As per breaking news, the Obama administration yesterday called for expanding the international counterpiracy effort to deter Somali pirates, secure the release of hostage ships and crews, and freeze pirate assets, yet U.S. military officials said there are no immediate plans to devote more warships to the region.
"These pirates are criminals, they are armed gangs on the sea. And those plotting attacks must be stopped," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in announcing a four-point plan that includes assisting Somalis in "cracking down on pirate bases and decreasing incentives for young Somali men to engage in piracy."
Somali pirates yesterday attempted to commandeer another U.S. cargo ship, the Liberty Sun, which had a crew of about 20 and was loaded with food aid. But the attack was thwarted, and the ship headed toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa with armed U.S. Navy guards aboard, Navy officials said.
The pirate attack occurred about 285 nautical miles southeast of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the officials said. The pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at the freighter, which sustained some damage, according to its operator, Liberty Maritime Corp. The pirates had departed by the time the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge arrived.
It was not immediately clear whether the Liberty Sun was a target of opportunity for pirates or whether they were retaliating against a U.S.-flagged ship for the killings by U.S. Navy snipers this week of three pirates during an operation to rescue the Maersk Alabama's captain, Richard Phillips.
Nevertheless, the incident underscored how difficult it is for the handful of naval ships patrolling the vast expanse of water to prevent pirate strikes, which happen on average every three days, military officials said.
Currently, there are five U.S. and non-U.S. naval ships operating on counterpiracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean region, according to a military official from U.S. Central Command. With roughly 500 miles of coastline on the gulf and 1,000 on the Indian Ocean, there is a total of about 400,000 square miles of ocean to patrol against piracy, the officials said.
"It's a big space, and it wants for sustained surveillance. . . . It's hard to find these relatively small boats," such as the pirate skiffs, said retired Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, who commanded the 5th Fleet and U.S. naval forces in the Middle East until last year.
Military options for bolstering the effort include "flooding the zone" with more ships and aircraft, a daunting task given the need for constant patrolling over such a large area, Cosgriff said.
A second option, he said, would be to "go ashore light," meaning that military personnel would try to disrupt piracy by denying pirates boats, fuel and other resources. "It would be a military operation but simply to get stuff, not to arrest people," he said.
A far more aggressive approach, which he called "go ashore big," would involve military personnel moving into Somali villages and targeting the pirate leadership. "That is a big step" with serious risks, he said.
Nonmilitary options include encouraging commercial ships to stay farther off shore, learn evasive anti-piracy maneuvers or carry armed guards, although Cosgriff said shipping companies have hesitated to do that because of potential problems with unions, insurers and some ports.
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