2009 WORLD YEARBOOK
PIRACY
Navies vs. Pirates
By Edward Lundquist
A coordinated effort works best
In many cases, suspected pirates may have their grappling hooks and ladders confiscated or thrown overboard, then released. In some of those cases, biometric systems that can read and compare fingerprints or retinal scans are used to catalog suspects to help track repeat offenders. But, Prentiss admits, it is difficult to determine intent. "One successful attack is too many," Prentiss said. "Naval presence has helped deter the upsurge in piracy, but cannot prevent or eliminate it. This is a situation that is beyond the military to control. This is a political situation." Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, USN, who recently returned from commanding the coalition task force off Somalia, said his task was clear: fighting pirates. But, he said, unlike other military missions, there is no operations order or war plan (although a Navy official with the U.S. FIFTH Fleet says there is one now). McKnight, who spoke at a recent meeting of the Surface Navy Association in Washington, said the success of the mission depended on the involvement of partner nations. "We operated with the Chinese and Russians, India and Pakistan, all working together in the same war space." McKnight commanded Combined Task Force 151, which was established in January 2009 to take over the counter-piracy operations from CTF 150, which had a broader mission. CTF 151 is responsible for patrolling more than a million square miles of ocean. Today CTF 151 is commanded by a Turkish rear admiral. Also working in the general area is European Union NAVFOR ATALANTA, which was established in December 2008 to ensure protection of vessels of the World Food Program (WFP). "In an ideal world, all state-run Counter-Piracy Operations off the Horn of Africa would be led by a single U.N. force," he says. "There is no operational benefit from having decentralized coordination." Although piracy impacts less than one percent of the 30,000 ships that transit the area each year, McKnight says piracy threatens U.S. national security interests and the freedom and safety of maritime navigation throughout the world. While the world watches what's happening in the Gulf of Aden, and the coaliMaritime Reporter & Engineering News
The naval response to the Somali piracy problem is a cooperative and in most cases, coordinated effort. But it is also fluid, with various navies participating, often each in their own way and for varying lengths of time. "There are no treaties," said Capt. Greg Prentiss, USN, chief of staff for the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). "This is a coalition of the willing." At its high point, the CMF, European Union and NATO had more than 20 ships working together, but those numbers change when task forces or individual ships arrive or depart. Normally, 12 to 15 ships are available to support the antipiracy operations. But the 2.5 million miles they need to cover presents a challenging task. "Military presence isn't deterring them, just causing them to be less successful," Prentiss said. "Fear of prosecution doesn't stop them." While the CMF is limited by the number of assets it has available at any given time, nobody knows just how many resources are available to the pirates. "We don't know what their capacity is," he said. The pirates look for quick, easy targets. Greater the speed and higher the freeboard results in fewer attacks. Analysis of attacks affirms that most attacks occur during daylight and during good weather, but ships have been attacked in the middle of the night and in poor sea conditions. "Crews need to be vigilant even at night," Prentiss said. "The pirates keep changing their tactics, and working farther out to sea." "We're using every asset we can think of to track the pirates, including maritime patrol aircraft from Spain, France, Germany Australia and the U.S.," Prentiss said. "If the pirates are getting ready to attack and they see a warship or a helicopter, they break off the attack."
Suspected pirates with a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher close alongside the Merchant Ship Dubai Princess. (Source: Australian Government Department of Defense, http://www.defence.gov.au)
An SH-60B helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 42 assigned to the guidedmissile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) keeps watch on suspected pirates as the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team prepares to apprehend them. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky/Released) 34