Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies

Description

Almost every country has made maritime piracy and sea robbery a crime, and numerous intergovernmental and industry initiatives have urged states to adopt antipiracy measures. Criminalization alone, however, has not solved the problem. States have been reluctant to search for pirates for numerous reasons, including the cost of antipiracy patrols, the suspicions of neighboring countries, and the persistence of unsettled territorial claims. By contrast, modern pirates may be highly mobile, and can be equipped with sophisticated navigational equipment and powerful weapons. Despite these difficulties, several antipiracy measures are in place, including improved ship registration and identification systems (such as ShipLoc); the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Center, which has been supplemented by such regional antipiracy agreements as ReCAAP; and coordinated antipiracy patrols like MALSINDO. In many regions, such as the Malacca Strait, coastal states have made fighting piracy a priority and have achieved substantial progress. Success in piracy suppression will ultimately require coordinated efforts by states and shipowners. Almost all the many proposals for international cooperation are voluntary. They take time to build, and none are likely to be effective in all situations. For the foreseeable future, therefore, maritime security advocates will need to remain firm in their commitments to a comprehensive range of policies—national and multinational, on land and at sea—if they hope to control piracy. The international community can increase cooperation in a number of areas to manage piracy. It can ensure that the ISPS Code is enforced by flag states and port states. It can create a global surveillance system for international shipping. It can ensure that ships can alert authorities if attacked. It can ensure that piracy alerts are promptly reported to the appropriate flag-state and port-state authorities. It can ensure that maritime forces have the legal authority to respond and are prepared to do so when necessary. It can encourage affected countries to enact domestic legislation under which pirates can be tried. However, when these efforts fail, as they clearly have off Somalia, naval force will inevitably be called upon as the weapon of last resort.