Somalia Pirates are not back: They never went away!
Following the increase in attacks by the Houthis off the Red Sea, piracy incidents have also increased off the coast of Somalia, prompting many maritime security commentators, journalists, and researchers to run with the headline “Somalia pirates are back”.
A Somali connected to the militia and pirates carries his high-calibre weapon on a beach in the central Somali town of Hobyo. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images (from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/08/outgunned-somali-pirates-luck).
This analysis rings true for some: a commendable decline in pirate attacks since 2011, marked by an absence of successful ship hijackings for ransom since March 2017, until recently. The credit goes to joint counter-piracy efforts orchestrated by international navies with the support of private security personnel. The international community’s resolve, evident in numerous UNSC Resolutions, Presidential Statements, and naval operations led by the NATO coalition, including the US and other forces, had effectively “neutralised” the threat, or so they believed!
Yet, shadows of concern loomed over the possibility of a pirate resurgence. In December 2021, the UNSC sought to extend its mandate to quell these fears, but the granted extension was a mere three months, expiring in March 2022. This extension allowed international naval forces to persist in combating piracy off Somalia’s coasts. However, with a keen eye on a more comprehensive solution, the Somali Government expressed disinterest in any future UN mandate extension. Their objection resonates with a call for addressing root causes and strengthening local law enforcement capacities. An excerpt from Somalia’s representative to the UN encapsulates this resolute stance.
As you all are aware, piracy is only one of the many threats’ in Somali territorial waters, he said, stressing the need to fight against illegal, underreported and unregulated fishing in its exclusive economic zone. His delegation’s decision to explore other avenues is guided by national priorities. The militarisation of Somali national waters has helped eradicate piracy over the years, but continuing this militarisation has nothing to do with piracy and armed robbery, he stressed.
The Somali pirates never went away because the international forces focused on the use of gunboat security without necessarily empowering the maritime agencies of the countries in the region to be better able to secure their waters collaboratively when the international partners leave. Most of the patrols were not done jointly with countries of the Gulf of Aden; as such, the passing down of relevant knowledge was not happening. Despite years of international mandate and operations, these countries and their navies and coast guards still lack the infrastructure to monitor and patrol their territorial waters.
The “catch and release” approach to piracy used by the international navies is also worth highlighting, as this flawed approach merely allowed the criminals to evade accountability, enabling them to re-strategies and engage in other illicit activities once on land.
Despite the first UNSC resolution in the Gulf of Aden being instituted in 2008, many countries in the region do lack the “legal finish” necessary for prosecuting maritime crime; their navies and coast guards are ill-equipped, and the closest benefit they had from the international partnerships, outside financial benefits, some training and basic infrastructure were prisons. The international navies would catch the criminals, and the regional countries such as Seychelles would prosecute and imprison them. In one instance in 2010, a Kenyan court ordered the release of nine suspected Somali pirates, saying Kenya lacked jurisdiction to try them for crimes committed outside its territory. The nine had been arrested by crew of a German navy vessel with the help of U.S. helicopters in the Gulf of Aden and handed over to Kenya. What is more, even Seychelles grew tired of being used as a dumping ground for pirates; as such, they turned down some requests, with Somalia now playing host to prisons for pirates.
The essence of this post is merely to state that the international community’s approach to piracy off the coast of Somalia ensured that the pirates were suppressed and pushed to other things, as such piracy never ended in Somalia or the Gulf of Aden. The collaboration needed to empower the regional countries such as Somalia, Kenya, Seychelles, and Djibouti, to name a few, was not happening, as the international navies were comfortable with their approach of working multilaterally through direct action at sea but not with the countries in the region working alongside them. The Somali authorities knew that the pirates never went away; hence, in 2021, they sent a letter to the UNSC requesting international assistance to counter piracy off its coast.
To effectively tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia, the international community needs to move away from its previous approach. Collaboration and coordination with regional navies, especially Somalia’s, is crucial in developing a new strategy. Learning from past mistakes, the Gulf of Guinea has opted for a more collaborative approach with the global community rather than relying solely on international interventions. This approach ensures a more effective and sustainable solution for policymakers to consider.
If you’re interested in reading my peer-reviewed research on the international community’s selective approach to maritime security in Africa and the need for a holistic approach to security at sea on the continent, please check out my work with Prof. Freedom Onuoha, “Whose security is it? Elitism and the global approach to maritime security in Africa”.
