Piracy is contained by an effort of successive operations, whether the European operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta or other actors. But the phenomenon has not disappeared. It remains to make an effort on land to convert the pirates into fishermen. The political situation in Somalia is not resolved. If the device is reduced or disappears, piracy will resume as in 2011-2012, with daily attacks.
In the Indian Ocean, " this is not the time to let our guard down ". Don't skimp on security. Even if we take all the precautionary measures according to the recommendations given (the famous BMP best management practices who are at the version 5) " we must therefore keep the security teams. We are in an interconnected world recalls this sailor. " The second we learned that a shipowner was no longer taking crews, he would become a target. »
Gulf of Guinea
The situation is quite stable. The area is smaller, but the fight against the pirates is also more difficult. Actions do not always take place on the high seas, but in territorial waters, " where one cannot act without their authorization ". There is of course the (good) example of Togo. Which shows that they are capable of acting, ten years ago this would not have been the case. But for other countries, especially Nigeria, it is more problematic.
Malaka Strait
Attacks are less violent. There is no kidnapping. It's more 'robbery' or highway robbery. The 'pirates' get on board, steal everything they can and leave. Sometimes the crew does not don't even realize that he was attacked. We feel a " strong progression ". The joint patrols of Indonesia and Malaysia functioned well, in time at the time of the irruption of piracy. But piracy returns, or rather robbery.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
Ships that cheat
Some ships do what is called spoofing with their AIS. They attach themselves to another ship, declare themselves in the Gulf of Mexico while they are in the Gulf of Guinea engaged in illegal fishing. AIS change or identity camouflage is common in Asia. It occurs at several levels: a warship takes on the identity of a fishing vessel, a fishing vessel the other. This cheating requires marines to be physically present” to see who does what ". Satellite tracking devices are not enough. There is always a gap between reality and satellite analysis: ordering an image, bringing it in, analyzing it, makes it possible to apprehend the understanding of the problem, not to intervene or solve it.
Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).
