A comparative analysis of two types of piracy :Iranian / Iraqi piracy in the Arabian Gulf and Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

This thesis is an investigation into maritime piracy in the Arabian Gulf and Somalia with a practical objective of understanding the drivers underpinning piracy behaviour to aid identifying how best to deal with this issue. Maritime piracy is a complicated crime which is unique in every region. The main findings from empirical data collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews (n = 43 undertaken between 2012 and 2013 in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Nairobi and Mombasa) showed that pirates could be categorized according to different strategies adopted in attacking ships: pirates in the Arabian Gulf applied hit and run techniques, while Somalis’ pirates adopted a kidnap for ransom approach. While both sets of pirates seek money as a reward, the question is why do Iraqi and Iranian pirates steal cash and valuables, whereas Somali pirates focus on ransom? In this thesis, the resultant analyses identified that motive is not the main key for forming the pirates’ chosen strategy - whether the motive is political, ideological or purely financial is not critical to the method selected. The reasons for the different strategies adopted by the pirates are manifold, however, three main variables emerged from the analyses: geographical advantage; state failure or success; and illegal fishing by foreign vessels. These three factors must be applied all together in order to trigger the kidnap-for-ransom strategy. In the Arabian Gulf, there is no illegal fishing or state failure, which suggests that Iraqi and Iranian pirates do not kidnap for ransom, whereas Somalia exhibits all three factors at the same time. Studying these and other factors by a combination of fieldwork and documentary analysis has led to a new understanding of why different kinds of maritime piracy have arisen in the geographical areas researched, and the research presented herein offers new contextual evidence that could help the different regions decide how best to tackle the different types of piracy. These findings and the methods employed may also have potential application in other parts of the world where piracy is a problem of potential risk.