Promise in new efforts but doubt lingers

Since the last discussion in Leadership Intelligence Bulletin on the growing threat of piracy, there has been no respite. The United Nations  has increased its efforts to address what is rapidly becoming an international crisis and canvass international support to fight back and turn the tide. More concerted efforts to improve co-operation to neutralise the threat of piracy are offered but no success is guaranteed.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has taken a personal interest and is involved in a UN anti-piracy campaign to convince the international community to unite in the fight against piracy.

Recently the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and stressed the need for a global solution. It also unanimously agreed to ask all UN member states to issue reports before the end of the year on measures they have taken to criminalise piracy, and to support the prosecution of people suspected of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

At the time of writing the UN Secretary-General has sent a team to West Africa to assess and suggest how best to deal with piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

The team will first visit Benin at the request of President Boni Yayi after his country has become the latest victim of increased piracy activity before moving to Nigeria,

Gabon and Angola

The UN Security Council has also adopted a resolution urging states in the Gulf of Guinea to hold as a matter of urgency a summit on dealing with piracy threat.This followed on a call by the Secretary-General for the states of the Gulf of Guinea to come together to fight piracy while protecting the region's economic development and security.

For many years the Gulf of Guinea was known to be the most piracy-prone stretch of water in Africa until pirates operating off the Somalia coast on the other side of the continent took over and turned the waters around the Horn of Africa into the most fearsome in the world to navigate.

An upsurge in piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea in the last few months has convinced Insurers Lloyd’s Market Association to list the Gulf of Guinea in the same risk category as Somalia.

Observers make a clear and fascinating distinction between the underlying reasons for piracy in Africa’s two danger zones.

In Somalia, they argue, piracy is an act (crime) born out of necessity and the result of desperation and frustration that could not be contained anymore.

Somali fishermen who could not continue to compete with illegal trawlers, mostly from Western countries, raiding their traditional fishing grounds relentlessly, or with the boats carrying toxic waste taking advantage of Somalia’s lawlessness to dump their illegal cargoes off the Somali coast badly damaging fishing prospects, reacted. Fed up, some Somali fishermen began taking matters into their own hands and started demanding their own informal levies on any boats straying into Somali waters. Others soon joined in attracted by this easy money and in a relatively short time a thriving industry was born. Piracy has become one of the world’s few booming industries in the current global economic downturn and the only ticket out of poverty for the fishermen of Somalia.

In West Africa in the Gulf of Guinea it is different. Here piracy is an act (crime) of opportunity.

While the pirates operating in the Horn of Africa focus on hostage taking and demanding exorbitant ransoms for releasing their hostages, the West African pirates concentrate on the cargo of their targets – tankers carrying oil from the region’s rich oilfields.

Stealing oil in the Gulf of Guinea is an old, established and finely tuned activity with many connected players that even involves well-placed and senior officials. Some ingenious and tested ploys include the seizure of oil tankers by pirates that rendezvous with bigger tankers on the high seas transferring the hijacked oil.

No guarantee

As piracy activities increased and the attacks became more daring most of the states harbouring the perpetrators and from whose territories they operate, were slow to react mainly as a result of ineffective policing and a lack of resources, both in equipment and funding.

The international community was also slow to respond and only because of the impact on global trade with an estimated loss of up to US$ 12 billion annually have more concerted efforts been made to improve co-operation to neutralise the threat of piracy but no success is guaranteed.

There are disconcerting signs that the technical capacities of pirates have increased and that they are becoming more violent and ruthless. They have also expanded their activities to the land -- kidnapping tourists in Kenya, which might still have a devastating effect on the tourism industry.

Piracy will challenge Africa to the limit. Naval vessels patrolling piracy infested areas are only partially successful and will always be a short-term solution. It is expensive and cutbacks in military spending and more serious challenges elsewhere will force their withdrawal. During the Libyan conflict warships used for piracy patrols were switched to the Mediterranean to support the operations against Gaddafi.

Naval experts are of the opinion that most Western navies are too tightly stretched and cannot commit ships for long periods.  Despite the presence of ships from a number of navies, piracy has continued to rise due to the vast tracts of water involved, which represent a huge logistical challenge.

Armed protection

In the ongoing search for solutions the decision was approved to allow the outsourcing of protection against pirates to private armed security teams on ships or allow ships to arm their crews providing they are properly regulated.

While there has been a growing acceptance of using armed security guards, sovereign military forces are preferred by the shipping industry because they have clearer rules of engagement and the reduced risk of legal issues in the event of fatalities.

The price tag of US$30,000 to deploy an experienced four-man security team on a four-day watch through pirate waters  is high and eventually it  will be carried by the consumer.

The record shows that to date no ships with armed guards on board have been captured but already it is not considered a lasting solution. The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents over 80 percent of the world's merchant fleet, said that armed guards were likely to be effective in deterring pirates for now, but it is not a long-term solution. It is also foreseen that in response piracy attacks will become more aggressive and violent.

South Africa

Another viable option is to re-route ships, which some shipping companies are already doing. If this practice became prevalent, it would be great news for South Africa, as this means far more sea traffic rounding the Cape of Good Hope and paying the associated fees. But it would be bad news for the global economy as it would push up the prices of anything transported by sea and Africa will hurt as 80% of its imports and exports rely on maritime transport.

There is a downside for South Africa as well. An increase in piracy along the west coast of Africa means that both sides of the continent now pose a serious threat to shipping. The cost of shipping to and from South Africa could skyrocket due to increased insurance premiums, which would increase the price of all imported goods and make it a lot harder to export.