships can be due to the jurisdictional ambiguities of maritime law.

The pertinent maritime law is indeed ambiguous. In June, the UN Security Council gave a green light to the international community to undertake robust efforts by declaring Somali piracy a threat to international peace. But, the degree of engagement of will depend on every individual country's national laws.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has already shown that he takes an expansive view of his country's laws: earlier this year, Sarkozy ordered military force to be used against Somali pirates after they hijacked passenger ships. But, Germany's hands seem more tightly tied: it is still bound by a 1994 treaty that forbids attacking ships that have successfully taken hostages. There are also questions as to what role the German constitution would allow the country to play.

The New York Times reports that the Danish navy has encountered similar issues.

In September, a Danish warship captured 10 men suspected of being pirates cruising around the Gulf of Aden with rocket-propelled grenades and a long ladder. But after holding the suspects for nearly a week, the Danes concluded that they did not have jurisdiction to prosecute, so they dumped the pirates on a beach, minus their guns.

The Times writes that piracy is rife in Somalia due to its sheer profitability. While "countless children are starving and people are killing one another in the streets of Mogadishu, the capital, for a handful of grain," engaging in piracy can move Somalis to the top of society.

"All you need is three guys and a little boat, and the next day you're millionaires," said Abdullahi Omar Qawden, a former captain in Somalia's long-defunct navy.

People in Garoowe, a town south of Boosaaso, describe a certain high-rolling pirate swagger. Flush with cash, the pirates drive the biggest cars, run many of the town's businesses — like hotels — and throw the best parties, residents say. Fatuma Abdul Kadir said she went to a pirate wedding in July that lasted two days, with nonstop dancing and goat meat, and a band flown in from neighboring Djibouti.

"It was wonderful," said Ms. Fatuma, 21. "I'm now dating a pirate."

The Los Angeles Times writes that fishing villages such as Hobyo, 300 miles north of Mogadishu, have turned to pirate dens as resources have dried up due to encroaching foreign fishing and pollution.

Entire villages along the coast now engage in piracy. Unemployed youths provide the muscle. Idle fishermen offer boats and knowledge of the coastline. Foreign businessmen provide the money for guns, radios and satellite phones. Islamic hard-liners are lured by the chance to attack Western interests offshore....

"I had 25 men working in my boats," said Sheik Nur Mohammed, who operates one of the four vessels still struggling to earn a living fishing. "They all left me and went to piracy."

He said he could hardly blame them. Exploitation and pollution caused by foreign fishing and dumping have devastated local waters. Foreigners have raided local fishermen's nets and used destructive techniques that have killed fish eggs and upset the environment, he said.

"Now we don't catch enough fish to survive," said Abdi Mudey, owner of another fishing boat. "We spend all day on the sea and return with barely enough to buy a dish of rice."