The administration of U.S. President outgoing launched from the start a global war against so-called war on terrorism included the occupation of the two countries : Afghanistan, Iraq in the twenty-first century .
The New York Times article (Piracy Is Terrorism) gives examples of the many so-terrorism or piracy act.
The question is why the administration of President George Bush didn’t declared war against terrorism of the pirates, especially as it has the power to naval presence there and an international limited in the region and several resolutions of the UN Security Council on the subject ?…. Or they leave the task to be the next president of that task the new president’s war ?
But a sea piracy in both the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden from the threat of a serious and dangerous navigation and global free trade movement that might threaten the closure of the Suez Canal, for example ?
Can be linked to the events of the current Pirates of what happened in the last century, the 20th century in the 80th when the organizations or perhaps one state throwing mines in the Red Sea ?
Did this act a testing ground if Iran was attacked by America / Israel and the Iranian threat to retaliate to stop the world’s oil supplies through the Gulf ?
Piracy Is Terrorism
THE golden age of piracy has returned. Just as Henry Every and William Kidd once made their fortunes in the Red Sea, a new generation has emerged, armed with grenade launchers and assault rifles, to threaten trade and distract the world’s navies. With the recent capture of the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, a crime that once seemed remote and archaic has again claimed center stage.
And yet the world’s legal apparatus is woefully confused as to how to respond to piracy. Are the Somali pirates ordinary criminals, or a quasi-military force?
The question is not insignificant. It has virtually paralyzed the navies called to police the Gulf of Aden. The German Navy frigate Emden, on patrol this spring to intercept Qaeda vessels off the Somali coast, encountered pirate vessels attacking a Japanese tanker. But since it was allowed to intervene only if the pirates were defined as “terrorists,” the Emden had no choice but to let the pirates go. Currently, 13 vessels are held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, while the navies of a dozen nations circle almost helplessly.
The legal confusion extends to what happens once pirates have been caught. In theory, any nation can shoulder the burden of prosecution. In fact, few are eager to do so.
Prosecuting pirates puts enormous strain on a country’s legal system. A state whose ship was not attacked, and whose only involvement with the incident was as rescuer, might balk at being asked to foot the bill for lengthy and costly proceedings. Yet it might find itself forced to do so, if neither the victim’s nor the pirates’ state is willing. As Somalia has not had a recognized government since the early 1990s, the situation is all the more precarious for would-be capturers. The result is that ship owners, knowing that no rescue is imminent, pay the ransom. This emboldens the pirates further, and the problem worsens.
Fortunately, there is a way out of this legal morass. Indeed, the law is very clear — we just seem to have forgotten about it.
The solution to piracy lies in the very nature of piracy itself. The Roman lawmaker Cicero defined piracy as a crime against civilization itself, which English jurist Edward Coke famously rephrased as “hostis humani generis” — enemies of the human race. As such, they were enemies not of one state but of all states, and correspondingly all states shared in the burden of capturing them.
From this precept came the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, meaning that pirates — unlike any other criminals — could be captured wherever they were found, by anyone who found them. This recognition of piracy’s unique threat was the cornerstone of international law for more than 2,000 years.
Though you wouldn’t guess it from the current situation, the law is surprisingly clear. The definition of pirates as enemies of the human race is reaffirmed in British and American trial law and in numerous treaties.
As a customary international law (albeit one that has fallen out of use since the decline of traditional piracy) it cuts through the Gordian knot of individual states’ engagement rules. Pirates are not ordinary criminals. They are not enemy combatants. They are a hybrid, recognized as such for thousands of years, and can be seized at will by anyone, at any time, anywhere they are found.
And what of the Emden’s problem? Are pirates a species of terrorist? In short, yes. The same definition of pirates as hostis humani generis could also be applied to international organized terrorism. Both crimes involve bands of brigands that divorce themselves from their nation-states and form extraterritorial enclaves; both aim at civilians; both involve acts of homicide and destruction, as the United Nations Convention on the High Seas stipulates, “for private ends.”
For this reason, it seems sensible that the United States and the international community adopt a new, shared legal definition that would recognize the link between piracy and terrorism. This could take the form of an act of Congress or, more broadly, a new jurisdiction for piracy and terrorism cases at the International Criminal Court.
