Operational responses to piracy--a first principles approach.

AuthorSloan, Mark
PositionEnd Game: An International Conference on Combating Maritime Piracy

There is a widely held consensus that maritime piracy is best prevented by addressing its root causes, but this article builds on an assumption that operational responses will also continue to play a key role in disrupting the pirates' business model on land and at sea. To consider those operational responses from first principles, it employs the risk management approach used in critical infrastructure protection to analyse the mission of the shipping industry, identify the critical assets, consider the threat, and assess the vulnerabilities of those critical assets. It uses these steps to identify the risk and the management action necessary to mitigate that risk, while also considering incident response, consequence management, and steps to restore mission success. This analysis highlights the relevance of operational responses to countering opportunity and means in particular, and highlights the fact that reducing opportunity is a shared responsibility between security forces and the shipping industry.

CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION A. Developing an Operational Response Framework B. Definitions and Assumptions II. MISSION AND CRITICAL ASSET ANALYSIS III. THREAT ANALYSIS A. Motive B. Opportunity C. Means IV. VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS V. INCIDENT RESPONSE, CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMENT, AND RESTORATION OF MISSION SUCCESS VI. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION

  1. Developing an Operational Response Framework

    There seems to be little disagreement among academics and practitioners alike, that the best way to counter existing outbreaks of piracy, and to prevent future outbreaks, is to address the root causes, which inform the motive elements of individual crimes. Furthermore, this consensus also points to the fact that solutions to the root causes generally, but not exclusively, lie in the socioeconomic sphere. Nevertheless, whatever the stage at which the problem is identified and countered, discouraging, deterring, disrupting, or defeating piracy requires enforcement of the rule of law on land and at sea, and the application of appropriate operational responses. (1) Moreover, to be successful, such responses must be coordinated with socioeconomic and other initiatives, and be accompanied by, and must support, the related legal and governance structures and processes that bound operational responses.

    The continued need for operational responses provides the underlying assumption for this article. Moving forward from the assumption, the issue becomes identification of a suitable framework for the development of the appropriate operational responses, responses that must be tailored to the specifics of an actual or potential outbreak of piracy. Working from first principles in this process is essential in order to avoid the risk of deciding on the solution before the true nature of the problem has been defined. This brief analysis uses a risk management methodology to support this first principles approach, the model selected being that used in critical infrastructure protection. But why choose critical infrastructure protection as the framework, when shipping itself is not generally considered to be critical infrastructure? Even the concept of Maritime Global Critical Infrastructure focuses on key choke points and international maritime hubs, rather than on shipping itself. (2) The challenge here is not to argue whether shipping should be considered critical infrastructure, but rather to use the principles of critical infrastructure protection as a means of drawing out some of the key aspects associated with the identification and application of operational responses to piracy.

  2. Definitions and Assumptions

    Before proceeding further, it is necessary to clarify the definition of piracy, as it is used in this article, and to set out the principles of critical infrastructure protection. In a recent study conducted at Dalhousie University, (3) it was proposed that the definition of piracy should include acts committed both inside and outside territorial waters. This proposal was based on three considerations. First, the broader definition allows the identification of potential low-level precursors to larger outbreaks of piracy. These precursors often occur inside territorial waters, and such attacks are equally threatening to commercial shipping, fishing vessels, and private marine craft as attacks conducted on the high seas. Second, in order to make appropriate recommendations for operational and other responses, the full extent of attacks must be recorded. And, third, this definition helps the development of a holistic maritime security strategy, whether nationally, regionally, or internationally, since piracy is but one of a number of challenges to maritime security. The Dalhousie study also recommended that robbery (armed or unarmed) from ships that are berthed alongside in a port should be excluded from the definition because dealing with such incidents should be a routine national policing issue. (4) The Dalhousie study's definition of piracy therefore falls between that of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)'s definition of piracy as acts on the high seas, (8) and the "piracy and armed robbery" definition established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and used by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). (6) For these reasons, this analysis uses the revised definition of piracy:

    The participation, planning and support of attempted or actual deliberate (violent) criminal interference with the rights and freedoms of the seas, which target marine craft (vessels) and persons for personal economic gain. (7) The Dalhousie study also made the assumption that piracy will never be eradicated completely, even though it may cease to be a meaningful risk in a particular region. That assumption remains valid in this analysis as well.

    The principles of critical infrastructure protection are simple. One must start by analyzing the mission; then identify the critical assets; consider the threat; assess the vulnerabilities of the critical assets; use these steps to identify the risk; and then take management action to mitigate that risk while also planning incident response, consequence management, and steps to restore mission success.

    1. MISSION AND CRITICAL ASSET ANALYSIS

      When applying this approach to the problem of countering marine piracy, defining the mission of seafarers and their vessels is relatively straightforward. (8) Simplistically, this includes the safe, timely and legally compliant passage of the designated cargo, passengers, and crew from their place of loading to the required point of offload. Also quite simply, the critical assets under consideration are the vessels, their crews, passengers, and cargos. Given this mission and critical assets, it immediately becomes apparent from the critical infrastructure...

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