The virtues of piracy

Pirates are thieves. There's nothing really nice about what they do. That being said however, the Somali pirates may offer a few benefits that should be reflected on in this imperfect world.

To start with, the Somali piracy problem may be a bit overblown. If 22,000 ships passed safely by Somali pirates last year, and only hundreds were taken for ransom -- recorded hijackings put the number at 42, last year -- resulting in about a $100m loss due to ransoms -- then is it really a big problem requiring the world's navies to try and manage? To increase patrols would cost a lot more money. Economically, it might be just as effective to pay higher insurance premiums and take the risk.

The pirates themselves make it a dangerous place for ships to be -- especially closer to coast. There is already evidence that ships have used the waters off Somalia to dump toxic waste -- including nuclear material. Illegal fishing off Somalia's coast has also been a problem. Somalia, a failed state, can do nothing about these things. Yet I'm sure that the presence of the pirates have made it difficult for these activities to go unchallenged. Really, who wants to take the risk of being caught -- especially by pirates -- with no assets on board of value to make someone want to pay for your release?

The failed state of Somalia is also a haven for much worse than pirates -- terrorists -- of the Islamic fundamentalists sort. Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen already has control of huge swats of Somalia, including parts of Mogadishu. The developed world, notably the US, is not about to send troops there. Maybe a few drone bombings or air raids, but there's no chance of ground troops to save Somalia from succumbing to al-Shabaab. Who stands in al-Shabaab's way? Pirates. The two do not go well together. The pirates make their money in the most un-Islamic way -- and turn around the spend it likewise. Drinking and whoring, as is the pirate way, is not the way of fundamentalist Islam. To date, there really hasn't been any skirmishes of note between the pirates and al-Shabaab -- but if the Islamic thugs try to hinder the pirates lucrative trade, how long will it be before it's war?

in reference to:

"In any event, some shipping people privately say that the effects of piracy have been exaggerated. It may still be cheaper and more convenient to pay higher insurance fees and risk being attacked by pirates than to incur the extra cost of diverting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope."
- Somalia's pirates: A long war of the waters | The Economist (view on Google Sidewiki)

Now listen to some K'naan: