Diplomatic Efforts Against the Gulf of Aden Pirates ,(The Harvard International Review)

James Kraska is a guest investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a member of the faculty of the International Law Department at the Naval War College and previously served as Oceans Policy Adviser in the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon.
Brian Wilson commands a Navy legal office in Washington, D.C and previously served as Oceans Policy Adviser in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
Twenty thousand ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, transporting cargo that includes 12% of the world’s daily oil supply. In 2008, maritime piracy gangs operating from Somalia focused worldwide attention on the region by attacking a hundred vessels, hijacking ships, and seizing crew as hostages. Reminiscent of the Barbary pirates who terrorized the Mediterranean during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, these modern pirates are holding 300 seafarers from 25 different nations and dozens of ships near Haradhere, Somalia, awaiting ransom for their release. Warships can thwart some attacks, but the only lasting solution to the problem requires reestablishment of a stable government and the rule of law ashore. In the meantime piracy can best be deterred through a regional maritime security agreement, enhanced capabilities for East African states to police their areas, and bilateral commitments to support prosecution efforts. These actions must be taken to protect freedom of the seas, which is the basis of international trade and shared economic prosperity.
Modern Responses to an Ancient Threat
Attracted by lucrative profits, between 1,400 and 2,000 Somali pirates are operating in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean. One attack can procure as much as $10,000--a fantastic sum in a poverty-stricken area. “All you need is three guys and a little boat,” a former captain in the Somali navy commented, “and the next day you’re millionaires.” November 2008 was an especially productive month for the pirates. They seized the Liberian-flagged M/V Biscaglia, a chemical tanker with a crew that included dozens of Indians, and the Ukranian-flagged Faina, which had been transporting 33 Russian tanks and related supplies to the nascent democratic Sudan People’s Liberation Army. The 1,000-foot supertanker Sirius Star, which had been carrying $100 million in oil bound for the United States, was also hijacked nearly 500 miles East of Kenya. ..more..http://www.harvardir.org/index.php?page=article&id=1822