The pirates of the gulf of aden: The coalition is the strategy

Stanford Journal of International Law

Volumn 45, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 243-286

  Kraska, James ^a   Wilson, Brian ^b  

^a WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION   (United States)

^b Region Legal Service Office   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 76749116113     PISSN: 07315082     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (279)

1. At the Constitutional Convention, Nathaniel Sargeant stated that "it was 'preposterous' to think that the United States could continue under the ineffectual Articles of Confederation and still defend itself from 'piracies and felonies on ye high seas.'" MICHAEL B. OREN, POWER, FAITH, AND FANTASY: AMERICA IN THE MDDLE EAST: 1776 TO THE PRESENT 30 (2007).
2. CNN.com, About 30 Chinese rescued from pirate attack, http://www.cnn. com/2008AVORLD/africa/12/17/somalia.piracy/index.html (last visited Feb. 27, 2009) ;
3. see also Ellen Knickmeyer, 100 Hostages Held by Somali Pirates, WASH. POST, Sept. 12, 2008, at All, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/09/11/ AR2008091103803.html;
4. Philip Ewing, Zappin' Pirates, NAVY TIMES, Nov. 10, 2008, at 8.
5. Knickmeyer, supra note 2.
6. Id.
7. John W. Miller, Piracy Spurs Threats to Shipping Costs, WALL ST. J., Nov. 19, 2008, at A12, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122701864743437147.html;
8. Factbox-The dangerous Gulf of Aden, REUTERS, Nov. 3, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL3623177.
9. During the 18th century, some held hope that piracy could be eradicated. David Humphreys suggested the United States stop paying tributes and become "the Authors of the System for exterminating the pirates."
10. OREN, supra note 1, at 40.
11. See Jenny Booth, Europe to Send Warships to Defeat Somali Pirates, TIMES ONLINE (U. K.), Oct. 2, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4867351.ece;
12. Michael Evans, Rob Crilly, & David Charter, Euro Task Force Declares War on Somali Pirates, TIMES OINLINE (U. K.), Oct. 3, 2008;
13. see also Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, Stake out by Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, Following the Adoption of Resolution 1846 (Dec. 2, 2008), available at http://www.diplomatie.gouv. fr/en/IMG/pdf/Stake-out-by-Ambassador-Jean-Maurice- Ripert.pdf;
14. Council of the European Union, htrp://consilium.europa.eu/showPage.aspx? id=1518&lang=en (last visited Mar. 1, 2009).
15. Agence France Press, EU Launches First Navy Mission, in Piracy-Infested Seas, DEFENSENEWS, Dec. 7, 2008, http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3853488&c=EUR&s=SEA;
16. see also International Chamber of Commerce Commercial Crime Services (1CCCCS), EU Initiative for the Gulf of Aden, http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option= com-content&view=article&id= 322:euinitiative-for-the-gulf-of-aden&catid=60:news & Itemid=51 (last visited Feb. 27, 2009).
17. Operation Atalanta forces will protect vulnerable vessels cruising off the Somali coast and deter, prevent and repress piracy. Part of E. U. efforts will include a "Close Support Protection" for Gulf of Aden transits. While only two ships at a time can avail themselves of this support, which is provided upon request, others can trail in the immediate vicinity of this "group of protected vessels." ICCCCS, supra.
18. Chinese Navy Completes 15 Escort Missions in Gulf of Aden, XINHUA NEWS AGENCY, Feb. 7, 2009, http://www.china.org.cn/china/news/2009-02/07/content-17239440.htm;
19. Peng Kuang and Wu Jiao, China's Piracy Fight to Boost US Ties, CHINA DAILY, Dec. 22, 2008, available at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-12/22/content-7327363.htm.
20. Teo Chee Hean, Singapore Minister of Defense, Plenary Speech at the Manama Dialogue, (Dec. 14, 2008), available at http://www.mindef.gov. sg/imindef/news-and-events/nr/2008/dec/14dec08-nr/14dec08-speech.html.
21. The German delegate to the United Nations, Thomas Matussek, noted that while recent efforts were welcomed, "duplication of effort" must be avoided.
22. See Press Release, Security Council, Security Council Authorizes States to Use Land-Based Operations in Somalia as Part of Fight Against Piracy Off Coast, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1851, U. N. Doc. SC/9541 (Dec. 16, 2008), available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9541.doc. htm.
23. See discussion of the Law of the Sea Convention infra p. 32.
24. S. C. Res. 1816, U. N. Doc. S/RES/1816, ¶ 7 (b) (June 2, 2008) ;
25. see also S. C. Res. 1838, U. N. Doc. S/RES/1838 (Oct. 7, 2008) ;
26. S. C. Res. 1846 S/RES/1846 (Dec. 2, 2008) ;
27. S. C. Res. 1851, U. N. Doc. S/RES/1851 (Dec. 16, 2008).
28. See David K. Bjork, Piracy in the Baltic: 1375-1398, 18 SPECULUM 39, 40 (1943) ;
29. see also Chip Cummins, Piracy Grips Gulf of Aden, WALL ST. J., Sept. 8, 2008, at A10 ("Further militaiy action [in response to piracy] could rattle energy markets, which have reacted sharply to even minor shipping disruptions in other important choke points.").
