Are the pirates getting tips?

Fri, 04/10/2009 - 9:52am

The United States is scrambling this morning to save a hostaged captain from Somali pirates -- calling in back up that includes FBI hostage negotiators, more warships, and just about every high-profile military and diplomatic figure who will reassure the American press. The drama is being scrupulously reported elsewhere (most recent update: the pirates want booty), so I'll save you the repetition.

I'm interested in a different question: Just how exactly have pirates managed to out-scramble the world's top navy? If neither the U.S. Navy, nor the EU, NATO, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian vessels were able to spot this pirate attacker coming on the vast seas... how do the Somali pirates find the ships they hijack? In theory, the sea is equally vast and equally sparsely populated on both sides of the looking glass.

One interesting theory comes from NightWatch: 

Several commentators highlighted the changed tactics by which some Somali pirate groups manage to seize ships far from the coast. What they do not provide is the hypothesis that this proves the existence of a well organized criminal syndicate with modern communications that link pirates to agents in port authorities from Kenya to the Suez Canal. The business is too big and rich to fail simply because modern frigates are present.  

It makes good sense. Why? Pirates have money and they can pay for tips. Port authorities, particularly in Kenya, are likely paid irregularly and poorly (particularly in comparison to pirate rates). The pirates have also shown that they are willing and able to infiltrate government authorities -- as they often do in their home in Puntland, Somalia.

No good news there. Cracking down on internal corruption among port authorities would be about as easy as, say, stopping a piracy epidemic in the Gulf of Aden. 

Photo: U.S. Navy

Elizabeth Dickinson | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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How?

by Don Bacon on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 12:03pm

There is outstanding fishing off the coast of Somalia, with some delicacies turning enormous profits in Asian food markets. Somali fisherman usually tow 3-4 skiffs behind a larger fishing vessel well out to sea, then the fisherman will use the skiffs to fish larger areas of the sea in coordination with the mothership for large catches.

There are typically around 6000 small fishing skiffs off the coast of Somalia and in the region, with an additional many hundred larger fishing vessels (similar to dhows) in the region. It is very difficult to tell the difference between a fishing vessel and a pirate vessel, all of the vessels look the same.

A larger vessel, that looks exactly like a larger fishing vessel, will pull several skiffs (which also look like fishing skiffs) out to sea, then the pirates will take their ropes, hooks, weapons, and even GPS enabled systems, laptops, and other modern technologies on the skiffs to chase down and hijack commercial ships.
--from Information Disemination

plus

by Don Bacon on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 12:35pm

Ships transiting the area can easily be determined by listening in on VHF radio communications or off the web at sites that list Suez Canal transits, etc. One example:
http://www.lethsuez.com/suez_transits_grid.asp

Q Ships

by Forlornehope on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 4:59am

During the first World War the Royal Navy responded to the U Boat threat by sending out Q Ships. These were merchant ships manned by Royal Navy crews with heavy, concealed, weapons. A first hand account is in the book "My Mystery Ships" by Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell. The Germans thought this was an unfair tactic but then it was an America who said that the reason the sun never set on the British Empire was that God wouldn't trust an Englishman in the dark.

There would appear to be some scope for similar tactics in dealing with pirates.

If the "Q" seems familiar in the context of gadgets, remember that Ian Fleming worked in Naval Intelligence.