The hijacking of a Bangladeshi ship with 23 crews on board by Somali pirates on Tuesday has come as a shock to the nation. According to reports the pirates took control of the ship at gunpoint and held all crew members of the vessel hostage on board.
This is the second such incident of attack on Bangladeshi ships by the notorious Somali pirates.
Last time, it took 100 days to get back the ship and crew members safe and sound. A hefty amount was also paid to the pirates as ransom.
Piracy is an old problem encountered by the maritime traffic. It has a history of over thousand years. A number of steps were initiated to put an end to piracy to ensure open and free maritime trade. Even warships were deployed to check piracy in several sea-routes. But none of these measures were found effective in countering the Somali pirates.
Sea-based solutions alone will not be able to counter Somali piracy as the country has about 1,880 miles of coastline in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. There are limited options if a shipping company chooses to avoid the Gulf of Aden. The only alternative for ships would then be to go round the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa; but it will add time, fuel and crew cost.
Since 90s, Somalia has been a failed state. Factions control different parts of the country where the central government has no presence at all. Several of such factions resorted to piracy for generating revenue to run their operations in their respective regions.
History shows that piracy at sea could not be completely eradicated only by using warships stationed on the spot to fight it because the piracy originates in land, not sea. Somali government has no control over the law and order in the coastal areas, which are being run by armed goons.
Somalia has not had a viable government since Mohamed Said Bare was ousted from power in 1991. Naturally, pirates take advantage of this instability and uncertainty. Lack of alternative economic opportunities onshore also helps flourishing of piracy, as poverty-stricken local people are lured into embarking on criminal activities as a means of survival.
Somalia lacks a functional economy with various powerful factions currently fighting for the control of the country, where pirates are able to operate with impunity from Somali coastal towns or even camps. To end the problem of piracy a stable central government in Somalia is a must.
But it also needs a coordinated effort by the regional countries because Somalis have distrust for international intervention since the failure of the joint US-UN operations. This intervention failed to restore peace and withdrew from Somalia without restoring a central government. Simultaneously, there should be an international move to conduct maritime patrol.
But at the same time, the coastal people in Somalia need to be offered sufficient economic incentives to help escape the lure of piracy.
Bilateral cooperation between regional governments can also help eradicating piracy through establishing legal and jurisdictional mechanisms for the transfer, detention and trial of suspected pirates.
Identifying the kingpins and disrupting their cash flows are also considered vital to combat piracy. This also requires sincere cooperation, resources and political stability within the region.
Regional cooperation based on factors such as social and cultural balance, parallel attitudes and objectives, and geographical proximity, can be more effective than efforts made by far away countries.
As piracy in Somalia is a threat to world's main maritime trade routes, a concerted international community response is imperative to stop them.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com