Somali Piracy and Fish Stories

There is a lot of discussion about the Thai Fishing Trawler that the Indian Navy blew up. The owner of the ship is claiming it was not a mothership.

But it turns out now that the “mother ship” may not have been in pirate hands very long. According to the CNN report, the ship was the trawler Ekawat Nava 5, which had been headed from Oman to Yemen to deliver fishing equipment when it was attacked by pirates off the Horn of Africa, according to Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, owner of the Ekawat Nava 5. The pirates were still taking control of the ship when the Tabar moved in, he said.

The media didn't really dig very deep here. The question is not whether the Indian Navy should have blown up a trawler that was shooting at it, particularly one towing two motor boats. The Indian Navy has the right to self defense, even in the face of the stupidity required for pirates to shoot at a warship with their AK-47s.

The real question here is why a Thai fishing trawler is near Somalia. Are we seriously supposed to believe that fishing trawlers make their money doing cargo hauls between Oman and Yemen? Really? That is a tough sell without a lot more proof than CNNs reporting is providing.

The more likely reason the Somalian pirates raided the ship is because it was illegally fishing in the Somalia Exclusive Economic Zone. Did any reporters ask Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, owner of the Ekawat Nava 5, questions about why his fishing ship from Thailand is way the hell over off the coast of Somalia? If a reporter wants to talk about Somalian piracy, they need to do some basic research into fishing off Somalia, because it is part of the story.

A Thai fishing trawler off the coast of Somalia transporting fishing gear between two countries, and it just so happens to be happening during a fishing season when catches right now are running 50% to 150% better than normal. To borrow a pun, that story sounds fishy to me.