East African Piracy, thrust into American political discourse by the dramatic rescue of merchant Captain Richard Phillips, represents a small but growing challenge to the United States and larger international community.  Any policy response should be crafted, considered, and implemented with a sober understanding of Somali based piracy. 

On July 14, 2009, HSPI will host a panel discussion concerning The Perils of East African Piracy.  HSPI recommends the following resources.

In defining & measuring East African Piracy:

Flournoy, Michèle & James Winnefeld. (2009)  Testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee - 05 May 2009. Found at http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2009/May/Flournoy-Winnefeld%2005-05-09.pdf.

“Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships.” (2003) Annual Report. International Chamber of Commerce - International Maritime Bureau. p. 3

“Pirate attacks off Somalia already surpass 2008 figures.” (2009) International Chamber of Commerce - Commercial Crime Services. Found at http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=352:pirate-attacks-off-somalia-already-surpass-2008-figures&catid=60:news&Itemid=51

Patch, John. (2008) “The Overstated Threat.” Proceedings Magazine. Volume 134, Issue 12.

Article 101, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)  United Nations.

“Pirate Attack Density in the Gulf of Aden (2008)”  UNOSAT.  Found at http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/asp/prod_free.asp?id=28

“Reported Incidents of Somali Pirate Attacks and Hijackings in the Gulf of Aden for 2008.” (2009) UNOSAT. Found at http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/asp/prod_free.asp?id=28

United States Code, Title 18 § 2280 (a)(1)(A)

In examining the motivations and the operational environment:

Abdinur, Mustafa Haji. (2009) “Life in Somalia’s pirate army.” Agence France-Presse.  Found at http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1549233.

Adow, Mohammed. (2009) “The pirate kings of Puntland.” Al-Jazeera. Found at http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/06/2009614125245860630.html.

“UN envoy decries illegal fishing, waste dumping off Somalia.” (2008) Agence France-Presse. Found at http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVV_gQDsp1m8v7nPcumVc5McYV-Q.

Baldauf, Scott. (2008) “Who are Somalia’s pirates?” The Christian Science Monitor. Found at http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1120/p25s22-woaf.html.

“World only cares about pirates.” (2008) BBC. Found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7740417.stm. 

Bengali, Shashank. (2009) “An interview with a jailed Somali pirate leader.” The Christian Science Monitor. Found at http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0503/p06s12-woaf.html.

“Somalia” The World Factbook. (2009) CIA.  Found at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/SO.html. 

Gilpin, Raymond. (2009) “Counting the Costs of Somali Piracy.” United States Institute of Peace. p. 7

Harper, Mary. (2008) “Life in Somalia’s pirate town.” BBC. Found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7623329.stm.

Knaup, Horand. (2008) “The Poor Fisherman of Somalia.” Der Spiegel. Found at http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,594457,00.html.

To review the role played by the international community and regional actors:

“Country profile: Somalia.” (2009) BBC. Found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072592.stm.

Knott, John. (2009) “Clan Rivalry, Military Conflict, and the Financial and Human Costs of Piracy.” Holman Fenwick Willan. Found at http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=76272&login=true&nogo=1.

Schaeffer, Nathan. (2009) “Combined Maritime Forces Works with International Navies to Counter Piracy.”  Press Release, US 5th Fleet.  Found at http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/articles/2009/089.html.

Tharoor, Ishaan. (2009) “How Somalia’s Fisherman Became Pirates.” Time.  Found at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1892376,00.html.