Fighting back against the pirates

Inter Lake editorial

Is it just us, or is it perplexing to others as well how a rag-tag, impoverished gang of pirates, many of them no more than teenagers, have been having their way with international shipping off the coast of Somalia?

Well, the reasons the armed hooligans are exacting huge ransoms from shipping companies aren't that complicated. At the most basic level, the world is witnessing the consequences of gun control on the high seas.

That's right, cargo ships are unarmed largely because of gun controls that vary from one port to the next, and changing those regulations from one country to the next is considered a difficult proposition.

Shipping companies haven't exactly been forceful in seeking the ability to protect their cargo and crews themselves. Apparently, they are concerned about the potential for guns on board causing even more trouble if they are wielded by untrained sailors.

But one would think that shippers hauling cargo worth millions of dollars would pay a premium for trained and armed security, rather than buckling under to hostage taking, plundered cargo and ransom demands.

As it stands they are enfeebled, relying on government navies for help, and they are understandably ripe targets for hooligans that view them as low-risk targets.

It is time that members of the international community work together to establish an effective "law" of the sea - namely, law and order. Protecting cargo is just as important as protecting bank vaults, and armed guards on a ship should be considered no different than armed guards in a bank.

In the meantime, there is little effective deterrence. U.S. Navy SEALs pulled off the dramatic and much-heralded rescue of a cargo ship captain last weekend, but just a few days later Somali pirates were back in business, hijacking four more cargo ships and firing on a fifth.

Those who think having arms on merchant vessels would lead to more bloodshed should think again. Just the presence of significant weaponry aboard ships probably would make pirates think twice about the risk of their ventures.