The U.S. Coast Guard is using the recent capture of seven pirates in the Gulf of Aden as a test case of how to pursue swashbucklers worldwide and submit them to international courts.
According to key Coast Guard officials, maritime security experts and military commanders are examining ways to safeguard ships transiting the East African waters and provide some semblance of order to the largely lawless region between Yemen and Somalia.
“We’re focused on providing what we call a ‘consequence delivery system,’ ” said Capt. Chuck Michel, head of the Coast Guard’s office of Maritime and International Law. “In the absence of the territorial sovereign standing up, what we’re trying to set up is some kind of legal mechanism to make it more painful for the pirates to actually go out and do their activities.”
More piracy coverage coming up later on Defense Tech.
Michel said the capture by the Navy of seven pirates who tried to take over the Marshall Islands-flagged MV Polaris Feb. 11 is a “test run” of the mechanism that the U.S. military would use in the future to deter more piracy.
“The whole follow-on … to actually getting them behind bars is an excruciating process,” Michel added during a Feb. 17 interview with military bloggers.
Sailors and Coasties involved in the captures must adhere to international norms for gathering evidence, treatment of detainees and transporting them to courts in countries willing to prosecute them. The legal tangles are daunting, but it’s now the policy of the Obama administration to curtail piracy with law enforcement measures, Michel said.
“You may actually have Coast Guard and Navy personnel [capturing] Somali pirates, who may have attacked a Panamanian vessel with a Filipino crew being tried in a Kenyan court,” Michel explained.
Piracy in the Gulf of Aden has become an increasingly visible problem, with recent high-profile captures of a Ukrainian arms ship and a Japanese transport ship resulting in millions in ransom money paid to seafaring bandits taking shelter in Somalia. But Michel pointed out that of the nearly 25,000 ships that steamed through the Horn of Africa last year, only 115 were attacked — with 46 captured.
So far this year, about 10 ships have been attacked, with only three captured. While that’s a small number relative to the amount of shipping transiting the Gulf of Aden, it’s an intolerable precedent if left unchecked.
“You have to take a look at the number of seafarers that were held captive there,” Michel added. “This is not a good thing when you’ve currently got over 100 seafarers being held at gun point. That’s a big deal … and not something the international community should tolerate.”
There are things that ships can do to help prevent attacks, said Capt. Mike Giglio, the Coast Guard’s chief of law enforcement, who has dispatched teams of Coasties to accompany Navy “visit, board and search” units hunting the marauding buccaneers.
First off, travel fast, officials say; no ships have been boarded traveling more the 16 knots at night through the area.
Private security contractors are an option for “low and slow” ships that can’t steam faster than 16 knots, as are water cannons, hard-to-access safe rooms to protect the crew, and sticking to routes patrolled by international navies.
Both Michel and Giglio strongly opposed arming “untrained” crews to stave off an attack, warning that could cause more harm than good.
While there are some options to shippers trying to fend off carbine-toting freebooters, it’s going to take multiple arms of the law, military and a healthy dose of common sense to curb the problem.
“We’re setting up essentially a surrogate legal system … to actually provide some kind of legal consequences to these pirates,” Michel said. “Absent that, these pirates have every incentive to go out and continue doing what they’re doing.”
Be sure to tune in this morning at 1030 EST for our interview with security consultant Jake Allen in a live podcast.
– Christian
Did those 18th and 19th century int’l piracy laws distinguish between citizens of a state and non-persons? I don’t know anything about those laws, but the fact that these pirates come from a failed state might be a legal issue to be sorted out.
Its good that we’re exploring the issues now before we start a Global War on Piracy and end up with hundreds of prisoners and shaky legal ground to play with.
Good Evening Mike,
I don’t want to get into dueling Constitutional quotes here but the copy of the Constitution that I have deals with piracy under Section 8, that expresses the powers of Congress, “To define and punish piracies and Felonies committed on the high seas, and Offenses against the Laws of Nations.” This is a pretty open ended statement as it was intended to be, but surly gives Congress to grant the Navy any authority that is necessary to deal with this problem anywhere and against the vessels of any state or combination of states. From what I can find the U.S. Code last dealt with piracy in 1832. I’m sure there has been some laws to deal with specific events such as the Civil War since then, but a revisit to the laws of piracy is long over due.
Really all this is in the hands of Congress. I know for the past eight years we have had an administration that has publicly stated that anything the President does in legal, John Yo, and an arrogant President that self appointed himself as the “Decider in Chief.” This is really a decision that should be made by Congress and not President Obama.
President Obama has stated many time that he believes in the Constitution and here is a chance to show that he does. Other then for emergency and expressly temporary actions to protect United States lives and property, the military should back away until Congress provides operational guidelines and expressed authorities.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
shoot out of hand and toss over the side. Why are we discussing this?
Good Morning jsallison,
A quick answer to you question. We as a people are not Nazis. For anyone interested in where this concept can go I would suggest reading; “Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans”: by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen.
The United States has a Constitution that not only protects property rights but also human rights, without that we are the same as the lawless pirates. I don’t think that’s what most Americans want to be. Their maybe some exceptions I’m sure.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner