What is the most effective way to put an end to Somali piracy?

Get an international naval force to blockade every port in Somalia.

Give exclusive operating rights to Japan's MSDF and recall all other International Naval Forces.

Stop dumping nuclear waste in their waters and stealing all their fish.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/you-are-being-lied-to-abo_b_155147.html

Longhaul the scurvy dogs.

Make them walk the plank! Feed them to the sharks! Send them to Davy Jones' locker!

Hang 'em high.

a nuke

openyoureyes: that link didn't work but do you really think that is the reason they are hijacking ships? If so you are a typical liberal. Do yourself a favor and wake up or as your name suggests....open your eyes. Somalia is a lawless cesspool and the only thing they understand is violence.

Oh, yeah, and ARM THE CREWMEN.

Just like any problem, go to the root cause. Give a hand to Somalia to help themselves. I'm sure if they had money and the ability to develop weapons, plenty of nations would want to come in and invade.

This is a good question. As the US found out to its regret many years ago, Somalia as a country does not really exist. It is a region in anarchy. In terms of how to deal with these pirates, I have a couple of suggestions, both of which, however, do not make for polite dinner conversation.

The first option is that the rule of law needs to be brought to the country. This means getting in there with troops and bringing a semblance of discipline to the country. The net result would be widescale bloodshed at least in the short term. What this does not mean is mucking about like the US/UN did previously in Somalia. Rather it means staying in the country and carrying out policies more associated with dictatorship than democracy. Unfortunately, I cannot see many takers for such a radical proposal. The second option would be wholesale suppression of anybody looking like a pirate. Instead of these navies looking to protect the SLOCs (sea lanes of communications), they should get in on the beaches and stop/sink any craft that goes more than 5km offshore. This policy would conflict with Somalia's sovereignty, however, as I wrote above, the country doesn't exist. Let's face it, an approach that resulted in massive casualties among the pirate population would probably make these folks realize that piracy was a dead-end profession. Finally, before engaging in either of these approaches, the parties involved would have to impose a total media blackout.

Invite them to act in a Disneyland movie called "Somalian Pirates" along with Johnny Depp. Follow the storyline of the Carribean version but this time make the story more Realistic :-)

Only one way to get rid of buggs, eradicate them

Allow fire of 127mm ammunitions.

the link doesn't work because JT script changes it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/you-are-being-lied-to-abo_b_155147.html

the end of the link shouldn't have an italicized b, it should be 'you-are-being-lied-to-ab UNDERSCORE b UNDERSCORE 155147'. just search "huffington post + lied to about pirates" in google. you'll get it.

at any rate, even if you don't read it...

timesup:

Somalia is a lawless cesspool and the only thing they understand is violence.

yeah, i should definitely open my eyes to your enlightened way of thinking. you really think that an entire nation of people loves that they have no government and live in a hellish world of violence and oppression? yeah. that just makes so much sense. not sure why i didn't see that before.

a few snippets from the article (fair use)

In 1991, the government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

everyone just loves nuclear waste... right?

This is the context in which the men we are calling "pirates" have emerged. Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a 'tax' on them. No, this doesn't make hostage-taking justifiable, and yes, some are clearly just gangsters - especially those who have held up World Food Programme supplies. But the "pirates" have the overwhelming support of the local population for a reason.

so... could it be that an entire region of people just hates everyone else and wants to wage violent campaigns against them for no reason at all? or could there be a plausible reason why this is happening?

sure... a lot of opportunists have latched onto this feeling of support to be greedy thugs... but the reasons this situation exists aren't so clear cut as "they're bad, and we're good."

maybe thinking that there are many facets to any given situation disagrees with your plain and simple/non-liberal view of the world... but what would you do if you had no food, no government to help you, and the world started taking giant dumps on your backyard?

Pass an International law that prohibits piracy. Then we can ask Spain or the International Court in the Hague to persue prosecutions AFTER they finish with Bush and Cheney of course......

Adopt a "shoot first, ask questions later" policy.

Why ask questions? Just shoot! Let their bloated shark-bitten carcasses wash up on the Somali coast as an example to the wanna-be's.

