Piracy off the coast of Somalia has more than doubled in 2008 and threatens to disrupt international trade and could potentially become a weapon of international terrorism, says a new Chatham House paper.
Pirates are regularly demanding and receiving million-dollar ransom payments and their operations are become increasingly sophisticated. The pirates have improved their equipment and now use GPS systems and satellite phones giving them a greater ability to capture potential targets.
‘Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars’ says the danger of piracy could mean shipping is forced away from the Gulf of Aden into the longer route to Europe and North America. The extra weeks of travel and fuel consumption could have a major impact on oil and commodity prices.
The paper also argues that Somali pirates could become agents of international terrorist networks. Already money from ransoms is helping to pay for the war in Somalia, including funds to the US terror-listed Al-Shabaab. In a region that saw the attacks on the USS Cole, the possibility of seaborne terrorism should be taken seriously.
As a result of piracy, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to temporarily suspend food deliveries to drought-stricken Somalia. Canada is now escorting WFP deliveries but there are no plans in place to replace their escort when it ends later this year.
In this paper, Roger Middleton, outlines a number of options available to the international community to reduce the risks of piracy but stresses that ignoring the problem is not one of them. Only a political solution in Somalia offers a long-term solution to piracy.
Roger Middleton is a consultant researcher working for the Africa Programme at Chatham House. He specializes in the politics of the Horn of Africa, African Peace and Security and Africa’s relations with the EU.
