Just how much more of the Somali pirate problem in the Gulf of Aden will the world take? Recently, a record $9 million dollar ransom was paid off to the pirates via helicopter drop-off, for the release of a South Korean vessel that had a crew of nineteen Filipinos and five South Koreans and a cargo full of oil. The vessel was headed for the US when it was hijacked by the pirates, an situation repeated so many times in the past two years!
I guess the Korean company decided that the ransom was still less than losing the ship and its cargo, not mentioning the cost of human life. A spokesman for the pirates said in an interview that this was their biggest payoff, and his "colleagues were dividing it amongst themselves as we speak"!
For sure, the newest model Porsches, Range Rovers, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles will appear in poverty-stricken Somali coastal towns once again! Just like that!
I really wouldn't care less about what happens in the Gulf of Aden, if Filipino seamen were not put in harms' way. Several nations have sent warships to the area in an effort to curb the piracy, which has affected European nations and their economy.
The US has a token force in the area as well. But if they can invade two countries with the purpose of taking out the threat of weapons of mass destruction, which they haven't found to this day, why can't they deal with the Somali pirate problem? For sure they can pinpoint the coastal towns where these cretin operate. Or have they had their taste of defeat in Somali soil?
It is really hard to deal with lawless individuals, and still operate within the bounds of the law. Honestly, the time for dealing with the Somali pirate problem has gone beyond the law. The time to unbind the hands of those who are trying to protect the shipping lanes is now. Several pirates have been caught and tried, but some do get released, because even for people like these, the law should still work! Absurd, if you ask me!
There are still 92 Filipino seamen being held captive by Somali pirates. The 19 recently freed are the lucky ones. Again, when will the world have enough of the Somali pirate problem, and finally deal with it in the strongest of ways? If only we had the means to do it ourselves.