SA on high alert as maritime piracy moves closer

South Africa’s Minister of Defence Lindiwe Sisulu has warned that Southern African waters are becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to Somali pirates as they try to avoid the clamp-down of various maritime task forces around the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden by moving into largely unprotected parts of the Indian Ocean.

Furthermore, South African Development Community (SADC) waters have become an alternative route for shipping lines re-routing vessels around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Horn of Africa.

As the SADC’s coastal area does not fall within patrol areas of the international anti-pirate forces, the SADC will have to take responsibility for its own maritime security.

While Southern Africa has enjoyed relative distance from the threat of piracy, it has now become a concern as the region’s major trade artery in the East Coast of Africa is becoming increasingly vulnerable.

One main reason why speculations point toward pirates moving southward is the recent discovery of oil and gas off the Tanzanian coastline. Six million tons of oil are transported around South Africa’s western coastline every month, making this a prime target for pirates.

The 31,000 km African coastline includes around 18,000 km within the Sub-Saharan region. Protection of this coast line depends on a small fleet of patrol vessels and warships, mainly from South Africa. There is a lack of regional capability to perform "deep sea" patrols, including the Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ], and the lack of an integrated Maritime Strategy at a regional level doesn’t help in alleviating the impact.

More than 27 countries currently contribute naval forces towards piracy deterrence. Most military and naval attention is devoted to the Horn of Africa, where the Big Three anti-piracy missions are focused: Operation Atlanta, Operation Ocean Shield, and Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. These three military efforts comprise more than 43 vessels operating off the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean.

East London, Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Cape Town and Saldanha are considered South Africa’s six major ports, providing trade not only for South Africa but also its landlocked neighbours. Any obstructions to their trade routes or devastation to any of their ports would impact the economy of South Africa and its neighbouring countries. Therefore, with non-stop warnings of piracy moving into South Africa’s waters, the government is on high alert.

"There is little doubt that the issue of piracy is beginning to be a serious problem to us. We have subsequently defined maritime security as a threat to the region. A military strategy, which would address operational and funding requirements to deal with piracy is currently under consideration," said Sisulu.

"We knew a raw nerve had been struck when our economic sustainability interests as a region were threatened when a Mozambican registered vessel was hijacked in December 2010 – and a Liberian registered merchant vessel in January 2011. These were the first incidents of this nature in southern Africa and reflected the extent to which pirates have increased their range towards southern Africa waters."

South Africa’s immediate response was a careful consideration of the implications of such an incident for southern Africa, and South Africa in particular – whose major deep water harbours at Durban and Richards Bay are located close to the Mozambican Channel. This body of water between Mozambique and Madagascar, which carries 30% of the world’s oil supplies and 98% of South Africa’s maritime traffic, is becoming increasingly vulnerable.

The SADC requires free use of the gateway between the South Atlantic and South Indian oceans to remain connected to world markets. About 90% of Africa’s total trade is seaborne. Ships remain the means to trade between continents and islands. Maritime trade is critical to Africa whose exports comprise largely primary unprocessed commodities. In addition, 30% of the world oil supply passes through the Mozambique Channel every year. Consequently, the ability to trade, the principle of the freedom of the seas and the corollary right of innocent passage for merchant shipping lie at the heart of SADC’s security.

A threat around the Horn of Africa and SADC waters will detrimentally affect the SADC’s trade and economy. As an economic community, the SADC is pursuing the consolidation of the SADC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to promote trade facilitation and remove non-tariff barriers, as well as the expansion of regional markets through SADC/EAC/COMESA Trilateral Free Trade Agreement (T-FTA). The three regions have a combined GDP in excess $4,680 billion. Consequently, SADC maritime security and the SADC’s ability to trade by sea with other nations is inextricably linked to economic growth and prosperity.

"Clearly there is a need for a policy to combat piracy in SADC waters and to safeguard the economies of the many landlocked countries," said Sisulu. "Piracy on the eastern Coast of Africa will not be stopped unless the root-causes of insecurity in Somalia are addressed. This insecurity exists due to the weakness of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia and its inability to exert its national authority in creating stability, as well as enforcing law and order on land and sea."

According to Sisulu, the SADC needs to engage the AU to consider decentralised initiatives for promoting, peace, security and development in Puntland and Somaliland, especially since the TFG is struggling to make headway on these matters from its capital – Mogadishu.

The recommendations of the Troika Assessment Team and its Draft Action Plan can form the basis in formulating a Regional Anti-piracy Strategy for the SADC, since it highlights the importance of capacity-building, legal and judicial instruments, implementation, cooperation, sharing of information and intelligence – on all relevant levels.

One of the critical success factors to combat piracy is quality intelligence, therefore the SADC must obtain intelligence that will be able to assist in building the SADC Common Operating Picture.

The SADC’s Maritime Strategy must entail a regional partnership with all Member States contributing within their means. Not all Member States have the essential maritime and military capabilities, but they may still contribute in other ways, like providing land-based equipment such as radars, as well as soldiers to patrol coastlines and islands.

The SADC should also establish robust Rules of Engagement (ROE) for anti-piracy, which should be largely consistent with the ROE of other regions and task forces.

With regard to the legal framework, SADC Member States should ratify or accede to international maritime conventions/treaties/regimes and the incorporation of these into their national law. SADC Member States should seek to put in place comprehensive legal regimes at national level, consistent with international law, to prosecute pirates.

Sisulu said that the current practice of catch-and-release of pirates should be stopped, since it allows experienced pirates to execute more sophisticated acts of piracy. Therefore the SADC should strengthen and harmonise regional and domestic legal frameworks for arrest, awaiting trial detention, prosecution and imprisonment or repatriation of pirates.

The cost of piracy
During the period 2006 – 2010, there were approximately 1,600 acts of piracy. While the direct costs or piracy are easy to calculate, the indirect costs are not. Apart from the actual ransoms paid and the cost of delivering it (often by helicopter or private aircraft), other financial factors include the cost of negotiations, repairs to ships damaged while held captive, the losses incurred while ships are held and out of service (around $3 million per day), excess insurance premiums for vessels transiting pirate-infested waters or the cost of re-routing to avoid those regions, deterrent security equipment, the deployment of naval forces, piracy prosecutions, and anti-piracy organisations.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) estimates that piracy costs between $1 billion and $16 billion per year.

Quelle: eyefortransport
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