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Indonesia is the global leader in piracy
Pirates Take Over the Waters In Indonesia
Forbes Staff , Contributor
By Ikaika Ramones (FORBES INDONESIA)
“The World’s Most Dangerous was one headline used to describe Indonesia’s seas, which last year had the dubious distinction of overtaking Somalia and the Gulf of Aden as home to the most pirate attacks in the world. In 2012 there were a total of 297 pirate attacks worldwide, 81 of which occurred in Indonesia’s waters, against only 75 in Somalia and the Gulf (altogether they accounted for 53% of the world total), according to the Piracy Reporting Centre of the global monitoring body International Maritime Bureau.
These figures are made worse when put into context: Global piracy overall has actually been on the decline, down from 439 incidents in 2011, while Indonesia’s numbers have been rising since 2009, with the trend continuing into this year. Indonesia was the global leader in piracy with 25 incidents out of 66 worldwide in the first quarter of 2013, according to the Piracy Reporting Centre. Somalia and the Gulf? Only 6 cases. What’s behind the upsurge? The issues are complicated, says Eric Frécon, author of Chez les pirates d’Indonésie, a book on Indonesian piracy, and an assistant professor at the French Naval Academy. For one, he says, the pirates have shifted away from their traditional bases in the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia. “Generally, pirates are either migrating to the south, toward more secretive places in the vicinity of Jambi province, or moving farther to the east, in the open seas and far from the coasts and patrols,” he says.
The move is driven by pragmatism, given increased naval activity in the Malacca Strait. As opposed to Somalia’s clear-cut coastline with its high visibility, Indonesia’s thousands of islands, coastal mangrove forests and shallow estuaries are perfect hideaways.
Military authorities that are supposed to root out the pirates have not kept up with the changes. “The [Indonesian] Navy focuses too much on the Malacca Strait and forgets the surrounding zones. The Malacca Strait is increasingly safe for international shipping,” he says. A few years ago the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore launched a well-publicized campaign pledging to cooperate on the piracy issue, including dramatic photos of large warships patrolling the Malacca Strait. Fr?con points out that real cooperation between navies has so far been problematic, thus impeding a “united front” against the pirates.
In addition, he notes that the warships in the publicity photos are too big to track the pirates back to their bases, usually hidden in mangroves. Those who could track at a local level, he notes, are generally ill-equipped to take on the pirates. Many local authorities in these coastal areas might not have much more than a few wooden boats with small outboard motors.
Instead of the Malacca Strait, the pirates have increasingly moved to isolated island groups close to international shipping lanes, such as the Anambas islands and Natuna islands, situated in the middle of the South China Sea.
Another base is emerging around the island of Batam and its nearby neighbor Belakang Island, which is close to Singapore and has become a center for low-cost manufacturing for exports via Singapore. Piracy is also changing as it moves from spontaneous attacks toward a more insidious and organized nature. Frécon comments on the existence of the “Godfathers” who manage the piracy. Some of these crime bosses are former pirates or have decided to add piracy to their other illegal activities, such as gambling, drugs and prostitution. “Recent hijackings would confirm that they … organize sea crimes, maybe in partnership with bigger syndicates,” says Frécon.
What has also happened, says Frécon, is that poor Indonesians are drawn to Batam in search of jobs . This trend has created a pool of disenfranchised who are choice targets for recruitment into piracy. Even local fishermen have become potential recruits. “The local fishing community suffered from overfishing and pollution along the coasts,” notes Frécon. The root of the problem is not social but economic, he notes, as more coherent and sustainable development in areas that are prone to pirate recruitment might go a long way toward alleviating the piracy problem.
A Brief History
Indonesia is no stranger to piracy. Throughout the archipelago’s history raiders on the sea have been a recurrent problem. Modern-day piracy comes in three forms: boarding parties that rob vessels, syndicates that steal entire ships and raiders who kidnap crew members for ransom.
Sea raiders have provided intelligence and tax tributes to sultans and have been conducting simple robberies of vessels in the Malacca Strait and other areas for centuries. However, when European colonizers arrived to exploit these littoral sultanates, traditional economic systems broke down, culminating in a spike in piracy that intensified in the 19th century. The Dutch and British also attempted to provide coastal communities with economic alternatives.
These colonial invaders encountered raiding parties across what is now modern-day Indonesia. The Bugis people of South Sulawesi were mentioned in European sailors’ accounts of pirates in Indonesian seas. Many speculate these attacks gave rise to the English word “bogeyman,” a nightmarish figure in Western culture. Even the traditional ships they used, phinisi, and their signature black sails became symbols of piracy in the Western world. –I.R.
