Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 1 The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy: A Case Study on Naval Strategy Kyle J Estes California Maritime Academy Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 2 Abstract Maritime piracy has long been a threat to merchant mariners. The role of a navy is to protect mariners from all threats at sea and provide for the national security of their country. The United States Navy has deep roots involved with combating maritime piracy since its official creation to stop Barbary Pirates. This thesis explores the evolution of US Naval strategy in regards to piracy by examining the three 21st-century piracy hotspots. The Gulf of Aden, Strait of Malacca, and Gulf of Guinea are all unique challenges to the United States Navy in terms of naval strategy. Political corruption, socio-economic standing of the populations, and criminal involvement are all factors behind piracy in these regions. Through the continued ability by the US Navy to adapt to these changing problems, and focus on the roots of piracy rather than the surface of the attacks, the US Navy has been the premier anti-piracy force in the world. Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 3 Introduction Piracy dates back to the 14th Century, but can be claimed to have existed ever since commerce has travelled by water. Piracy is defined as the attacking and robbing ships at sea for valuable goods and economic gains. Over time piracy also includes the hijacking and kidnap of crews for ransom. Piracy is primarily carried out against merchant vessels, but in some instances is carried out against privately owned vessels. Over the course of history, piracy has flourished in many regions of the world. Historically, crews of degenerates and iconic captains who would pillage and plunder across the islands of the Caribbean were seen as “pirates”. Though this may be true, piracy took place across the world including along the Barbary Coast and Asia. From the mid 1990s to the present day, piracy has taken on a new form from the eye- patches and peg legs of earlier times. Socio-economic standing is the leading factor that pushes people into modern piracy. Piracy at the end of the 20th and into the 21st century is conducted on the major trade routes of the globe, where thousands of ships transit yearly carrying bulk goods, cargo, and raw materials such as oil and natural gas. Hijackings have become more prominent than stealing goods, due to the ability to track and monitor goods movement. Because of this piracy tactics have evolved to have similar styles to that of maritime military and law enforcement tactics. Ship boarding by small teams is conducted to hijack and kidnap the crew, in hopes of earning high profit yields due to the cost of ransom paid out by large shipping companies. Currently, there are three “hot-spot” areas of concern for piracy on an international level. The Gulf of Aden, off the Somali coast, has been known for nearly twenty years as one of the deadliest areas to transit due to the high amounts of pirate activity in these waters. This area has recorded some of the highest ransom payments due to the oil and natural gas tankers traveling Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 4 from the Persian Gulf through this chokepoint. Though it is on the decline, the International Maritime Bureau has cautioned merchant and private mariners to use caution while transiting these waters, and recommends traveling further off coast. The Strait of Malacca, like the Gulf of Aden is a strategic choke point for maritime traffic. The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea. This causes the Strait of Malacca to be one of the most highly transited areas of the world, as manufactured Asian goods are shipped through the Strait of Malacca en route to European markets. Piracy in this region started off on a very small scale, but has grown over the last decade to be controlled by large crime syndicates of the region. Nigerian piracy is unique in comparison to Somalia and Malacca piracy in that attempts in the Gulf of Guinea are often extremely violent. Pirates in this area have even gone as far as busting oil pipelines and stealing crude oil for sale to terrorist organizations in Northern Africa and the Middle East. This has caused piracy in the Gulf of Guinea to quickly gain international recognition in the early to mid 2010s. Piracy is a dynamic, ever evolving problem that is difficult to manage due to its on-sea and on-land implications. Governmental organizations of the countries where piracy occurs do not have the ability to effectively combat piracy at sea, and make political recommendations on land. The United States Navy has been at the forefront of combating global maritime piracy through multiple political and military actions. The United States Navy was founded to protect the US merchant fleet against Barbary pirates in the late 1700’s. Today, the same founding principle of the United States Navy allows for a continued forward presence to be held in order to protect not only the US merchant fleet, but also the entire global shipping industry. By understanding the political climates of each region and adapting to the surrounding Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 5 circumstances of each region the United States Navy has become a mentor and partner in military operations. This thesis will examine the historical implications that piracy had on the founding of the United States Navy, followed by an in depth case study of the three piracy “hotspots” that are found today. In doing so, current policy used by the United States Navy will be examined and recommendations will be made in order for continued success against piracy. The thesis will end with an examination of future potential areas of piracy that have been acknowledged by the International Maritime Bureau. Recommendations for these areas will be made on the policy being used else where in the world, as well as geographical recommendations that the United States Navy should follow based on the political and social implications of these new regions. Founding the United States Navy What is now the US Navy has grown tremendously since its inception in the late 18th century. In comparison to the United States Navy of the 21st century, the US Navy was not always as mission capable or large enough to remain forward deployed. The founding of the US Navy took some time to finalize, but the founding fathers were certain that there needed to be a fleet of vessels capable of protecting the US merchant fleet. At the time of the US Navy’s founding the United States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) was the only form of armed ships under US jurisdiction. However these ships were owned by specific ports in order to police tariff law and fair payment. Once US merchant ships were coming under attack at a higher rate on international waters, the US Navy was quickly established. American Revolution and Early Naval Fleets The American Revolution pitted the largest military force in the world, Great Britain, against the rag-tag militias and small Continental Army of the American Colonies. Along with a Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 6 powerful army, the United Kingdom had the largest Navy the world had seen since Zheng He led his fleet on seven voyages for the Ming Dynasty in the 15th Century. Opposition existed amongst the members of the Continental Congress to creating a standing Navy. Many members of the Continental Congress were strongly opposed to funding and building a Continental Navy on the basis that it would be a waste of time and resources, due to the fact that the British Armada would quickly destroy any Navy built by the Colonies. Ultimately the Continental Congress would favor and support building a Continental Navy, largely due John Adam’s ability to persuade his colleagues into understanding the needs of a standing Navy (Howarth, 1999). The Continental Congress, after understanding that a Navy would be needed to slow British supply and troop replenishment, as well as protect the ports and maritime commerce of the Colonies, established the Continental Navy on October 13th, 1775. The United States Navy to this day still recognizes this date as its birth date. The Continental Navy for the most part was unsuccessful in combating the British fleet, however decisive naval victories, such as John Paul Jones victory over the HMS Serapis, were crucial in keeping American moral high. Following the Colonial victory over the British Crown, the newly formed United States, did not have the funding to continue to support a Navy and auctioned off the last vessel of the US Fleet, the USS Alliance for $26,000 (Miller, 1997). Along with the economic issues faced by the United States following the American Revolution, loose ties amongst the newly formed states, a shift to an isolationist rather than foreign viewpoint, and governmental peace time goals were all factors expressed by the US Congress to disband the Continental Navy. Barbary Pirates Starting in the 9th century, Muslim populations in North Africa conducted piracy in the Mediterranean region by raiding merchant vessels to loot goods, as well as capture thousands of Running head: The United States Navy and Global Maritime Piracy 7 slaves. These attacks were carried out by Islamic sailors from ports in Sale, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, and were predominately focused on the Mediterranean region.