30. Workshop Commissioned by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN to Somalia, Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 10-21, 2008, Piracy off the Somali Coast: Final Report: Assessment and Recommendations, ¶ 5.4.2 [hereinafter Nairobi Report I] (prepared by Ambassador Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah).
31. See also Jonathan Clayton, Business Booms in Somali Pirate Village Eyl, THE AUSTRALIAN, Nov. 19, 2008, available at http://www.theaustralian. news.com.au/story/0, 25197, 24674415-32682.00.html ("Millions are starving in Somalia, but in this corner of a broken land, piracy is big business. Puntland, Somalia's semi-autonomous northeastern province...is experiencing a boom.").
32. Miller, supra note 5.
33. Nairobi Report I, supra note 15, ¶ 5.4.2.
34. Malacca Strait Shows Piracy Can Be Tackled, LLOYD'S LIST, June 13, 2007, at 3;
35. see also ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre, http:www.recaap.org/ index-home.html (last visited Mar. 1, 2009).
36. Nairobi Report I, supra note 15, at ¶ 3.1. This increase has also been noted by other parties in the shipping industry. ICC International Marine Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre has issued a 2008 piracy report, available at http://www.iccccs.org/index.php?option=com-content&view= article&id=332:imb-reports-unprecedented-rise-inmaritime- hijackings&catid=60:news&Itemid=51. INTERTANKO's letter of concern to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), sent on February 18, 2009, comments on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and is available at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/17124/Piracy%20-%20Gulf%20of%20Guinea.pdf. Andrew Linington of the National Union of Marine, Aviation, and Shipping Transport officers (NUMAST), in response to inquiries from the British House of Commons, commented, "[W]e have been extremely fortunate so far that we have not had a major environmental disaster. We have had several cases of fully laden tankers going down the Malacca Straits, the second busiest shipping lanes in the world, with no-one at the controls because they are all being held at gunpoint." TRANSPORT COMMITTEE, PIRACY: EIGHTH REPORT, 2005-06, H. C. 1026, at EV 20 [hereinafter H. C. 1026].
37. Nairobi Report I, supra note 15, at ¶ 3.1.
38. John O'Connell, Marine Cargo Security, 51 RISK MANAGEMENT 30, 32 (2004).
39. Id.
40. Ben Kates, A Cluster of Attacks Clouds Optimism in Unpredictable Waters of Malacca Strait, LLOYD'S LIST, Aug. 1, 2006, at 4 (discussing how recent attacks had features of an attempted kidnapping).
41. Carolyn Quek, 2 Sailors Kidnapped in Malacca Strait Freed, STRAITS TIMES, Feb. 24, 2009, available at http://www.straitstimes.com/vgn-exttemplating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=fc 1 e7dc 1293afl lOVgnVCM 100000430aOaOaRCRD&vgnextchannel = cf70758920e39010gnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD.
42. Id.
43. Cummins, supra note 14, at A10 ('Three ships were seized by pirates within 12 hours between Aug. 20 and 21 [in the year 2008]. An additional four ships were captured over a 48-hour period the following week, according to reports made to the [International Maritime Bureau]").
44. See Michael Fabey, Hijackings Boom, TRAFFIC WORLD, Sept. 25, 2000, at 45.
45. Jeffrey Gettleman, Somali Pirates Tell Their Side: They Only Want Money, N. Y. TIMES Oct. 1, 2008, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/world/africa/01pirates.htrnl (quoting Sugule Ali, who spoke for Somali pirates who had hijacked a Ukrainian freighter and who considered themselves to be akin to "a coast guard").
46. Pirates want £10 Million Ransom for Tank Ship, MIRROR NEWS, U. K., Sept. 30, 2008, available at http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/09/30/pirates-want-10-million- ransom-fortank-ship-115875-20761052/.
47. See David Montgomery, Pillage People: Until Their Legacy Becomes a Punch Line, Somali Pirates Sail Scary Cultural Seas, WASH. POST, Dec. 6, 2008, at C01 (quoting a merchantman who explained, "I wouldn't even wish this for my enemies. We were always kept at gunpoint 24 hours and asked to stay on the bridge.").
48. But see Clayton, supra note 15 (noting that some hostages on the ground fared better and were "often taken out by their captors to eat in new restaurants that were set up primarily to cater for non-Somali tastes.").
49. Montgomery, supra note 30, at C01.
50. The effects of piracy can also be corrosive on social capital and economic development, reducing the incentives of producers and merchants to engage in maritime trade and commerce. The cumulative effects on maritime trade can destabilize regions, eventually even leading to the decline of vibrant commercial centers. In the late sixteenth century, for example, piracy from Algerian and Tunisian corsairs and other maritime predators triggered the irreversible decline of Venice as a maritime city-state.
