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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:28 am
Time: 3:28 am
Results for pirates (somalia)
5 results foundAuthor: Gilpin, Raymond Title: Counting the Costs of Somali Piracy Summary: The upsurge in attacks by Somali pirates between 2005 and mid-2009 reflects decades of political unrest, maritime lawlessness and severe economic decline. Piracy has dire implications for economic development and political stability in Somalia, with economic prospects constrained, business confidence compromised and human security worsening. It could also have a destabilizing effect on global trade and security unless immediate steps are taken to craft a coordinated strategy to address the complex factors that trigger and sustain crime and impunity on the high seas. However, poorly designed and implemented strategies could inadvertently strengthen the hand of extremists in and around Somalia. The Somali authorities and their international partners should plan for a sustained application of “smart power” by all stakeholders. This paper offers practical strategies to mitigate the rising costs of Somali piracy and lay the foundation for lasting peace. Details: Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2009. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed November 27, 2010 at: http://www.usip.org/files/resources/1_0.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Somalia URL: http://www.usip.org/files/resources/1_0.pdf Shelf Number: 120282 Keywords: Armed Robbery Against ShipsCosts of CrimeMaritime CrimePiracy/PiratesPirates (Somalia) |
Author: Percy, Sarah Title: The Business of Piracy in Somalia Summary: This paper argues that contrary to conventional wisdom, Somali piracy is likely to increase if Somalia's domestic stability is improved, and that naval counter-piracy efforts had limited and unpredicted effects. To make this argument we analyze the underlying factors driving piracy off the coast of Somalia and examine the effectiveness of the international naval anti-piracy mission. We show that while the navies perform well with respect to their declared aims, they failed to resolve the piracy problem through 2009: pirates were not deterred from attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and have expanded their operations in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Evidence from domestic conditions in Somalia suggests that land-based approaches focusing on rebuilding state capabilities may also backfire as economic development and greater stability aid pirates. We examine the incentives of the various interest groups in the Gulf of Aden and conclude that the key players have an interest in the continuation of the piracy off Somalia, as long as violence does not escalate and ransoms remain at their current modest levels. Details: Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research, 2010. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 1033: Accessed November 27, 2010 at: http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.358500.de/dp1033.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Somalia URL: http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.358500.de/dp1033.pdf Shelf Number: 120283 Keywords: Maritime CrimePiracy/PiratesPirates (Somalia) |
Author: Hansen, Stig Jarle Title: Piracy in the Greater Gulf of Aden: Myths, Misconception and Remedies Summary: This report explores several of the most commonly stated causes of Somali piracy, as well as the history and structure of Somali piracy, showing that piracy is rather a spatiotemporal and geographically constrained phenomenon than a general Somali phenomenon, which started after the collapse of Somalia in 1991. Solutions must take this into consideration, focus on local conditions in the pirate areas and the causes that made piracy explode, first in 2004-2005, and most recently in 2008 and onwards. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, 2009. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: NIBR Report 2009:29: Accessed November 27, 2010 at: http://www.nibr.no/uploads/publications/26b0226ad4177819779c2805e91c670d.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Somalia URL: http://www.nibr.no/uploads/publications/26b0226ad4177819779c2805e91c670d.pdf Shelf Number: 120285 Keywords: Maritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPiracy/PiratesPirates (Somalia) |
Author: World Bank, Regional Vice-Presidency for Africa Title: Pirates of Somalia: Ending the Threat, Rebuilding a Nation Summary: The global fight against piracy in Somalia has centered on prosecuting pirates and mobilizing naval forces. But to get to the root cause of the problem, the international community must focus on helping the nation build a functional political system. Three elements – political capital, manpower and financial resources – form the foundation of the hijack-for-ransom phenomenon in Somalia, where a history of inter- and intra-clan competition and European colonization has left many areas without functioning institutions, according to the study. That has allowed pirates to recruit local youth, buy guns and speedboats, and most importantly, secure coastal areas where they can anchor hijacked vessels for months or years. Pirates in the East African nation favor places such as Puntland and Central Somalia, which provide enough political stability to do business