En una semana, culminamos el turbulento 2023. La invasión masiva de Ucrania, que revolucionó el mundo en 2022, está a dos meses de entrar en su segundo año. Hasta el 7 de octubre, prometía seguir acaparando el foco en 2024. La masacre perpetrada por Hamás en Israel, junto a la respuesta de Benjamín Netanyahu, añadieron una capa de tensión al panorama geopolítico; Kyiv ha pasado a un segundo plano, tanto en las sedes de gobierno como en la atención pública.
La avalancha de protestas que marcaron la mitad de octubre, numerosísimas y nutridas en diversas sociedades -en particular árabes, pero también OTAN-, han dejado al descubierto la precaria estabilidad de geografías muy próximas, además de las quiebras ciudadanas internas de la comunidad atlántica, especialmente en EEUU.… Seguir leyendo »
Africa’s 48,000 kilometres of coastline, shared among 38 coastal states, are resource rich and hold some of the world’s most strategic sea lanes, including the approaches to the Suez Canal, which carries 12 per cent of worldwide trade, and the Gulf of Guinea, a critical route for global energy. But despite the vast potential this represents, piracy and maritime insecurity have dominated the narrative of Africa’s coasts, and further propagated the image of African states as beholden to external intervention.
Yet African agency is established and evolving in the sector, with African littoral states enhancing their capacity to face collective security threats and exercising increasing autonomy in responding to the recent rush of external actors looking for port facilities and military bases.… Seguir leyendo »
In January, Nigerian-based pirates seized the MV Mozart, a large Liberian-flagged container ship heading to Cape Town, South Africa, from Lagos, Nigeria, as the ship sailed close to Sao Tome’s maritime border. Fifteen abducted officers and crew members were released in February after the shipping company paid a ransom, but one sailor died in the assault.
The attack was one of nearly 70 incidents that occurred during the first half of 2021. That’s a decrease over the same period in 2020, but the number of kidnapped sailors continues to be a concern, and remains at close to the highest level seen in the past decade, according to the International Maritime Bureau.… Seguir leyendo »
Different reports have recently highlighted security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea. One was published by the International Maritime Bureau, another by the French Navy’s Mica centre and another by the US Maritime Administration.
These reports come against a backdrop of pirate attacks against merchant ships in West Africa, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea between Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon. They have also led to attention-grabbing headlines about a “piracy surge” or even “waves of terror”.
In 2019, kidnappings of seafarers in the Gulf of Guinea reached an unprecedented number. Attacks against merchant ships were recorded off Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.… Seguir leyendo »
There were fewer than 200 maritime pirate attacks in 2016, the lowest level in more than 20 years. Total global incidents declined nearly 22 percent from 2015 — and nearly 60 percent from 2010, when Somali piracy captured the world’s attention.
But violent pirate attacks increased in two places: the Celebes and Sulu Seas between the Philippines and East Malaysia, and the Gulf of Guinea off the Nigerian coast. In both places the number of pirate attacks more than doubled last year and were closely linked to rebel movement.
Some piracy hot spots — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh and Vietnam — all experienced significantly less piracy in 2016 compared to 2015.… Seguir leyendo »
There were fewer than 200 maritime pirate attacks in 2016, the lowest level in more than 20 years. Total global incidents declined nearly 22 percent from 2015 — and nearly 60 percent from 2010, when Somali piracy captured the world’s attention.
But violent pirate attacks increased in two places: the Celebes and Sulu Seas between the Philippines and East Malaysia, and the Gulf of Guinea off the Nigerian coast. In both places the number of pirate attacks more than doubled last year and were closely linked to rebel movement.
Some piracy hot spots — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh and Vietnam — all experienced significantly less piracy in 2016 compared to 2015.… Seguir leyendo »
Hay tres aspectos o ejemplos (como prefiramos llamarlos) de la seguridad como bien público global que tienen especial relevancia en estos momentos convulsos que vivimos: la piratería, las enfermedades de alto contagio y el terrorismo. Merece la pena que se le dedique a cada uno de ellos un espacio en este lugar de opinión que nos ofrece el Observatorio.
