The New Bedford Whaling Museum is celebrating its 21st. year with a series of illustrated lectures, tonight's lecture at 1930 is about modern piracy. The lecturer is Commander Andrew Norris USCG the representative to the International Law Department Staff. He serves as a USCG military judge as such presides over courts-martial of USCG personnel, he is also on the faculty of the Naval War College. His JD is from the University of Florida class 1993 hence the interest of NAUTICAL LOG since we also are Floridians. The lecture will cover, no doubt from the legal point-of-view, statistics on piracy, problem areas, international response, U.S. response, self-defence of U.S. Flag State vessels et cetera.
It would be fair enough if one might say talk, talk, and more talk but how about some action. This lecture should, NAUTICAL LOG believes, be very useful in understanding just what actually can be done under the Rule of Law in the 21st. Century. As we seafarers know only too well since there are 800 of us captives off Somalia about which very little has been done.
The talk has gone on for years but little action and then mostly by the navy of whose country's ship has been pirated or whose nationals are involved. One exception to this pattern is India whose Navy and Coastguard has been outstanding in patrolling, chasing down and capturing pirates.
On another point of modern piracy, which nobody has done anything about, is the violent anti-whaling and anti-bluetuna fishing actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). For a decade they have harassed seafarers engaged in legal fishing and whaling without punishment. Since the good Commander is lecturing from the New Bedford Whaling Museum it might be a good location to cover this aspect of modern piracy. However we seafarers are not "holding-our-breadth" that he will address this issue. Being politically correct and a military judge the issue will, NAUTICAL LOG is quite certain, be carefully avoided. If there is a Q&A session hopefully someone will at least ask a question in relation to the nautical thuggery of SSCS. It would be nice to have the point raised and a question on record.
Meanwhile the 800 captive seafarers suffer off Somalia and does anyone really care about them - it seems not many even know they exist least of all the Greek led International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Good Watch.
It would be fair enough if one might say talk, talk, and more talk but how about some action. This lecture should, NAUTICAL LOG believes, be very useful in understanding just what actually can be done under the Rule of Law in the 21st. Century. As we seafarers know only too well since there are 800 of us captives off Somalia about which very little has been done.
The talk has gone on for years but little action and then mostly by the navy of whose country's ship has been pirated or whose nationals are involved. One exception to this pattern is India whose Navy and Coastguard has been outstanding in patrolling, chasing down and capturing pirates.
On another point of modern piracy, which nobody has done anything about, is the violent anti-whaling and anti-bluetuna fishing actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). For a decade they have harassed seafarers engaged in legal fishing and whaling without punishment. Since the good Commander is lecturing from the New Bedford Whaling Museum it might be a good location to cover this aspect of modern piracy. However we seafarers are not "holding-our-breadth" that he will address this issue. Being politically correct and a military judge the issue will, NAUTICAL LOG is quite certain, be carefully avoided. If there is a Q&A session hopefully someone will at least ask a question in relation to the nautical thuggery of SSCS. It would be nice to have the point raised and a question on record.
Meanwhile the 800 captive seafarers suffer off Somalia and does anyone really care about them - it seems not many even know they exist least of all the Greek led International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Good Watch.
Please remember the 800 seafarers captives of pirates off Somalia - let us work to free them.
1 comment:
It is a complex issue, no doubt.
The solution therefore, by definition, cannot be simple.
I believe that there needs to be serious action by the UN and international law makers to address the following;
1. To establish an effective and democratic government in Somalia. The UN will need to be there for the short-to-medium term, in numbers.
2. To ban, and effectively police, the unsustainable and immoral practices of the international fishery industry. Notable villains include Spain, Portugal, Former USSR countries, China, Taiwan and others. If the illegal fishing is dealt with, then the so-called Somali Coastguard have no further excuse to exist as an armed group.
3. To maintain an effective routing system through the area, mandatory for all traffic. A transit route, a narrow coastal strip available for local fishermen, and an exclusion zone between the two where the warships will operate a free-fire policy.
Point 3 could be implemented immediately if the political will was there, and if the governments concerned would develop some testicular fortitude.
The first two points would take some time, but it's an important geographic region and it some stability would be welcome - not to mention the humanitarian aspect of it all.
Well, that's my opinion - I'll get off my soapbox now. Hat's off to the Indian navy, they are doing a great job.
Cheers to all,
Ed.
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