in, but not enough state control to challenge piracy operations. They then use bribes and physical threats to tilt the balance of power between politicians and gain long-term access to the coasts. The cost of that political operation takes up as much as 86% of the piracy proceeds, according to the study. A large sum – sometimes $300,000 per vessel – goes to government officials, businessmen, clans, militia and religious leaders as bribes and “development fees” to make sure the politicians won’t interfere in the piracy business. Crewmembers, often hired from a particular clan or location, command significantly higher salaries than local wages. Pirates also pay more than locals do for meal services, energy, and water. Given the local custom of resource sharing, piracy proceeds trickle down to local residents and other stakeholders, creating a favorable political environment in which the pirates can operate. Their success has global consequences. Between 2005 and 2012, more than 3,740 crewmembers from 125 countries fell prey to Somali pirates, and as many as 97 died. On the Somali side, the number of pirates lost at sea is believed to be in the hundreds. The ransom extracted during that period rose to as much as $385 million. Piracy also hurts trade, as shippers are forced to alter trading routes and pay more for fuel and insurance premiums, costing the world economy $18 billion a year, the study estimates. Since 2006, tourism and fish catches, as well as other outputs from coastal commerce, have declined in neighboring countries in East Africa. Somalia’s economy is not spared either: piracy-related trade costs are at $6 million a year, without taking into account the fact that potential sea-based economic activities are constrained by piracy. The collaboration between pirates and Islamist insurgent groups also has raised concerns about Somalia’s political stability. The international community has mostly focused on offshore measures to fight piracy, such as increasing naval pressure and onboard security, which have helped reduce the number of hijacks. But ending piracy would call for those costly measures to be expanded and made permanent, which wouldn’t be sustainable in the long run. Efforts that target onshore prevention, such as paying youth more to discourage them from joining the pirates, would only prompt owners to pay crew members more. Given the poverty rates among the population from which the pirates are typically recruited, owners can afford to pay pirates more without significantly hurting profit. To end piracy off the Horn of Africa, the study urges a paradigm shift away from perpetrators and toward the enablers of piracy. With a limited number of suitable coastal areas available to anchor hijacked ships, piracy would be less profitable if Somalia removes access to safe anchorage points or significantly raises the price for coastal access. In addition, the central government can offer incentives – along with built-in monitoring mechanisms – to encourage local stakeholders to stop pirate activity and learn from the success and failure of Afghanistan’s policies targeting opium poppy production and Colombia’s against coca production. At the heart of this policy agenda lies the need to better understand the political economy of resource sharing, so that winners and losers are properly identified and compensated. The lessons from the study go beyond piracy eradication and speak to the fundamental issue of state building in Somalia. Details: Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2013. 216p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed May 2, 2013 at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/pirates-of-somalia-main-report-web.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Somalia URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/pirates-of-somalia-main-report-web.pdf Shelf Number: 128601 Keywords: HijackingsMaritime CrimesPiracyPirates (Somalia) |
Author: Do, Quy-Toan Title: Pirates of Somalia: Crime and Deterrence on the High Seas Summary: Piracy off the coast of Somalia took the world by surprise when, within a six-year span (2005-2011), as many as 1,099 ships were attacked, among which more than 200 were successfully hijacked. In 2012 however, attacks had plummeted with no new hijacking reported between 2013 and mid-2015. We quantitatively investigate the roles of two crime deterrence measures widely believed to be responsible for the collapse of Somali piracy: the deployment of international navies in pirate-infested waters and the provision of armed security guards onboard vessels. Using unique data on attacks, hijacks, and ransoms to calibrate a structural model of Somali piracy, we estimate the elasticity of crime with respect to deterrence and highlight the positive and negative spillovers generated by the private adoption of onboard armed security. We discuss counterfactual scenarios obtained by varying the intensity and composition of deterrence measures. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Working Paper, no 7757: Accessed july 29, 2016 at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/07/26585012/pirates-somalia-crime-deterrence-high-seas Year: 2016 Country: Somalia URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/07/26585012/pirates-somalia-crime-deterrence-high-seas Shelf Number: 139888 Keywords: Hijackings Maritime Crimes Piracy Pirates (Somalia) |