How Somali fishermen turned into terrible pirates?

Pirates of Somalia

Somali pirates are once again in talks. And this time talks began after it had attacked and taken control of a Bangladeshi commercial ship named 'MV Abdullah' off coast of Somalia in Indian ocean.

The pirates took control of the ship at around 1:30 PM Bangladesh time on Tuesday. It was sailing from Mozambique's capital Maputo to the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of 55,000 tonnes of coal. 23 Bangladeshi sailors on board are now hostages in the hands of pirates.

The ship is owned by Kabir Group based in Chittagong, Bangladesh. SR Shipping Limited, a subsidiary of the group, was operating the ship.

This is not the first time for Bangladeshi ship to get attacked. Earlier on December 5, 2010, the same company's ship 'MV Jahan Moni' was hijacked by Somali pirates. After three months, they released the ship after securing a huge ransom.

At the beginning of the nineties of the last century, the influence of Somali pirates on the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean began to grow. After a long civil war, the then government in Somalia fell down in 1991. The country faced extreme anarchy. On this occasion, piracy spread widely.

The sea route adjacent to Somalia's coast is one of the most important routes for global trade. Yemen on one coast of the Gulf of Aden. Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea on the other coast.

A large part of world trade takes place in these waterways. Therefore, the origin of pirates in this region makes the whole world fearful.

In 2010-11, piracy and violence peaked in this region. According to the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO), piracy increased by 20 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year.

In 2011 alone, Somali pirates attacked 212 ships. At that time, various circles became active in suppressing pirates. Various regional and international initiatives were taken. From December 2010 to March 2022, the United Nations Security Council adopted seven resolutions to combat Somali piracy.

The United Nations and the African Union are working to ensure the security of that coast and reduce the violence of pirates. Several countries, alliances and organizations including the United States, the European Union are working.

Foreign navies and air forces patrol the area for security. Due to these reasons, the violence of Somalia's pirates was greatly reduced. But not completely gone.

According to the annual report titled 'Piracy and Armed Robbery Report' published by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) under the International Chamber of Commerce, 120 incidents of piracy occurred in 2023. Last year this number was 150.

Piracy has increased the threat to the lives of sailors and crew of ships. In 2022, pirates took 41 sailors and crew hostage, according to the IMB report. Last year this number increased to 73.

Despite multifaceted efforts, Somali pirates have not been completely deterred. CNBC published a report on this on February 6. According to the report, in the last three months, as many piracy incidents have occurred in the Horn of Africa region, including the coast of Somalia, not even in the last six years. London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) reported the data.

In this regard, the IMO says that they are working closely with the concerned countries to curb piracy.

Some unknown facts about Somali pirates-

Don't like car repair

Pirates make huge money by taking ships and sailors hostage. They spend that money with free hand. It is said that pirates in Somalia spend the most and recklessly. Spending a million dollars in the blink of an eye of the Pirates' top brass doesn't matter at all.

Many of the pirates spend the ransom money partying, drinking, chasing women. Some build big houses. But one of their favorite activities is buying a car. Their favorite car is Toyota Land Cruiser. Each of which costs 30 thousand dollars.

Pirates are well respected in Somalia. There is a belief among pirates that repairing a car after it is damaged will ruin their honor. So they don't repair cars when they break down. Buys another new car. Even if there is a small crack in the windshield or a small scratch on the car, they leave it and buy a new one.

Pirates have their own share market

Pirates don't always have work. Even if an operation be successful, it may not be guaranteed. If successful, the ransom will be huge. And if it fails, there is nothing to do. For these reasons pirates rely on the people of Somalia to finance their operations.

There is a 'pirate stock market' in Somalia. Investors there buy shares of potential expeditions. This stock market consists of more than 72 pirate groups. They call these groups 'maritime companies'. Investors hope that the group they fund will hit the jackpot. Will return with a lot of ransom.