51. John L. Anderson, Piracy and World History, in BANDITS AT SEA: A PIRATES READER 87-88 (C. R. Pennell, ed., 2001).
52. H. C. 1026, supra note 19, at 33 ("The growth in piracy over the past decade represents an appalling amount of violence against the maritime community... piracy involves: kidnapping, theft, assault, rape, wounding, murder.").
53. Id.
54. CMA-CGM, Press Release, Aden Gulf Surcharge, Dec. 17, 2008, available at http://www.cma-cgm.com/en/AboutUs/PressRoom/Press-Release- Aden-Gulf-Surcharge-7426.aspx?Culture=en-US.
55. Piracy Leads to Drop in Indian Ocean Tuna Catch, FIS (WORLD NEWS), Jan. 26, 2009, http://fis.com/fis/worldnews/ worldnews.asp?monthyear=1-2009&day=26&id=31153&l=e&country= &special=&ndb=1&df=0.
56. Christopher Browne, NEWSWA TCH: Response to Somali Piracy Insufficient, FAIRPLAY, July 12, 2007, at 11 (citing David Hunt, a London-based expert at Exclusive Analysis, a specialist intelligence company that forecasts political risks).
57. Agence France Press, supra note 8.
58. Ripert, supra note 7, at 1 ("Every day more than 3 millions of Somali people are depending on food aids, on emergency relief, which are coming 95% of them by the sea").
59. Neil MacFarquhar, U. S. Proposes Going Ashore to Hunt Pirates, N. Y. TIMES, Dec. 11, 2008, at 14.
60. GCC Vows to Use All Means to Combat Maritime Piracy, GULF NEWS, Nov. 27, 2008.
61. Editorial, Give MSDF Legal Base to Tackle Pirates, THE DAILY YOMIURI, Nov. 27, 2008, at 4, available at http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/20081127TDY04305.htm. At the United Nations on Dec. 16, 2008, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated that his country "as a maritime state and a trading nation, attached great importance to the safety of marine navigation, which was directly linked to its survival." U. N. Doc. SC/9541, supra note 11.
62. U. S. CONST., art. I, § 8, c1. 10.
63. Piracy Under Law of Nations, 18 U. S. C. § 1651 (2008) (based on 18 U. S. C. § 481 (1940).
64. Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction, 18 U. S. C. § 2111 (2008).
65. Attack to Plunder Vessel, 18 U. S. C. § 1659 (2008) (based on 18 U. S. C. § 489 (1940)).
66. Violence Against Maritime Navigation, 18 U. S. C. §§ 2280, 2281 (2008). These provisions were implemented by the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA), Mar. 10, 1988, 1678 U. N. T. S. 221, 27 I. L. M. 668. SUA entered into force for the United States in March 1995.
67. Id, SUA later is endorsed in Security Council Resolution 1851.
68. See infra text accompanying note 226.
69. Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States Defined, 18 U. S. C. § 7 (2008).
70. Id.§7 (6), (7), (9).
71. Assault on the High Seas, 18 U. S. C. § 113 (2008).
72. See Cruise ship repels Somali pirates, BBC NEWS, Sept. 5, 2005, available at http://news.bbc.co. Uk/2/hi/africa/4409662.stm (describing an incident months earlier, the Seabourn Spirit, a cruise-ship carrying American citizens was attacked off the Somali coast by pirates using automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, leading to concerns in the administration).
73. Memorandum on Maritime Security (Piracy) Policy, 43 WEEKLY COMP. PRES. DOC. 803 (June 13, 2007)
74. reprinted in James Kraska, Developing Piracy Policy for the National Strategy for Maritime Security and the International Maritime Organization, in LEGAL CHALLENGES IN MARITIME SECURITY 331, 409-413 (Myron H. Nordquist et al. eds., 2008) [hereinafter Maritime Security (Piracy) Policy].
75. The Navy identified piracy as an emerging strategic threat in 2006 in the Naval Operations Concept signed by the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. U. S. NAVY & U. S. MARINE CORPS, NAVAL OPERATIONS CONCEPT 2006 (2006), available at http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/seabasing/docs/Naval- Operations-Concept-2006.pdf.
76. Maritime Security (Piracy) Policy, supra note 5 3, at 411.
77. For more information, see IMO's website on the ISPS Code at http://www.imo.org/Safety/mainframe.asp?topic-id=861.
78. International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, Nov. 1, 1974, 32 U. S. T. 47, 1184 U. N. T. S. 278 [hereinafter SOLAS].
79. To find information about how the ISPS Code was implemented specifically through SOLAS and the list of SOLAS Contracting Governments, see supra note 56 and click on "FAQ on ISPS Code and Maritime Security."
80. Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 46 U. S. C).
81. See supra note 56.
82. See Maritime Security (Piracy) Policy, supra note 53.
83. U. S. Department of Homeland Security, NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR MARITIME SECURITY: NATIONAL PLAN TO aCHIEVE MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS 1 (2005), available at www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/HSPD-MDAPlan. pdf [hereinafter NATIONAL PLAN TO ACHIEVE MDA].
84. John Parker, Tracking Ships Online, TRAFFIC WORLD, June 19, 2000, at 45 (describing new tools for anti-piracy efforts, including transponder and website tracked by satellite).
