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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
The international response to Somali piracy just became more complicated. Kenya's second-highest court ruled last month that it has no jurisdiction to try pirates captured outside of Kenyan territorial waters. The decision underscores the need for a comprehensive international legal framework to address the challenges of modern-day piracy.
Thanks to a series of agreements since early 2009 with the United States, the European Union, China and other countries, Kenya has emerged as the favored spot for the world's navies to set captured pirates ashore for trial and imprisonment. The Kenyan judiciary has done its best: Scores of pirates have been convicted and imprisoned.… Seguir leyendo »
Every 12 hours last year young men boarded motorized skiffs and hijacked vessels on the waterway used by 24,000 ships around the Horn of Africa. Pirate gangs have accrued $150 million in ransom to date, about $4 million per ship. Their take is likely to swell before year’s end. Somali gangs now hold 18 vessels and 379 crew members for ransom.
How do scruffy vagabonds as young as 16 overpower freighters and defy patrolling warships? And how, even when captured, do these modern pirates get away with their crimes?
The answers rest on surprising truths about scrapped laws and strapped shipping lines that tack piracy costs onto freight charges and pass it all on to consumers.… Seguir leyendo »
How is it possible that pirates from very poor Somalia can hold to ransom ships from some of the richest countries, despite the patrolling by the world’s strongest navies?
That was the dilemma discussed at the recent Istanbul Conference on Somalia, and is high on the agenda of the United Nations, NATO and the European Union.
The current anti-piracy strategy has worked well, but it is facing diminishing returns. Naval patrols off the Horn of Africa have reduced the success rate of attacks: 1 in 10 attempts succeed now, compared to 1 in 3 before. Yet the number of (reported) attacks doubled between 2007 and 2008 from 51 to 111, and doubled again in 2009 to 217.… Seguir leyendo »
Somali piracy attacks targeting shipping through the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean have significantly risen in quantity, sophistication and audacity. The U.S. Navy SEAL team rescue of the kidnapped crew of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama last April provided a dramatic example not only of this threat, but also of the lethal force being brought to bear by states in the fight against piracy. However, this week's attack on the Panamanian-flagged vessel Al Meezan purportedly has demonstrated the first example of another form of lethal force being used against pirates: teams of armed private security guards hired by commercial shipping companies to protect their assets en route through the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.… Seguir leyendo »
Last Monday, Somali pirates seized two more prizes in rapid succession: a British-flagged chemical tanker and a Greek bulk carrier, bringing the current number of captive ships to 12 and the number of hostage mariners to at least 278. Despite the presence in the region of three multinational naval task forces comprising about 30 warships, there were 68 successful pirate hijackings in 2009, compared with 49 one year earlier.
If the New Year’s Day capture of an Indonesian tanker is any indication, 2010 will not herald an end to the attacks. As one Somali pirate told me last year: “Sometimes, we capture ships when [warships] are right around us.… Seguir leyendo »
Hemos contemplado, durante varias semanas, el lamentable secuestro de unos marineros por unos piratas. En el siglo XXI creíamos que tales hechos delictivos pertenecían a un pasado oscuro, afortunadamente superado. El 16 de abril de 1856, en una Conferencia Internacional, celebrada en París, se acordó la abolición del otorgamiento de las denominadas «patentes de corso». Pero ahora tenemos los «aranceles de piratas». Unos cuantos criminales cobran importantes cantidades de dinero por liberar a sus rehenes. ¡Triste espectáculo en pleno siglo XXI!
Las patentes de corso eran unos documentos expedidos por los gobiernos que autorizaban a llevar a cabo toda clase de pillajes contra las naves contrarias.… Seguir leyendo »
En el problema de las pesquerías en aguas del Índico se mezclan intereses económicos y políticos de gran alcance. El secuestro del Alakrana el pasado 2 de octubre es una muestra más del incremento de la piratería indiscriminada en las aguas adyacentes al territorio de Somalia. Y los mandos militares del Operativo Atalanta de la UE coinciden al decir que sólo el empleo de la fuerza no es la solución al grave conflicto existente.
La piratería y el secuestro de barcos han existido siempre, pero en los últimos años se han recrudecido en las aguas próximas a Somalia, como una práctica mejor organizada de la que se viene haciendo desde hace tiempo en los estrechos de Filipinas, Indonesia y Malasia.… Seguir leyendo »
A pesar de la reanudación de los combates en Somalia y de la fragilidad de sus instituciones, podemos conseguir que la situación cambie. Existe un proceso político y el Gobierno Federal de Transición, dirigido por el presidente Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, ha resistido desde que se formó a principios de año. Esto brinda a la comunidad internacional una oportunidad para hacer frente a la violencia y a la impunidad que afectan a Somalia, y para empezar a trabajar en la estabilización del país. La Unión Europea ha tomado la iniciativa con su operación naval de lucha contra la piratería, EU NAVFOR Atalanta, que puso en marcha a finales de 2008 y que ha contribuido a reducir el número de ataques exitosos por parte de los piratas.… Seguir leyendo »
Tema: La represión del crimen internacional de piratería presenta arduos problemas relativos a la definición de la piratería y al enjuiciamiento de este delito por los tribunales nacionales (en particular en España) e internacionales.
Resumen: La participación española en la operación naval Atalanta de la UE para luchar contra la piratería en las aguas próximas a Somalia ha puesto de relieve los problemas jurídico-penales e internacionales que plantea la represión del crimen de piratería, y en particular la dificultad de juzgar a los piratas capturados por un buque de guerra cuando no está tipificado el delito en la ley penal española.… Seguir leyendo »
La verdad es que este siglo lleva tantas paradojas en tan pocos años, que no viene de una. Si uno mira cualquiera de los anuarios o publicaciones que entran en el terreno de la prospectiva desde el año 1999, ninguno auguraba que uno de los quebraderos de cabeza de la comunidad internacional sería... ¡la piratería! Pero no la piratería informática, los audaces ataques de hackers y crackers a grandes bancos, centros de inteligencia o cosas similares. No, se trata del retorno a escena de la vieja piratería, la de siempre, la de la isla de la Tortuga, el pirata Morgan, etcétera, en la era de...… Seguir leyendo »
Utilizamos cookies para el correcto funcionamiento de la página web y analíticas para estadísticas.ACEPTARPolítica de privacidad