Piracy is Eradicated… Right? Wrong!

by David Matine

More and more people have started to say things like, “Piracy isn’t a problem anymore.” They read reports that compare Somalia’s handful of pirate attempts in 2013 with the hundreds of pirate attempts in the same region just two years ago in 2011, and they feel like the pirates have all disappeared.

While it is true that Somali piracy has been largely prevented in recent months, it is absolutely false to say that Somali piracy doesn’t exist. That’s like saying tuberculosis doesn’t exist anymore. Sure, TB isn’t a problem in developed countries anymore, but that is only because we have antibiotics to help combat it. If we stopped taking preventative medicine we’d see a rise in infections. And similarly, if you were to venture out into international waters without protection, just because piracy numbers are down, then you will surely be risking a terrible fate.

In fact the number of pirate attacks have gone up in Indonesia over the past few years, and 2013 is proving to be a continuation of this trend. And it’s not just Indonesia: 68 fishermen were kidnapped in Bangladesh last month alone;  22 separate occasions of pirates boarding vessels happened just in the Singapore Strait this year… one of those became a full blown hijacking; 13 times shippers were fired upon by pirates in Gulf of Guinea this year alone. These pirates haven’t changed jobs, mainly because there are no jobs in their villages, and they’re hiding out, and waiting for the sucker who will venture alone.

Some articles give credit to the EU, and there’s no doubt that navies have deterred piracy in Somalia, but there is simply no way that the EU or any navy can be present at every single vessel to ensure that they have safe passage. Many pirate attacks occur quickly – from start to finish within 20 minutes. They want to rob the boat and get out. By the time the captain radios for help the robbery has been complete, and possibly, the crew has been taken hostage. Navies simply don’t have the capability to be everywhere all the time to prevent attacks.

Therefore the best deterrent of piracy in international waters is not just to rely on the EU or the navy of a nearby nation, but to have your own guards present on your vessel, for as long as there is international shipping in the world, there will be piracy in the world. Nothing will ever change that.