85. NATIONAL PLAN TO ACHIEVE MDA, supra note 62, at 17.
86. SOLAS, SUPRA note 58, ch. V, ¶ 19.2.4 (amended Dec. 2004).
87. For more information on the May 2006 amendment, see IMO's website on SOLAS and its amendments at http://www.imo.org/TCD/contents.asp?topic- id=257&doc-id=647#2003.
88. The LRIT system will operate by having vessels send reports of their positions periodically to cooperating national, regional or international LRIT data centers. These data centers will then deliver data to SOLAS-contracted governments, which would be entitled to receive the data for official use only. Such an international data exchange will serve as a "router" for the data among data centers. In this system, data security is a paramount concern that will need to be closely monitored.
89. G. Edward White, The Marshall Court and International Law: The Piracy Cases, 83 AM. J. INT'LL. 727, 727 (1989).
90. Paul Raffaele, The Pirate Hunters, SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, Aug. 2007, available at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ people-places/pirate-main. html;
91. James Sturcke, Royal Navy Delivers Captured Somali Pirates to Kenya, GUARDIAN, http://www.guardian. co.uk/world/2008/nov/18/ piracysomalia-kenya-royal-navy.
92. H. C. 1026, supra note 19, at 12-14.
93. Id., at 12.
94. Id.
95. HUGO GROTIUS, FREEDOM OF THESEAS OR THE RIGHT WHICH BELONGS TO THE DUTCH TO TAKE PART IN THE EAST INDIA TRADE 8 (James Brown Scott ed., Ralph Van Deman Magoffin, trans., Oxford Univ. Press 1916) (1608).
96. RUDYARD KIPLING, Big Steamers 1914-18, in THE COLLECTED POEMS OF RUDYARD KIPLING 757, 758 (1994).
97. Thomas Jefferson referred to the pirate corsairs as "sea dogs." OREN, supra note 1, at 32.
98. The purpose of the Freedom of Navigation program is to encourage modification of, and demonstrate non-acquiescence in maritime claims that are inconsistent with customary international law, as reflected in the international law of the sea. Completed freedom of navigation assertions are produced within the Strategic Plans & Policy Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, forwarded to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and then publicly posted annually on the Internet website of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, made available at http://www.defenselink.mil/policy/ sections/policy-offices/index.html. The 2003 Freedom of Navigation annual report stated, "Considering the importance of global stability and U. S. national security in light of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, State Department and the U. S. armed forces will continue to assert navigation and overflight rights." Global Security Affairs (GSA), Freedom of Navigation: FY 2000-2003 Operational Assertions, http://www.defenselink.mil/policy/sections/police-offices/gsa/fon- fy00-03.html (last visited Feb. 29, 2009). In 2007, operational challenges were conducted against China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman and the Philippines. GSA, Freedom of Navigation: FY 2007 Operational Assertions, http://www.defenselink.mil/policy/sections/police-offices/gsa/FY-07-FON-Report. pdf (last visited Feb. 29, 2009).
99. Condoleeza Rice, U. S. Sec'y of State, Combating the Scourge of Piracy (Dec. 16, 2008), available at http://2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/rm/ 2008/12/1 13269.htm.
100. GARY ROUGHEAD, U. S. NAVY, JAMES T. CONWAY, U. S. MARINE CORPS, & THAD w. ALLEN, U. S. COAST GUARD, a cOOPERATIVE STRATEGY FOR 21st cENTURY SEA POWER (2007) [hereinafter COOPERATIVE STRATEGY], available at http://www.navy.rnil/maritime/MaritimeStrategy.pdf. The strategy states, "We will not permit conditions under which our maritime forces would be impeded from of maneuver and freedom of access, nor will we permit an adversary to disrupt the global supply chain by attempting to block vital sea-lanes of communication and commerce."
101. Id. at 13.
102. William J. Clinton, Remarks by the President in Address on China and the National Interest at Voice of America, Washington, D. C. (Oct. 24, 1997) (transcript available at The Asia Society, http://www.asiasociety.org/speeches/ clinton-speech.html). The former President said China's economic growth has made it more dependent on the outside world for investments, markets and energy.
103. THE WHITE HOUSE, THE NATIONAL SIECURITY STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 17 (2002).
104. Knickmeyer, supra note 2, at A11.
105. Andrew Marshall, Why Hijack a Plane When You Can Seize a Supertanker?, REUTERS, Nov. 28, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/ article/topNews/idUSTRE4AO0WW20081125.
106. The United States can continue its sound policy to "engage states and international and regional organizations." Maritime Security (Piracy) Policy, supra note 53, at 411.
107. See U. S. DEPT. OF STATE, NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR MARITIME SECURITY: I NTERNATIONAL OUTREACH AND COORDINATION STRATEGY 1 (2005), available at http://www.state.gov/documents/ organization/64251.pdf.
