Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Some modern pirates after more than buried treasure
By Matthew Wendling
The Daily Vidette, Illinois State U.
December 04, 2008

As it turns out, today's pirates are after much more than chests of buried treasure.

Today's booty is oil and these modern pirates have been hijacking ships off the coast of Somalia to get it.

Fiercer than a swashbuckling Johnny Depp, Somali pirates have been motivated by harsh economic conditions.

"There is no recognized government [in Somalia]," Neil Skaggs, Illinois State University professor of economics, said.

"Think the Scottish Highlands of, say, 1700 and earlier, only using high-powered weapons rather than swords."

Just last month pirates hijacked the Sirius Star, a Saudi oil tanker carrying approximately $100 million worth of cargo.

This attack is by far the largest reported case of piracy but one of an increasing number of such incidents being reported in the waters surrounding Somalia.

In addition to the loss of valuable cargo, these thieves have secured millions of dollars in ransoms.

"Lacking a government, there is no internal force to stop piracy. Since Somalia is very poor, the motivation to piracy is obvious," Skaggs added. "The impact of Somalian piracy on the world economy is trivial but growing."

The string of attacks will have an especially strong impact on the local economies according to Oguzhan Dincer, assistant professor of economics.

"At the macro level it is going to affect Egypt's economy since it affects international trade via [the] Suez Canal," he said. "Egypt actually hosted a meeting in November to discuss the issue."

"At the micro level it is going to affect the shipping industry. It means an increase in insurance premiums."

"Pirates attack around one of 10 ships in the area."

To combat these attacks, several nations have deployed warships to the area in an attempt to offer protection to ships traveling through the turbulent area. The United States, France and Russia all have vessels in the area while NATO and the European Union have joined forces to offer protection.

With Somalia in a state of anarchy and relative chaos, there is no official government to intervene and aid in stopping the pirates.

Somali pirates often rely on speedboats and satellite phones to carefully coordinate their attacks. Usually well armed, these marauders use a mother ship as a base of operations.

"The entire issue is basically economic. Is the marginal cost of paying ransom to the pirates greater than or less than the marginal benefit of attempting to put the pirates out of commission?" Skaggs said.

"When the costs become large enough, someone will retaliate."

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