La piratería de Somalia es uno de los ejemplos más claros de la seguridad como un bien público global, tanto por su aparición y la forma en la que operan los piratas, sus características, como por la forma en la que se aborda.… Seguir leyendo »
En el año 2008, el incremento del número de ataques piratas en las costas somalíes puso en alerta a la Comunidad Internacional que comenzó a tomar medidas. Desde entonces se han ido desarrollando operaciones militares navales y terrestres en la zona con el objetivo de acabar con la amenaza que supone esta actividad pirática para la seguridad marítima internacional. Del mismo modo se están llevando a cabo algunos proyectos como “Youth and Risk Initiatives” promovido por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el desarrollo (PNUD), la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) y UNICEF o “Norwegian Church Aid’s Livelyhoods to Piracy Project” que desarrollan también proyectos sociales destinados a los más jóvenes, que son a su vez los más vulnerables ante la piratería y otras actividades ilícitas llevadas a cabo en la región [1].… Seguir leyendo »
Las características políticas, económicas y sociales de gran parte de los países de África Subsahariana suponen un caldo de cultivo para las actividades delictivas en general: tráfico de armas, drogas, personas y también para la piratería. Los conflictos internos y la pobreza ofrecen muy pocas expectativas de futuro a la población que cuenta con unas altas tasas de natalidad, así como con un alto porcentaje de jóvenes en edad de trabajar (más del 60% de la población es menor de 20 años), por lo que las actividades delictivas se convierten casi en una necesidad y un modo de subsistencia mucho más rentable que cualquier actividad legal.… Seguir leyendo »
Paul Greengrass’s “Captain Phillips,” an action movie starring Tom Hanks, dramatizes the hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama in 2009. The high-seas, high-stakes drama of Somali piracy has been a box-office hit.
But of the millions of people who will watch the movie, few will leave the cinema grasping the context of crime and terrorism in Somalia, even as this violence has had ripple effects like the recent terrorist attacks at a shopping mall in Nairobi, and accounts of religious radicalization of Somalis, from Minnesota to Norway.
Based on my fieldwork with Somali pirates, ransom negotiators, and naval officers in Kenya, as well as statistical analysis I conducted with Arjun S.… Seguir leyendo »
The Tom Hanks movie "Captain Phillips," which opens Friday, will focus attention — again — on piracy off the coast of Somalia. The movie, in which (spoiler alert) the bad guys get caught, unfortunately might lead you to think that this is a problem that's been solved. After all, since the April 2009 seizure of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, recounted in "Captain Phillips," there has been only one hijacking of a U.S.-flagged vessel by Somali pirates, the February 2011 seizure of a U.S. yacht in which the Americans were killed. And Somalia's other evils — the Shabab and its terrorist activities, for example — have taken over news headlines.… Seguir leyendo »
U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for three Somalis convicted of murdering four Americans whose yacht was captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean off Oman in 2011. Although nearly two dozen Somali pirates have now been convicted in U.S. courts, these three men are the first to potentially face the death penalty.
Against the backdrop of the U.S. trial, a largely unknown and underreported humanitarian tragedy caused by the brutality of pirates is unfolding: Unlike the Americans killed by pirates after negotiations for their release failed, the crews of many smaller ships, known as dhows, operating in the Indian Ocean often end up as slaves, never to return to their homelands because their Indian, Pakistani or Iranian owners cannot afford to pay their ransom.… Seguir leyendo »
Face à l'appel de pays du golfe de Guinée pour une plus grande implication de la communauté internationale face à la piraterie, l'Union Européenne doit saisir cette opportunité pour relancer son partenariat stratégique avec l'Union Africaine et les sous-ensembles régionaux, en l'élargissant aux domaines de la sécurité et de la sûreté maritime. En attendant la maturation de ce projet au sein de l'UE, la France a un rôle moteur à jouer au regard de ses liens historiques et doit élargir à d'autres partenaires les efforts déjà entrepris.
