I’m retired from the US Navy and know that there are many workable military solutions such as designated transit lanes that can easily be policed. However, this article seems to indicate the solution is political.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5183710.ece
Iranian grain ship seized as Somali pirates hold world to ransom
Alarm grows as governments and navies are rendered legally powerless to conduct security operations on the high seas
Somali pirates struck again yesterday, seizing an Iranian cargo ship holding 30,000 tonnes of grain, as the world’s governments and navies pronounced themselves powerless against this new threat to global trade.
Admiral Michael Mullen, the US military chief, pronounced himself stunned by the pirates’ reach after their capture of the supertanker Sirius Star and its 0 million (£70 million) cargo. Commanders from the US Fifth Fleet and from Nato warships in the area said that they would not intervene to retake the vessel.
The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, the owner of the ship, condemned the hijacking as an “outrageous act” that required international action.
“Piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together,” Prince Saud al-Faisal said. Arab diplomats would meet in Cairo on Thursday to discuss what could be done in response, Yemeni officials said.
(read the rest at the link)
Wench|Rogue Pirate