Maritime shipment accounts for 60 percent of Russia’s foreign trade shipments and not a year goes by without pirates attacking a ship either owned by Russian businessmen or manned by Russian crews. Despite this, Russian authorities take a reactive rather than a proactive approach toward the threat: The navy trains regularly with NATO naval forces to fight pirates, but no ships are sent to patrol dangerous zones.
Russia’s 2001-2020 Maritime Doctrine describes “maritime shipments” as of “vital importance” for the country.
While maritime shipments account for 60 percent of the country’s foreign trade, vessels flying Russian flags account only for 4 percent of these trade shipments, according to the 2006-2010 Strategy of Development of Transport of the Russian Federation.
This explains why Russian vessels feature in only a small faction of piracy incidents registered by the International Maritime Bureau.
While rare in Soviet times, the number of pirate attacks on Russian vessels increased for a short period in the aftermath of the break up of the Soviet Union. The largest number of attacks (28) on Russian vessels was registered in 1993, but then decreased to the current level of several incidents per year.
In comparison, the International Maritime Bureau registered a total of 263 pirate attacks on sea vessels in 2007 compared to 239 in 2006.
The Russian response
There is a civil and military dimension to the Russian authorities’ response to incidents of piracy and armed attacks on vessels owned or manned by Russian crews. It is the navy that bears the main responsibility for the military response.
However, the Russian navy’s response to piracy has been constrained by material problems since the break up of the Soviet Union.
In Soviet times, the navy maintained an almost global posture, reacting promptly when Soviet commercials ships were seized. In the late 1960s, a group of Soviet warships sailed to the coast of West Africa to free two tugboats seized off the coast of Ghana. The boats were promptly released upon the arrival of the naval grouping, according to the 11-17 February 2008 issue of the Russian edition of Newsweek.
Since then, the Russian navy’s ability to “support the state’s actions” in general and to fight or deter piracy and acts of maritime terrorism, in particular, has dwindled considerably due to the closure of a number Russian military bases abroad in the wake of the end of the Cold War and disintegration of the socialist camp. With the fall of the Soviet empire, the Russian navy has also had to withdraw from its bases in Cuba, Poland, Finland, East Germany, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Somali and Ethiopia.
Among others, the key military base in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay was closed. The base had a landing strip as well as naval repair and maintenance facilities, which were frequently used by Russian navy groupings operating in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during the Cold War.
The Russian navy’s current list of overseas facilities includes only a repair shop in Tartus on Syria’s Mediterranean Sea coast and telecommunications facilities in Vileiki, Belarus; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; and Havana, Cuba; as well as a naval equipment testing facility in Kyrgyzstan.
The number of ocean-going warships has also dwindled. The Russian navy’s assessment of the global piracy threat designates the following areas of the world as being prone:
- East Africa (Somali, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Tanzania) West Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, Angola, Ghana), Indian Ocean
- South East Asia and South China Sea (Malacca Strait, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand)
- South America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guyana)
Such a widespread occurrence of piracy makes it “rather difficult” to keep combat ships deployed in areas where the threat exists even though the navy remains the most efficient tool for dealing with piracy, according to the Russian navy’s statement issued to the author of this article in March 2008.
In reality, however, most of incidents occur off the coast of Somalia, which saw as many as 26 vessels attacked by pirates between January and May of this year, compared to a total of 31 attacked registered last year.
Still, the Russian navy maintains no presence near this hot spot, leaving it to the US-led Combined Task Force-150 (CTF-150), which includes US, French and German warships, to come to rescue of vessels hijacked by pirates.
The Russian navy will occasionally answer its critics by noting that many crews sail on foreign-owned ships flying foreign flags, according to the navy’s statement to ISN Security Watch.
Yet, the seizure of such ships generates public concern in Russia, prompting government agencies to respond. This was the case when the Danish-owned Svitser Korsakov trawler, operated by a largely Russian crew, was seized off Somalia by pirates early this year. The owners of the ship explicitly asked the Russian authorities not to interfere, promising to arrange the release of the crew themselves, according to the Russian navy. However, critical reports appeared in the Russian media about the authorities’ decision not to intervene. Both the president elect and the navy chief had to weigh in, promising action.
