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by The Grand Rapids Press Editorial Board
Saturday April 11, 2009
Lawlessness and piracy on the high seas can't be tolerated. It poses a serious threat to lives and international trade. But the world community has allowed brazen bands of bandits to hijack vessels with virtual impunity for the past several years. That has to stop. The latest incident involving Somali pirates and a U.S.-flagged cargo ship should galvanize international efforts to fight back and stamp out this growing scourge.
Modern-day pirates have attacked everything from oil tankers to luxury yachts, mostly in the Gulf of Arden between Yemen and Somalia. Since January, pirates have staged 66 attacks -- including the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday. The International Maritime Bureau says 17 ships and 270 people taken hostage are in pirate hands.
The rogue business of piracy is stoked by the huge ransoms paid by shipping companies and governments seeking the safe return of workers or cargo. Somali pirates received more than $30 million in ransom payments last year. Capitulating to plunderers and looters only breeds more of the same. It also puts more people and vessels in danger.
Needed is a coordinated international response to such larceny on the high seas. The shipping industry has a direct and proactive responsibility to provide security. The vessels being attacked are basically unarmed ships with crews that seldom attempt resistance. The airline industry employs air marshals for onboard security. The shipping industry should consider something similar.
The ransoms they are paying help the pirates buy increasingly sophisticated equipment. Those faster attack crafts with longer ranges, rocket-propelled grenades, satellite phones and global positioning systems are used to conduct more brazen and frequent attacks.
A United Nation's anti-piracy unit -- that includes the navies from 20 nations -- began patrolling the shipping route through the Gulf of Arden about three months ago. There are about 12 to 16 ships patrolling the region at any given time, even though Navy officials say it would take 61 ships to control the area. The international response and punishment for piracy needs to be as serious as the threat. Right now it falls well short.
The Indian navy blasted a so-called pirate "mother ship" out of the water last November. The French on several occasions have carried out raids in Somalia to capture pirate crews and rescue hostages. Those are the tough, aggressive methods the international coalition needs to employ to snuff out piracy and punish its practitioners.