It is a relief that all 23 crewmembers of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, the largest ship ever hijacked by pirates, are safe, in good health and are returning home following a nearly two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden. Anytime a ship is released, especially one as big as the Sirius, which was carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth about $100 million, it is positive news. However, the piracy problem does not end with the release of the Sirius Star. More than a dozen ships with about 300 crewmembers are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Internationally, steps have been taken other than throwing money at the pirates, most notably an increasing assemblage of naval forces that has thwarted several seajacking attempts. The result is that while the number of attacks may have gone up in recent months, the number of successful hijackings has gone down, attributed mainly to the increased naval presence in the at-risk areas.
However, global navies rushing to protect important ships and shipping lanes do not provide a permanent solution. The Law of the Sea Convention places limitations on daring action; warships cannot just open fire. And arming crews is a move opposed by ship owners and maritime organizations alike. You cannot suddenly convert a commercial ship into a kind of warship. Almost all agree that piracy is a problem that starts on the shore. The international community needs to address the situation in Somalia proper, a huge task given the country’s dire circumstances.
Somalia is an impoverished and war-ravaged country that has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. It is a clan-based society where tribal chieftains and warlords hold sway, just like in Afghanistan. Fighting between warlords and the failure of international intervention has left Somalia in a permanent state of civil war.
The country is effectively divided. Neither President Abdallah Youssef nor his Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein dares set foot in Mogadishu, and sit twiddling their thumbs in Nairobi. Helping Somalia get back on its feet is crucial to combating piracy off its shores. This would require surgical and legally sanctioned military intervention against piracy combined with a firm diplomatic initiative that brings together regional and concerned international players to turn Somalia from a failed state to a state that has a strong — or at least acting — central government.
All this must be accomplished without opening the door to opportunistic international intervention in the Arab-African state.
It would have been disastrous had the pirates aboard the Sirius Star fired guns aboard the ship, turned the ship into a weapon, or if foreign navies had attempted to release it by force. With so much oil aboard — a quarter of Saudi Arabia’s daily output — a conflagration could have been the tragic outcome. A human and environmental disaster has been averted but action must be taken on the ground in Somalia for the high seas to stay safe.