Sujet d'actualité au large de la Somalie, la piraterie se développe depuis peu dans le golfe de Guinée.… Seguir leyendo »
Si ces derniers mois, la famine, les enlèvements d'occidentaux et les actions armées du groupe Al-Shabaab ont fait parler de la Somalie dans l'actualité, un autre mal, la piraterie, mobilise les forces navales depuis 2008. Parmi elles, la force navale européenne (EUNAVFOR) mène l'opération Atalante. Avec la stabilisation du phénomène, certains membres de l'Union Européenne souhaiteraient désormais conduire des actions plus offensives. Mais cet avis n'est pas partagé par l'ensemble des 27 membres tant il demeure des incertitudes quant aux conséquences de telles opérations.
Trois coalitions (OTAN, UE et multinationale sous influence américaine) et d'autres Etats, comme la Chine, l'Inde, le Japon, la Russie ou l'Iran, opèrent aujourd'hui au large de la Somalie.… Seguir leyendo »
Since February, the Danish sailor Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, Birgit, and their three children, Rune, Hjalte and Naja, have been held hostage by Somali pirates. After a failed rescue attempt in March, the family has been treated brutally and many now claim that if the ransom is not paid immediately, they risk execution - just as two American couples, Jean and Scott Adams, and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, were executed by pirates earlier this year when ransoms were not paid in time.
The human cost of refusing to pay is high. Sadly, however, the human cost of paying is even higher.… Seguir leyendo »
Four American yachters killed; a Danish family of five and two crew members kidnapped: these events in the space of a week early this year may finally fuel a consensus that something needs to be done about piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. And something should be done: in addition to the yachters, nearly 700 sailors, mostly Filipino, Bangladeshi and Russian, are being held hostage. Often forced to operate their captured ships at gunpoint, with little food or water, some of them have been prisoners for months.
But maritime lawlessness isn’t confined to pirates. Thanks to a system of ship registration called “flags of convenience,” it is all too easy for unscrupulous ship owners to get away with criminal behavior.… Seguir leyendo »
While President Obama battles Republicans in Congress over federal budgets, spiraling debt and out-of-control spending, another out-of-control phenomena - namely piracy, continues to wreak havoc on the world economy with an estimated cost of $15 billion by 2015.
Attacks on shipping have skyrocketed to 142 incidents worldwide just within the first three months of 2011 - 18 vessels were hijacked and 344 crew taken hostage. The United Arab Emirates is holding emergency talks this week with representatives from more than 50 countries to address the continuing menace.
Virtually invisible in the shadow of U.S. "kinetic military action" in Libya and other chaos brought about by the Arab Spring, 13 Somalis and a Yemeni were quietly brought to Norfolk, Va.,… Seguir leyendo »
Tema: El despliegue aeronaval internacional en torno al Cuerno de África permite mantener abiertas las líneas de comunicación marítima y el flujo de buques y mercancías pero no consigue disuadir a los piratas de actuar ni reducir significativamente las cifras de secuestros.
Resumen: La lucha contra la piratería en el Golfo de Adén y el Océano Índico ha movilizado las flotas de la UE, la OTAN y las de países como China, la India e Irán, entre otros. Se han creado centros de información y establecido un corredor internacional para que los buques y aeronaves presentes en la zona puedan proteger a los buques en tránsito.… Seguir leyendo »
It has become apparent that real piracy is far different from the lighthearted subject sometimes portrayed in popular culture, and the problem is growing much worse. Besides the tragic cost in lives, the U.S., many other nations and NATO spent roughly $2 billion combined last year to safeguard the busy international sea lanes off the Horn of Africa from Somali pirates. According to the International Maritime Bureau, "hijackings off the coast of Somalia accounted for 92% of all ship seizures last year," and the price tag does not include the costs of reallocating critical military resources.
Sadly, much of this could have been avoided had the world made a stronger commitment to conservation and environmental protection years earlier.… Seguir leyendo »
The killing of four Americans who were taken hostage aboard the yacht Quest off the coast of Oman serves as an ominous warning that pirate activity will increase in 2011 despite large-scale naval deployments in the Gulf of Aden.
The incident also underscores the limits of raw power. Those aboard the Quest, although surrounded by warships and tracked by a helicopter, still met a tragic end.
Indeed, intercepting a hijacked vessel is an anomaly. In most cases pirates can act with impunity because of the enormous area that naval patrols need to cover. Only rarely will the authorities be in the vicinity of a ship or yacht under attack.… Seguir leyendo »
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