Piracy on the Somali Coast

[kenny chaos]

Hey Stiffees- Get it? No prostitutes?
It's going to be a blue, christmas, without you....................

I thought most cruisers were active/former mercenaries.

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Aussiesuede

Well as long as we're talking about silly and unworkable solutions to a problem, i'll toss my silly solution into the mix...

Yeah, probably unworkable. But have you read "Three Cups of Tea"? Guy finds himself being taken care of in a remote Pakistani village & wants to repay them. So he builds them a school, so the kids don't have to go to the Taliban school (for indoctrination). He's built dozens, all with his own funding. It's a great story & a great way to quietly fight extremism.

And it might very well work in Somalia as well. Africa needs all the education it can get.

[Boracay]

As I see it the problem is the huge number of boats in the area. The vast majority are going about their lawful purpose.

How about demanding that the Somali government pass a law that every boat that leaves it's shores must have a license that includes an AIS transmitter which must always be on. The license is only for a limited area or course. Anywhere near international shipping lanes would be off limits. Any Somali boat needing to transit international shipping lanes must have satelite communications and be under surveilance as they cross.

The Somali government could appoint every international naval captain a judge under the same law, or a virtual court could be held using satellite communications.

The cost of putting AIS on every Somali boat could be less than one naval patrol.

All other boats transiting the area would also be required to have a registered AIS.

Cheapest might be to use drones that could pick up all boats on radar.

Any boat without an AIS transmitter or out of area is boarded. The "court" could look to see if they were on innocent passage, in which case they would be turned round and told to get an AIS from their government or, unless they have a very good reason, the crew is fingerprinted and DNA'd, the boat is sunk and the crew returned to a Somali coastal town at the convenience of the naval force.

[DoubleWhisky]

What do You mean as "Somali government"???
What do You mean as "law" in Somalia???

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by kenny chaos

I thought most cruisers were active/former mercenaries.

No..... they're with 'Witness Protection'..... thats why they've got all these fancy Sat links n stuff... so the minders can keep a track... oh and they've got de guns..

[Aussiesuede]

Originally Posted by Jon Hacking

Yeah, probably unworkable. But have you read "Three Cups of Tea"? Guy finds himself being taken care of in a remote Pakistani village & wants to repay them. So he builds them a school, so the kids don't have to go to the Taliban school (for indoctrination). He's built dozens, all with his own funding. It's a great story & a great way to quietly fight extremism.

And it might very well work in Somalia as well. Africa needs all the education it can get.

Thanx for the book suggestion! I took a peek at his website and am very impressed with Mr Mortensen's incredible bravery and remarkable determination to "do the right thing" is such a tumultuos region during the middle of an ongoing war. Few of us (me included) have the character to follow through on our professed convictions to anywhere near the degree of Mr. Mortenson. Good on him!

And good on you too Jon, for taking the considerable time necessary to share your AWESOME journey with us over the past decade. It's certainly been an inspiration to me, as well as countless others. I truly don't know of anyone who is more deserving of the term "Cruisers" than are you and Sue! Good on ya both!

[boatman61]

Hey... come on... Pakistans not that bad...

[markpierce]

There aren't many saints/Mortensens in this world.

He had local allies, and even he had armed bodyguards at times.

He started as a welcomed tourist in Pakistan (to climb mountains). I wouldn't consider Somali civilized enough to be a tourist location.

[Boracay]

As I understand it Somalia actually has a Government, Parliament, Laws and most of what we would consider to be government structure.

As most, if not all, of it's funding comes from the west this would suggest that it would be very amenable to passing laws to facilitate control of piracy.

Any action against pirates must have the support of relevant governments as international armed forces must act legally. It is possible that the Somali Government has already signed treaties that would make this possible.

My understanding of international law is vague but I see no impediment to a Somali Court being located outside Somalia.

The fact that the Government may only control a few small block of land in Mogadishu is irrelevant...

[s/v Beth]

A number of posts in this thread have denigrated others, advocated violence and even a little race baiting. They have been removed. This thread is in active discussion among the moderators. If you do not want it to be closed, please be polite and civil in your discussion.

[SabreKai]

From what I've read, Somalia's government is in control of about 6 square blocks of one city. (pretty much). The rest of the country is in the hands of various gangs and warlords. So to do what Boracay suggests is kind of difficult. As for putting AIS on boats, whats to stop them from unshipping it, and putting it on a raft anchored in a fishing area while they go off to do what ever it is they do?

I'm inclined to think the idea of soldier shipped aboard for a passage might be a good idea. Stationed at various points along the route, they board on the fly and leave again once the ship or boat is clear of the danger area. One or two men with their gear. They are being paid already as soldiers, and I'm sure they would love your food better than MREs or what ever dissicated dog food they get these days.

Sabre


Sabre

[Aussiesuede]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

From what I've read, Somalia's government is in control of about 6 square blocks of one city. (pretty much). The rest of the country is in the hands of various gangs and warlords. So to do what Boracay suggests is kind of difficult. As for putting AIS on boats, whats to stop them from unshipping it, and putting it on a raft anchored in a fishing area while they go off to do what ever it is they do?

I'm inclined to think the idea of soldier shipped aboard for a passage might be a good idea. Stationed at various points along the route, they board on the fly and leave again once the ship or boat is clear of the danger area. One or two men with their gear. They are being paid already as soldiers, and I'm sure they would love your food better than MREs or what ever dissicated dog food they get these days.

Sabre


Sabre

Actually the Somaliland region of Somalia is fairly well governed with functioning cities, universal phone service for near 100% of the population, operating schools & universities that are well attended, fully functional government social services, roads and infrastructure. So the people are quite capable of self governance as they are proving everyday. Its the lawlessness of areas like Mogadishu which the outside world focus's on, while completely neglecting those areas of Somalia which are functional.

Hargeisa - Somalia's second largest city.






Hargeisa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[David_Old_Jersey]

The answer is the UN and Islam

UN to legally divide the country into 3. and Islam to tame the lawless bits that are left (those fellas don't f#ck around ).

Probably a bit tricky for the West to be seen to back those who aren't very PC - but looked at as part of a long term strategy (wot dat? ) then makes sense. it's not as if "we" will have to live there


3 signs that your country is fooked - the UN and Islam is part of the answer. and the US is dropping peace & democracy from 30,000 feet

[Janet H]

After much teeth gnashing, this thread has been closed. Please remember that we are an international community and that our members come from a wide variety of backgrounds. What we share in common is an interest in Cruising. Religious discussions, political discussions and other non-cruising related topics seem to rapidly degenerate into opportunities to lambaste others and fly in the face of the Boards stated intent to be a friendly forum where are all are made to feel welcome.

Thanks for understanding