The result is a criminal free-for-all. Pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have tripled over the last three years, with nearly three a week in 2008, maritime officials say. Currently there are about a dozen hijacked ships, with more than 300 crew members, being held hostage. Ransom payments are often as high as $2 million.
Until recently, the hijackings proved easy. Thousands of cargo ships and tankers pass on the way to Mombasa port in Kenya or destinations in southern Africa. To the north, the Gulf of Aden is a major trade route for the Middle East.
About five years ago, several Somali warlords began attacking illegal fishing boats that had been plundering and polluting the nation's waters. In 2005, more than 800 illegal vessels from Kenya, South Korea, China and other nations were exploiting Somalia's coastline.
Then the attackers began targeting humanitarian vessels, including some from the United Nations' World Food Program. Today, the brazen pirates, calling themselves Somalia's self-appointed "coast guard," attack virtually anything that floats, including private luxury yachts and even a U.S. naval boat.
Foreign seafarers usually offer little resistance and make obedient hostages. Somalia's weak transitional government is powerless to intervene. Ransoms this year alone have topped about $30 million, officials estimate.
But the Sept. 25 hijacking of the Faina may change the rules of the game. The Ukrainian vessel was loaded with 33 Soviet-era tanks and other military hardware. The Kenyan government says it was the buyer, but many believe it was a go-between for the government of southern Sudan.
At first, the pirates thought they'd hit the jackpot. But the prospect of such a large weapons cache possibly falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue nations mobilized the international community. Several NATO warships have joined several U.S. naval vessels and a Russian frigate in patrolling the waters and ensuring that the Faina's sensitive cargo is not unloaded as negotiations continue. U.S. helicopters regularly hover over the ship and visually inspect every boat to and from the Faina, whose 20-member crew is being held for a multimillion-dollar ransom.
"The ships roam around us every two to three hours and helicopters come close to see what is going on inside the ship," said Sugule Ali, a spokesman for the pirates.
Foreign efforts
