[210311.EN.SEA] US State Department To 'Seriously Reassess' Piracy Policy

THE US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has called for a "serious reassessment" of policy after the recent escalation of violence from pirates off Somalia, according to Kurt Amend, the State Department's principal deputy assistant secretary for political and military affairs.

His comments before a congressional hearing were prompted by the killing of four US citizens aboard a yacht by Somali pirates, reports the American Shipper. "Our goal is to develop a recalibrated strategy that once implemented will enhance the safety and security of Americans on the high seas," he told the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee on Coast Guard and maritime transportation.

Mr Amend was cited as saying an important new goal of the US government is to cut off the flow of money to pirate leaders given that it now costs on average US$4 million to secure the release of a vessel and its crew from pirates' clutches.

The US aims to achieve this goal by establishing a fifth working group in the 60-nation Contact Group on Somali piracy that would enable the US treasury and justice departments, the intelligence community and international partners to share information and potentially deny pirate chiefs the ability to benefit from their ransom proceeds through "forensic methods," said Mr Amend.

He said the US State Department would finalise its new strategy soon for cracking down on piracy. The report said the range of options would: continue policies to discourage nations and private parties from paying ransoms; stress self-protection measures by the shipping industry; seek prosecution of pirates in national courts; solicit contributions of military forces and basing rights to defend against pirates; and promote financial contributions to an international trust fund to defray expenses of countries in the region willing to prosecute and lock up pirates.

"We firmly believe that the US must intensify counter-piracy intelligence efforts," Mr Amend was quoted as saying. "We need to elevate the priority of collection, analysis and exploitation of human and signals intelligence related to piracy operations, financial flows and logistical support both inside and outside Somalia. And we need to find ways to share piracy-related intelligence with law enforcement organisations both domestic and international."

Source : HKSG, 21.03.11.