Exploring Piracy off the coast of Somalia

Meeting with Mercenaries and guns for hirer I explore the forces at work in one of the worlds most lawless places. Here’s an intro to the segment along with a few surrounding stories… it’s a wild place

Diving into the story, investigating the surrounding issues, I stumbled upon an absolutely otherworldly story… read details below…

Heading out onto the ocean with the Commander of International Maritime Defence

Deeper Story:  Years later I pitched the following to Nat Geo as part of my Explorer assignments… it’s an amazing story that someone’s should tell!

17 Degrees North: A Platform of War: Developed by Justin Hall

Pirates have long been synonymous with Somalia and the waterways of the Gulf of Aden.

Across the last years, and through concerted international efforts (mostly based out of the port of Djibouti), a battle to defend the waterways of the region has been fought and won; 237 hijackings 2011-zero (successful) since May 2012! This success isn’t only the result of international government level military operations or their policing of the ‘International transit route’. The sheer scale of piracy and the number of boats needing safe escort and support has resulted in the creation of a highly unusual and lucrative market. It’s a commercial niche filled by private military companies, essentially maritime mercenaries offering guns for hire.

In some ways Djibouti could be referred to as a Feral City, surrounded by counties in conflict, its governance and international oversight is best described as ‘loose or fluid’. In short, it’s a Wild West arena, where prospectors of all types skirt the boundaries of law… My investigation brings this to life through multiple encounters… We’ll meet the ‘big men’ and drill into this anarchic world.

Djibouti’s strategic position, deep port and ‘loose laws’ have, in the last 4 years, inspired over 100+ private military companies to set up shop.

Some are well managed, others fascial, ragtag groups flouting laws both local and international. In the simplest sense,

theirs is a business of arming men with weapons and setting them loose to police the high seas. One of the first layers of our investigation will reveal the details, meet the men involved and learn how it all works.

A kingpin character named ######### is key to this.  Face to face and through a concerted charm offensive, ill work on ###### and others to access deeper layers, opening doors to extraordinary storylines that on the ground we will jump on as they materialise.

Through these encounters, we learn how arming private military companies is a tricky business… a minefield, rife with danger.

Key to all this, It’s illegal for these private military companies to store weapons on land. It’s also legal to have them on boats in the coastal waters (I’m omitting the details here but you get the idea). With thousands of men armed to the teeth plying the waterways and aboard cargo ships… where do all the weapons come from?

Our investigation reveals, for the first time, the existence of floating armouries and how these gun stores, moored of on fringes of the legal system, supply everyone from crack US Naval teams to gun swinging rogue operators hoping to make a buck… and, if rumours are true, potentially even terrorist!

We’ll learn of the players involved, meet the owners and operators, and head out on the high seas. I’ll overnight with ‘mercenaries’ aboard an armoury at 17 degrees north. I’ll investigate rumours of rusting hulls filled with weapons, of internationally renowned companies knowingly involved in dodgy dealings. There are already lots of red flags to explore (see previous research and ##### notes)…one armoury has somehow ‘misplace’ over 500 semi-automatic weapons; illustrating the dangers of weapons falling into the wrong hands, arming terrorist and fuelling conflict!

We’ll discover how international laws are bent and broken, papers forged and falsified, palms greased and deals done. Currently, a US team are imprisoned in India for weapons trade… I’ll find out and report more.

Given all this and the knowledge that hiding of the coastline there are wooden boats filled with 1000’s of semi-automatics and tactical special ops gear illegally servicing this industry, I remain confident there is much to discover and that my journeying through this region would make for a compelling contribution to the series.

I have worked up an initial itinerary/ plan that will see us travel to a number of key areas to investigate this story. Current timelines run across a 10 day period. I’m checking now on ###### and access.

NB:

It’s important to remember the sensitive nature of the relationship with ##### & #####. I have copied below a recent email that outlines the context of ##### envisage involvement. This is the only way in and the only way forward.

EndNote: it’s a good one right…. rare access… Want to know more… give me a call