How to end pirates' scourge

A remarkably diverse collection of nations and international organizations is gaining success in their effort to combat pirates in the Gulf of Aden, opposite Somalia, where a large number of ships have been seized. The cooperation is a tribute to the high value the world places on freedom of navigation.

Among the nations contributing ships, aircraft and personnel to the Gulf of Aden anti-piracy operation are India, Iran, China, Russia, Malaysia, the United States, and, within the European Union, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and others. Japan is expected to join soon.

The anti-piracy measures in the Gulf of Aden, which include convoys, are managed and coordinated by a unique new organization headed by the European Union.

Notices to mariners and other information on foiling piracy are also available from the International Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a branch of the United Nations.

In developing international cooperation to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and adjacent waters, the IMO turned for advice to an organization set up in 2005 to fight piracy in Asian waters. The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, with membership from most Asian littoral states, set up a useful clearinghouse of information for mariners on piracy threats, attacks and self-defense measures. Since the organization's founding, successful piracy in the Malacca Straits has reportedly declined.

Now the international anti-piracy effort in the Gulf of Aden, at the southern end of the Red Sea, has an even bigger job to do. In 2008, pirates — mostly from Somalia — attacked 111 ships. There were 42 successful hijackings, and 14 ships remain in pirate hands with more than 240 hostages. The ships and hostages are usually released when owners pay ransom.

The new anti-piracy measures include efforts by the EU Naval Force to get ships to sail through the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean in groups that can be convoyed. Those efforts seem to be succeeding.

In recent reports:

• A helicopter from a Malaysian frigate saved an Indian tanker in the Aden Gulf from being hijacked.

• A French warship prevented Somali pirates from boarding a Panamanian cargo ship.

• A German helicopter saved an Egyptian ship.

• An unidentified helicopter, aircraft and frigate from the European Union's naval task force prevented a pirate attack on a Greek tanker.

The scourge of piracy is a threat to world commerce. Only cooperative international efforts can stop it.