Swag Award of the Week April 13-19

Over the last few weeks, piracy off the coast of Somalia has been receiving a tremendous amount of coverage worldwide following the attack on the Maersk Alabama and subsequent hostage situation that ensued with its captain, Richard Phillips.

While piracy occurs worldwide, the lion's share of pirate attacks have occurred off the coast of Somalia. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, and the waters off its coast are notoriously some of the most lawless in the world. In addition to not having a functioning govt., Somalia sits next to one of the busiest shipping routes in the world as ships from the Middle East and Asia sail past towards the Suez Canal en route to Europe & the western hemisphere.

Piracy in the region is not a new occurrence, as Somalians originally began attacking commercial fishing vessels that were illegally exploiting the country's abundant tuna population 10-15 years ago. The pirates kicked it up a notch last year though, attacking more than 120 ships and netting more than $150 million in ransom...or booty I guess we can call it. Get your money up Jack Sparrow. In November 2008, Somali pirates seized the Sirius Star, a Saudi oil Supertanker the size of an aircraft carrier carrying over $100 million of crude oil. The pirates were paid $3 million in ransom, divided it amongst themselves and left the boat.

Equipped with fast-moving boats, guns, grenade launchers, and grappling hooks, these dudes speed up to the much slower vessels, hop on board and hold everyone hostage until the money arrives. Pretty ballsy. They even target yachts and smaller vessels, which is the case of the French yacht Tanit that was attacked last week.

The situation involving the Maersk Alabama was the first attack of its kind on an American ship. Navy seals had to be parachuted in to the location, and snipers took out the 3 pirates who were holding Captain Phillips hostage on speedboat. 

Many thought the use of sniper fire to eliminate the pirates would send a strong message and deter them from future attacks... The Somalians said F!&K THAT! and attacked another U.S. vessel, the Liberty Sun on Monday. While the grenade launchers and guns damaged the ship, pirates were not able to board. Here's the catch though...the USS Bainbridge, the same Navy destroyer that was sent to help rescue Captain Phillips and bring him to safety was sent to rescue the Liberty Sun with Captain Phillips still on board! Wow. 

It is apparent that more than one warship and a handful of snipers will be needed to deter the Somali pirates from their objectives. With more than a decade of experience and a hefty sum of money to purchase weapons and other resources, Somali pirates do not appear to be backing down. The African waterfront could become our country's next foreign theatre. President Obama has already vowed to take a more active approach in confronting the issue. I have no idea how and if this situation will end, but one thing is certain...the Somali pirates have swag for days. YARRR!!!