Textbook of Maritime Medicine

One of the major deficiencies of the international rules concerning the suppression of piracy already codified in the Geneva Convention on the High Seas of 1958 and repeated in the Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 is their limited definition of piracy. The lack of legal uniformity about the international concept of piracy is a problem that limits the measures tending to eradicate it to a large extent. It is for that reason that it is necessary that the international rules take a wide legal concept of piracy in the line that the IMB adopts for statistical purposes.

The different national laws also play an outstanding roll as well-publicized cases of pirates (especially in Somalia) being released after capture. Legal constraints are perceived to exist on the action of some states and confusion about the legal powers of others which are aggravated by the fact that, according to recent reports, some of the Somali pirates are teenagers, usually under eighteen, who may be judged in the juvenile Court rather than in a criminal Court, in case of a criminal act.

Only by confronting the root causes, including the internal problems of the country, a way to stop piracy may be offered. The naval presence may, however, reduce the severity of the problem, and improving or clarifying the legal framework in which navies operate will certainly help.

Pirates´ attacks seem to be most prevalent in countries with emerging economies, numerous estuaries and offshore islands, large stretches of remote coastal areas, and ongoing political insurgencies.

Efforts to combat and punish piracy as a crime are frequently nipped in the bud by legal loopholes, inadequate cross-border cooperation, and the lack of political will in some places.

From the analysis of the modus operandi of pirates we can infer the consequence that in some cases, in particular since the late eighties, more sophisticated ways of piracy have developed where the organized crime gives the impression of having entered and in view of whose acts, seamen find themselves helpless and for different reasons, with few possibilities of any help. It stands out for its seriousness, in the SE Asian region, from the mid 90´s decade till 2005, the named phantom ship, where other crimes of similar or worse significance joined to the act of piracy, and in Somalia-Horn of Africa, from 2005 till and still, where ships are hijacked and pirates demand ransom for the vessel and the kidnapped crew.

Taking into account that there are incidents where there has been a serious risk of provoking a human and environmental catastrophe, especially when as a consequence of an attack, the ship has been kept unattended in the bridge for a considerable time while sailing in restricted, busy waters without any control of its track, it becomes necessary that the marine industry changes the traditional reactive attitude due to serious maritime accidents. They should give priority to preventive measures which look for the piracy eradication. Otherwise unfortunately, it only seems a question of time that one day we have to regret it even beyond the continuous threat it supposes for seamen who sail through the dangerous areas where even if they do not suffer attacks, there is no doubt that their stress, their work and consequently their tiredness is increased with all the implications all that entails.

The smaller crew numbers found on board most ships (approx. 15-20 compared to former times 40-45) also favour the pirate attacks making anti-piracy guard service difficult. A small crew engaged in ensuring the safe navigation of their ship through congested or confined waters may also have the additional task of maintaining high levels of security surveillance and training for prolonged periods. Companies should ensure that security watches are enhanced if their ship is in waters or ports, where attacks are known to happen.

Regarding Somalia, the international community has sent several patrols to the area. According to the last IMB report, this reaction united by the ship Masters adhering to the recommended advice and carrying out robust anti-piracy precautionary measures are achieving the drop of the number of successful hijackings in the Gulf of Aden, even though the number of attempted attacks has not decreased; but the decisive factor is what happens on land. So, whatever the international community decides to do, it must not be at the expense of efforts to guarantee a political solution inside Somalia, because the most powerful weapon against piracy will be peace and opportunity in Somalia, coupled with an effective and reliable anti-piracy police force and law enforcement.

An analysis of the factors that underlie behind the acts of piracy reveals that there is much to do. The economic limitations of coastal countries where pirates act, as it has been seen, join together with questions of conscientious preservation of each one’s sovereignty, situations of misrule where it is impossible to obey the laws, little willingness of the coastal countries to fight these crimes, cooperation systems undeveloped or the gradual decrease of the crewmembers in ships during the last years represent the present situation. The revision of these factors has enabled to draw up some general proposals in order to tackle the problem of piracy, a logical consequence of it and some future considerations around this phenomenon which nowadays, especially in Somalia and the Horn of Africa, are not encouraging while the present status quo is kept.