SHIVER ME TIMBERS
Admittedly, I have no idea what that phrase means. Indeed, in today's world, if you Googled that old saying you would probably find yourself directed to some kind of "Pirate's Swingers Club". The much-maligned "peg-leggers" as they are called in the subculture of sexual deviants. For the sake of this article, however, it is simply used to conjure an image of the pirates of yesteryear. Complete with eye-patch, over-sized earring, wooden leg and at least one hand replaced with a hook. They were frightful for youngsters and were thankfully safely stowed away in the pages of history books and novels.
Who would have dreamed that today, in 2008, we are increasingly menaced by a new-age kind of pirate. The all-new Somali Pirate Club is boasting ever-more sophisticated weaponry and watercraft, and why wouldn't they? Their assaults over the last few years, once an anomaly and now a regular-threat, have gone unanswered by both victim and law. They began with small, usually civilian boats. Wealthy folks out on their yachts, not usually very sympathetic people, or drug dealers on their back-and-forth missions, also not very sympathetic folks. So, when the pirates were robbing, and even murdering, these mariners, there was not a lot of outcry. Even more often, boats were found abandoned, floating aimlessly, and the "mystery" never solved. It is a dangerous and lonely place, the high seas, where history has shown us that events in these parts sometimes bring out the very worst in mankind.
What has been stunning to me in all of this is the lack of response. A few weeks ago, pirates took over a 20 million-ton oil tanker. How does that happen? The pirates can be seen for miles as they approach, it is an ocean after all, not a forest. Why does crew after crew float along like a drunken whale, allow themselves to be taken over with no resistance, and then we are all shocked at the outcome? If banks left their doors and vaults open over the weekend, and people stole as they pleased without consequence, it would be logical to expect more stealing, not less, as the trend continued unabated. In keeping with that rather simplistic theory, I predicted just weeks ago that pirates would attempt to take a cruise ship soon.
Last week, it happened.
Six pirates attempted to take over the M/S Nautica, an American luxury cruise ship. The Captain was able to speed away. I'm not sure exactly what "speed" means in this instance, but logic dictates that large ships are not fast, whether they're hauling oil or wealthy tourists. Logic also tells me, that a take-over of one of these ships by these Somali bandits who have demonstrated an absolute indifference to human life, would have the potential to be a violent disaster. Even the simplest among us can deduce that there is probably a good deal of cash to be had. Add to that, expensive jewelry, cargo and whatever else may be of value in the impoverished country of Somalia...in short, everything on board.
We seem to be staggering down one of those roads, and not the road less travelled, where we can see a problem brewing, nobody is doing much about it, and when a major tragedy occurs, we will point fingers and wring our hands afterwards. There seems to be an opportunity for someone to be proactive here, for a change. I submit to you that a good place to start would be the institution of a universal maritime law that allows the Captain and crew of any vessel to protect themselves and their cargo and passengers against deadly force, by using deadly force. After all, that's the same way we fought pirates hundreds of years ago.
Karl From New Hampshire