The government of the autonomous region of Puntland in north-east Somalia claims to be unable to curb the activities of the Somali pirates based there. Yet when a Yemeni vessel is seized by those pirates, the Puntland government is suddenly stirred to action.
In November 2008 the Yemeni cargo ship 'Adina' was captured by Somali pirates while carrying a cargo of steel from Al Mukalla, a port on the south coast of Yemen, to the island of Socotra. The Puntland authorities, usually so indifferent to captures of the vessels of other nations, immediately rushed to take action. Ali Abdi Aware, a Puntland minister, said: 'We will release the hijacked Yemen ship forcibly if they do not release it without a ransom because we have good relations with Yemen.'
Puntland security forces were put on alert, but after negotiations and strong pressure from the Puntland government, the 'Adina' was released in early December 2008. A ransom of US $2 million had originally been demanded for the ship, but no ransom was paid.
The fact is that both the government of Puntland and the Somali pirates who are based there would find life very difficult without good relations with Yemen. Officially the government of Yemen is opposed to Somali piracy, but in ports along the south coast of Yemen many people derive substantial economic benefit from aiding and abetting the pirates as well as supplying the rest of the population of Puntland.
Yemeni fishing boats have on occasion been seized by Somali pirates for use as 'mother ships' so that their fast pirate craft can be launched in more distant waters to capture merchant ships. However, in some cases there have been doubts about whether the Yemeni fishing boats were really victims, with suggestions that their 'capture' may have been arranged in advance so that Yemenis could share in the profits of piracy.
Indeed NATO sources claim ports along the eastern section of the south coast of Yemen, specifically Al Mukalla, Al Shishr, Sayhut, Nishtun and Al Ghaydah, serve as re-supply bases for Somali pirate 'mother ships' operating in the Gulf of Aden, where they make so many of their captures.
The most recent Somali pirate attack on a Yemeni ship took place less than ten miles from the south coast of Yemen. The tanker 'Qana' was seized on April 26 while returning from Al Mukalla to Aden. On the following day Yemeni special forces retook the vessel, killing three pirates and taking others prisoner.
From one point of view this operation might be seen as striking a blow against the pirates since it is the first Yemeni military action ever taken against them. However, on the other hand, the fact that the incident took place so close to Yemen's coast would seem to indicate that the Somali pirates are treating the area as if it was their own home waters and they can count on support from local people.
The Yemen/Somalia connection is increasingly integrated. When not hunting merchant ships to seize for ransom, Somali pirate 'mother ships' often take human cargo (refugees and economic migrants) from Somalia to Yemen and then return with arms, ammunition, and other supplies to support their pirate activities or sell to the people of Puntland.
There is now increasing concern that people on the south coast of Yemen may soon graduate from assisting the Somali pirates to joining them in their activities. Yemen's declining economy makes piracy, with its low risks and high financial rewards, look increasingly attractive. Added to the economic motive may be a political one as well.
The population of South Yemen has never been particularly happy with its union with North Yemen which has existed since 1990. Its attempt to break away in 1994 was brutally suppressed. Pro-independence demonstrations in South Yemen earlier this month would seem to show that this feeling is reviving. If South Yemen was to achieve independence, or even just autonomy on a scale to match Puntland's position within Somalia, then piracy might become attractive, promising valuable income for a new political entity.
At the moment Somali piracy is largely just a criminal activity with no proven links to terrorism. Indeed those groups most likely to be associated with terrorism in Somalia, the Islamist militants in the south and centre of the country, say they are opposed to piracy. They even claim to have carried out attacks on the pirates when the latter have seized ships owned in Muslim countries. How long this separation will continue is a matter for debate. Piracy is the most lucrative economic activity in Somalia and many political groups in the country will hope to get some share in its profits. There are already reports from the body monitoring the UN arms embargo in Somalia that the pirates are bringing arms from Yemen to supply the Islamist militants. However, so far this seems to be a purely commercial transaction and does not imply any commitment to the Islamist cause.
Nevertheless a closer link between Somali pirates and Somali Islamist militants cannot be ruled out. Such a link would be of serious concern to other countries. Of even greater concern would be if Yemeni seafarers took up piracy and then established links with Islamist terror networks. The profits of piracy might finance terrorists who could spread their activities from Yemen into the neighbouring countries of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
The need for concerted international action to stamp out Somali piracy is growing. It must be curbed before piracy can spread to South Yemen, which would extend the zone of instability currently restricted to Somalia into the south of the Arabian peninsula with potentially dangerous consequences for the whole region.
