Where Pirates Thrive

July 16, 2007: Piracy around the world is up again, with 85 attacks in the second quarter of this year, versus 66 in that quarter last year, and 41 in 2005. Most of the increase is because of increasing civil disorder in Somalia and Nigeria. So far this year, attacks on ships has [sic] more than doubled in Nigeria, and nearly doubled in Somalia. Indonesia still accounts for the most attacks, but increased anti-piracy operations there have caused a decline of 27 percent this year.

Nearly all the piracy is a result of poor policing in coastal villages and ports. Pirates need a base, and one where the cops are not intrusive or, best of all, not present at all. Somalia has not had any government for nearly two decades, and foreign navies are not willing to patrol Somalia's territorial waters. Ships are warned to stay far away from the Somali coast, which means the pirates have turned to attacking UN food ships. Another ploy is to have a larger ship act as a mother ship for speedboats, that can pursue ships in international waters. The mothership stays within Somali territorial waters, where foreign navies will not go.

In Nigeria, the government is faced with a growing rebellion by tribes living along the coast and the Niger river delta. This is where most of the country's oil is, and the tribes there have not seen much of the oil money in the last half century. So the criminal gangs have been tapping oil pipelines, stealing the oil, and buying guns and speedboats. Now they attack oil company boats that service off shore oil facilities. The oil workers, especially foreigners, are kidnapped for ransom, and anything worth stealing on the boats is taken. Larger vessels are now being attacked, and piracy is growing into a major problem there.

The most important anti-piracy operation, in the vital Straits of Malacca, piracy has been just about wiped out.

It’s sounds like a Hollywood stunt, but in fact, today’s piracy has been at its HIGHEST and MOST VIOLENT level in the history of mankind.

One of the biggest reasons why the Straights of Malacca has had a decline in piracy is because of the Christmas Tsunami (wiped out many fishing villages where the boaters moonlighted as guns for hire along with local naval/police forces).

One of the reasons why rebel tribes in Nigeria have become stronger and more brazen is because many commercial companies pay the demanded ransoms when they attack.

Another reason why piracy has become so successful in today’s world is that most merchant mariners aren’t armed...except the Israelis. Nobody messes with Zim Lines that I’ve heard. But then again, most merchant marines aren’t trusted or trustworthy enough to carry weapons even for self-defense.

The present solution is to go where the money is because economy favors the nations that have stronger “rule of law” and navies and coastal guards that scare off pirates. Nigeria may have great resources, but so do many other friendlier nations. Eventually, better nations favor their own local markets. Eventually, more docile nations will drill their own oil and squeeze out criminal empires from world economy. Sometimes, it comes to a stand up fight, like the US Marines at Tripoli. Usually, it’s a long waited delaying Cold War strategy.

Cold Wars work against the criminal intellect too lazy to work for a living. But, you have to be Eisenhower strong enough to outlast the criminals if you’re fighting a Cold War. I think the law abiding in the world are strong enough, but I doubt if most mankind understands that we’re fighting a supernatural enemy.

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