Piracy: Causes and Solutions

Piracy in Somalia has proven to be a considerable problem that became widely publicized in the 2000’s into the 2010’s. The political issues in Somalia and instability in the region created a climate that was perfect for the spread of the new age of pirates. Though there are many factors which led to the rise in piracy in the waters around Somalia, key factors include a lack of stable governance in Somalia, Somali citizens support of the pirates as heroes, and the ignoring of important warnings by large vessels travelling in dangerous waters.

While the piracy we grow up seeing in the media is centered around peg legs, eye patches, and hooks, the reality of piracy today is that it does not occur the way we have seen in the movies. Piracy today occurs mostly in the daytime on the high seas, and it targets large ships in motion. Also, while we picture pirate battles as cannons and swords, today more ships are taken over relatively easily. More often than not large commercial ships do not have a large crew in order to save money on unnecessary spending. However, this is paired with companies ignoring warnings to avoid the coastline and stay a certain distance away to avoid issues with piracy in the waters. Commercial ships will often ignore the warnings and cut closer to the shoreline in order to save both gas and time, precious resources for global companies. While blaming the companies and ships for being pirated because they did not listen places blame away from the pirates who are violently taking over ships, it is still important to note the companies whose ships were being pirated were, more frequently than not, choosing to ignore the warnings issued by the governments about piracy in the area.

The governance in Somalia was also a large reason piracy was so popular in the region. For most of the 2000’s, the lack of a stable, effective government perpetuated the rise of piracy as citizens saw it as a reasonable way to make end meet. The government was relatively weak compared to neighboring Puntland, which created a sense of insecurity in the nation about how their needs would be met if their government was not functioning like those around it. This absence of governance paired with a less than adequate maritime law enforcement turned former fishermen into pirates who were able to thrive. The Somali citizens who did not turn to piracy, feeling the security of their lifestyle was threatened by their failing government, saw the rise of piracy as a form of security against the only threats they knew: foreign ships taking their resources. A Somali villager summed up the general sentiments towards the pirates by saying, “I don’t call them pirates. They are our marines. They are protecting our resources from those looting them. They are not criminals.” The general public supported the pirates because, unfortunately, the government of Somalia was ineffective and could not protect the people’s interests. Since 2012, however, the government of Somalia has become stronger by creating a new constitution and a bicameral Federal Parliament of Somalia in August of 2012, and by electing a new president in September 2012. These new functions as well as success by international coalitions created a more stable Somalia which resulted in a reduction of piracy since 2012.

Though the new institutions put in place have helped to reduce piracy in the past five years, the elimination of piracy in the region can only be attained by complete regional stability. Considering the work done by international coalitions working with Somalia and continued stability in the region, a Gulf of Aden free of piracy is a possible future in the next ten years.