There is ample precedent. In the 1970s, the hijacking of airliners was defined by the United Nations as “aerial piracy.” In 1985, when Palestinian terrorists seized the cruise ship Achille Lauro and held its passengers hostage, President Ronald Reagan called the hijackers “pirates.” Recent evidence also indicates that the Somali pirates hand over a part of their millions in ransom money to Al Shabaab, the Somali rebel group that has been linked to Al Qaeda.
The similarities and overlaps between the two crimes have prompted some jurists to advocate abandoning the term piracy altogether in favor of “maritime terrorism.” By reasserting the traditional definition of pirates as hostis humani generis, and linking it to terrorism, the United States and other nations will not only gain a powerful tool in fighting the Somali pirates, but other incidents of terrorism around the world as well.
Recognizing piracy as an international crime will do something else: It will give individual states that don’t want to prosecute pirates an alternative — the international court. If pirates are recognized under their traditional international legal status — as neither ordinary criminals nor combatants, but enemies of the human race — states will have a much freer hand in capturing them. If piracy falls within the jurisdiction of the international court, states will not need to shoulder the burden of prosecution alone.
Today the world’s navies are hamstrung by conflicting laws and the absence of an international code. A comprehensive legal framework is the only way to break the stalemate off Somalia. In a trial before the Old Bailey in 1696, Dr. Henry Newton, the Admiralty advocate, declared, “Suffer pirates and the commerce of the world must cease.”
More than 300 years later, the world is suffering again. Fortunately, this time we have the answer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/opinion/05burgess.html?_r=2&ref=opinion
By: panda - 30th November 2012 at 00:07
Vietnam Marine Police arrested 11 pirates
At 20 h 45 November 22, Vietnam Coast Guard Region 3 arrested 11 pirates hijack tanker ZAFIRAH (Malaysian) in Vung Tau (Ba Ria-Vung Tau).
According to Captain of Zafirah ship , Mr. Sann Winnaung (37 age, nationality Myanmar), at 3:00 hours in the November 18, the ships from the Pasir Guadang port while passing through the sea of Indonesia has been attacked by pirates.
Receiving reports robbery, the Vietnam Marine Police Department ordered the Coast Guard fleet deployment Region 3 2 minutes 6007, 9001, 4034 and 4031, 2011 held traced. 2 hours and 20 days 22:11, border police fleet 4031, 4034 detect ship Zafirah are in the waters of Vietnam, immediately deployed to control, ask the people on the ship moored.
Receiving reports of pirates, the Vietnam Marine Police Department ordered the Coast Guard fleet Region 3 deployment the ship 6007, 9001, 4034, 4031, 2011 to search. November 20, ZAFIRAH ships in Vietnamese waters and constantly moving to evade the inspection of the Coast Guard.
2:00 November 22, the Coast Guard 3’s fleet detected a suspicious ship at coordinates 9o50’N-107o20’E are moving in the direction of 44o, speed 5 knots / hour.
After taking ships ZAFIRAH, pirate groups have painted almost outside the ship to divert the attention of the authorities.Color ship Zafirah from green to black. The ship’s name changed to “SEA HORSE”; ship’s IMO number from 9016387 to 9016081; nationality of ships Malaysia changed to Honduras . The ship’s satellite navigation system ZAFIRAH destroyed completely to cut off the agency’s monitoring function.
After identifying suspicious ships are tankers ZAFIRAH seized by pirates, the Police Coast Guard ship 4031, 4034 immediately deployed to control, ask the Zafirah ship moored. 16:00 November 22, Colonel Le Xuan Thanh, Commander Coast Guard Region 3, commanders to attack the pirates. Coast Guard opened fire attack, captured 11 pirates Indonesian citizenship. Entire crew ZAFIRAH of was rescued, no one was injured.
Vietnam Marine Police arrested 11 pirates
By: StevoJH - 11th September 2010 at 10:40
Fair enough seeing as how the crew were all locked safely away where the Pirates couldn’t get them.
