U.S. Naval War College U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons CIWAG Case Studies 8-2012 Piracy Martin Murphy Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ciwag-case-studies Recommended Citation Murphy, Martin, "MIWS_05 - Piracy" (2012). CIWAG Maritime Irregular Warfare Studies. 5. https://digital- commons.usnwc.edu/ciwag-case-studies/11 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in CIWAG Case Studies by an authorized administrator of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Draft as of 121916 ARF R W ARE LA a U nd G A E R R M R I E D n o G R R E O T U N P E S C U N E IT EG ED L S OL TA R C TES NAVAL WA Piracy Dr. Martin Murphy United States Naval War College Newport, Rhode Island Piracy Martin Murphy Center on Irregular Warfare & Armed Groups (CIWAG) US Naval War College, Newport, RI [email protected] Murphy: Piracy CIWAG Case Studies Water Wars: The Brahmaputra River and Sino-Indian Relations— Mark Christopher Taliban Networks in Afghanistan—Antonio Giustozzi Operationalizing Intelligence Dominance—Roy Godson El Salvador in the 1980s: War by Other Means—Donald R. Hamilton Operational Strategies to Counter IED Threat in Iraq—Michael Iacobucci Sovereign Wealth Funds as Tools of National Strategy: Singapore’s Approach—Devadas Krishnadas Varieties of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Iraq, 2003-2009— Jon Lindsay and Roger Petersen Piracy—Martin Murphy An Operator’s Guide to Human Terrain Teams—Norman Nigh Revolutionary Risks: Cyber Technology and Threats in the 2011 Libyan Revolution—John Scott-Railton Organizational Learning and the Marine Corps: The Counterinsurgency Campaign in Iraq—Richard Shultz Reading the Tea Leaves: Proto-Insurgency in Honduras—John D. Waghelstein Murphy: Piracy This work is cleared for public release; distribution is unlimited. This case study is available on CIWAG’s public website located at http://www.usnwc.edu/ciwag 2 Murphy: Piracy Message from the Editors In 2008, the Naval War College established the Center on Irregular Warfare & Armed Groups (CIWAG). CIWAG’s primary mission is twofold: first, to bring cutting-edge research on Irregular Warfare into the Joint Professional Military Educational (JPME) curricula; and second, to bring operators, practitioners, and scholars together to share their knowledge and experiences about a vast array of violent and non-violent irregular challenges. This case study is part of an ongoing effort at CIWAG that includes symposia, lectures by world- renowned academics, case studies, research papers, articles, and books. Our aim is to make these case studies part of an evolving and adaptive curriculum that fulfills the needs of students preparing to meet the challenges of the post-9/11 world. Dr. Martin Murphy is the author of this case study, which examines piracy in Somalia as well as international regimes that have been established to deal with piracy. The ultimate outcome is an analysis of what works and what does not work in countering piracy, the reasons for the results so far, and future options. Maritime piracy is not only a threat to shipping and global trade; it is linked to failed states and has tentative links to terrorism as well. It is also important to note three critical caveats to this case study. First, the opinions found in this case study are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the Department of Defense, the Naval War College, or CIWAG. Second, while every effort has been made to correct any factual errors in this work, the author is ultimately responsible for the content of this case study. Third, the study questions presented in all CIWAG case studies are written to provoke discussion on a wide variety of topics, including strategic, operational, and tactical matters as well as ethical and moral questions confronted by operators in the battlefield. The point is to make these case studies part of an evolving and adaptive curriculum that fulfills the needs of students preparing to meet the challenges of the post-9/11 world and to show them the dilemmas that real people faced in high- pressure situations. 3 Murphy: Piracy Finally, in addition to a range of teaching questions that are intended to serve as the foundation for classroom discussion, students will probably find the extensive bibliography at the end of the case helpful. Compiled by the case study authors and by CIWAG researchers at the Naval War College, the bibliography is a selection of the best books and articles on a range of related topics. We hope you find it useful, and look forward to hearing your feedback on the cases and suggestions for how you can contribute to the Center on Irregular Warfare & Armed Group’s mission here at the Naval War College. 