In the public consciousness, the image of a pirate is a departed one-eyed sailor on a wooden leg with a parrot on his shoulder, shouting “Piastras! Piastres! Modern Somali pirates look different, although, as some conspiracy theorists believe, their heyday in the early 2000s is associated with the release of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise on the world screens. However, the reality is simpler and more poignant.
The fish is over, it's time to take up arms
The civil war in Somalia did not subside since the late 60s of the XX century, almost immediately as soon as the local tribes freed themselves from colonial dependence. The state as such practically did not exist, and as Alexander Shirokorad writes in the book "The Weapons of the Domestic Fleet", already in the 70s episodes of piracy were noted off the coast, due to which Soviet warships were equipped with large-caliber machine guns.
Those who did not want to fight fished by poaching. But in the early 2000s, the reserves were depleted due to predatory fishing in the coastal zone of Somalia by all and sundry - the state existed nominally. The first reports of Somali pirates date back to 2005; the situation was not changed even by the invasion of neighboring Ethiopia's troops in 2006, who planted a puppet government in the capital.
Piracy flourished in Puntland, a self-proclaimed state in the former Somalia. According to the UN, piracy in Somalia is controlled by organized crime. The resource of motor boats is not enough to reach the sea routes. And halfway to them there are tanker ships, which are whole floating pirate bases (and such a ship is expensive, not affordable for ex-fishermen).
There is a stock exchange in Somalia, where shares of about 70 companies are traded. As a currency, not only money is used here, but also fuel, weapons or drugs. The stock exchange is a completely different world for illiterate fishermen. “Shareholders” receive income depending on the shareholding they own. In total, there were 5 large pirate gangs with a total number of about 1,000 militants.
In 2010, the most "fruitful" year for pirates, 47 ships were hijacked, and the total ransom was $ 238 million. On average, the annual production of pirates was about $ 150 million. The damage from their actions, according to the estimates of the consulting company Geopolicity Inc, was $ 15 billion.
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Increasingly, the Somalis were seizing ocean-going supertankers. One ship cost $ 250 million. But the pirates demanded an order of magnitude less and agreed to a drop in price. So, at first they asked for $ 25 million for the Sirius Star tanker, but then they agreed to $ 3 million. Each pirate received $ 30 - $ 75 thousand from the seizure, an additional $ 5 thousand was received by the first person to board. At the same time, the risks were minimal - commercial ships did not have weapons, speed served as protection, or, in the best case, "fire" from firefighting hoses.
Agents from the Somali diasporas around the world actively worked for the pirates, sending them money and equipment, transmitting information about the routes of ships. A scheme has been set up to transfer money back overseas, mainly to Djibouti, the UAE and Kenya. Internet payments have flourished in Somalia.
Some pirates had baksheesh even without going to sea. So the commander of one of the gangs, Mohammad Abdi Khaer, received 20 million euros for promising to resign by disbanding the group. They did not check the fulfillment of the promise.
There were two sectors of the economy that received an impetus for development due to the actions of pirates: insurance of ships and services of private military companies.
Fire on the pirates
The first case of the use of force against pirates was recorded in April 2008, when the French ocean-going yacht Le Ponan with 32 important passengers was hijacked. France dispatched an elite GIGN detachment, which recaptured all the prisoners.
It was 2008 that became the "hottest" year for pirates. NATO carried out 3 military operations against pirates. Separately, the EU countries for the first time in their history conducted the Atalanta naval operation. For the first time in a couple of centuries, China has sent warships outside its territorial waters. To no avail.
The European bureaucracy defended the rights of pirates. The ECHR awarded 14 thousand euros in compensation to several Somali pirates who were being held in improper conditions.
All progressive mankind was outraged by the actions of the Russian special forces from the Marshal Shaposhnikov ship, which in 2010 liberated the tanker Moscow University. All 10 captured pirates were put into a boat and released 500 miles offshore. Soon the boat "disappeared from the radar."
The problem was solved by Sheikh Al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi (capital over $ 150 billion). With no remorse, they hired $ 50 million in mercenaries from Eric Prince's infamous private military company Blackwater. Prince assembled a squad of Puntland Maritime Police Force and conducted several tough raids. And since 2012, pirates have not been heard for 5 years.
A lone attack on an Iranian tanker happened on March 13, 2017, but the vessel was eventually released without ransom. Since then, Somali pirates have not made themselves felt.
Konstantin Baranovsky