Somali Piracy

By Kurt Fowler, Jake Luker, and J.J. Watson

Origins

• Somalia’s last effective government ended in 1991, and it has been in civil war since.

• Somalia’s residents are very poor, which is a primary motivation for most pirates.

• Somalia is located on the Horn of Africa near the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes

• In 2008, the pirates received an estimated $150 million in ransom money.– The money allows the pirates

to upgrade to faster boats and more powerful weapons.

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Pirates’ Tactics

• The pirates track down ships using equipment like GPS devices and tips from contacts at local ports.

• They are able to catch the larger ships using speedboats.

• They use grappling hooks and ladders to board the ships.

• The crews of the hijacked ships are usually given very good care as the pirates wait for ransom money.

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How Piracy Affects You

• Pirates from Somalia are costing the shipping industry millions of dollars.

– Ranging from ransom and insurance payments to extra fuel costs because of detours.

• Costs are passed onto consumers like you.

• Ships are more reluctant to use the Suez Canal in Egypt because of the pirates. This could cost the country, which is an American ally, billions of dollars.

• The money from piracy, combined with the instability in the region, helps terrorist groups like Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

How Piracy can be Stopped

• Although many countries have committed naval support to help combat piracy, it is incredibly difficult to patrol the entire region.

– The affected area is roughly four times the size of Texas.

• In order to truly stop the pirates, we need to help bring stability to Somalia.

• A stable government on land would be able to handle the pirates much more effectively than navies patrolling the sea.

Sources

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7734985.stm• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/

africa/article6100783.ece• http://www.imo.org/TCD/mainframe.asp?

topic_id=1178• Gettleman, Jeffrey. "21st Century Pirates."

Upfront 14 Feb 2009: 12-13.