Showdown off the coast of Kenya
A few days ago, Somali pirates hijacked a Ukrainian ship off the coast of Kenya. It seemed to be pirate business at usual, until they realized that they were in command of a ship carrying about US $30 million worth of weapons. The cargo ship was headed for Kenya and is carrying everything from rocket launchers to soviet tanks (about 13 of them.) They're still off the coast of Kenya, surrounded by US warships and the Russian navy isn't far behind. I don't know about you but just rereading that sentence scared me enough to give me chills.
A spokesperson for the pirates (yes, they have a spokesperson) claims they had no idea the ship was carrying weapons when they boarded it on the high seas. He's claiming they are misunderstood and that they are in the pirate game "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters." It turns out piracy became a popular career among Somali fishermen following the collapse of the Somali government in 1991. Somalia's waters were left full of tuna but with no authorities to protect them. International commercial fishing vessels began flooding the waters and the Somali fishermen took to the waters and started demanding payment for the stolen fish.
The pirate industry from Somalia seems to have strayed pretty far away from collecting money for stolen tuna. However, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if these fishermen had never taken to the ocean to protect their tuna stocks in the first place. Would pirates from Somalia, 20 hostages and 30 million dollars worth of weapons still be in a stand off with American warships off the coast of Kenya? Maybe, but I'm still thinking about how this all started with the stolen fish.
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Comments
This article is, for me, the 21st-century embodiment of Greenpeace. Keep it up, Jessica! Awesome!
Posted by: Vinny Burgoo | October 1, 2008 8:08 PM
Much as I hate to say it, but good on the pirates. Sure they have strayed off course. But they are fighting against one of the biggest industries in the world. The fishing industry. But this is a bit much. I do believe however that they did not know about the weapons(I mean would you board a ship knowing everyone on board was armed to the teeth with tanks included?).
Posted by: Jamie Smith | October 2, 2008 12:22 AM
What makes me mad about this story is that a tuna sandwhich that I ate in the past may have been part of what set off this chain of events. I would never knowingly steal tuna from a starving, war-torn African country, and yet the people who sell me tuna have no compunctions, or even ways of determining, whether the fish they buy is legal or not.
Until that changes, the moral imperative is pretty clear: don't buy fish unless you saw it caught. And tell the damn retailers to insist that it at least be as hard to get a stolen fish into Europe as it is to get a pirated CD -- that would be a start.
Posted by: Gondor | October 2, 2008 8:28 AM
@Jamie Smith: Don’t romanticize it.
The pirates type of community empowerment (AK-47s, high-powered speedboats, firing mortars at passing racing yachts and cargo vessels etc) has not much to do with gloriously fighting against the big evil fishing industry. We're a long stretch from 1991-1995-ish when Somali fishermen turned into vigilantes by confronting illegal fishing boats, demanding a tax to be paid.
As of today any sailing yacht, cargo vessel (including UN vessels carrying food aid) is just another multimillion-dollar target for a bunch of greedy criminals who are quite willing to kill for their own profit.
Posted by: Pepijn | October 2, 2008 2:38 PM
That is truly something! Thanks for the article Jessica. I can totally relate with the criminal fishermen. I use to commercial fish for tuna using the troll (jig) method in international waters. We were over run by driftnets all the time till we couldn't make a living anymore. It drove me insane. I spend weeks looking for good fishing, then here comes the driftnet fleet...There went my season... I whish I had the balls & manpower these guys have. Maybe I could have started hijacking car careers, then love boats, hey maybe I could get a drug boat full of heroin. When you've been violated and no body comes to help you, you end up doing crazy things...But no, trying to do what is right, I just report it to the USCG & get a "thank you & good luck". Meanwhile that stolen fish ends up on my market and in your stores. Nice guys finish last!
Please sign a petition to Ban driftnets for good http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/world-wide-ban-on-high-seas-driftnets
Posted by: john-boy | October 4, 2008 1:57 AM