Source: The East African ( Nairobi)
November 15, 2005
by Abdulkadir Khalif
Nairobi
When the cruise liner mv Seabourn Spirit, narrowly evaded a hijack bid by pirates off Somalia two weeks ago, the international spotlight turned once again to the world's most lawless coastal waters.
The Bahamas-registered ship had 302 passengers on board when the pre-dawn attack occurred 165 km off the coast on November 5. People in Somalia, and Mogadishu in particular, who bear the brunt of militia violence on a daily basis, were pleased that the tourists escaped unscathed. They were reportedly heading for Mombasa, Kenya.
People around the world are increasingly perturbed by the reports of piracy along the Indian Ocean, both inshore and offshore.
According to a recently released report by the International Maritime Board, at least 23 hijackings and attempted seizures have been recorded off the Somali coast since March this year. Questions are being asked as to why a sealane only a decade ago was relatively untroubled has suddenly become one of the most risky in the world for shipping lines.
For many Somalis, especially marine experts and costal dwellers, it all began when foreign fishing boats started invading the country's fishing grounds after the fall of the Somali government in the early 1990s. When the various rebel groups that had toppled the government failed to fill the vacuum and instead turned on each other, an opportunity arose for foreign vessels to invade the country's territorial waters and marine economic zone to fish for diverse species.
The unscrupulous foreigners were simply taking advantage of the confusion created by the civil war to catch whatever they wanted. Their vessels were widely reportedly to be using universally prohibited fishing equipment, including nets with very small mesh sizes and sophisticated underwater lighting systems to lure fish to their traps.
Somali coastal dwellers have been crying for help to stop this fishing for nearly a decade, but nothing has been done.
"The trawlers began to come closer to the coast - looking for lucrative fish species - triggering direct confrontation between the foreign vessels and Somali inshore fishermen," Omar Abdulle Hayle, a Mogadishu based fishery expert says.
"Criticism of the illegal fishing came from the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), a United Nations body, but its words were not backed by deeds, ending up having no effect," Mr Hayle added.
Somali fishermen complained that their nets and other fishing equipment were repeatedly destroyed. There were reports of small boats being crushed by larger vessels and nets and their catches being taken by the foreign fishermen. "We have been lucky that foreigners have not landed on our beaches to take over our villages and mud huts," observed Ally Bakari, a fisherman in Brava district, 210 kilometres south of Mogadishu.
The local fishing community's resentment led to a quest for revenge. Eventually, some youth tried to chase away the foreign trawlers using speedboats and guns. The intruders promptly changed their tactics in the face of this challenge. They reportedly sought licenses to fish along the coast from local warlords who readily supplied them with "permits."
This gave the trawlers a new lease of life as they could continue operating without fear of the local youth. Lately, the youth's attempt to scare the trawlers away, whether "permitted" or not, have met stiff resistance with the intruders responding with firearms and even pressurised hoses to capsize the smaller boats.
"Our boys lost hope when they realised that the trawlers' licensees supplied them with armed militias to overpower opponents," said Mr Bakari.
It is widely believed that the local youths' frustration was eventually turned from the foreign fishing vessels to commercial boats. Armed with speedboats and an array of weapons, the youth realised cargo ships were soft targets. Until eight months ago, the occasional capture of a ship was their only success story. Even then, they simply released it after securing some small payments as ransom. Lately, however, the youth's random requests have grown from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands.
In the past six months, 13 boats have been hijacked by the pirates. Three of the ships were delivering relief food from the World Food Programme for Somalis whose lives were affected by natural disasters like drought, floods and the tsunami of December 2004.
Others were commercial vessels either heading for or coming from Somali harbours while others were simply on the high seas. There must then be good incentives inducing more and more youth into becoming pirates.
There have been reports that disagreements within the gangs occasionally lead to one group eliminating another. Mr Hayle said it is ironic that the International Maritime Board, the International Maritime Organisation and other bodies are now pointing accusing fingers at the pirates.
"It is a pure act of hypocrisy by the IMB, IMO and others to issue a warning on piracy along the Somali coast and suggest strong action while they remained silent when foreign vessels were exploiting Somali fish resources illegally and even dumping toxic waste in the country."
East and Southern African countries, including Somalia's new Transitional Federal Government have called for a stop to the piracy. Their concern is justified because piracy along the Somali coast can directly affect their imports, exports and even tourism. A ship loaded with cargo from South Africa was captured in early September and another from Egypt met the same fate a few days later.
Relief organisations in the region were also badly affected as humanitarian cargoes got stuck when WFP-hired ships failed to reach their destinations, causing food to rot.
According to Mr Hayle, a vicious cycle has been created, which needs to be broken if stakeholders are to defuse the dangerous situation building up along the Somali coast.
"The first foreign fishing boats, which discovered that Somali waters were not guarded, encouraged many others to venture into the illegal fishing," Mr Hayle said. "Attempts to stop the foreign trawlers produced armed gangs that are now more interested in hijacking defenceless commercial ships, which possibly give them better rewards in terms of ransom payment."
"The Somali coastline has to be properly guarded and all unauthorised boats, whether fishing fleets or toxic waste dumpers, should be ordered out," said Osman Mohamed Yalahow, a Mogadishu resident. "No lasting solution can be attained unless the international community assists the Somali government to take full control of Somalia's aquatic territory."
In a recent press interview, the Somali Minister for Marine Transport, Ali Ismael Abdi Gheer, condemned piracy in the region, but admitted that his government lacked the capacity to contain the pirates.
"We can better serve the Somali people and the world at large if we form a common front against the hard-hearted outlaws committing heinous crimes at sea," Mr Gheer said. "We should not remain silhouetted in meditation. It will send the gangs a signal to harm at will," he added.
Many Somalis believe that piracy can be contained by government machinery and international support. "Anything short of quick action will encourage other radical groups to emulate the pirates," said Mr Yalahow.
The East African (Nairobi)
