Pirates are vicious criminals not loveable scallywags, says maritime editor

Sept. 20, 2010 - PRLog -- Indeed, in a statement, Tim Pallas, the Roads and Ports Minister for Victoria State declared that: "Victoria was prepared for an inundation of landlubbers speaking like pirates and being all round scallywags... International Talk Like a Pirate Day is obviously an opportunity for landlubbers to hoist the Jolly Roger and go sailin’, fightin’, and a-piratin’ in search of booty."

While we recognise  this as a bit of harmless fun to amuse people on what could otherwise be a dull Sunday afternoon, we would like to draw attention to the realities of modern day piracy.  

Pirates are not jolly scallywags freebootin' around the oceans in search o' a bit o' plunder.  

They are thieves and robbers of particularly vicious and violent nature.

Today, in Somalia, there are many  men who have been kidnapped and are being held hostage by pirates.  These hostages, although not normally subject to physical torture, are nontheless at grave risk of physical and mental harm.   We have heard, for instance, of times when Somali pirates have subjected their hostages to mock executions.  In one case, the captain  of a merchant ship was taken ashore, made to dig his own grave, forced to kneel down at the edge of the open pit and had the muzzle of an AK47 pushed against the back of his head.  He was not murdered though and was allowed to go back to the ship.

The  pirates can be intoxicated on a locally grown drug called Qat, they  can be very heavily armed and also are in some cases, just teenagers.  This makes for a very dangerous and anxiety inducing experience for their hostages who have, let's remember, been torn away  from their regular employment and their families.  

The hostages do not know if they will see or hold their  wives or children ever again.

Today the Somali pirates are criminals working for private gain.  Like any good capitalist, the funds they raise (via ransoms) are recycled back into their businesses for the expansion of their operations. This perpetuates the cycle of crime, fear and misery.  

But concerns have been repeatedly expressed that, one day, groups with even more sinister motiviations could copy pirate tactics to fund their own, political, objectives.  

While this would not technically be piracy (as this would be 'violence at sea for political gain'  and not 'violence at sea for  private gain' , which is a key element of  the legal definition of piracy) it would nontheless still be violence and robbery committed at sea.  There is a long history  of such violence, with memorable examples being the  attack on the Limburg, the suspected attack on the M-Star  and the activities of the seaborne elements of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.    MEND has carried out many violent acts at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, off the west coast of Africa, to further its political aims.

Closer to home, there is much piracy ( i.e. violence at sea for private, financial gain) in Asian waters. In the case of piracy in the South China Sea,  and off the coasts  of Malaysia and Indonesia  - there are many reports  of pirates climbing  aboard merchant vessels and putting large, razor-sharp, machete-like blades to the throat of the captain before robbing  from both the ship and  the crew.   Formerly,  Asian pirates seized the ship, slaughtered the crew and dumped the bodies overboard in weighted nets.  That, thankfully, now seems to be a thing of the past. We should be grateful for this small mercy.

We understand that everyone enjoys a laugh and a chuckle, and we at Lloyd's List DCN are always in favour of anything that adds to the general merriment.  But, now, today, after International Talk Like A Pirate Day, we at Lloyd's List DCN would also like to point out to everyone - to politicians, and to Mr Pallas in particular - that all the daily comforts of your life, whether that be the chair you sit upon, the washing machine you wash your clothes in or the food you eat, were brought to you by men who sail the waters of this world.  These men face, and in some cases fall prey to, the most dangerous perils of the sea.

Today, they, and the hostages of pirates especially, deserve to be remembered with dignity.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
Jim Wilson is the editor of Lloyd's List DCN, a national maritime newspaper based in Sydney.  Mr Wilson began reporting on the subject of Somali piracy in 2007 when he was the Dubai-based Middle East Correspondent for an international maritime news outlet.  He has reported extensively on the subject and, has in turn, been interviewed extensively about the subject by media outlets such as the ABC, the BBC, CNN, Voice of America and a wide variety of newspapers.

LLOYD'S LIST DCN
With a history dating back to 1892, Lloyd's List DCN is Australia's authoritative publication on shipping, trade and transport news.  We provide information on a local, national and international scale. Lloyd's List DCN provides coverage of breaking news and trends in Australian liner and bulk shipping, ports, freighting, rail, road transport and air freight. Published on a daily basis, our subscribers stay up-to-date via daily email news bulletin and online presence and a weekly newspaper.  Llloyd's List DCN is based in Sydney and is published by Informa Australia.


CONTACT
Jim Wilson
Editor
Lloyd's List DCN
Tel: +61 2 9080 4414
jim.wilson@informa.com.au

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