Don't lead them so much (this is a joke for those in the military).

I repeat my post from another thread:

The Barbary Pirates: Group of fighters who attacked American ships along the Barbary Coast of northern Africa at in the first few years of the 19th Century. They were members of a handful of African states who at first signed treaties with the United States in which they promised to stop attacking American ships. However, they broke those treaties. The U.S. fought back with force. Both the Navy and the Marines won big victories, including one at Tripoli in 1805

It's been done, Use the tried and true method.

@timeborder:

Great line for "Full Metal Jacket"!

Stop stealing their fish and dumping nuclear waste in their waters?

Shoot them with TAEPODONG missile

techall: Only this time it's the rest of the world whose been breaking treaties.

There are two solutions to this problem. 1) Might makes right: The 'International' community colonize Somalia in a 'UN protectorate'. 2) Parley! ^_^. Talk with the pirate factions, force all ships to travel outside Somali territorial waters, and only guard this corridor. Pirates who still attack ships outside of Somali waters can repelled by the world's navies, the rest can go back to fishing.

Immediate, swift retribution. No mercy.

stealing their fish and dumping nuclear waste in their waters

Lousy excuse for condoning piracy. Do the pirates distribute their newly acquired wealth to those affected by the alleged 'stealing of fish and dumping nuclear waste"? Pirates = Somali nation? Give me a break. These are thugs of the high seas.

Somalia piracy and afghan opium trade,why do they thrive. The governance are very weak there, so piracy and opium trade goes up.

Help the governance in Somalia,improve and piracy will go down. There is civil war and high lack of economic activities in Somalia due to war woes.

These conditions make for pirates,may be the same in any nation where economic activities is low,governance and law is weak.

@raiakumar, The international community tried that. Countries (including the U.S.)sent thousands of tons of food and humanitarian aid to Somalia and the war loards confiscated and used it a weapon. Read "Blackhawk Down" That was part of an international "Peacekeeping force". The tank commanders who were supposed to lead the rescue mission were Indian. They were trying to disarm the warloards and bring peace to the country.

"Lousy excuse for condoning piracy. Do the pirates distribute their newly acquired wealth to those affected by the alleged 'stealing of fish and dumping nuclear waste"? Pirates = Somali nation? Give me a break. These are thugs of the high seas."

While I don't condone it, I can understand it. I would not lower them to the level of thugs. These are professionals who kill if they have to but are manly out for money. My friend owns an international security company based out of Kuala lumpur and he provides armed security for the smaller cargo vessels against piracy.

So far, with over 20 years of operation he has not lost a boat. A mounted french version of the SAW has been a decent deterrent. He had to spray some bullets in front of a couple bows, but other then that has been OK.

Like I said before they are professionals out to make some cash, they do not want to fight, if they think the crew has noticed them and can mount a proper defense, nine times out of ten, they will leave.

From all reports the Semoli Pirates treat their prisoners very well and are out to make money from the insurance companies who pay the ransom for the shipping companies. The wealth is being spread around actually, and many of the pirates are seen as local heroes, giving their local economy a big boost.

Shipping is about money. At first the shipping companies did not see piracy as much of a threat and did not want to hire armed security (or pay for the permits, weapons etc.) However the insurance companies are now beginning to require armed security for coverage, in addition as the worlds navies begin to hone in on the problem, the threat will continue to be squeezed out.

Ultimately the solution to this problem is economic, both on the shipping companies side and on the pirates side.

shoot on sight

Fixing Somalia would be a good start. If you are desperate even piracy looks like a good job. Anybody from the EU willing to step up? I thought not.

With a weak government the West's illegal fishing has decimated their fishery. We've dumped toxic waste onto their shores for years. If it costs a company $8 a tonne to dump it versus $1000 a tonne to process, which one do you think unsavoury companies have chosen? Even if they pay off the pirates from the business mind it saves money.

After a hurricane washed up toxic waste barrels on their shores, a UN panel took 4 days to figure that there was nothing that could be done since they couldn't determine either exact cause or culprits. Many have died of tumors and cancers.

