ONE failed hijacking would not ordinarily be enough to worry security experts, who have weathered much worse over recent years.

But the unwelcome resurgence of armed Somali pirate groups seeking motherships, renting skiffs and acting with the tacit and suspected direct backing of al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni Islamist militant and terrorist group, is a threat that needs to be taken seriously.

Increasing co-operation between the Houthis and al-Shabaab, with the piracy groups directly engaged as both fundraisers and proxies, are equally worrying.

The links are well documented over many years of UN Security Council reports. Al-Shabaab funds its involvement in piracy primarily through a “taxation” system on pirate groups, receiving a share of ransom proceeds, rather than directly conducting most attacks themselves. They also provide protection and access to territory for pirate operations in exchange for fees.

But with the Houthis now searching for ways to maintain their influence in the region, the growing co-operation with al-Shabaab represents a potentially dangerous collaboration for shipping.

The Gulf of Aden is virtually entirely encompassed by Somalia and Yemen’s shorelines. Co-operation between Houthis and al-Shabaab is expanding the destabilising capacities of these militant groups on both sides of the Bab al Mandeb, while further complicating the challenges of monitoring 1,800 miles of vulnerable coastline along the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and western Indian Ocean.

So long as the Houthis and al-Shabaab maintain their alliance, and improve their capabilities in the process, shipping through the Suez Canal will be persistently at risk of attack, paying a “protection” tax, or ransom (due to piracy) to one or both groups.

Piracy is a perennial problem, and the fact that the Indian Navy’s show of force last year in the wake of the Ruen (IMO: 9754903) hijacking was sufficiently robust to deter the last piracy resurgence, shows what can be done.

But as with many other security choke points currently threatening shipping, there are other regional priorities taking up capacity and attention.

The conditions that create piracy have never been tackled on land, so the threat continues at sea.

Puntland’s previously well funded maritime force is now directed towards ISIS and the woefully inadequate naval response to the existing Houthi threat reveals quite how stretched navies are right now.

Whether India will be quite so prepared to go after a Houthi and al-Shabaab backed coalition remains to be seen.

But be warned: the pirates have regrouped and are being fed and supported by an actor that has proven itself to be a formidable adversary to maritime commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

For now, shipping has to assume that its back-to-basics approach of industry best practices for maritime security and naval support, where they can find it, will be enough to suppress the piracy threat when it arrives.

Richard Meade
Editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List

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