Monday, November 17, 2008

Somali Pirates and the Oil Supply

It was only a matter of time. Now, Somali pirates have seized the Sirius Star, a supertanker owned by Saudi Aramco, off the Kenyan coast.

Some of the students here at the Naval War College have done some excellent work on possible solutions--I hope to be sharing them with you soon.

Comments:
While we wait to hear from your War College students, I'll imagine that the military response won't be the only one being put forward.

Now is the time for the international community to revisit Somalia after the long neglect from the early 90s. A political solution and nation rebuilding program needs to be put in place over the long run.
I hope the recent piracy incidents will serve as a call to action because to neglect this moment will have been a wasted opportunity
 
Is there some aspect that would make requiring merchant shipping to travel in convoys with armed naval escort problematical? I can't think of any but I'm not an expert on maritime traffic and security. I understand that there is a lot of shipping in the area and if there was a real problem I would expect risk premiums to be going up.
 
dade,

The US and the UN tried nation-building (hell state-building anyway) back in the 90s.

Remember how well that turned out?
 
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