A top US Navy official said that commercial vessels need armed guards when travelling through the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa, as a debate brews over how to thwart piracy.

"You need two things to have a successful piracy attack: you need pirates that are seeking monetary gain and you also need a ship that's able to get pirated," Vice Admiral William Gortney told CNN from Bahrain, a day after US Navy snipers ended a five-day hostage standoff by killing three pirates.

Somali pirates have vowed to retaliate for Sunday's shooting, and Gortney said that shipping companies needed to provide a last line of defence against being boarded by pirates.

Increasing violence thresholds

But piracy and terror expert Peter Chalk told AFP that mariners are not trained for combat and would likely not agree to confront pirates with lethal force.

"Arming mariners would almost certainly raise the ante on the part of pirates and increase their own violence thresholds," warned the RAND Corporation analyst, adding that pirates "almost certainly" have more advanced weapons than mariners.

Military intervention "will likely politicise what is essentially an economic problem. Also, because pirates live in close proximity to coastal communities, the possibility of large-scale civilian damage would be high," he added.

Chalk pointed to the legal problems associated with arming the crews of shipping vessels, as many countries do not allow ships they register to carry arms and most coastal states impose severe limitations on ships entering their territorial waters if they have arms on board.

Gortney, the commander of US naval forces in the region, said companies could also deploy more passive measures.

"Just last week, two vessels were unsuccessfully attacked because the ship had put barbed wire around the ship on the closest avenues of approach," he said.

US to 'disincentivise' pirates

The United States was trying to "disincentivise" pirates from attacking US-flagged ships he told NBC, but added it hopes "that the tribal elders in Somalia would encourage young men to look for other livelihoods, realising that the lack of opportunity is what drives them to piracy in the first place."

US Navy snipers ended a tense high-seas drama when they shot the pirates on Sunday evening and rescued Captain Richard Phillips, who had commanded the Maersk Alabama cargo ship.

They had standing orders from President Barack Obama to use force to save Phillips if he faced "imminent danger," Gortney said on Sunday.

White House aides meanwhile distributed details of the president's behind-the-scenes role in overseeing the military's handling of the situation — he was appraised on an almost hourly basis.

The successful outcome provided the novice commander-in-chief an opportunity to prove himself to military leaders and the public.

Obama said on Monday the United States would work with its allies to prevent future pirate attacks.

"We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," he added.

'Piracy should not be tolerated'

As Washington prepares a new strategy to combat piracy — targeting its sources both on land and at sea — a former US Navy Secretary said tougher military options may have to be considered, including attacks on the pirates' land bases and putting US troops on civilian ships.

"Piracy should not be tolerated. It is a violation of international law, and for centuries the use of force to stop it has been supported by virtually every nation," said Democratic Senator Jim Webb.

But US Defence Secretary Robert Gates recognised that "there is no purely military solution.

"I am confident we will be spending a lot of time in the situation room over the next few weeks trying to figure out what in the world to do about this problem," he told a group of 30 students and faculty members at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia.

Chalk said littoral states close to Somalia — Yemen, Kenya and Djibouti — should enhance their coastal and surveillance capacities, while mitigation measures should be developed with the private sector.

"Over the longer-term, the lack of governance in Somalia will have to be dealt with, not only to counter piracy but also to boost general stability in what remains a highly important geo-strategic and economic region of the world," he said.

AFP

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