In the early 2000's, hundreds of piracy incidents were reported every year off the coast of the Horn of Africa. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of millions of dollars and threatened to sell the hostage to Al-Shabaab if the ransom wasn't paid.
The Horn of Africa became the epicenter of modern-day piracy, with Somali fishermen defending their waters turning into an organized criminal network
Pirates are sailors who utilize the expanse of the open ocean to rob and steal and run sophisticated businesses. They have always existed, and some of them were poor men who were looking for money and social mobility Here's a map of all the piracy incidents over the past 40 years, most of them in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of a country where piracy uniquely could thrive.
The government of Somalia collapsed in the early 90s, and local clans started to control patches of the country. Foreign fishing boats took advantage of this free-for-all to fish in Somali waters, destroying the ecosystem and depleting the fish stock.
Companies from Switzerland and Italy were illegally paying corrupt factions of the Somali government to take their toxic waste to Somalia.
Somali fishermen formed an ocean militia, called the Coast Guard, and used tiny boats to chase down foreign fishing vessels and demand that they pay a fine. At first, Somali piracy was rare, with only a handful of successful incidents every year.
Pirates were filling in on the power vacuum left by their non-existent government, and they intimidated crews to collect fines or informal license fees for fishing in their waters. But the Christmas 2004 tsunami hit Somalia, killing 150 people and crippling an already delicate economy and food supply.
At this point, Somalia is still not one country, with competing clans and warlords, terrorism and organized crime networks. Piracy is also growing Pirates started using motherships, larger ships that allowed them to go further off their coast, and speedboats to attack cargo ships. They started using radar, GPS systems, satellite phones, and looked at shipping industry blogs and databases to locate and track shipping vessels.
A journalist named Michael Scott Moore was kidnapped by Somali pirates and held for almost three years before being released for a $1.6 million ransom. Ransoms changed everything, and pirates attracted the attention of warlords who saw a business opportunity.
Warlords wanted to fund hijackings like this one where pirates held a Ukrainian coal ship hostage for $700,000 or this Japanese ship and crew for $2 million.
By 2007, around 30% of all pirate attacks occurred within this circle, and by 2009, Somalia was home to nearly half of all piracy incidents on Earth. The average ransom was a million dollars, and $30 million was paid out that year.
All of this ransom cash kicked off a pirate economy cycle where pirates would attack a ship, hold the crew hostage, and get paid a high ransom, which would make the clan leader warlord rich.
In 2009, Reuters reported that a pirate town had created a stock exchange where people could invest in piracy businesses and make money. One person made $75,000 in just a couple months.
- The clan leaders were getting rich off these pirate businesses. They built massive villas and bought luxury cars and threw lavish parties.
Some pirate groups still tried to make a moral case as to why they were justified in doing this, saying that this was retaliation for all of the exploitation of Somali waters by foreign countries. But the moral argument became really thin once warlords got involved. One seaman from mainland was killed by Somali pirates when they hijacked UN ships that were full of food and medical aid meant for Somali people.
By 2011, there were 237 piracy incidents, 1,200 hostages were taken, and $35 of them died while in captivity. The average ransom was $5 million, and $150 million was paid in ransoms.
In 2005, pirates attacked a luxury cruise ship full of Western tourists. One rocket grenade blew up the whole cabin, but the ship escaped and the incident still led to global news coverage.
In 2008, a Ukrainian ship was hijacked by pirates who demanded $35 million to give back a shipment of tanks and grenades and ammunition bound for Sudan. The U.S. and Russia sent in their navys to monitor the situation.
The biggest event in Somali piracy happened a few months later, when the Navy Seals shot three of the four pirates and rescued the crew. This incident spread into the international news cycle.
As we were reporting this story, we kept asking experts why this problem was so difficult to solve. We now know that it's because guns are illegal on international shipping vessels, and because navy ships don't look like pirates until it's too late.
Despite all these challenges, governments and businesses put their heads together and figured out a way to protect ships from pirates. They put barbed wire and razor wire around their ships, increased their surveillance, created a safe room or a citadel, and allowed ships to employ armed guards.
After their all-time high in 2011, hijacking incidents plummeted because of these interventions. But this leaves us with a complicated resolution here, because these communities were left behind by their government, and their waters have been poisoned by toxic waste, and their country pillaged.
Piracy was solved in the Horn of Africa because of these interventions, at least for the most part, but it started popping up again on the other side of the continent. Nigerian pirates are now boarding oil tankers to steal the oil that they feel was stolen from their land.
I’ve always wanted to look into Somali pirates, but I never really understood the story. There are a lot of politics involved, and I’m curious to hear what people have to say about it.
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