The Bywong Soapbox

Oceangoing ships are responsible for moving at least 80 percent of all commerce worldwide, so maritime pirates are a threat to everyone

The United States and international community are trying to feed those facing chronic hunger and starvation in Somalia and the Horn of Africa, but the ships carrying that humanitarian food aid must contend with pirates who are seeking to hijack and ransom emergency food shipments for their own personal and selfish financial gain,”  said Robert W. Maggi, the U.S. Department of State’s coordinator for counterpiracy.

Recently, the Maersk Alabama was carrying 5,230 metric tons of humanitarian food bound for the East Africa region on behalf of USAID’s Food for Peace Program when four suspected pirates attempted to board and hijack the vessel 560 nautical miles off the northeast coast of Somalia. That food would provide a daily survival ration to 330,000 people for about 30 days.

Somali pirates holding a huge Saudi oil tanker

The ship successfully repelled the hijackers with a combination of evasive maneuvers, long-range acoustical devices and action by an armed security team onboard the ship. No injuries to the crew or damage were reported in the incident.

Unfortunately, the large oil tankers which ply this shipping route, are loathe to have armed security forces aboard for the fear of setting the ship alight with errant gunfire.  They’ve taken the attitude it’s best to allow the pirates to take over the ship, rather than be damaged and create oil spills, which could wipe out the ecology of a coastline.  The pirates ask millions for the release of these ships.

The bright sparks aren’t thinking outside the box.

Back a few wars ago, there was a similar problem with shipping across the Atlantic, except it wasn’t pirates of which the merchant ships were afraid.  They had a problem with U-Boats.  In those cases, convoys were formed to allow the protection of the many, by a few destroyers.  Perhaps this tact would be applicable to today’s piracy scourge.

A merchant convoy

How hard would it be, to organise shipping convoys to get commerce past the Somalian coastline?  Surely it would behoove the shipping companies to schedule mass convoys that could be protected from the pirates by one, or even two Corvette class frigates.

The simple mathematics are sound.  You organise a NATO supplied frigate to escort a convoy of merchant ships and tankers past the piracy zone. Once past the zone, the frigate returns to whatever port of departure and awaits the next convoy of shipping to be staged.  Alternately, a ship rotation between member nations to supply a fresh frigate and crew.

Surely, the safety of these giant carriers of commerce are worth the inconvenience of being staged into a multinational shipping convoy, if it would guarantee the safety of their consignments.

One to protect the many

I’m sure the Somali pirate would find themselves between a rock and a hard place if they were forced to go up against a heavily armed gunboat, which was prepared to blow their pirate asses out of the water.

Anyone listening out there?

The United States and others formed the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia in January 2009 — which now includes some 50 nations partnered with the shipping industry — to develop anti-piracy solutions. They aren’t doing their job..

There are now about 12 ships being held by the pirates off the coast of East Africa, including the 300,000-ton, Greek-flagged supertanker Maran Centaurus, which was seized November 29 some 800 miles off the Somali coast near the Seychelles.

A scheduled convoy might be the answer.