Good job by the Marines, I would hope that the Royal Marines, RAN Boarding Parties etc can all do the job when required as well.
By: djcross - 10th September 2010 at 20:39
Marines storm cargo ship, capture pirates
Posted on Thu, Sep. 09, 2010 11:04 PM
The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | U.S. Marine commandos stormed a pirate-held cargo ship off the Somalia coast Thursday, reclaiming control and taking nine prisoners without firing a shot in the first such boarding raid by the international anti-piracy flotilla, U.S. Navy officials said.
The mission — using small craft to reach the deck of the German-owned vessel as the crew huddled in a safe room below — ranks among the most dramatic high seas confrontations with pirates by the task force created to protect shipping lanes off lawless Somalia.
By: Tango III - 10th September 2010 at 17:48
Thai Navy Joins Anti-Piracy Mission Off Somalia
Thailand joined the fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean on Sept. 10, sending nearly 400 marines on two vessels to help police the lawless waters off Somalia, the navy confirmed.
The Thai navy deployed 386 troops on two warships, the Similan and the Pattani, for the 19-day journey to the Gulf of Aden – one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.
The 60-day mission marks the first time Thailand has contributed to an international maritime taskforce.
The international armada, which includes regional neighbors China, Singapore, Malaysia and India, has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since 2008 in a bid to stop pirates from hijacking commercial vessels.
Full Story
HTMS Similan (AOE 871) and Thailand navy’s carrier
By: Tango III - 22nd June 2010 at 11:19
A Dutch submarine to fight piracy
In the fight against piracy, the Netherlands is sending later this year a submarine to the coast of Somalia.
This is the response from the Dutch government to a request from NATO. A spokesperson for caretaker Minister Van Middelkoop (Defense, Christian Party) has confirmed the news today after reports in the Dutch newspapers the Volkskrant and De Telegraaf.
Full Story
By: pilatus - 17th May 2010 at 23:40
Nato warship destroys pirate boats in Somali Basin
A Royal Navy warship on Nato anti-piracy operations has destroyed two pirate boats in the Somali Basin, Nato has said.
HMS Chatham’s helicopter spotted a larger vessel towing the two attack boats in the Somali Basin, about 150 miles off Tanzania, on 14 May, it said.
After monitoring the vessels overnight, a Royal Marine team launched a “well-planned operation” at dawn, it said.
By: Tango III - 7th May 2010 at 16:49
Russia says pirates who held tanker are freed
The pirates seized by a Russian warship off the coast of Somalia have been released because of “imperfections” in international law, the Defense Ministry said Friday, a claim that sparked skepticism — and even suspicion the pirates might have been killed.
Authorities initially said the pirates would be brought to Russia to face criminal charges for hijacking a Russian oil tanker. But Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexei Kuznetsov told The Associated Press on Friday that the pirates had been released.
Kuznetsov declined to elaborate on the purported legal flaws that prompted the release and it was unclear how the seizure of the tanker might be legally different from last year’s alleged hijacking of the Russian-crewed freighter Arctic Sea.
By: pilatus - 2nd May 2010 at 17:29
Somali Islamist insurgents seize pirate haven
Somali insurgents have taken control of one of the main pirate havens in the south of the country.
Residents said several hundred rebels of the group Hizbul Islam had taken over the coastal town of Haradhere and that the pirates had fled.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8657060.stm
Does this mean that any ships being held there will be released or will the insurgents simply take over control and carry on the pirate trade.-
By: plawolf - 16th April 2010 at 17:58
Chinese new naval task force leaves for Gulf of Aden
A new Chinese naval task force set sail on Thursday morning from a military port in the south Hainan Island to replace the fourth batch of flotilla in the Gulf of Aden escorting merchant vessels.
The new flotilla consists of the navy’s missile destroyer DDG-168 Guangzhou, supply ship 887 Weishanhu and missile frigate FFG-568.
I’ve noticed that the latest PLAN deployments are starting to pack firepower like they intend to use it. Notice the rocket pods on that Z9. I have also seen pictures of machine gun pods being test fitting to Z9s preparing to ship on.
In addition, the naval special forces are deploying a disproportionately large number of type 88 sniper rifles and are using the larger cal RPD machine guns over the newer type 95 based ones.