108. GARY ROUGHED, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, CNO GUIDANCE FOR 2009: EXECUTING OUR MARITIME STRATEGY 4 (2008) ("Dominance is not just about combat power; it is also our ability to work with other nations to provide global maritime security and prevent conflict."). Roughed also states that "[o]ur relationships with other navies and nations are integral to our Maritime Strategy", and that "[w]e must evolve and establish international relationships to increase security and achieve common interests in the maritime domain. "
109. Id. at 8.
110. Bruce A. Wright & Mark O. Hague, The U. S.-Japan Alliance: Sustaining the Transformation, 44.1 JOINT FFORCE QUARTERLY 59, 62 (2007) ("To maintain regional peace and stability, U. S. and allied forces must be postured strategically and linked operationally to dissuade, deter, and, when necessary, defeat threats").
111. Among the strongest supporters of international cooperation against piracy are Indonesia and Malaysia.
112. See U. N. GAOR, 54th Sess., 62nd plen. mtg. at 13, 22, U. N. Doc. A/54/PV.62 (Nov. 24, 1999) (containing statements by representatives of Indonesia and Malaysia urging strong regional action to counter piracy).
113. A summary of this agreement is available at http://www.defenselink.mil/ news/Mar2006/d200600302indousframeworkformaritimesecuritycooperation. pdf.
114. The Maritime Security Policy Coordinating Committee was established on December 21, 2004 by National Security Presidential Directive 41 (NSPD-41) to "review existing interagency practices, coordination, and execution of U. S. policies and strategies relating to maritime security", and to "recommend specific improvements to all of them as warranted." Memorandum on Maritime Security Policy, at 3 (Dec. 21, 2004), available at http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd41.pdf.
115. Russell E. Shalders et al., Response, The Commanders Respond, 132/3/1, 237 UNITED STATES NAVAL INSTITUTE PROCEEDINGS 34, 40-51 (Mar. 2006) (discussing the Thousand Ship Navy concept).
116. COOPERATIVE STRATEGY, supra note 78;
117. see also THE WHITE HOUSE, THE NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 7, 17, & 44 (2006) (discussing working closely with allies and friends to oppose the repugnant institutions of slavery, genocide and piracy).
118. French Representative to the United Nations, Jean-Maurice Ripert, spoke positively about the resolution, since it gave the European Union "some legal basis" to commence much-needed international counter-piracy pirate efforts. Ripert, supra note 7.
119. See Council Joint Action 2008/851/CFSP, 2008 Official Journal of the European Union (O. J.) (L 301) 33 (EU).
120. Id. at 35.
121. See information regarding CTF-50 supra p. 3.
122. Int'l Maritime Org. [IMO], Maritime Safety Committee, The UK Government's Strategy for Tackling Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea, U 15, IMO Doc. MSC 80/5/17 (Mar. 4, 2005).
123. Id. at ¶17.
124. U. K. Marine and Coastguard Agency, Measures to Counter Piracy, Armed Robbery and other Acts of Violence against Merchant Shipping, at 6-14, Marine Guidance Note 298 (M), (Nov. 16, 2005).
125. H. C. 1026, supra note 19, at 7-9.
126. See IMO, Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its Eighty-Fifth Session, ¶ 18.10, IMO Doc. MSC 85/26 (Dec. 19, 2008) (describing how a number of delegations and organizations were against proposals to embark armed security teams on board).
127. Id.
128. Ewing, supra note 2, at 8. ("Navy ships frustrated by pirates and small-boat attackers could get a new tool to disarm such threats: a nonlethal people zapper"). A U. S. Fifth Fleet Commander has also put out an "urgent need statement" seeking nonlethal weapons to enable cruisers and destroyers to keep small boats at bay. The Active Denial System (ADS) and the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) are among the available options.
129. Id.
130. Private Security Firms Join Battle Against Somali Pirates, FOX NEWS (ASSOCIATED PRESS), Oct. 26, 2008, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0, 2933, 444103, 00.html.
131. Id.
132. IMO Doc. MSC 85/26, supra note 100, ¶ 18.10.
133. See generally Carolin Liss, Privatizing the Fight Against Somali Pirates 1-18 (Murdoch University Asia Research Centre, Working Paper No. 152, 2008) (exploring risks and benefits of PSCs in the Gulf of Aden and off the horn of Africa).
134. IMO, Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, Maritime Safety Committee Circular, IMO Doc. MSC/Circ.623/Rev. 3 at ANNEX 9 (May 29, 2002).
135. Montgomery, supra note 30, at C01.
136. Id.
137. IMO Doc. MSC 85/26, supra note 100, ¶ 18.11.
138. 1" Martin Fletcher, British and Irish anti-piracy experts rescued - after pirates attack, LONDON TIMES, Nov. 29, 2008.
139. Id.
140. Ashby Jones, Pirate Attacks Keep Law Firm Buzzing, WALL ST. J., Dec. 10, 2008, at B1, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB122886821440893125.html?mod=googlenews -wsj.
141. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAWS OF ENGLAND 499 (John Bethune Bayly ed., Saunders & Benning, 1840).
