Piracy in Somalia: Who's to blame and who can fix it?

Kevin Reilly

Blog Post 4

Piracy in Somalia: Who's to Blame and Who can Fix it?

In the dangerous and costly saga of Somali piracy, two sides of political theory have sensationalized when analyzing the offshore conflicts. The first finds that Somali pirates are seizing unsuspecting and maximizing profits through thievery or ransom. The second finds that these individuals are not pirates at all, but an unofficial coast guard that is exhausting its last possible option to save the waters from illegal fishing and waste dumping. The opposing theories find the same persons both guilty and victim, but regardless of who is right and who is wrong there must be effective and immediate change to the naval practices of Somalia waters. In analyzing the readings of Hansen, Gettleman, Waldo, and Bueger I will argue: both fisheries and the pirates of Somali need to change their practices; Somali government needs to overhaul its legal system; and the WTO needs to take an active role in creating a safe and profitable sea route.

No party in the conflict of Somali piracy is blameless, but first I will discuss the problems with the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing fleets. Foreign nations take advantage of an instable, unorganized and developing Somali government that does not have the available resources to properly patrol their waters. Mohamed Abshir Waldo explains in a Wardheer News article that foreign nations are illegally invading the Somali waters and pilfering their fish supplies by using trawlers that drop off their yield at a mother ship and head right back to the water. These same ships have reportedly attacked smaller fishing boats and limited local access to the water. Possibly the worst part of the invasion of water comes with waste dump that is poisoning water, limiting fish access for everyone involved[i]. Foreign nations who fish in the region knowingly take advantage of a region without a proper governing body that could license or control their resource.

            Despite a frustrating invasion of water sovereignty, the response to foreign ships by the local Somali people is equally as wrong. At no point should anyone involved in hijacking a ship, holding a person hostage and waiting for ransom be seen as a sympathetic character, the way the subject of the Gettleman interview makes one feel, by arguing they are starving victims[ii]. Hansen argues that these incidents are not the cause of the piracy, but simply the Somali people seize any unsuspecting in order to turn a profit[iii]. The pirates claim to be an unofficial coast guard who are protecting the waters from foreign abuse. But why doesn’t Somalia establish an official international law abiding national guard?

            In order to fix these pressing issues, the first step is unlikely, but it would come from an overhaul of the Somali legal system and government. This would allow the government to profit by licensing the water.  They could create a reasonable tax on any transport ships. This would begin to bring order to the chaos., by creating a channel of communication between the country and other nations. Also by establishing a coast guard they could fix several problems. First, they could contain the pirates and disallow any more boat hijacking. Second, they would be able to patrol the waters and prosecute any boats without fishing licenses. Lastly, they could monitor any waste dumping and bring up charges against that company or country. The only problem with this plan is a chicken or the egg type conflict. In order to reestablish the government control they will need money, but the only way to use their rich waters to make money is through government control. Somalia would also need to improve their legal system to provide due process to anyone prosecuted. This would help fix two of the problems that lead to piracy described by Christian Beuger. These provisions would improve a weak law enforcement system and by helping fight poverty.[iv]

            If ever the Somali government can act in a developed manner, by disallowing bandits to patrol their water, they can expect more of a voice from international regimes. NATO and the WTO should take an active role in helping rebuild the waterway. NATO has yet to enforce any fishing restrictions on their leading members (France, Russia, etc..) in the Somali waters. As a leading power in the world that is an unexplainable mistreatment of a developing country. They are allowing the piracy problem to continue, by giving the pirates a rallying cry making observers sympathetic. If the pirates were only hijacking transport ships and not trawlers there would be no supporting argument for them. The WTO could then help the developing nation create a reasonable tax and trading system and even protect Somalia if its water is abused.

            The small African nation is a long way away from fixing their many problems, but if foreign nations take an active role in aiding their development, there may be a future without dangerous Somali waters.

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[i] Waldo, Mohamed Abshir. “Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other. Wadheer News. Jan 08, 2009. Web (accessed November 2014)

[ii] Gettleman, Jeffery, “Q A with a Pirate We Just Want the Money” The New York Times. September 30, 2008. Web. (accessed November 2014)

[iii] Stig Jarle Hansen (2011) Debunking the Piracy Myth, The RUSI Journal, 156:6, 26-31, DOI:10.1080/03071847.2011.642682

[iv] Bueger, Christian. “Practice, Pirates and Coast Guards: the grand narrative of Somali piracy” Third World Quarterly. Vol. 34, Iss. 10, 2013

Christian Bueger 
Third World Quarterly 
Vol. 34, Iss. 10, 2013