Modern Piracy
Piracy is a reality in the
twenty first century and very different from romantic myth.
Seafarers are vulnerable to attacks by armed criminals.
Recent high profile cases, such as the hijacking by Somali
warlords of ships carrying food aid, have recalled the
world’s attention to this age-old menace.
Escalating Piracy has Roots in Fishing Encroachment
By Peter Finney Jr. Catholic News Service
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
The rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's
coast has its roots in the encroachment into fishing zones
by large fishing vessels from other countries, but that does
not excuse the escalating violence launched by pirates
against oceangoing vessels, said a priest who has a ministry
to seafarers.
Father Sinclair Oubre, president of the Apostleship of
the Sea USA, made the comments at the group's annual
convention in New Orleans. A priest of the Diocese of
Beaumont, Texas, he also heads the Apostleship of the Sea
for his diocese.
Speaking May 8, he said port chaplains first began
hearing reports of piracy in the Gulf of Aden five to seven
years ago. Those disputes mostly involved encroachment on
fishing territories, but "because no big Western ships were
getting hit, it was no big deal," Father Oubre said.
"It's good that we are finally paying attention to it,"
he said. European fishing ships went to the coast of Somalia and
secured "either very advantageous fishing rights or else
there was basically no one able to enforce the fishing
zones," Father Oubre said. "Basically those boats began
exploiting the area. At the root of the piracy is the Somali
fishermen attacking those boats to defend their area."
Those disputes escalated to the point where the attacks
were staged and coordinated by Somali warlords, "the same
warlords that the U.S. Marines and Army fought back in the
1990s," Father Oubre said.
But this "Robin Hood" motivation "does not justify the
piracy," he added. The pirates have kidnapped ships' crews and demanded
ransom for their release, calling themselves modern-day
Robin Hoods trying to get compensation to replace a
dwindling livelihood as fishermen.
The Apostleship of the Sea convention drew a group of 40
port chaplains and priests involved in ministry on cruise
ships. The convention approved a message to seafarers that
"irrevocably condemns the issue of piracy and prays for all
seafarers who face hazardous shipping routes."
"An important part of our message to seafarers is to not
only recognize the challenges, difficulties and hardships
they face but also to acknowledge that what they are doing
is essential to the quality of our lives," Father Oubre
said. "If the ships don't sail, the cars don't drive in
Florida and you don't get your TVs or your computers. It's
mariners who do that service."
The organization also reaffirmed a resolution it approved
in 2008 that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
requires the certification of all port chaplains through a
process established by its office.
Filipino sailors, most of them Catholic, make up half of
the international crews on the world's merchant marine
ships, Father Oubre said.
After years of intense security at U.S. ports because of
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- keeping virtually
all foreign seafarers restricted to their ships when they
make port -- the U.S. Coast Guard is finally telling port
facilities to write "a facility plan that must include
procedures for coordinating shore leave," Father Oubre said.
"The frustration for us has been, 'OK, what is justifying
this higher security?'" he said. "There's a strong feeling
in AOS that seafarers have been targeted for higher
security, with no justification for it. None of the Sept. 11
attackers were seafarers. None of them had merchant marine
documents."
Since 2003, when stricter security rules went into place,
a seafarer who signs off a ship to go home "has to be
immediately moved from the ship to the airport." He said the
restrictions on foreign crews have persuaded U.S. pilots to
avoid shuttling vessels between Europe and North America
"because it's a hassle. You're not going to get the best
guys if they can avoid that situation."
Father Oubre, a seafarer himself, cobbles together
vacation time to spend three weeks to a month on the seas.
"There is hardship and difficulties and dirty work," he
said. "But there's also the wonders of being blessed by
watching the sun come up each day and the glory of the
heavens at the end of the day. To watch the flying fish and
the porpoises dance as we plough through the water is a
blessing." |