Pirates Take Over the Waters In Indonesia
Forbes Staff , Contributor
By Ikaika Ramones (FORBES INDONESIA)
“The World’s Most Dangerous was one headline used to describe Indonesia’s seas, which last year had the dubious distinction of overtaking Somalia and the Gulf of Aden as home to the most pirate attacks in the world. In 2012 there were a total of 297 pirate attacks worldwide, 81 of which occurred in Indonesia’s waters, against only 75 in Somalia and the Gulf (altogether they accounted for 53% of the world total), according to the Piracy Reporting Centre of the global monitoring body International Maritime Bureau.
These figures are made worse when put into context: Global piracy overall has actually been on the decline, down from 439 incidents in 2011, while Indonesia’s numbers have been rising since 2009, with the trend continuing into this year. Indonesia was the global leader in piracy with 25 incidents out of 66 worldwide in the first quarter of 2013, according to the Piracy Reporting Centre. Somalia and the Gulf? Only 6 cases. What’s behind the upsurge? The issues are complicated, says Eric Frécon, author of Chez les pirates d’Indonésie, a book on Indonesian piracy, and an assistant professor at the French Naval Academy. For one, he says, the pirates have shifted away from their traditional bases in the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia. “Generally, pirates are either migrating to the south, toward more secretive places in the vicinity of Jambi province, or moving farther to the east, in the open seas and far from the coasts and patrols,” he says.
The move is driven by pragmatism, given increased naval activity in the Malacca Strait. As opposed to Somalia’s clear-cut coastline with its high visibility, Indonesia’s thousands of islands, coastal mangrove forests and shallow estuaries are perfect hideaways.
Military authorities that are supposed to root out the pirates have not kept up with the changes. “The [Indonesian] Navy focuses too much on the Malacca Strait and forgets the surrounding zones. The Malacca Strait is increasingly safe for international shipping,” he says. A few years ago the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore launched a well-publicized campaign pledging to cooperate on the piracy issue, including dramatic photos of large warships patrolling the Malacca Strait. Fr?con points out that real cooperation between navies has so far been problematic, thus impeding a “united front” against the pirates.
In addition, he notes that the warships in the publicity photos are too big to track the pirates back to their bases, usually hidden in mangroves. Those who could track at a local level, he notes, are generally ill-equipped to take on the pirates. Many local authorities in these coastal areas might not have much more than a few wooden boats with small outboard motors.
Instead of the Malacca Strait, the pirates have increasingly moved to isolated island groups close to international shipping lanes, such as the Anambas islands and Natuna islands, situated in the middle of the South China Sea.
Another base is emerging around the island of Batam and its nearby neighbor Belakang Island, which is close to Singapore and has become a center for low-cost manufacturing for exports via Singapore. Piracy is also changing as it moves from spontaneous attacks toward a more insidious and organized nature. Frécon comments on the existence of the “Godfathers” who manage the piracy. Some of these crime bosses are former pirates or have decided to add piracy to their other illegal activities, such as gambling, drugs and prostitution. “Recent hijackings would confirm that they … organize sea crimes, maybe in partnership with bigger syndicates,” says Frécon.
What has also happened, says Frécon, is that poor Indonesians are drawn to Batam in search of jobs . This trend has created a pool of disenfranchised who are choice targets for recruitment into piracy. Even local fishermen have become potential recruits. “The local fishing community suffered from overfishing and pollution along the coasts,” notes Frécon. The root of the problem is not social but economic, he notes, as more coherent and sustainable development in areas that are prone to pirate recruitment might go a long way toward alleviating the piracy problem.
A Brief History
Indonesia is no stranger to piracy. Throughout the archipelago’s history raiders on the sea have been a recurrent problem. Modern-day piracy comes in three forms: boarding parties that rob vessels, syndicates that steal entire ships and raiders who kidnap crew members for ransom.
Sea raiders have provided intelligence and tax tributes to sultans and have been conducting simple robberies of vessels in the Malacca Strait and other areas for centuries. However, when European colonizers arrived to exploit these littoral sultanates, traditional economic systems broke down, culminating in a spike in piracy that intensified in the 19th century. The Dutch and British also attempted to provide coastal communities with economic alternatives.
These colonial invaders encountered raiding parties across what is now modern-day Indonesia. The Bugis people of South Sulawesi were mentioned in European sailors’ accounts of pirates in Indonesian seas. Many speculate these attacks gave rise to the English word “bogeyman,” a nightmarish figure in Western culture. Even the traditional ships they used, phinisi, and their signature black sails became symbols of piracy in the Western world. –I.R.
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