Sniping Jack Sparrow

So, the Navy shot the pirates holding Captain Phillips of the Maersk Alabama hostage. Yay. Crisis over. Now what? Other pirate groups have promised retribution, something that will probably not be pretty. Nor will it be pleasant for the next American crew that is taken hostage. Something needs to be done. Let us start with what is not the solution.

Firstly, we have large-scale negotiation. The argument against this is fairly evident. We ought not negotiate with pirates for the same reason the Europeans should never have negotiated with hijackers. It just encourages the behavior. We cannot afford to back down.

Secondly, we have a military campaign against Somalian pirate bases. This one is tempting, but we have to acknowledge, I think, that because the pirates are a commercial risk and not a national one (for the United States) the Somali bases are Somalia's problem. We should be open to offering advice, training, and maybe even help, but a unilateral campaign is probably inappropriate.

Thirdly, we have avoidance of the area. This would be substantially more expensive than current levels of piracy. Also, we can expect pirates to follow the money.

So, what are some solutions? I can think of a few that, if applied in concert, might dissuade pirates from ever targeting U.S. flag ships.

Step One: Arm the crew

There are a few arguments against this, of course. But if the insurance companies would ease up slightly and if we decided to ignore LOST (or modified the treaty) arming crews with light weapons and training them is a relatively-low cost option (a few thousand dollars per year per ship). A crew of twenty with P90s and shotguns and a few shoulder-fired LAW missiles or even RPG-7s could take out any boarding party they are likely to encounter, especially if the ship were equipped with armored defensible points around the railing and if the radar blind-spots were reduced. A well-placed round from a LAW would even destroy an enemy vessel (pirates tend to use small speedboats) before grapples or ladders can be deployed.

Insurance could be an issue here, but not an insurmountable one (particularly when pirates murder the next American crew they capture). Another argument is that the pirates would simply upgrade their own arsenal. There is some merit to this, but I have two counter-arguments. The pirates are already upgrading (more RPGs, better AK derivatives) and piracy will stop when it ceases to be cost-effective. A 70% chance of dying and a 100% chance of expending tens of thousands of dollars of weaponry per attempt does not equal cost-effective.

Step Two: Rigged ships

Ever heard of a cigarette load? This is a chemically-treated piece of wood inserted in the end of smoke. When it ignites is explodes with a rather pronounced bang, causing everyone in the vicinity to laugh maniacally and the smoker to wonder when his heart will resume beating. A similar concept applies to our shipping around Somalia. Allow any interested shipping company to take on board a company of grumpy Marines or Navy personnel with anti-ship weapons. Limit of a few dozen escorts per year. Even if normal crews are ill-suited to dealing with boarders, military personnel are. A standing chance of encountering one of these vessels would provide some deterrence from engaging any American ships.

Step Three: Hit the motherships

Pirates off Somalia use both land bases and "motherships" far off the coast. The land bases are Somalia's problem, but the motherships, ah, the motherships...A few Harpoon anti-shipping missiles would likely suffice, provided we can locate the ships. The U.S. simply puts out an ultimatum: the next attack on a U.S. vessel results in the destruction of one "mothership."

Piracy is a daunting problem, but one that is solvable given the careful application of the right kind of force. If we start treating pirates as terrorists we may be able to at least eliminate piracy against American vessels. We got lucky in the Capt. Phillips situation. Reliance on luck is not good policy.