Somali man sentenced in Manhattan court

Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, the sole survivor of the April 2009 Maersk Alabama incident, was sentenced this afternoon to 33 years and nine months in prison for his role in that pirate attack. This was the maximum sentence; Muse's lawyers had asked for the minimum-allowable sentence, 27 years, but Judge Loretta Preska declined the request.

The Somali man reportedly told the court today, "I'm very sorry for what I did. I got my hands into something that was more powerful than me."

Muse plead guilty last year to charges of hijacking, kidnapping and hostage-taking. He did not plead guilty to any piracy charges, nor was he convicted of piracy charges, unlike what some media are reporting (see the BBC here). While he may be a pirate in the eyes of many, he is a convicted kidnapper and hijacker in the eyes of justice.

An Insider's Description Of The Magellan Star Incident

For those interested in reading more about yesterday's incident, in which US Marines rescued 11 mariners from suspected pirates aboard the MV Magellan Star, USMC Capt. Alexander Martin has posted a detailed account on the USNI Blog (here). It's a fascinating read, taking you through events from first word the freighter had been boarded by attackers through to the after incident activities carried out by naval personnel.

As Martin writes, this was something that went all the way up the food chain for approval - right to U.S. President Barack Obama. And further to what I wrote earlier about the need to rely on skilled professionals to deal with armed intruders on vessels, I'd point out one particular part of Martin's commentary. In talking of how his raiders reacted once aboard the Magellan Star, Martin writes:

"The details of what happened next are important as they highlight the individual actions of 24 highly trained shooters who were put in decision points of the highest moral magnitude: when to shoot, when not to shoot. I can't go into all these details at this time, but the long and short of it was: some of the enemy threw their hands up when rifles were put in their face, some ran and attempted to allude us in the superstructure but were run down and some hesitated but were taken down by less than lethal force, as the situation dictated. The end result was 9 pirates captured in an opposed boarding and 11 crew members rescued."

But read Martin's account; it's rare that we get such an insightful account.

The Judicious Use Of Force Against Pirates

Amidst all the hoopla about Christian extremists planning to burn Korans, some may have missed today's news about the boarding by US Marines of a hijacked vessel off the Somali coast.

Two dozen members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Maritime Raid Force boarded the M/V Magellan Star just before dawn this morning (local time). Suspected pirates had taken control of the freighter yesterday; her eleven crew managed to get themselves into a safe room after sending out word of the situation. In response, elements of CTF 151 (the maritime counter-piracy force in the region) were dispatched, including a Turkish frigate and the American warships USS Dubuque and USS Princeton. The Marine raiders aboard the Dubuque then prepared and executed an operation to board the Magellan Star and free the crew.

Nine suspects were apprehended by the members of 15th MEU, in what is the first instance in that region in which American forces have undertaken such an operation with a commercial vessel seized by pirates. No injuries have been reported.

The Force Recon platoon commander ("Blue Collar 6") during this incident is none other than USMC Captain Alexander Martin, whom I have mentioned in a few earlier posts (see here and here, for instance). He posted a short item on the incident today on the USNI Blog, which is worth noting:

"We got word that the pirates wanted to stay on and fight - it was funny b/c when we came alongside and they saw us board and rush the superstructure, you could see the look change in their eyes...they didn't want to play anymore...you'd be proud of the men today, they represented America with honor. It didn't need to be a bloodless day (for the pirates) but it was..."

Actually, I'd say that the raiders from 15th MEU represented more than just America today. They also represented the larger international community who are trying to work together to deal with maritime criminal acts. And this is important to mariners around the world, because it shows that seafarers are not alone when it comes to being predated upon by pirates.

The boarding of a hijacked vessel by military assets is fraught with dangers, for the raiders, the crew and the pirates. Past incidents have seen such endeavors end badly (such as happened with the yacht Tanit last year). Still, I would argue that today's incident shows that professionals, trained in counter-piracy operations, can do a far more effective job of dealing with these situations than some of the other options floated out there (such as arming mariners or embarking private security assets). The skill sets of teams such the 15th MEU allowed for a successful operation without the loss of any lives - military, civilian or criminal.

Is a permanent, international counter-piracy raiding force, willing to board vessels, take on pirates and risk their own lives to safeguard civilians the way to go? Well, we do it on land all the time. They're called police. It's part of the process of containing and deterring criminal activities. Not the whole solution, but an important element. And, no, raiders like the 15th MEU cannot be everywhere. But the threat they pose to pirates has risen dramatically as a result of today's events.

Halifax International Fleet Review

It doesn't happen very often, but Queen Elizabeth spent Tuesday reviewing an assembly of international warships gathered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Meant as part of the celebrations to mark the centennial of our navy, the International Fleet Review included warships from Canada, the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Germany, Brazil, France and the Netherlands. Among the international vessels moored in the harbour were the carriers HMS Ark Royal and USS Wasp; the frigates USS Robert G. Bradley, USS Boone, HMS Sutherland, France's La Ventose and Brazil's Independencia; the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg, US Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba and the Danish warship HDMS Absalon (which has participated in counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa).

I wasn't able to watch the event live, as I spent the day with a Canadian veteran of the Second World War's Italian campaign while he recounted the battles of the Liri Valley. But all the pomp and ceremony can be seen in the video coverage of the review on the CBC site, by clicking here (it runs over three hours in duration). The official website for the Review is here.

Now if they could just return the name to RCN.

US Navy Captures Pirates: Now What?

USS Nicholas (USN photo)

In the wake of today’s gun battle between suspected Somali pirates and the American frigate USS Nicholas, which resulted in the apprehension of five individuals, the question now arises as to what the U.S. government intends to now do. Catch and release does not appear to be an option, not after the frigate sank the would-be pirates’ mothership and skiff, so it would seem the suspects could be facing a tribunal somewhere.

One idea of how the United States will proceed with prosecuting pirates comes from a speech given yesterday by Andrew J. Shapiro, the US State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs. Shapiro was speaking at the American University Law Review Symposium in Washington about how he believes international judiciary can address piracy. Early into his talk, entitled ‘Counter-Piracy Policy: Delivering Judicial Consequences’ (full text available here), Shapiro quotes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment from a year ago – after the Maersk Alabama incident – in which she said, “We may be dealing with a 17^th century crime, but we need to bring 21^st century solutions to bear.” Given today’s events, one would hope that the Assistant Secretary’s talk would reveal some new ideas about how the international community, including the U.S., can deal with the problem.

Unfortunately, Shapiro’s speech failed to lay out anything particularly new or groundbreaking in terms of American policy vis-à-vis piracy. There are the usual ideas about involving the international community more actively, getting the shipping world to take better precautions and supporting nations like Kenya and the Seychelles as they undertake criminal proceedings against suspected pirates. If this is the best that can be put forth a decade into the 21^st century by the world’s most powerful nation, then this observer thinks we’ve got some work to do.

Good intentions and international politics are a dicey mix. In speaking of an international Working Group led by Denmark that is looking at, “[E]nhancing our ability to bring pirates to justice”, Shapiro made the following comments: “The United States is among many countries actively engaged in this group’s effort to enhance our collective ability to prosecute pirates. Unfortunately, at this moment in time, that ability appears to be quite limited.”

Shapiro does offer one idea: Allowing for the possession of piracy-related equipment on, say, a skiff to infer the intent to commit a criminal act. But taking a Devil’s advocate perspective here, this seems a surprising concept. A ladder or Kalashnikov lying in a small boat off the Horn of Africa could definitely be pirate tools, but unless seen by witnesses to have been used in an attack, what court would consider them sufficient evidence to prosecute suspects.

He also makes reference to the oft-repeated problem of dealing with the multi-national nature of international shipping: “…[P]rosecuting pirates can be an incredibly complex proposition in today’s globalized world. The realities of international shipping and global commerce are such that in any given piracy case you could have suspected Somali pirates intercepted and apprehended by a British naval vessel after trying to attack a Liberian-flagged ship, owned by a Canadian company, crewed by Ukrainians, Indians, and Filipinos, with a Russian captain and carrying cargo owned by a Turkish company, en route for delivery to a company in Dubai. And the case could be taking place in a courtroom in yet another country, like Kenya or the Seychelles, which are both currently prosecuting piracy cases. The logistical and diplomatic challenges presented by such a scenario are immense.”

Now just imagine this scenario for a moment: An American-owned jet airliner under contract to an Italian firm is carrying Nigerians to Saudi Arabia. It is crewed by Canadian and Dutch citizens, and has in its holds equipment owned by a German firm. It is hijacked over the Sudan and diverted to Egypt. (Except for the hijacking part of this scenario, this is something that a colleague of mine was involved with.) Would no one deign to prosecute the hijackers? Of course not. The craft is not the issue; the crime is. And with piracy, international law does allow for the apprehension and prosecution of individuals suspected of committing such acts on the high seas (in international waters).

We must prosecute these criminals, wherever we can. If it takes bringing them thousands of miles from Somalia to face a judge, then so be it. Hoping they’ll be dealt with in an East African courtroom is wishful thinking – especially as Kenya has today announced they won’t be accepting anymore suspected pirates in their country. Besides, I – for one – do not believe the Kenyan judiciary is transparent enough to begin with.

The core issue is that thousands of mariners are being predated upon by criminal organizations who are managing to elude effective prosecution because of the fear of bringing the problem to the First World. The double standard that says that maritime piracy is less important than aerial hijackings is misguided and ignores the fact that far more people have been – and will be – the victims of pirates.

Also, a reader queried me about comments made by my colleague Roger Middleton, a British expert on East African issues, who categorized the pirates caught by the US Navy as “unsophisticated”. This may seem at odds with my own views that the pirate organizations operating from Somalia are actually quite sophisticated and that the men attacking passing vessels have considerable nautical skills. But I don’t actually think the perspectives of Middleton and I are that dissimilar: I do think the pirate groups are sophisticated, yet I agree with Middleton that some of those doing the actual attacks may be unsophisticated.

The ability to mount maritime operations up to a thousand miles from shore and the manner by which multi-million-dollar ransoms can be negotiated reveal a degree of organizational expertise that has been built up over the years. Four guys with a skiff, some fuel and AKs can’t just set out from the Horn of Africa and hope to succeed on that level. On the other hand, few – if any – of the operational pirates out there are rocket scientists. What was running through the minds of this particular group when they fired on the USS Nicholas is beyond me, but it is far from the first time that the foot soldiers of an organized criminal entity screwed up. And you can bet that their bosses back in Somalia are mightily pissed at losing five men, a mothership, skiff, weapons and other material in a supremely stupid incident.

NATO vessels deploying to the Horn of Africa

As pirates continue to attack vessels off the Horn of Africa, NATO is dispatching the newest incarnation of one of its standing maritime groups - SNMG1 - to the region. Operation Allied Protector will see warships from the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal take part in counter-piracy patrols. SNMG1 is commanded by the Portuguese Navy's Rear Admiral Pereira de Cunha.

SNMG1 is expected to be on station in the Indian Ocean in April. The European and American elements are currently completing exercises in the western Mediterranean, while the Canadian component - HMCS Winnipeg - is leaving Korea after work ups with the USS John C. Stennis carrier strike group a couple of weeks ago.

The impending arrival of SNMG1 coincides with the waning months of the Spring piracy season in the region. Once the summer monsoon winds arrive, the mostly Somali pirates will take a break as the seas get too rough for their small attack boats. So the next few months offer the last opportunities to harvest the bounties awaiting them in the seas off East Africa. But the addition of the NATO flotilla will make those seas even more crowded with naval vessels seeking to combat the pirates and does raise the question, "Who's in charge out there?"

SNMG1 joins a European Union force, the American-led "multinational" task force CTF 151, as well as independently operating warships from Russia, China, India and other nations. At the very least you would think with the overlap of NATO, EU and CTF 151 there would be a more efficient means of deploying vessels within a single chain of command from countries like the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. And though no one would expect Russia or China to place their warships within the NATO or EU operations, why hasn't CTF 151 been able to coalesce into a more productive anti-piracy entity?

