Pirates of the Indian Ocean - by Tom Clancy?

by Nancy Knudsen on 24 Apr 2008 Whatever happens in the Gulf of Aden is vitally important to cruising sailors wishing to sail to the Mediterranean via the Red Sea – and what happened there this week was stuff worthy of a Tom Clancy novel. Even Sir Francis Drake would have been proud of the behaviour of the Somali pirates who held 30 crew of the French sailing yacht Ponant captive for a week.

During the week, in true novella style, one drunk pirate fell overboard and was lost, one pirate shot another dead after an argument about drugs, and one was sent back to shore in disgrace after his gun went off accidentally and narrowly missed the ship's doctor. All the time these events are occurring on the decks of the pirated yacht, outside on the high seas the vessel is being shadowed by a French frigate, with Frencch President Nicholas Sarkozy – a la MI5 – calling the shots back home.

In the final climactic scene, the ransom is paid, the hostages are freed, Captain being retained until the last minute, and the pirates make off with the loot. There's a chase (has to be a chase) and some of the escaping pirates are arrested and flown to Paris to stand trial.

In the very last scene, back on board the Ponant, the officers of the French navy discover a written Code of Ethics, Somali style, left by the pirates:

THE CHARTER
No sexual assaults on women hostages
No shouting loudly at prisoners
Allow them to use the toilet
Give hostages food and drink regularly
Let them sleep when they want

It's true that the hostages were well treated, and all ended well. However, the problem is a serious one, with Somali pirates apparently being undeterred by the successful raid by the French, and the arrest of six.

Since then, a food laden ship from Dubai headed for Somalia itself, has been hijacked and the crew released after a ransom was presumably paid, a Japanese ship was fired on four times from both sides, but managed to deter the pirates, and a Spanish fishing vessel, Playa de Bakio, is even now being held. Its 26 are crew already on shore in Garad, the same area to which the Ponant was sailed, and a Spanish frigate is headed for Somalia and the Spanish are negotiating.

There is a great call for something more substantial to be done to bring Somali waters under control.

France has called for greater international co-operation to police the waters off the coast of lawless Somalia, where piracy is a lucrative activity.

This case 'marks the start of a reconquering of this zone by international law,' Francois Fillon, the Prime Minister, told parliament.

France and the United States, with the help of Britain, are drafting a U.N. Security Council resolution authorising countries to fight piracy off Somalia and elsewhere, France's U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

The European Union on Monday called for international efforts to solve the problem. The Slovenian Presidency of the EU said in a statement that 'those piracy activities are a major hindrance to the European efforts towards the political stability of Somalia, as well as the normal relations between Somalia and the rest of the world, including the deliverance of humanitarian assistance provided to this country.'

'The Presidency of the EU believes that a strong international effort is needed in order to find an adequate solution to this problem,' the statement said, adding that 'this effort should be made in close cooperation with other international actors, particularly in the framework of the UN.'

Even the Somalis are calling for some external control. 'If these pirates have now gone ahead to hijack vessels bringing us food, this will badly affect activities at our port. We need to do something about them,' said Abdisamad Yusuf Abwaan, commerce and industry minister for the semi-autonomous northeast Puntland region of Somalia.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since the 1991 toppling of a military dictator, allowing anarchy and violence to flourish and the surrounding waters are considered to be among the most dangerous waterways for shipping in the world.

In comparison to the booty promised by an attack on a commercial vessel, transiting yachts are small pickings. However, the area has been well known and feared by yachts for many years, and there have been several promises by the patrolling Coalition forces in the past to provide safe passage for yachts through the area.

Only time will tell whether the latest fighting words spoken by the world's politicians will translate into effective action.