Marine piracy in Somalia - Past, present and future

• Author: Michal Gornowicz
• Position: University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland
• Pages: 101-104

MARINE PIRACY IN SOMALIA – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Student Michał GORNOWICZ

1

Abstract

The interestingness of mar ine piracy issue in Somalia is caused by the fact tha t firstly, piracy problem is o ften

shown a nd discussed in ma ss media and secondly because it is still a n unsolved trouble. Finally pir ates a ttacks in

Somalia have a great influe nce on late delivery of cargo ships’ goods. Somalia is said to be the easiest and the most

attra ctive region for pira tes attacks. In fact, it is the truth because Somalia is an example of state with inner

destabilization a nd without legal author ity which would be a ble to face the problem. In this paper following topics will

be touched: a nalysis of Convention on the High Seas from Geneva adopted on the 29th April 1958 (definition of pira cy);

genesis and history of piracy in Somalia; scale of danger from pira tes side in Somalia; postulates of changes in a rticle

100 of United Nation Convention of the Law of the Sea adopted on the 10 th of December 1982; attitude of interna tional

community towards piracy in Somalia; International missions in Somalia; Somalia nowada ys (statistics); prospects for

the future...

Keywords: inter national mar itime tra nsport, Convention on the High Seas from Geneva, Un ited Nation Convention of

the Law of the Sea, inter national law, marine pir acy

JEL Classification: K33

1. Situation in Somalia – background

The interestingness of marine piracy issue is caused by the fact that firstly, piracy problem is

often shown and discussed in mass media and secondly, it is still an unsolved problem. Finally,

pirate attacks have a great influence on late delivery of cargo ships’ goods and global state of

economy.

Somalia is said to be one of the easiest and most attractive regions for pirates’ attacks.

Transitional Federal Government acting on the area of Somalia has only minimal influence and

control on events taking place inner the state. Situation on the Aden Gulf is a great example of state

with inner instability and destruction. All security problems mainly arise from inefficient

government which till these days – as I mentioned before - has only a provisional status. There is no

doubt that having Transitional Government is not a good prospect for solving such an important and

dangerous problem as marine piracy. Practically, they are having a real control in Somalia. Somalia

is a ruined state in an economic and an political way. Pirates’ attacks in Somalia are becoming more

and more lucrative each year because Aden Gulf is situated on the main shipping transit on the crux

of all major regional shipping lanes.

2. Marine piracy definition

There are a lot of similarities in piracy definitions (latin equivalent is pirata what means

assaulting on the sea) existing since the ancient times and since the beginning of marine trade. An

attempts of searching and finding one legal definition of piracy lasted for centuries. First trial of

defining piracy in the modern international law was raised on the forum of League of Nations

meeting in 1926. In 1932 Harvard Project drew an answer to the question: how big influence does

piracy have on the nations’ law? They considered that each state can execute jurisdiction over the

piracy ship having the right to occupy such a ship with all the goods being there. Certainly, it

contributed to finding the final legal version of piracy which arose from the Convention on the High

Seas signed in Geneva on the 29th April 1958. The article 15th defines piracy as an act of robbery or

criminal violence at sea. The term – according to the provision mentioned above – can include acts

not only on high sea but also on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore.

1 Michał Gornowicz - University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, michal.gornowicz@wp.pl