Edward Teach, nicknamed "Blackbeard", Captain Flint, Madame Wong - legendary heroes of sea stories are increasingly appearing in the headlines, but this has nothing to do with the premiere of the next part of "Pirates of the Caribbean". Meetings with modern corsairs have ceased to be exotic, and although boarding techniques have remained the same, the old romance of sea adventures is completely absent in these stories. Only the crackle of machine-gun bursts and the fierce grin of war.
In the first nine months of 2012 alone, 99 attacks on commercial vessels were recorded in the waters off the coast of Somalia, 13 of which resulted in hijacking for ransom. And on the other side of the African continent, in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigerian sea robbers are fierce - 34 attacks in the same period of time! Low-hull and low-maneuverable oil tankers are especially affected by pirate attacks.
- received a distress signal from the MV Iceberg 1 ro-ro ship … coordinates … - the German dry cargo ship Beluga Nomination was pirated … What can you expect in such situations? Who should you go to for help?
The eyes of the world community turn to the side of sailors - elegant black greatcoats, golden shoulder straps and visor ribbons fluttering in the wind, the Navy will crush any enemy and bring victory on the decks of its ships.
However, the laws of the thriller come into effect - the Navy is powerless against the pirate threat. In the Horn of Africa, dozens of warships of the Russian Navy, the US Navy, the Royal Navy of Great Britain, the Navy of Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Canada regularly serve … hijacking off the coast of Somalia over the past year.
The actions of naval sailors are mainly aimed at ensuring control of sea communications, detecting and neutralizing pirate forces - tasks that are difficult to fulfill and, for the most part, useless. The days when the Jolly Roger flew on the masts of pirate brigantines are a thing of the past - modern pirate feluccas are outwardly indistinguishable from fishing boats, and it is in principle impossible to provide continuous tracking of every fast boat in the coastal waters of Somalia.
Escorting commercial ships by naval ships is not an easy task - attaching a destroyer to each dry cargo ship will not work: shipping is too developed here, dozens of sea vessels pass a day. In the best case, the destroyer can patrol in a certain area and, if possible, provide assistance to nearby ships that sent a distress signal.
The attempt to form convoys was not the most successful decision. Time is money: shipowners and captains often refuse to “wait for the weather by the sea,” and, at their own risk, prefer to sail the dangerous waters of Somalia alone.
Sometimes the Navy and Marines are involved in the release of captured ships, but even here it usually comes down to transferring the ransom (the average size of which is now $ 5 million). During an assault, the risk of destroying the ship and its cargo is too great, in addition, pirates usually hold several dozen crewmen hostage. As a result, it is easier to buy off the corsairs than to arrange another Chesme battle.
Based on the above facts, the "anti-piracy" actions of the Navy, despite some successes, are rather symbolic. Warships are ineffective in the fight against the "sea plague" - powerful destroyers, frigates and large anti-submarine ships were designed to solve completely different tasks than the pursuit of pirate feluccas.
Warships go to the Horn of Africa mainly for training tasks - a long voyage, in itself, is a good practice for sailors. And the presence of a training ground for exercises in shooting from artillery and small arms in conditions close to combat, gives the campaign a special flavor. Finally, this is a great occasion to "show off" the flag and declare your presence on the ocean.
But, really no one will stop the World Evil? Nobody will rebuff the presumptuous Somali corsairs?
Fortunately, this is not the case - since 2010, a private maritime guard, represented by many international organizations, has been operating in dangerous maritime areas. And the results of their work are noticeable - out of hundreds of attempts to seize ships off the coast of Somalia, only thirteen have been successful. Moreover, they captured precisely those who, for some reason, decided to save money and neglected
security measures.
Private military companies (PMCs) do not use destroyers and frigates. The mercenaries lack impressive phased array radars, missile weapons and helicopters. They simply do not need ultra-modern marine technology - the specifics of their work lie elsewhere. Instead of uselessly combing hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the sea surface, the PMC's motor schooner is waiting for the client's ship at the agreed place, where a detachment of armed mercenaries is transferred on board the container ship, accompanying the sailors to the exit from the dangerous area. The contract has been completed, the mercenaries are leaving the container ship in order to take another ship on board in a couple of days.
All that is required to ensure the efficient operation of a marine PMC is a few rusty motor schooners, tugs and semi-rigid inflatable boats. A set of small arms - from self-loading rifles and carbines to automatic rifles and machine guns; usual equipment: body armor, walkie-talkies, binoculars, portable thermal imagers, a T-shirt with the company logo. And most importantly - a team of trained professionals (when recruiting, preference is given to former military personnel and employees of power structures).
Incredibly, the measures taken turned out to be extremely effective: compared to 2011, the number of attacks has decreased three times, the number of hijacked vessels has decreased from 30 to 13 - pirate fishing is becoming less and less profitable and attractive activity. The paramilitary private guard made significant adjustments to the plans of the sea robbers.