142. U. N. Convention on the Law of the Sea art. 101, Dec. 10, 1982, 1833 U. N. T. S. 3, 397; 21 I. L. M. 1261 (1982).
143. Tommy T. B. Koh of Singapore, President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, Remarks at the Final Session of the Conference at Montego Bay: A Constitution for the Oceans (Dec. 11, 1982) (transcript available at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention-agreements/texts/koh- english.pdf).
144. Law of the Sea, supra note 115.
145. Id, at art. 100.
146. Id. at art. 101. Unlike terrorists, which operate according to political or religious goals, pirates are motivated by pecuniary gain. Maritime piracy is responsible for incidents of injury, kidnapping and loss of life, and the crime costs shipping companies between thirteen to fifteen billion dollars annually in losses in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean alone.
147. Margaret Ryan, Captain Counts the Cost of Piracy, BBC NEWS (Feb. 2, 2006), available at http://news.bbc.co. Uk/1/hi/world/africa/4669050.stm.
148. Law of the Sea, supra note 115, art. 101.
149. IMO, Code of Practice for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, IMO Assemb. Res. A.922 (22) (Nov. 29, 2001).
150. Id. at 4.
151. Id. at 4.
152. See also INT'L CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INT'L MARITIME BUREAU, ANNUAL REPORT: PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS 1 JAN.-31 DEC. 2006, at 2 (2007) [hereinafter 1MB ANNUAL rEPORT].
153. IMB ANNUAL REPORT, supra note 123.
154. Law of the Sea, supra note 115, art. 99, 100-107, & 111.
155. Id. at art. 108.
156. Id. at art. 110.
157. The Marianna Flora, 24 U. S. (11 WHEAT.) 1, 42-41 (1826).
158. SAN REMO MANUAL ON THE LAW APPLICABLE TO ARMED CONFLICT AT SEA 31-32, ¶ 118-121 (Louise Doswald-Beck, ed., 1995).
159. NAVAL STUDIES BOARD, THE 1, 000 SHIP NAVY: MARITIME SECURITY PARTNERSHIPS (2008) 189 (Appendix C).
160. Law of the Sea, supra note 115, art. 25, 92, & 94.
161. Charter ofthe United Nations art. 51, 59 Stat. 1031, TS 993, 3 Bevans 1153 (1945).
162. A state that "wishes to prosecute pirates and other such criminals needs to ensure that the relevant laws apply on the high seas too" and a state will also need to establish implementing regulations if it wishes to "pursue pirates into another state's territorial sea with a view to prosecuting them in their domestic courts." Workshop Commissioned by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN to Somalia, Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 10-21, 2008, Piracy off the Somali Coast: Final Report: Legal Framework, ¶ 1.2.1.4 (prepared by Ambassador Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah).
163. Paulo Prada & Alex Roth, On the Lawless Seas, It's Not Easy Putting Somali Pirates in the Dock, WALL ST. J., Dec. 12, 2008, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1229035 42171799663.html.
164. Id.
165. For a brief description of IMO's role and purpose, see H. C. 1026, supra note 19, at 39. Several IMO-led regional maritime security seminars "have played an important role in raising awareness of the incidence and impact of piracy and armed robbery at sea and what measures states can take to protect themselves against it." TRANSPORT COMMITTEE, PIRACY: GIOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE COMMITTEE'S EIGHTH REPORT OF SESSION 2005-2006, H. C. 1690, at 3.
166. IMO, Focus on IMO: Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea, at 2 (Jan. 2000).
167. IMO, Measures to Prevent Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, IMO Assemb. Res. A.545 (13) (Nov. 17, 1983).
168. IMO, Measures to Prevent Unlawful Acts Against Passengers and Crews on Board Ships, Maritime Safety Committee Circular IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 443 ¶ 3.3 (Sept. 26, 1986), available at http://www.imo.org/includes/ blastDataOnly.asp/data-id%3D3827/msccirc443measurestoprevent.pdf. In 1991, the IMO requested governments to report all incidents of piracy promptly and in detail. IMO, Prevention and Suppression of Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, IMO Assemb. Res. A.683 (17) (Nov. 6, 1991), available at http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data-id%3D22506/ A683%2817%29.pdf.
169. IMO, Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships: Recommendations to Government for Preventing and Suppressing Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, Maritime Safety Committee Circular IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 622 (May 1993) ;
170. IMO, Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships: Guidance to Ship-owners and Ship operators, Shipmasters and Crews on Preventing and Suppressing Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, Maritime Safety Committee Circular IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 623 (May 1993).
171. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 622, supra note 140;
172. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 623, supra note 140.
173. IMO, Measures to prevent and suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships, IMO Res. A.738 (18) (Nov. 4, 1993).
174. Id. at¶1.
175. Id, at ¶3.
176. Id. at ¶5.
177. Id. at ¶6, 8.
178. IMO, Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its Seventy-fifth Session, ¶ 18.7-18.19, IMO Doc. MSC 75/24 (May 29, 2002).
179. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 622/Rev. 1 (June 16, 1999) ;
180. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 623/Rev. 1 (June 16, 1999). Regional seminars held in Brazil and Singapore in 1998 gave input to both these revisions.
181. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 622/Rev. 1, supra note 148, ¶ 3-15, ¶ 16-20 (discussing protective measures and investigative protocols).
182. Id. at app. 5.
183. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 623/Rev. 1, supra note 148. This Circular has been revised twice more.
184. See IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 623/Rev. 2 (June 20, 2001) ;
185. IMO Doc. MSC/Circ. 623/Rev. 3 (May 29, 2002).
186. IMO Assemb. Res. A.922 (22), supra note 121.
187. IMO, Measures to Prevent the Registration of Phantom Ships, IMO Doc. A.923 (22) (2001).
188. See also U. N. Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships (1986), 26 I. L. M. 1229 (1987) (not in force). A successfully renamed ship would enable pirates to operate the stolen vessel under apparent authority and an air of legitimacy.
189. The sixteen countries were the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
190. Yoshiaki Ito, Speech by Mr. Yoshiaki Ito, The Executive Director of ReCAAP ISC (Apr. 2007), http://www.recaap.org/news/pdf/news/Apr.07.pdf.
191. Id.
192. Id.
193. IMO, Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Waters off the Coast of Somalia, ¶ 7, IMO Assemb. Res. A. 1002 (25) (Nov. 29, 2007).
194. Maritime and port authority representatives attended from Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. IMO Doc. MSC 85/26, supra note 100, ¶ 18.13.
195. At the Oman Workshop, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Jordan, Oman, Somalia, and Yemen endorsed the draft Motion of Understanding, hereinafter referred to as the "Sana'a/Muscat MoU."
196. Id. at ¶18.14.
197. "[T]he Dar es Salaam meeting was to promote good maritime security on a regional basis, with a particular focus on the prevention, detection and suppression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea."
198. Id. at ¶ 18.15.
199. Id., ¶. 18.14.
200. MOWCA consists of the coastal states Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d' lvoire, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo; and the land-locked states Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Mali, Niger and Chad.
201. IMO, Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Waters Off the Coast of Somalia, IMO Assemb. Res. A.979 (24) (Feb. 6, 2006).
202. IMO Assemb. Res. A.1002 (25), supra note 158.
203. Id. at ¶3.
204. Id. at ¶4.9.
205. Id. at ¶ 9.4.
206. Id. at ¶ 6.1.
207. Id. at ¶6.2.
208. Id. at ¶6.3-4.
209. Kuala Lumpur Meeting on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore: Enhancing Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection, Sept. 18-20, 2006, Kuala Lumpur Statement on Enhancement on Safety, Security and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, IMO Doc. KUL 1/4, (Sept. 20, 2006), available at http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data id%3D 15677/kualalumpurstatement.pdf.
210. Id.
211. Id.
212. For the U. N. report of the KL meeting, see also U. N. Doc. A/61/584 (Nov. 17, 2006).
213. Singapore Meeting on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore: Enhancing Safety, Security and Environmental Protection, Sept. 4-7, 2007, Singapore Statement on Enhancement of Safety, Security and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, IMO Doc. SGP 1/4 (Sept. 6, 2007).
214. The Singapore meeting also recognized the contributions of the straits states in the development of Malacca Strait security initiatives.
215. Law of the Sea, supra note 115, art. 43.
216. Professor S. Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Nat'l Sec. and Minister for Law, Keynote Address at Swissotel - The Stamford, Singapore (Sept. 4, 2007), available at http://app. mfa.gov. sg/pr/read-content.asp? View, 8100.
217. Charter of the United Nations, supra note 132, art. 39-51.
218. See e.g., S. C. Res. 1816, supra note 13.117 (b).
219. S. C. Res. 1816, supra note 13.
220. Browne, supra note 37. Security Council Resolutions 1816 and 1838 in 2008 were designed, in part, to address this action.
221. S. C. Res. 1816, supra note 13, ¶ 11.
222. See generally S. C. Res. 1838, supra note 13.
223. Id. at 1.
224. S. C. Res. 1838, supra note 13, ¶ 6 (referring to IMO Assemb Res. A.1002 (25), supra note 158).
225. Nairobi Report I, supra note 15, at 2 (Introduction).
226. Id. at ¶ 6.
227. Id.
228. Id. at ¶ 8.1.2, 8.1.3.
229. Id. at ¶1.5.
230. Id. at ¶3.1.2.
231. U. N. Doc. SC/9541, supra note 11;
232. Transcript of Statement by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov at the UN Security Council Meeting on Fighting Piracy and Armed Robbery Off the Coast of Somalia, New York, December 16, 2008; available at http://www.un. int/russia/new/MainRoot/doc s/off-news/171208/newen 1.htm.
233. Id. at 13.8.
234. Nairobi Report I, supra note 15, 18. 1.2.
235. Id.
236. See supra p. 18.
237. Workshop Commissioned by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN to Somalia, Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 10-21, 2008, Piracy off the Somali Coast: Final Report: Detailed Recommendations, ¶ 1.3 [hereinafter Nairobi Report II] (prepared by Ambassador Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah).
