The Nature of Piracy

At first glance, it would appear that piracy is essentially the same the world over, and whilst the presence of a stranger suddenly wielding a knife on your boat at night can be deeply disturbing, the consequences are not always as dire as might be the case in other arts of the world.

One cannot write off pirate attacks in places like the Amazon basin or Guyana as so much waterborne burglary because they are criminal events nonetheless. However, I guess that if a potential hostage were to choose his pirate attack , it would be in these relatively quieter and calmer areas. The Straits of Molucca used to be a desperate pirate area until the Littoral States got their act together and clamped down on it.

Somalia itself will one day return to a more peaceful contented state although there is still a long way to go until that day comes. For now, the nihilistic entity which calls itself Somalia reflects its own agony and sense of despair in the activities of the pirates who only add to the vast pool of misery that surrounds that country. Imagine the clan rivalries that go on and imagine the lives of innocent villagers who are coerced into performing tasks that they have no interest in and then combine it with complete hand-wringing on the part of the world's government's in addressing the very real issues that face them and more particularly Somalians and you end up with a bleak sense of hopelessness that no one can assuage.

The Spirituality of Piracy

When I went to meet Colin Darch a few months ago, he told me that when he had been taken hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia , a few of the pirates engaged in daily prayers as part of their Muslim faith. He said that his First mate joined with them and said Christian prayers.

It would seem that those pirates he was with accepted the practice of daily prayer as a legitimate and dutiful thing to do , despite the fact that they had violently captured property that was not their own and were holding people against their will. I am not sufficiently au fait with The Koran to know if this was accepted muslim practice or not , but I would guess not. It would be interesting to know what the pirates thought about their faith in that situation and whether they saw any element of hypocrisy in their actions. Can you pray to God for forgiveness when you are still an active oppressor and expect your prayers to be answered?Did those prayers include their hostages?

Historical observers will have no difficulty in reflecting on devout Christians in the 18th century who would hold daily prayers on slave plantations. Or even those in the Second World War who sent millions to their deaths in Auschwitz and the like whilst reciting the Lord's Prayer. This is the paradox of human nature, that it can see the fault in a neighbour's eye but miss the evil that they themselves are perpetrating.

The Business of Piracy

I read today that a stock market exists in Somalia to trade shares in the funding of future pirate attacks. Whether this is true or not , I know not as it was derived from a single source, but what it does tell me is that the level of business activity relating to piracy is at a significant level.

Modern day Haiti was once a pirate state called Hispaniola, and from these dark beginnings the makings of a structure for society emerged. Perhaps the basis of that society was never sufficient to explore issues of freedom of thought and action, or to set forward arguments for democracy amongst others, that would signify a credible system of government or independent police force or judiciary . Somehow, it survived into the 21st century and perhaps in its survival there is a grim hope for Somalia.

For in an age when the world's governments wring their hands hopelessly at the level of piracy blighting one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, it may be that the millions and millions of ransom dollars pouring into the country will eventually coalesce into some form of settled structure from which the beginnings of a new arrangement as a country might emerge. The structure of piracy is already at a sophisticated level and the basis of a capitalist market has been formed. Perhaps there is still a long, bloody road to travel but where there is a dynamic in any situation, there is the potential for change and for growth. Of course, it is better to hope for a more peaceful path for Somalia, but will any nation intervene after the lesson of Iraq?

The Economics of Piracy

I suppose I was fully aware that pirates were paid ransoms to release ships and their crews. However, it was only recently that I discovered an entire arm of the Insurance Market devoted to this subject.

Having become aware of it as a fact of life in the world of piracy , I then discovered that it was also a highly secretive market. Unless you were a bona fide shipowner you were not going to be handed information about the details of such a policy. Anyone trawling the web will find policies apparently available to download. In fact, they are simply non committal documents designed to satisfy the curious without giving anything away.

I was told - and of course it is quite obvious - that if any such details were to come into pirate hands then it could prove detrimental to the wellbeing of hostages, as said pirates would know exactly how much to ask for in a ransom demand and also who to direct their request to. Perhaps it is one way in which maritime bodies can keep pirates in a slightly uncertain position, Sadly, Paul and Rachael Chandler carried no such insurance and with the British Government's refusal to negotiate with their captors they seem doomed to continue their sad, static existence.