It turned out that the presence of a small detachment of ten armed mercenaries on board completely discourages the Somalis from attacking the ship. Attempts to simulate a battle between pirates and guards do not make sense - the Somalis are much smarter than armchair theorists. Pirates do not need the glory of naval battles and the Order of Nakhimov, they need Ransom - an intact ship and its living crew, for which you can demand a solid "jackpot". Engaging in a firefight with AK-47s, grenade launchers and DShKs with armed guards on board means losing half of the detachment and receiving smoking ruins as a reward, resembling in appearance the battleship "Eagle" after the battle of Tsushima. Pirates are not at all attracted by such prospects - therefore, feeling the whistle of bullets over their heads and making sure that the ship is unapproachable, the corsairs cancel the unsuccessful operation and go to look for an easier victim.
It is worth noting that, despite the victorious reports of a radical decrease in the number of pirate attacks on ships in 2012, official statistics cannot be considered a reliable source of information - with the advent of armed guards, the crews of ships simply no longer need to report attacks to their shipowners and official authorities - the attack was successfully repulsed, the expense was one Kalashnikov's horn. Why make unnecessary noise, fill out papers and answer unnecessary questions?
One thing is certain - compared to 2011, the number of hijacked ships has decreased by more than half; It is becoming more and more difficult for pirates to conduct their dirty "business", according to reports from the IMO (International Maritime Organization, one of the UN divisions), at the moment 2/3 of all sea vessels when passing the Horn of Africa resort to the services of security guards from PMCs.
Somali "cauldron" or pirates of failure
The generally accepted image of a Somali pirate as an unfortunate ragamuffin who goes to sea in his leaky boat and robbing passing ships, saving his large family from imminent hunger - such an image imposed on society by human rights and humanitarian organizations has little to do with reality.
There is no doubt that the fate of ordinary Somali corsairs is unenviable - most often 15-17 year olds are recruited into boarding teams: young, daring, fearless. Sometimes among the captured pirates even 11-year-old "prodigies" come across - if they are caught, the sailors puzzle for a long time what to do with these captives: if they are released ashore in peace, they will return to their nasty business in a day. Worse, the "happy release" spurs the rest of Somalis' young people to join the valiant ranks of sea robbers en masse - teenagers will be confident in their impunity. However, we are talking not only about the inhabitants of Somalia - the inhabitants of neighboring Kenya are willingly recruited into pirates. Kenyan teenagers have one important advantage - they know English from birth.
The main takeaway from this picture is that piracy is not the only way to make money for poor, but honest, black people. This is Big Business, a real mafia syndicate, whose networks spread far beyond Somalia.
It could not be otherwise, piracy is one of the most difficult and expensive methods of criminal activity. And the results of sea robberies far exceed the needs of an ordinary person - with an average ransom of $ 5 million, in a few years every resident of Somalia would have turned into a very wealthy person. It is clear that the bulk of the money goes to the top of this criminal pyramid. On the technical side, piracy is simply beyond the power of an ordinary person - for sea raids at a distance of tens of miles from the coast, you will need a fast and reliable boat, a set of communications and navigation devices, nautical charts, fuel, weapons and ammunition. But the main thing is to know where to look for the victim. It is necessary to calculate the ship with the most valuable cargo, which must go without security. At the same time, it is advisable to have a weather report, and, if possible, know the position of warships of other countries, so as not to accidentally get into an awkward situation.
All of this requires “in-house” informants in ports throughout the region; it is necessary to have "connections" in the power structures and the leadership of all neighboring countries - without sufficient information, pirate fishing would be unviable.
Specific circumstances leave their "imprint" on the work of PMCs. Unlike the formidable ships of the Navy, whose safety is guaranteed by "diplomatic immunity", the crews of motor schooners of PMCs are in great danger every time they enter African ports - in the event of a "setup" they can easily part with freedom and sometimes with life.
A striking example - on October 19, 2012, during the next call at the port of Lagos (Nigeria), the crew of the Mayr Sidiver ship belonging to the Russian maritime PMC Moran Security Group, one of the world leaders in the provision of maritime security services, was arrested. Reason: suspicion of arms smuggling; Nigerian authorities found 14 AK-47 assault rifles, 22 Benelli MR-1 semi-automatic rifles and 8,500 rounds on board the Mayr Sidiver (they expected to find sweets and ice cream aboard the PMC ship)?
All 15 Russians still managed to escape from the tenacious clutches of the corrupt Nigerian police, but the case has not been closed so far - the Nigerians continue to “cheat for money” by the Moran Security Group.
To avoid such unpleasant situations, motor schooners of PMCs keep their operations extremely secret, and when entering foreign ports they try to get rid of such "slippery" things as weapons. Where do the sailors hide their Kalashnikovs? Are they thrown overboard?
The solution was found quickly - floating arsenals! And this is by no means a fantasy - several private floating arsenals of the Sri Lankan company Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS) or Protection Vessels International are already operating in the Indian Ocean.
Floating weapons depots are permanently located in neutral waters and are not controlled by any state. If necessary, the crew of the PMC motor schooner leaves their weapons on board the floating depot and calmly goes to any of the foreign ports for refueling, repairing or changing the crew. The cost of storing one "barrel" is about $ 25 per day, and the monthly turnover of a floating arsenal can reach more than 1000 units of firearms!
The fight against sea piracy is taking on more and more surprising forms: with the passivity of the UN and international maritime organizations, private business finds more and more sophisticated ways to protect their property from encroachments from the Pirates of the XXI century.