At first since there is no government to speak of, the fisherman took to fending off ships. But when they turned to piracy they suddenly were making huge money, hence the continuing pirate boom with no end in sight.

We may blame the result but we should look in a mirror before babbling on with typical American solutions.

It's ironic how int'l shipping, the industry that's gone the furthest to divest itself of modernity, is beset by a pre-modern plague. That said, my solution to Somali piracy would be to blow up the mansions built by the rich ones. Satellite images could reveal them, give an hour's notice, then drop a 1000 pound bomb on it.

I agree with techall, and oberst. Station armed personnel on the ships with shoot to kill orders. Kill with extreme prejudice, and they will lose the will to engage in piracy. I know fr some, it sounds barbaric, and I'm not arguing that point one way or the other, but I bet it will put the pirates out of business.

Kill Somali pirates. Answer. You're welcome.

The reason the crews aren't armed is because of wrong-headed insurance policies and the fact that many nations do not allow ships under their flags or those entering their ports to carry arms. One of the main reasons that piracy has increased dramatically in the last few years is that there is very little risk involved for the pirates. Because the crews are unarmed and becasue international naval patrols are unsure of what they can do under "international law" and their own muddy rules of engagement, the pirates can be asured that whatever happens they will come back alive. Take away that assurance and piracy will continue, but it will not be nearly as attractive.

Help establish order in the country.

Where guns are outlawed only outlaws have guns. We see the very real world manifestation of this off the coast of Somalia. International shipping does not allow for firearms in international waters. Do the pirates care? Yes, they love easy unarmed targets. So to hell with international law! Life liberty and dead pirates ! Arm the crews with at least M-14's, (and/or even M-60's) ...add .45 acps & feed the pirates to the sharks.

napalm and rockets

Various international laws prevent and will slow down shipping even more if crews are armed. Also we're talking about sailors not soldiers, and in most cases no one has been killed yet.

Also you have the problem with cargo, oil tankers or chemical tankers + guns = not a good combination.

The real answer is addressing the issue on the ground in Somalia. Because of disasters that have happened there in the past no international country (not even the us) is going to put or do ground operations striking where the pirates operate out of.

It is a lawless country, and if these ship companies keep paying these ransoms, then the pirates will keep going, its for the ransom money,not for what the ships are actually carrying.

I'd really like to see is a naval operation of bait ships created, make them look like harmless cargo ships, but onboard are marines waiting to surprise them. Makes the pirates start to think hard the next time they want to attack a ship.

While it’s true guns are forbidden to be on board while flying on certain flags, (my friends company had that problem, when some jackass watch dog confused his international business with his small security operation based in Seattle) It is very troublesome. In addition many of the boats workers (especially) in Asia have relatives that are pirates and the boat is often captured by using Intel from the crews. Insurance does not want armed sailors, but they often want armed security personnel. Many major security companies are taking notice, and after Iraq comes to an end, I am sure Backwater will turn its services over to the shipping companies as well.

They don't want any one associated with the region to be security so Australians are often the first choice. Our company hired Canadian ex special forces for 60k for a half years work--- these guys have 8 packs and are very impressive. I was a soldier in Iraq, but after seeing these guys Never lost a ship.

the best deterrent is a show of force. Just like a granny with a shotgun is the best deterrent against thieves.

Any way that’s just a little insight into the conflict from someone who has worked with the problem.

How do we stop piracy around Somalia? Don't just run your boats through Somali waters without paying tribute - Japan doesn't allow other ships to run freely through Japanese waters - same for the rest of the world. Pracy is a form of tax collection. I don't agree with it but it's the direct result of disrespect for Somali sovereignty. Heck ships just ran up and down the coast dumping chemical waste and other crap for twenty years... the Somali's know which ships they target based on information collected over years. The cruise ships dump their waste along the coast, oil tankers cleanout their ballast tanks along the coast. Navys test fire their weapons firing into Somalia. How can people be wondering why this pircay is there?

The US Navy just gave you a clear demonstration of the best way to rid the area of pirates! 3 Shots, 3 Kills!