According to official documents, piracy in the Gulf of Aden has cost Yemen $350 million. This sum includes $200 million in losses suffered by fishermen who have been forced by increased piracy activities to stop fishing in the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

The rising piracy acts have incurred huge costs on the Yemeni budget too. The country paid $150 million in additional costs for erecting security centers along Yemen’s coastal line which stretches for over 2,500 km, and purchasing boats to patrol the country’s regional waters and off coasts.

Piracy has also incurred huge losses on the Yemeni business sector as the increased number of piracy attempts have caused insurance companies to raise the insurance fees for vessels and ships heading to Yemen’s ports.

Official sources revealed that Yemen is working with the nations of the Indian Ocean Rim League for Regional Cooperation to establish a specialized center for combating piracy and to be based in the capital, Sana’a. It has also decided to establish other two centers for combating piracy in Dar Al-Sallam and Mombasa. These centers will help exchange information about piracy with the interested parties.

Realizing the dangers of pirates’ operations in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen has intensified its diplomatic movements to reconcile the different warring parties in Somalia as it considers this to be the key solution for putting an end to the rising threats of pirates.

Addressing the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit held last week in Egypt’s Sharm Al-Sheikh resorts, President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the international community to offer immediate financial support to the Somali government to help prevent its collapse and boost the reconstruction and development operations.

Saleh hinted that supporting the current government in Somalia will help boost the international efforts to terminate piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Piracy statistics

The same official documents mentioned that piracy actions highest number was recorded during the first half of 2009 with over 126 hijacking incidents.

Out of the overall number of attempted hijacking operations, Somali pirates managed to seize 29 vessels and ships and 472 crew and seamen were taken hostages. In return, 40 suspected pirates were arrested and they are standing trails right now in Yemen.

Piracy incidents hit a high number in 2008 when 111 hijacking incidents were reported. The pirates managed to hijack 24 vessels and seize 815 seamen and they received tens of millions of US dollars in ransom.

Dozen others of piracy actions go unreported especially when some ship-owners or companies prefer to negotiate secretly with pirates to release their captured vessels for considerations of safety records or reputation.

The first piracy operation, according to the documents, was reported in 1995. The phenomenon saw a sudden rise over the years 2004 to 2007. The majority of pirates’ attacks take place in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. Other piracy acts are reported in Southeast of Asia and Caribbean Sea.

Trials of 22 suspected pirates continue

Twenty-two Somali defendants stood trial last Wednesday in Aden’s Al-Mena Primary Court, where they are accused of plotting and implementing piracy actions in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

On July 15, the Al-Mina Primary Court in Aden held its second session to try 12 Somali pirates over kidnapping crimes and other 10 Somalis over attempted hijacking in the Gulf of Aden.

The 12-member group was accused of hijacking the Yemeni boat Sallah Addin owned by Ali Mohammed Yahya Kulaib and forcing the crew at gun point to move in certain directions in a way that serves the unlawful goals of the group.

The same group, who was arrested by the Indian frigate positioned in the Indian Ocean, is also accused of attempted hijacking of a vessel using Sallah Addin boat, yet their attempt was foiled by the Indian warship.

Similarly, a Russian warship plying the international waters in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean seized the other 10-member group after their warship had received a SOS signal from a small boat. The arrested group was in possession of arms including Kalashnikovs, RPJ, iron ladders, knives, etc.

The 22-member group of Somalis has all pleaded not guilty and their defense team denied the charges against them. They also denied the accusations directed to them and noted the reports of the Russian and Indian warships were fabricated.

This is the first time in which Somali pirates stand trial over hijacking or attempted hijacking of commercial and other vessels.

The world’s naval powers including America, France, Britain, Russia, India and China, etc. have deployed dozens of warships and frigates over the past year in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean in what is believed to be a declared attempt to curb the rising threats and attacks implemented on one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.

International Context

The attacks of pirates worldwide more than doubled in the first half of 2009 and there has been a surge of raids on commercial and other vessels in the Gulf of Aden and along the eastern coast of Somalia, according to international maritime watchdog.

With 130 cases reported in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia’s coasts, the report revealed that ships were boarded in 78 cases. Over 30 vessels, mostly commercial, were hijacked and 561 crew were taken hostages. The hijacking incidents led sometimes to armed clashes with crew. These clashes left six killed and other 19 injured.

The state of lawlessness in Somalia has helped the phenomenon of piracy to thrive. Piracy has turned to be a source of income of thousands of people in Somalia, according to several observers.

Pirates threaten more attacks

Despite the heavy presence of the international navel frigates and warships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, the attacks of Somali pirates have markedly increased and they are inventing new techniques to hijack vessels away from these naval forces’ eyes.

Somali and African media outlets reported that pirates are preparing for more attacks on vessels and they even threaten to murder crew taken hostage once their demands for ransom are not promptly met.