4 Murphy: Piracy Author Biography Martin Murphy is a Senior Fellow at the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council of the United States, in Washington, D.C. He was previously a Research Fellow at Dalhousie University’s Centre for Foreign Policy Studies in Nova Scotia and a Visiting Fellow at London Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies at King’s College, London. His books include Piracy, Terrorism and Irregular Warfare at Sea: Navies Confront the 21st Century (Routledge, 2011); Somalia, the New Barbary? Piracy and Islam in the Horn of Africa (Columbia University Press, 2011); Small Boats, Weak States, Dirty Money: Piracy and Maritime Terrorism in the Modern World (Columbia University Press, 2009), which was named one of the outstanding academic titles of 2009 by the American Libraries Association; and Contemporary Piracy and Maritime Terrorism (Routledge, 2007). Dr. Murphy received his MA (with distinction) and PhD in Strategic Studies from the University of Reading, England. 5 Murphy: Piracy Suggested citation: Murphy, Martin. 2012. Piracy. CIWAG case study series 2011-2012, ed. Andrea Dew and Marc Genest. Newport, RI: US Naval War College, Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups. 6 Murphy: Piracy Table of Contents CIWAG Case Studies ii Message from the Editors 3 Author Biography 5 Acronyms 9 I. Conflict Context and Background 12 A. The Chandlers: A Cautionary Tale .................................................... 12 II. Somali Piracy in Historical and Strategic Context 26 A. Piracy and Its Suppression ............................................................... 32 B. Piracy and the Gulf of Aden ............................................................. 35 C. Somali Piracy Since 1996 .................................................................. 37 D. Pirate Adaptation and Exploitation ................................................. 41 E. Operational Analysis ......................................................................... 45 III. Counterpiracy 53 A. Naval Presence ................................................................................. 53 B. Challenges ........................................................................................ 59 C. Lack of Political Engagement ........................................................... 68 D. Three Representative Incidents ....................................................... 73 IV. Strategies and Counterstrategies 79 A. Conducting Operations on Land ...................................................... 80 B. Denying Access to Capital, Labor, and Markets ........................... 81 C. How to Achieve Pirate Transformation ........................................ 83 7 Murphy: Piracy Appendix A: An Overview of the Key Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political Issues Shaping Somalia Today 86 A. Somalia, 1960-1991 ..................................................................... 87 B. The Reasons for Regime Failure ................................................... 88 C. Somalia Since the Fall of Barre ..................................................... 91 Bibliography 112 8 Murphy: Piracy Acronyms Afnet (African Fisheries Management) AIAI (Al-ltihaad Al-islaami) AMISOM (African Union mandated name) AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) AORH (large fleet tanker) AQAP (al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) ASWJ (Ahlu Sunna Walijamaca) AU (African Union) CGPCS (Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia) CTF (Combined Task Force) EU NAVFOR (European Union Naval Force Somalia) GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) GPMG (general purpose machine gun) HMS (Her Majesty’s Ship) ICU (Islamic Courts Union) IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority of Development in Eastern Africa) IMO (International Maritime Organization) IRGCN (Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy) IRTCs (Internationally Recommended Transit Corridors) IW (international waters) LOS (Law of the Sea) LTTE (Kiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) MMWC (Merchant Marine Warfare Centre) MSC-HOA (Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa) MST (marine sniper team) NAG (Northern Arabian Gulf) OAF (Operation Enduring Freedom) PAG (Pirate Action Groups) ReCAAP (the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia) RFA (Naval Fleet Auxiliary) RM (Royal Marines) RMSI (Regional Maritime Security Initiatives) 9 Murphy: Piracy ROE (rules of engagement) RPG (rocket propelled grenade) SHADE (Shared Awareness and Deconfliction) SNMG1 (Standing NATO Maritime Group One) SNMG2 (Standing NATO Maritime Group Two) SOF (Special Operations Forces) SSDF (Somalia Salvation Democratic Front) TFG (Transitional Federal Government) TNG (Transitional National Government)