African Union chief: Political instability feeds Somali piracy

Nairobi/Addis Ababa - Political infighting in Somalia that has prevented the government from functioning is feeding the recent explosion in piracy, the chairman of the African Union has said. Piracy off the Horn of Africa nation has surged in recent months, peaking with the weekend seizure of a Saudi supertanker carrying crude oil worth 100 million dollars. Jean Ping linked the piracy surge to a rift within the leadership of Somalia's transitional federal government and called for UN peacekeepers to be deployed in the nation as soon as possible. 'The chairperson expresses deep concern at the recent increasing acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia,' the AU said in a statement late Wednesday evening. 'This is a clear indication of the further deterioration of the situation with far reaching consequences for this country, the region and the larger international community,' the AU added. The surge in piracy has coincided with a bloody insurgency in Somalia, where ousted Islamists have been fighting to regain control since early 2007. The government has not only been too busy fighting the insurgents to worry about piracy, but in recent months has descended into political infighting. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein have been unable to agree on a new cabinet for months. Insurgents have taken advantage of this to seize towns across Somalia and push to the edge of the capital, Mogadishu. At the same time pirates, based mainly in the semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland, have attacked ships in droves despite the presence of international warships in the Gulf of Aden. Many shipping lines are now avoiding or considering avoiding the Gulf of Aden - a busy shipping channel which forms part of the route linking the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. The Sirius Star, which was hijacked Saturday some 830 kilometres south-east of the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, is anchored near the Somali port of Harardhere, one of several pirate strongholds, while ransom negotiations take place. The 25 crew, from Britain, Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, are according to the owners all safe, and there are no plans by either the international forces or the Puntland authorities to storm the ship. Since the Sirius Star was taken, an Iranian cargo ship and a Thai fishing boat have also been seized. The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme reported that a Greek ship was also hijacked, but the Greek Ministry of Merchant Marine has denied this. Prior to the latest seizures, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said there had been 92 attempts at piracy in the region this year, 36 of them successful. If the report of a Greek ship being hijacked proves correct, 17 vessels are in the hands of pirates along with over 300 crew. The Sirius Star is the largest vessel taken by pirates and represents their most daring raid yet, despite the presence of international warships. The surge in piracy has prompted increased patrols by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia, the US-led coalition forces and France along the Somali coast. The European Union has also authorized a force of between five and seven frigates, which is expected to arrive in the Gulf of Aden early December. An increased naval presence has not deterred the pirates as they pursue huge ransoms, but they have recently started to suffer losses. The Indian navy said Wednesday that its INS Tabar stealth frigate, which has been deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy surveillance and patrol operations, destroyed a pirate mothership. The seizure of the Sirius Star took place outside the normal danger areas in the Gulf of Aden, prompting anti-piracy officials to warn that the pirates could be changing their tactics in response to the increased warship presence.