Could this be a change in strategy?
The current stop, search, arrest and release policy is clearly fatally flawed with pirates coming back into circulation after a brief period of being bounced between governments and agencies who don’t want to be responsible for them and usually just end up letting them go as soon as they can.
Last time I checked, if you take up piracy, you make yourself fair game to the guns of any naval warship. Maybe its time those navies started to fully exercise those powers.
I know the argument about most of these ******s starting off as fishermen, but that doesn’t wash as feeling you have been victimized doesn’t give you justification to arm up and start hijacking ships and killing innocent crewmen.
Lets think of this cynically for a moment. What has any government got to loose by adopting a highly aggressive stance here? It actually matters little if you take out innocent somali fishermen because who will ever know? Where will the witnesses screaming the innocence of those killed? Its a big lonely ocean out there and if a naval captain says the boat he just sank as loaded with pirates, who can argue otherwise?
As long as you don’t make a major screw up and shoot innocent international shipping like the Indians did first day they rocked up, no one is going to give a crap about who you killed other then as a brief caption to a picture of smoke on the horizon.
Adopting such a stance will put the lives of hostages already held at risk, but not doing anything will only mean others go in and join them later with millions lost to these organised criminals in the meantime.
If you want this to stop, ever, then you need to be willing to make sacrifices.
By: Tango III - 16th April 2010 at 12:24
We cannot cover the whole ocean – admiral
Commercial ships traversing the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean should be armed to defend themselves against marauding Somali pirates because international warships can’t do the whole job and won’t be there forever, a top US Navy admiral said on Thursday.
Seaborne gangs of pirates have stepped up hijack attacks on vessels in recent months, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships, including tankers, despite the presence of dozens of foreign naval vessels.
“We could put a World War 2 fleet of ships out there and we still wouldn’t be able to cover the whole ocean,” said Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, commander of US Naval Forces, Europe and Africa, citing attacks from the Gulf of Aden and the Mozambique Channel to off the coast of India.
Full Story
By: Tango III - 2nd April 2010 at 21:20
Russian destroyer begins new anti-piracy mission off Somalia
The Russian Pacific Fleet’s Udaloy-class missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov started on Friday escorting civilian vessels off Somali coast to protect the ships from pirates, a Russian Navy spokesman said.
Full Story
By: Tango III - 2nd April 2010 at 21:16
DDG sinks skiff in 2nd pirate skirmish
The destroyer Farragut on Thursday sank a suspected pirate mothership in the Somali Basin. It was the Navy’s second pirate interdiction in less than 24 hours.
Farragut, the Combined Task Force 151 flagship, had responded to a piracy report from the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker Evita. Three pirate skiffs had attacked the ship 800 miles northwest of the Seychelles. The pirates fired rifles and aimed rocket propelled grenades to stop the vessel, according to a statement from 5th Fleet. Evita increased speed and fired flares to evade the attack.
Full Story
By: Tango III - 15th March 2010 at 21:06
New Force Headquarter (FHQ) Sails For Somalia Anti Piracy Mission
At 11.00 on the 13 of March, the next Flagship of EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta, the Swedish Warship HMS CARLSKRONA, departed from Karlskrona in the south of Sweden.
It was a sunny morning with a blue sky but some ice remained on the water. Soon the conditions will be very different with temperatures around +30 degrees. On board CARLSKRONA the next Force Commander, Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Jan Törnqvist, will be embarked and take command of the FHQ EU NAVFOR on 14th April…
On departure, HMS CARLSKRONA was escorted by the Corvette HMS STOCKHOLM that participated in Sweden’s previous contribution to EU NAVFOR last year.
HMS CARLSCRONA will proceed to the Gulf of Aden, where RAdm (LH) Thörnqvist is to relieve the present Force Commander Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero onboard the EU NAVFOR Italian warship ITS ETNA who has been controlling operations in the area for the last four months. The ships will meet in the Gulf of Aden in the middle of April and formally hand over command of the EU NAVFOR Task Force.
By: Taygibay - 12th March 2010 at 14:02
More news :
Tay translation :
Atalante : 35 pirates intercepted in three days by the frigate
Nivôse
On Sunday 7th March 2010, the French frigate Nivôse acting
under european operation Atalante has intercepted eleven
Somali pirates operating off the Somalian coasts. The people
captured added themselves to twenty-four presumed pirates
already detained onboard the ship.
Operation Atalante thus registered the most important pirate
capture done in the Somalian maritime region.
Here is another news snippet about it :
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iDB_Q9Xfx9klHkrwDqsBQC_yP-RQ
Good work.
And good day all.
By: Tango III - 12th March 2010 at 13:16
Swedish Coast Guard’s first mission for EU NAVFOR
On Monday 8th March, the Swedish Coast guard Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) conducted its first formal mission for EU NAVFOR’s anti piracy operation – Atalanta.
During the next four months one of the Swedish Coast Guard aircraft, a DASH 8, will monitor the waters off the coast of Somalia providing the Force Commander with essential information on the movements of ships in the area.
Full Story
By: Tango III - 4th March 2010 at 16:35
Chinese new naval task force leaves for Gulf of Aden
A new Chinese naval task force set sail on Thursday morning from a military port in the south Hainan Island to replace the fourth batch of flotilla in the Gulf of Aden escorting merchant vessels.
The new flotilla consists of the navy’s missile destroyer DDG-168 Guangzhou, supply ship 887 Weishanhu and missile frigate FFG-568.
By: Tango III - 26th February 2010 at 16:56
RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik:
The fight against Somali pirates: tactical victories, strategic losses
Russia’s Pacific Fleet dispatched the large anti-submarine warship Marshal Shaposhnikov, a rescue tugboat and the Pechenga tanker to fight pirates off the Somali coast.
In addition to their crew, there are marines on board the auxiliary vessels and the Marshal Shaposhnikov is carrying two helicopters. The vessels, led by Captain 1st Rank Ildar Akhmerov, constitute the fourth task force that Russia has sent to Africa to ensure navigation safety.
Russian warships joined the fight against Somali pirates in the fall of 2008, when the Neustrashimy frigate was sent to the Gulf of Aden from the Baltic Sea. The frigate, currently keeping those waters safe for navigation, will be replaced by the group led by the Marshal Shaposhnikov.
In total nearly 20 countries, including leading NATO member states, India, China and several Arab countries, have sent warships to Somali coast. Three groups of warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have convoyed over 100 merchant vessels from 26 countries and repelled more than 20 pirate attacks.
During its second tour of duty in the Gulf of Aden, the Neustrashimy accompanied 15 convoys of over 50 tankers and other merchant vessels from different countries.
Full Story
By: Tango III - 22nd February 2010 at 18:36
Canadian Halifax-class frigate to begin counter-terrorism operation
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton will commence maritime security operations against terrorism in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman region. HMCS Fredericton is deployed under Operation SAIPH on a six-month mission to the Arabian Sea and the waters around the Horn of Africa to conduct counter-piracy and counter-terror operations with Canada’s coalition partners. For this phase of her deployment under Operation SAIPH, the Halifax-based frigate will be integrated into the multinational coalition fleet known as Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150).
Full Story
By: F35b - 10th February 2010 at 11:30
Does anyone else notice that the Type 22’s seem to have been getting worked alot harder in recent years than other ships? Everytime i see a ship deployed to the gulf and and east of suez it seems to be a Type 22. Is it just the flag duties they have or maybe they have good air-con or maybe the RN are trying use them up before out of service dates?
By: Tango III - 9th February 2010 at 14:54
HMS Chatham begins counter-piracy operation
The Royal Navy warship HMS Chatham has arrived in the Gulf of Aden to take part in NATO’s counter-piracy mission, Operation OCEAN SHIELD, off the Horn of Africa and in the Somali Basin.
The Plymouth-based Type 22 frigate and multi-national task groups are helping protect merchant ships, many of which bring goods into the UK, as they transit this busy sea.
Since leaving the UK at the beginning of January 2010, HMS Chatham’s crew have been carrying out ‘mission rehearsal’, practising tactics and procedures.
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December 6, 2008 at 12:27 pm