Somali pirates

What Now In Somalia

• The ousting of Islamist militias from Somalia by Ethiopian troops and the installation of a weak, but internationally recognized, transitional government not only nips in the bud an emergent terrorist sanctuary but also represents an important opportunity for progress in the war-ruined nation.

• A series of regional experts and officials consulted by United Press International said that the expulsion from Mogadishu of the Islamic Courts Union, the loose militia coalition that until Christmas controlled most of Somalia, presented an opening.

• But they also cautioned that unless international peace-keepers were able to deploy swiftly in support of the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, the country could slip back into the chaos that swept the Islamists to power in the first place.

Incidents

• On September 25, 2008 the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina in the lawless Gulf of Aden was hijacked by approximately 50 Somali pirates calling themselves the Central Regional Coast Guard.

• The Faina is flush with weapons: T-72 Soviet tanks, grenade launchers, and ammunition.

• In 2008 alone pirates have hijacked at least 25 ships and have received millions in ransom payments.

Ransom

• The pirates demanded a ransom and had threatened to blow up the ship, along with the pirates themselves and the ship's crew, if the ransom is not paid.

• The ransom amount has been reported as US$35 million, US$20 million, US$8 million, and US$5 million in the days that the ship and its crew have been held hostage.

The crew of the MV Faina stands on the deck after a U.S. Navy request to check

on their health and welfare.

• (11-18-2008) Somali pirates hauled in extraordinary booty on Tuesday: $100.0 million worth of crude oil, sitting in a Saudi-owned tanker operated by a Dubai-based company.

• As this immense carrier anchored off the African coast, news emerged that another ship--this time a cargo boat from Hong Kong--had also been hijacked by Somali pirates.

A booming business

• The booty may be difficult to value, as the pirates' aim is to extract lucrative ransoms rather than sell off the cargo directly.

• There is no doubt that Somalian piracy is a booming business, one of the country's few growth industries, as the interim government increasingly loses control of this unstable territory to Islamists and warlords.

Little Protection

• Piracy is thriving as ransoms do tend to get paid, but military intervention remains the exception.

• Although NATO patrols have stepped up efforts in the waters near the Gulf of Aden, responding to a wave of hijackings in recent months, their areas of coverage have been outpaced by the pirates' efforts.

• That's why there was no attempt made to try and recapture the tanker after it was first hijacked on Monday;

• According to a British Ministry of Defense spokesman, NATO vessels were not close enough to respond.

International reactions• Russia, Somalia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United

States, and NATO are cooperating to try to recover the ship. Kenya said that it will refuse to cooperate or negotiate with the pirates.

• The incident on the vessel has renewed international efforts to stem Somalian piracy. NATO has authorized a force of frigates to patrol Somalia's waters.

• Puntland Minister of Fisheries Ahmed Said Aw-nur advocated storming the Faina with European or American commandos, saying, "a military operation has to be taken." On 1 October, Mohammed Jammer Ali, the acting Somalian Foreign Minister, said, "the international community has permission to fight with the pirates.“ The Somalian insurgency group Al-Shabaab advised the pirates to "either burn down the ship and its arms or sink it" if the ransom was not paid.