22 Hostages and a Ship rescued in Somali (yeah, another Pirate thread!)

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by minaret

If I remember the story correctly, the Puntlanders "army" "laid siege" to the vessel for a week. And yet somehow all eight pirates "escaped". At least someone bothered to rescue those guys. Another few years and maybe the Red Sea route will become an option again...

I don't think 8 Pirates escaping actually matters a jot - it's not as if Somalia is short of folks with AK47's willing to do stuff.

What I would do is make sure nothing onboard was working (nor repairable) and then invite the locals onboard to remove anything (left?!) for scrap as part of demonstrating that the ship has no cash value and then explain that it would usually be scrapped but because of the costs involved in towing her elsewhere it is simply not commercially viable. and that as the insurance has paid out to the owners they are neither interested, nor actually own it anymore.

And therefore she will be left where is until such time as someone in Somalia can find a way to scrap her. For me it would be a good way of making it clear that the Pirates had just spent a couple of years guarding something that was actually worthless ......do that a few times and even the thickest of Pirates would start to catch on that not much money in stealing scrap metal - that can't be easily disposed of.

If Puntland can get forces deployed along it's shores, at least now and again (and ideally also a coast guard boat or 2 - with a big gun or 3!, with Somali style Rules of Engagement ) then would move the problem further south. Doesn't 100% solve the problem but anything that makes the job for the Pirates more difficult and more expensive would help make the business less viable and therefore less attractive.........I reckon in 2 or 3 years the Pirate threat will have receded to the point that a run through the area is no longer suicidal - "safe" might take a while longer .

[sailorboy1]

I bet there is a lot more behind the scenes than the story gives out. After all this time suddenly the Punters decide to seize the hijacked ship, a little hard to believe?

Did the pirates stop making their payments to the "gov't officals"?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I bet there is a lot more behind the scenes than the story gives out. After all this time suddenly the Punters decide to seize the hijacked ship, a little hard to believe?

Did the pirates stop making their payments to the "gov't officals"?

Could be! But these things are never quite as straightforward as handing over a "fee" to the right person(s).

I suspect as much to do with events down South having changed the dynamics on the ground. Folks in Puntland (Govt, private or a bit of both!) now feel able to tackle folks who have lost some mojo both because they haven't been bringing in the cash from the Piracy business (cashflow is a bitch for everyone!) and also because allegiances and self interests change and connections lost. or have got themselves dead.

Could also well be that foreign powers have put some pressure on Puntland (and thrown in some incentives?) to at least give it a go onshore. I am sure Puntland not short of folks willing to take away from others simply because they can - in this case it also works to "our" advantage. The big advantage that the folks in Puntland have is that the people they are facing know they ain't going "home". Plus they are also willing to play "hardball" - Somali style!

[minaret]

Obviously the eight pirates themselves are unimportant. But if Puntland is trying to send the message that they have an effective military and are serious about combatting piracy, perhaps it would help if they actually bothered to catch the pirates in question. Otherwise they leave themselves open to all sorts of speculation, such as the "did they miss a payment" here. Of course foreign powers have "thrown in some incentive", why else would the Puntlanders care about a bit of piracy that costs them nothing and is probably great for the local economy?