Conference and Arrests

At the end of October the six men on trial in Spain were convicted of piracy related charges, and at the beginning of November another trial began in the USA. There was also the arrest in Belgium of Mohamed Abdi Hassan (also known as "Afweyne" or Big Mouth). Hassan was arrested at the Brussels airport on 12th October after been invited to Belgium on the ruse of becoming an advisor on a film about piracy around the Horn of Africa. Others who may be involved with piracy have also recently been invited to Belgium but there will be no actual trial of them, they are attending a conference hosted by Environmental Justice Foundation on illegal fishing. Pirate fishing around the Horn of Africa is a key focus at the November conference and countries that are criticised as not taken action against IUUs (or 'pirate' vessels) are attending. 

Spain, in publicity about the conference, is listed as one of those countries, however it was in Spain that the six men were sentenced just under a month ago - one man to 12-and-a-half years in prison and the other five to eight years in jail each. The men have been in Spain awaiting trial since October 2012 so have already served one year. In 2011 two men convicted of piracy by a Spanish court received sentences of 439 years each.

The trial in the US is of a former Washington DC resident, Ali Mohamed Ali, who is charged with helping Somali pirates who seized a Danish cargo vessel in November 2008. His defence is that he was actually working for the US as an intelligence source. Ali is charged with piracy, conspiracy, attacking a vessel and hostage-taking, and faces life in prison if convicted. He has been held in jail for two and a half years. Another person, Mohammad Saaili Shibin, charged in the American courts with negotiating was convicted in August 2012 and sentenced to "10 concurrent life sentences...two consecutive life sentences...10 years consecutive...and two 20-year sentences... and is also required to pay restitution in the amount of approximately $5,408,000US."

The event promises to offer a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$ 10 to 23.5 billion and represents between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish. - See more at: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/21697/landmark-event-encourages-eu-member-states-to-take-stronger-action-on-illegal-fishing#sthash.mqxrp5QY.dpuf

Publicity about the Environmental Justice Foundation says the conference will involved 'a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$ 10 to 23.5 billion and represents between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish'.

The event promises to offer a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$ 10 to 23.5 billion and represents between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish. - See more at: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/21697/landmark-event-encourages-eu-member-states-to-take-stronger-action-on-illegal-fishing#sthash.mqxrp5QY.dpuf

Dubai Conference June 2012

In the last week of June, the second international counter-piracy conference to be held in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) occurred.

 The conference was attended by more than 400 people representing 41 countries, executives from 73 maritime companies and organisations, and various UN and IMO (International Maritime Organisation) personnel. Present at the conference were both President Shaikh Sharif Shaikh Ahmad of the TFG and President Ahmad Mohammad Silyano of Somaliland.

The Conference's aim was to further advance public-private coordination in the fight against piracy. During the conference, the UAE pledged 1 million U.S. dollars to the Somali maritime security and coastguard. Earlier in the month the UAE had withdrawn their funding of the Puntland Maritime Police Force. (This funding had only been announced in February this year. Read the story here)

The UAE and France also announced that with the help of France, the UAE will host training of Somali judges to support and enable local, Somalia-based prosecutions of people charged with piracy. The first group of 31 Somali judges will travel to the UAE in October for training in holding piracy trials.

The UAE are the current chair of the Contact Group on Piracy.

IONS Conference Ends

Friday 13th was the last day of  the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conference in South Africa. And the meeting ended with the confirmation that the members will, under the mandate of the UN, 'neutralise the camps and hideouts of the pirates in Somalia'.

IONS, composed of 35 countries, including Australia, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, the UAE, and Yemen, was also attended by many countries as observers. It was a large conference with the Chiefs of Navies from at least 50 countries present.

IONS is following the path of the EU, who towards the end of last year announced that they wanted to allow excursions on Somali land to hunt pirates. It was reported as if it was a completely new initiative, however what it is doing is legallising current practise.

In March 2012 the EU confirmed that Atalanta could now hunt pirates on the land, however for Germany to become involved in on-shore attacks a new mandate has to be passed in the German parliament.

Controlling the Resources

The Australian mining company, Jacka Resouces has just announced that it will be joining three other international companies: Ophir Energy, Asante Oil and Prime Resources, in setting up camp in Somalia. This announcement comes only a month after the much touted London Conference on Somalia.

The February London Conference was seen by some people as nothing more than another attempt to further carve up Somali resources. Jacka's announcement confirms it.

At the Conference there was little or nothing done to protect the Somalian coastline from either the international IUUs fishing boats or other vessels dumping toxic waste in the region. The focus of the Conference was on making Somalia and the waters around the Horn of Africa safer for international trade. It also focused on strengthening the presence of foreign forces in Somalia itself, building more prisons in Somalia to hold convicted 'pirates' and opening Somalia up to more trade.

Countries represented at the Conference agreed that more money and resources will be poured into expanding the forces already present in the Gulf region; the UN has already agreed that the role of AMISOM (the African Union Mission in Somalia) is to be expanded.

The Conference concluded with the call for 'all countries to coordinate activities against terrorism and piracy and to bring stability to Somalia'. Words that many see as an excuse to control the resources not only off the coast of Somalia, but also the purported reserves of natural gas, iron ore, tin, uranium, copper and other metals present in Somalia.

The Australian company Jacka Resources could be one of the first foreign companies to strike it rich. It would be interesting to see if Jacka is connected with Orica Limited, a publicly-listed Australian company that has been linked with the dumping of toxic waste off the coast of Somalia.