There is not only money to buy and sell shares. Investors can buy shares in exchange for AK-47 rifles or rocket-propelled grenades.

Pirates get little money

Each 'successful' raid nets the pirates millions of dollars in ransom. But little of that money found its way into the pockets of the pirates who participated in the raid.

Those who sail the rough seas in small dinghies in search of hostages or shoot hostages receive between 30,000 and 75,000 dollars as part of the ransom. Those who come forward with guns or boarding ladders, an additional $10,000.

So where does the rest of the millions of dollars go? The answer is simple, pirates are in the pockets of stock market investors. Investors and other stakeholders are the first to deduct their share of the ransom when the ransom is received.

Apart from this, some money is given to the concerned community for activities like running schools and hospitals. What remains is shared by the pirates participating in the expedition.

The operation process of the pirates

The process of hijacking ship is pretty straightforward. Depending on the situation it can be complicated. At first a group of pirates has to ensure an investor to manage all the logistic supports.

After securing g investors, the pirates split into two teams. A team sails the sea in a boat looking for a ship to take hostage. When the ship is found, it tries to go alongside it in the dark. Then they fire bullets and tried to climb the deck of the ship. If successful, they take the ship to the coast of Somalia.

Then another team entered the field. They guarded the ship until the ransom negotiations were over. After receiving the ransom money, they left the ship.

In this scenario comes the businessman. He bears all expenses including feeding the sailors and crew of the anchored ship. Later he gets back the money spent from the ransom share with interest.

Those who guard the ship, they get 15 thousand dollars each. The original investor takes 30 percent of the ransom. The rest of the investors get the share according to their respective shares. According to the 'anchoring right' the concerned community gets a share. What's left is shared by the rest of the pirates.

The way negotiations go on

After sieging the ship and taking all the crews hostages, the pirates first went through all the documents on board and collected the owner's information. An intermediary then contacts the owner. Explains the situation. That intermediary has to be trustworthy. He is usually chosen from among relatives.

Mediators have to work under a lot of pressure. Because his main responsibility is to collect a large amount of ransom from the pirates. Also, pirates cannot hold a ship for long. They don't want that too.

So communication and negotiation are required for quick ransom. One interesting fact is that the pirates usually ask to pay the ransom in 50 or 100 dollar notes printed after 2000.

Most of ship operating companies carry insurance. In this situation, the pirates quickly contact the insurance company. The representatives of the insurance company contacted the pirates' intermediaries.

The two sides try to reach an agreement. Finally, if the agreement is reached, the owner contracts with a private security company to deliver the ransom money.

If the intermediary violates the terms of the contract, the shipping company also contacts lawyers to handle the situation. Lawyers charge around $300,000 in fees.

And the organization engaged in delivering the ransom money took about one hundred thousand dollars. In addition, another 1 million dollars was given as the cost of the ship.

The pirates released the hostage ships and the sailors and crew only after verifying that the ransom money was real or fake.

Fishermen to pirates

Somali pirates were not pirates at all. Earlier their occupation was fishing. In 1991, the political deadlock in Somalia paved the way for foreign trawlers to come in and grab their fishing grounds.

They see that the fish in their waters are decreasing day by day. Because the foreigners catch most of the fishes with big trawlers.

On the other hand, fishermen in Somalia are poor. They have boats but small. So their fish quantity was decreasing day by day. Even Somali fishermen were shot at by foreign fishing trawlers if they came close.

Apart from that, foreign ships used to dump radioactive materials into Somali waters. This is also a major reason for fish decline. Local fishermen could not accept such a situation.

Out of anger they are united. Formed the National Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia and the Somali Marines. These two names are still used by pirates.

Since then, the people of Somalia began to hold fishing trawlers and ships hostage and collect ransom. The owners of the vessels used to pay ransom for doing illegal business. Starting like this, pirates gradually turned to taking hostages of international trade ships.

However, pirates consciously refrain from taking the ships of influential Somali businessmen hostage. Their main targets are foreign ships.