From Piracy to Palermo: The Changing Challenges of Maritime Crime

Abstract

To the untrained eye, the only way to counter criminality in international waters is via the use of navies operating in a constabulary role across the oceans of the world. They certainly have a role to play, but it would be a mistake to say that just because warships provide a solution in one scenario the same ‘business model’ would continue to deliver success in another.

In this article, the author seeks to demonstrate why the successes displayed by maritime forces off the coast of Somalia in countering piracy cannot have the same effect when redeployed in the Mediterranean, where smuggling and human trafficking are now stealing the headlines as the biggest maritime blight on Europe. He does so by first explaining why navies were free to operate effectively around the Horn of Africa through the legal framework, both internationally and domestically, that enabled that operation. He then contrasts that with the lack of a similar legal framework in the Mediterranean that has rendered impotent any international efforts to deter criminal gangs from operating freely around the coast of Libya.

The author concludes that, unless more is done to combat the root causes of transnational crime ashore, navies will continue to focus on delivering a short-term means to address the symptoms rather than seeking a permanent cure.

Lt Cdr Oliver Clark RN is a UK lawyer; however, the views and opinions expressed in this article are his own and are not intended to reflect national or Royal Navy policy.