Then-first deputy premier Dmitry Medvedev – who went on to become Russia’s new president in May – asserted that the Russian navy “should be present” around the world. Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, commander of the navy, also weighed in, vowing that “the Russian navy will fight against pirates seizing ships in different regions of the world.”
The Svitser Korsakov was eventually released in March after the pirates were paid a hefty ransom.
Given their limited capabilities, the Russian navy and government are focusing on forging a sustainable coordinated action of all concerned states in such areas where the threat of piracy is real and imminent.
The navy believes participation in international war games is very useful, as the “line between piracy and maritime terrorism has become blurred,” according to a 29 March statement issued to ISN Security Watch by the navy when questioned about Russia’s response to maritime piracy and terrorism.
In addition to war games, the Russian navy participates in operations tasked with fighting terrorism and proliferation, such as the NATO-led Active Endeavor operation in the Mediterranean Sea, which is designed to prevent the transit of terrorist individuals or material between North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The Russian navy’s Ladny patrol ship participated in this operation in 2007, helping to inspect vessels.
Interestingly, Russia’s 2001-2020 Maritime Doctrine only briefly mentions piracy as a threat for Russian ships, and only in one part of the world, the Indian Ocean.
As for the civil response to piracy, the Transport Ministry is responsible for coordination. In line with requirements set by international laws on maritime navigation, all Russian vessels conducting international voyages are equipped with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, which is used to send distress calls when pirates attempt or execute seizure of a vessel.
In addition, each such vessel is equipped with the Onboard System of Distress Call, which allows a crewmember to notify the authorities of an emergency without announcing an onboard alert.
All distress calls are automatically received and processed by special coordination and rescue centers. There are nine such centers in Russia, with a coordination center in Moscow. These centers analyze and relay distress calls to the government agencies.
The main method of freeing citizens who are in someone’s illegal custody is use of the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic channels, which in cooperation with the owner of the seized vessel, take measures to determine the reasons behind the illegal detention and seek ways to free the citizens, according to an 3 April statement issued to ISN Security Watch by the Transport Ministry.
In cases when diplomatic methods do not succeed, the Russian president has the power to issue an executive order to conduct an anti-terrorist operation outside the country’s borders and territorial waters. Such operations are conducted in accordance with international treaties.
As required by the International Maritime Organization measure adopted last century, crews of Russian civil vessels are not armed. Their arsenal includes only truncheons and handcuffs, according to Russian media reports. In comparison, crews of Chinese civilian ships not only have submachine and machine guns at their disposal, but even grenade launchers.
Seeking a pro-active approach
The fact that maritime shipments comprise a large portion Russia’s foreign trade shipment, but vessels carrying Russian flags account for only a miniscule amount, perhaps explains why Russia’s Maritime Doctrine only briefly mentions piracy and why it is not very high in the hierarchy of threats for Russian government agencies.
However, authorities plan to introduce simplified taxation regimes at 12 ports in an attempt to lure Russian vessel owners into flying the their country’s flag, former head of the Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transportation, Alexander Davydenko, said in a 2006 interview.
Should Russian authorities succeed in attracting Russian owners to register their vessels in Russia and fly Russian flags, then the volume of maritime shipment by Russian vessels will grow, and so will the number of attacks on such ships. This may prompt Russian authorities to take a more proactive approach in both military and civil response to piracy.
The punishment for piracy, which currently ranges between four and 15 years in prison unless aggravated by hostage taking and/or other grave crimes, may also be toughened.
But for now, Russian ships and their unarmed crews remain at the mercy of pirates in the high seas until someone comes to their rescue.
By Simon Saradzhyan a security and foreign policy analyst based in Moscow. Mr Saradzhyan is the author of several papers on terrorism and security, including “Russia: Grasping Reality of Nuclear Terror,” published in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Source ISN
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