US Navy captures another 9 pirates as MV Faina finally arrives in Mombasa

US Navy photo from last Wednesday of personnel

from USS Vella Gulf and suspected pirates

A day after capturing seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden, naval personnel from the USS Vella Gulf were at it again, coming to the assistance of an Indian vessel that was being attacked. In responding to a distress call from the MV Premdivya, the warship dispatched a helicopter that flew over a small boat the suspects were using to attempt to board the Indian vessel. After firing warning shots, the pirate skiff was stopped and nine aboard where taken into custody by the Americans, who found weapons, including RPGs, in the small boat. According to AP, the suspected pirates were then transferred to the floating brig USNS Lewis And Clark, where they joined the individuals captured yesterday. It is thought that the suspects will all be turned over to Kenyan authorities for prosecution.

Meanwhile, the MV Faina finally arrived in port, docking in the port city of Mombasa just before 4:00pm local time. Kenyan media outlet Daily Nation says that the freighter was received by cheering crowds, some of whom had been waiting since 11:00am for the Faina to dock. It is also reported that the chief of the Kenyan military's defence staff, Gen. Jeremiah Kianga, was unequivocal about the final destination of the hardware abaord the vessel, including those 33 T-72 battle tanks.

“The hardware belongs to Kenya. We tendered for them and bought the best at a good price. It cost us quite a substantial amount of money,” Gen Kianga is quoted as saying. (There's a clip of the general speaking to the media about this on the Daily Nation website linked above.) Including the British-built Vickers Mk3 main battle tanks already in that African nation's arsenal, this means Kenya will now boast a substantial amount of armour for its soldiers.

Photos below are of the arrival and docking of MV Faina (all photos from Reuters)

US Navy detains 7 suspected pirates, Dutch authorities prepare to prosecute 5 others and Puntland forces raid a pirate haven

Been a busy day around the Horn of Africa.

Word out of the Gulf of Aden this afternoon is that American naval forces apprehended seven suspected pirates in the wake of a botched attempt to board the merchant vessel MV Polaris. Voice of America reports that a team from the USS Vella Gulf, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser assigned to CTF151, managed to intercept the small boat the attackers were in and detain the Somalis aboard. The suspects are to be transferred shortly to the USNS Lewis And Clark; where they will be taken afterward remains unclear. This marks the first instance in which the new combined task force has successfully apprehended suspected pirates.

USS Vela Gulf (USN photo)

Also today, authorities in Rotterdam are preparing to arraign five Somalis that the Dutch navy captured on January 2 after another unsuccessful hijacking attempt by pirates. As the BBC says in its report, the "accused face up to nine years in jail if found guilty. The alleged leader of the group could face a 12-year sentence if convicted." Until their recent arrival in the Netherlands, the suspects had been detained in Bahrain.

Meanwhile in Somalia itself, there are signs that at least some elements of the populace are ready to reassert law and order. According to local media outlet Garowe Online, authorities in the administrative capital of Puntland State, Garowe, carried out the new government's first capital punishment case when they executed a man on Monday. Abdi-Dahir Abdullahi was "convicted of killing two men on Feb. 2, including a well-known pirate." (Puntland is the semi-autonomous northeastern part of Somalia).

Garowe Online also reports that the newly elected president of the Puntland regional administration, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole" ordered local police to raid a village - Marero - known to be a haven for pirates and human smugglers. The report says that Puntland forces "stormed the site and a group of suspected pirates fled away on a speedboat", adding that they managed to capture "two speedboats, seven motors that power boats, barrels of fuel, food, ladders and ropes." President Farole is quoted as saying that the raid was a first step in combating criminals operating from the Puntland coast. "My government will fight pirates and human smugglers, and we have a plan to defeat them," President Farole vowed at a press conference after the raid.

Puntland President Farole at Marero with security forces
(Garowe Online photo)

MV Faina update

EagleSpeak has posted a piece about the assistance the US Navy provided the crew of the MV Faina after its release from pirate captivity this week, with a link through to the source at the Navy's official website. I'll make you visit Eagle's site to see it, because he's been on top of this situation better than I have. With muted apologies, I'm just a little swamped with other things right now, folks.