Writes Leo Odera Omolo
PIRACY in the Indian sea route to Eat African coastline Ocean has dropped to the lowest level in three years.
According to the information released two weeks ago by the Colorado-based International Maritime Bureau – {IMB}- a specialized department of the International Chamber of Commerce-there were only 70 attacks on ships by Somali pirates in the first nine months of this year ,compared with 199 in the corresponding period last year.
The report adds, “As from July to September this year, Somali pirates attacked only one ship, compared with 36 incidents over the same period last year.”
This drop, says the report, brings the global figures for piracy and armed robbery at high sea down at to 233 incidents since 2008.
“It’s good news that hijackings have dropped, but there can be no room for complacency; these waters are still extremely high-risk and the naval presence must be maintained,” the Organization’s director Capt Makundan said.
Last year, maritime operators incurred approximately USD 635 million on war risk as well as kidnap and ransom insurance,USD1,06 and 1,16 billion on security equipment’s and guards and USD 486 -680 on re-routing, according to the IMB a trade research and advocacy group One Earth Future Foundation.
The operators also incurred loses of USD 160 million in ransom from 33 incidents, and costs the world economy between USD 6.6 billion last year. However, the Somali pirates are still holding 11 foreign vessels for ransom wit 167 crew members as hostages as of September 30,2012.
However, IMB warns seafarers to remain vigilant in the high risk waters around Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, Indonesia, and the South East Asia.
The Colorado-based organization said piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is becoming increasingly dangerous {34 incidents from January to September 2012}, up from 30 last year and has pushed westward from Benin to neighboring Togo.
The attacks are often violent, planned and aimed at stealing refined oil products which can be casually sold in the open market.’ The report said, adding that the pirates often damage communication and navigation equipment to cover their tracks once the vessel is hijacked.
Globally, pirates have killed at least six crew and taken 446 seafarers hostage this year..IMB Piracy Reporting Center recorded that 125 vessels were boarded, 24 hijacked and 26 fired upon. In addition, 58 attempted attacks were reported.
The IMB has been monitoring global piracy since 1991.
At the same time it has been reported that 10 Somalis have been given jail sentence term of up to seven years in Germany for hijacking a cargo ship.
The pirates raided a German vessel MV Tipan, 530 miles of the Horn of Africa in April 2010,with the hope to extort ransom of about USD one million, Humburg state court Justice Bernd Seinmmetz said. A number of countries have also arrested and tried Somali pirates since last year.
The new development comes barely a month after the Kenya Defense Forces together with African Union soldiers and Somali army fighting Al-Shaabab captured Kismayu.
The Somali coastline is among the world most dangerous stretches of waters due to piracy.
Ends
Somalia, an insult to African stability.
East and Horn of Africa the most.
By Douglas O. Majwala
East African Economy flops to doldrums and heading to recession if meltdown in Somalia is not subdued. Disorder in the horn of Africa should swiftly-jointly be pursued with long lasting objectivity. Forging an economic block is never a cure for underdevelopment if security is not prioritized. Sooner or later the world will be paralyzed by the tough painful u-turn decision by the shippers and land-locked to divert to Southern Africa for safer anchoring and it will be to the detriment of EAC.
The jealous anti-EAC’s economic growth elements may capitalize in the insecurity to reach decisions whose eventuality will be to overthrow EAC progress. Keen serious leadership is needed to zero-in the situation with strong socio-economic and political will. The renaissance of EAC should not be mistaken for attainment of individual political excellence whilst the status-quo of the citizenry suffers the most.
A joint military reconnaissance along with heavy-duty diplomatic surveillance must be deployed to denounce longstanding global insurgency. Apathy about Somalia ambiguity was first given room by the late ex president Gen. Siad Barre who declared in an OAU meeting when he chaired the body that Somalia will never go off-course [astray] because it is a unique symbol of oneness that has ever existed in the globe and went as far as highlighting religion, culture, language and tribe to be standard for all Somalis in one Somalia including the Diaspora, he did not know it was a serious oversight for him as today what used to be known as Somalia is almost not there including himself [buried in a foreign land].
Strong agendas that need be addressed to rescue Somalia from wiping out of world geo-political atlas are: Appraise the country profile by doing the following: writing an interim constitution, forming national military and security forces which are heavily armed, preaching the positive side [not tit for tat] of religion that emphasizes love for one another as a priority pillar for seeing God, establishing comprehensive judiciary system, arraigning all perpetrators to International Court of Criminology ICC and after proven guilty be given amnesty instead of jail terms “a Mandela’s peace and reconciliation initiative cured all scars of Apartheid.”
Others are; transforming all ethnic parties into legally registered political parties, aligning all war lords to form a government of national unity, assisting the government to beef up marine security and declare Somali waters a buffer zone controlled by international community, re-vitalize government coffers by drawing an economic marshal plan, disarmament, revive a fully fledged diplomatic links including economic diplomacy [naturally Somalis are the Indians of Africa as they are talented in commerce] to make Somalia not look segregated from rest of the world.
It is childish philosophy to leave Somalis alone solve Somali predicament; it will result in regional holocaust beyond control, hence international community, bordering countries and individual country support should top the priority list for finding a panacea to Somali unrest. In this, I agree that many clicks may not spoil the browse.
Douglas O. Majwala [majwalaoriko@yahoo.co.uk]
Rorya-Tanzania.