Lum Yi
Brandon Tan
Spain and Somali pirates
 Spanish tuna fishing vessel, Alakrana, was seized on
October 2 2009 by pirates off the coast of Somali
 On 3 October, two pirates leaving the Alakrana were
arrested by the Spanish warship CANARIAS.
Spain and Somali pirates
 On 15 November, the Alakrana was released after
reportedly a $3.3mil ransom.
 Spanish navy captured eight suspected pirates off the
coast of Somalia on 25 April 2010.
Spain- Somali Ties
 No direct ties between Spain and Somalia, thus it is
with much difficulty if we were to intervene directly in
Somalia’s government.
Stance on Piracy
 Strongly against
 Deployment of 2 frigates
 F86 Canarias and F104 Méndez Núñez
Stance on Piracy
 Calls for Europe to take a tougher stance in dealing
with piracy
 Requests the multinational naval force to block the
three main ports from which Somali pirates appear to
be operating.
Stance on Piracy
 Approved a draft law against piracy which calls for
prison terms of up to 15 years for those found guilty of
carrying out attacks on planes or ships.
Military Actions
 Deployment of 395 troops as part of a European Union
task force.
 A P-3 maritime surveillance plane with 70 troops at a
French air base in Djibouti.
 Deployment of a frigate with a helicopter and 196
troops,
 and later a supply ship with a helicopter and 118 more
troops.
Other actions
 Authorization for Spanish ships in these waters to
carry armed civilian security guards.
 Cannot station Marines on fishing boats as Spanish
Law does not allow this
Solutions
Deployment of
more troops
Authorize
marines on
ships
Funding of
pirates
Defense from Somali
pirates on Spanish
ships or trawlers
Strong sense of
deterrence against
Somali pirates
Somali Diaspora
mainly from Yemen
and Dubai
Blockades on ports to
decrease pirate
activities
Unfeasible as marines
may be needed more
urgently in other
areas
Call on UN to impose
restrictions on
imports into Somalia
Cost of such a
deployment could be
high
Solutions
Direct attacks
on Somali
pirates
Helping
Somali’s
government
Highly impossible
Difficult
A policy of not
attempting rescue
operations and not firing
on pirates unless fired on
first.
Spain has no ties
with Somalia
Lest be accused
of crimes against
humanity or war
crimes
Sources
 http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php?/news/
comments/basque_trawler_alakrana_and_its_crew_u
nder_somali_pirate_control_for_a_seve/
 http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/somaliashipping.1e9
 http://www.eunavfor.eu/2009/10/eu-navfor-spanishwarship-canarias-arrests-two-suspected-pirates/
 http://www.speroforum.com/a/20630/Spainconfronts-Somali-piracy
 http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/12/spain-calls-for-
blockade-of-pirate-ports/
 http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/21/spain.
piracy.taskforce/
 http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/Spainapproves-tough-new-law-against-piracy-_58092.html
 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63O1YF20100425?
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