Piracy

Lord Greenway Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenway]

My Lords, I, too, would like to express my gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Luce, for introducing this debate. I would also very much like to endorse what the right reverend Prelate has said about the human element. I have had the great pleasure of working closely with the Mission to Seafarers over the past 20 or so years. It is worrying to hear that the problem, as I elaborated on when we last debated this topic, was one of malnutrition. That has now moved on into violence, which is a distressing development. As we have heard, much progress has been made and the number of attacks has been greatly reduced. However, caution must remain our watchword and any hint of complacency could see the pattern escalate again very quickly, especially now that the monsoon period has come to an end.

It has been a very worthwhile effort from all sides but it is very resource intensive. UK interests have benefited in that no UK ship has been taken for some months, and we can put this success down to three things. First, there has been best management practice. That involves ships taking the correct defence against pirate attacks, such as weaving and the use of hoses and barbed wire—anything that acts as a deterrent to stop the pirates boarding. Secondly, there have been the efforts of EU NAVFOR with Operation Atalanta and the wider international coalition’s efforts. Thirdly, there has been the use of armed guards aboard ships, which has already been mentioned, although the shipping community accepted that with reluctance. In this regard, it is not keen to set a precedent that would continue. The fact that armed guards are aboard ships has worked so far, without any ship being attacked.

However, there is always the chance of something ending in a firefight in which a crew member is killed. I hope that we will not reach that position, but there is always that risk. At the moment, 1,170 pirates have been detained in 21 countries. Many of them are prosecuted in the regions to which they are taken. However, there remain an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people engaged in piracy activity, so there still are many more people around. The risks must be seen to outweigh the rewards and we must seek to prosecute the pirates wherever possible. However, the mere removal of arms and boarding gear, such as the ladders the pirates use, from the pirate skiffs is often a sufficient deterrent, as the pirates, when they return to their bases, are not made welcome at all because the ringleaders and the investors—this is a business—are not pleased to see them return empty-handed. There are estimated to be around 20 to 30 ringleaders, of which some nine or 10 are active at the moment. Some of them have diversified, with their ill-gotten gains, into the restaurant business, selling cars and other such things.

The EU NAVFOR attack on one of the shore bases and the destruction of some of the boats has already been mentioned. That is a great move forward; I wish it had been done earlier. It has had a great effect in demoralising the pirates. There has been something of a change of tactics recently. Only two ships have been taken recently and these were a dhow and a fishing vessel, but there is a belief that these are to be used as mother ships to take the smaller skiffs out to sea—they go 1,000 miles offshore, which is a very long way.

One thing that worries the UK shipping industry is moves that I believe are taking place towards at least discussing a possible ban on ransom payments. The ability to pay ransom is important as it allows hostages—as we have heard from the right reverend Prelate—to be retrieved and also maintains the confidence of seafarers. Intelligence and surveillance remain the key. I understand that the few maritime patrol aircraft involved have been very effective. For that reason, I cannot help regretting the fact that we destroyed those Nimrod aircraft, which would have been very effective in this instance. Convoys are being used in the very congested region where ships enter the Red Sea: Japanese, Italian and Chinese ships are involved in this, but convoys are, of necessity, a quasi-military operation and not all ships, seafarers or shipping companies are keen to use their ships in this way, since ships have to arrive at a certain time and so on.

Finally, I have kept clear of the political situation onshore, but it would be wonderful if Somalia could declare a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. We could then assist them to rebuild their fish plants and perhaps supply them with a number of trawlers in order to train the younger people and give them some jobs and hope. I hope that the new Administration in Somalia will begin to tackle this.