238. Id.
239. Id.
240. Id. at ¶ 1.2 (Recommendation 13).
241. S. C. Res. 1851, supra note 13, at ¶ 3.
242. Nairobi Report I, supra note 15, at ¶ 4.2.3.
243. Id. at ¶ 4.2.4.
244. S. C. Res. 1851, supra note 13, ¶ 3.
245. Nairobi Report II, supra note 197, ¶ 1.1 (Recommandation 8).
246. Id. at ¶ 1.1 (Recommendation 3).
247. John Kruzel, Defense Department Welcomes U. N. Resolution Aimed at Pirates, AM. FORCES PRESS SERVICE, Dec. 17, 2008, http://www.defenselink. mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52368.
248. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-163, 119 Stat. 3136 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 10 U. S. C).
249. CONG. RESEARCH SIERV., CRS REP. FOR CONG.: SECTION 1206 OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION aCT FOR FY2006: A FACT SHEET ON THE dEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORITY TO TRAIN AND EQUIP FOREIGN mILITARY FORCES 4 (2008), available at fpc.state.gov/documents/ organization/105182.pdf.
250. Id, at 2-3.
251. S. C. Res. 1846, supra note 13.
252. Ripert, supra note 7.
253. Prada & Roth, supra note 134. Regarding the 1988 SUA Convention, "few signatories have enacted national legislation empowering their courts to prosecute foreigners for such acts outside their territory."
254. Id.
255. Press Release, U. S. Mission to the United Nations, Rosemary DiCarlo, United States Ambassador and Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs Speaks on Anti-Piracy resolution by Security Council, at Security Council Stakeout, U. S. FED. NEWS (Dec. 2, 2008).
256. Id.
257. OREN, supra note 1, at 556. [M]embers of the Palestine Liberation Front overran the Achille Lauro and held its twelve American passengers at gunpoint.... the PLF gunmen did not merely incarcerate the Americans but decided to make an example of one of them Their choice was a handicapped sixty-nine-year old New Yorker named Leon Klinghoffer, an American Jew. The terrorists pushed Klinghoffer's wheelchair to the edge of the deck, shot him in the back, and pitched his still-twitching body into the sea.
258. 2, 7 The Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation was approved at the IMO in Rome on March 10, 1988 and entered into force on March 1, 1992.
259. See supra notes 47-48.
260. Amendments to the Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA) were approved at the IMO in 2005 and will enter into force after ratification by twelve states. The SUA Amendments provide a framework for criminalizing the conduct of those who transport terrorists or use a ship as a weapon. They further provide enforcement mechanisms to facilitate non-flag state boarding of vessels suspected of being involved in such illicit activity, and mandate that a State Party either prosecutes or extradites suspected SUA offenders. Press Release, IMO, Revised Treaties to Address Unlawful Acts at Sea Adopted at International Conference, (Oct. 10-14, 2005), http://www.imo.org/About/mainframe.asp?topic-id= 1018&doc-id=5334.
261. Despite the ability of states to prosecute Somali piracy under SUA, Germany released six Somali pirates captured by the frigate Karlsruhe on December 25, 2008. Berlin took no legal action because no German interests were involved in the piratical attack. Germany Navy Foils Somali Pirates, BBC NEWS, Dec. 25, 2008, http://news.bbc.co. Uk/2/hi/africa/7799796.stm.
262. iCommandant: Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen, http://www.uscg.mil/ comdt/blog/archive/2008-12-01-archlve.asp (last visited Feb. 27, 2009).
263. Id.
264. S. C. Res. 1816, supra note 13, at ¶ 3.
265. S. C. Res. 1851, supra note 13, at 1.
266. Tony Hotland, RI Rejects U. S. Anti-Piracy Proposal, THE JAKARTA POST, Dec. 17, 2008, http://www.thejakartapost.com/ news/2008/12/17/ri-rejects-us-antipiracy-proposal.html.
267. Id.
268. S. C. Res. 1851, supra note 13.
269. U. N. Doc. SC/9541, supra note 11.
270. Rice, supra note 77.
271. S. C. Res. 1851, supra note 13.
272. Rice, supra note 77.
273. U. N. Doc. SC/9541, supra note 11.
274. Katharine Houreld, UK, Kenya Sign Agreement to Prosecute Pirates, GUARDIAN UNLIMITED (ASSOCIATED PRESS), Dec. 13, 2008, available at http://www.gyardian. co.uk/worldlatest/storyA),, - 8156826, 00.html.
275. Gerry J. Gilmore, Kenyan Government Agrees to Try Pirates Seized by U. S. Forces, AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE, Jan. 29, 2009, www.defenselink.mil/News/newsarticle.aspx?id= 52871.
276. More information about CGPCS is available on the U. S. Dept. of State's website, at http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/othr/misc/121054.htm (last visited Apr. 9, 2009).
277. Press Release, IMO, High-level Meeting in Djibouti Adopts a Code of Conduct to Repress Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships (Jan. 30, 2009), http://www.imo.org/About/mainframe.asp?topic-id=1773&doc-id=10933.
278. Id. Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Yemen have already signed the Djibouti Code of Conduct.
279. COOPERATIVE STRATEGY, supra note 78.