We’ve all been there.  That lucid moment when all of a sudden you look around and realize,

“I am wasting my life right now and it’s time for a change.”

For some people, it’s a matter of finding a new job, relocating, or perhaps changing your relationship situation.  For Jay Bahadur, he had a few beers and decided Somalia was the change he needed.

Here’s his remarkable story:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well done sir.

Jay Bahadur is Managing Editor of Somalia Report.com, the leading online news source covering East Africa.

Inmates inside a Somali pirate prison, image by Jehad Nga

The MV Iceberg 1 is a Panama-flagged Roll on-Roll off ship that was attacked and overrun by pirates on 29 March 2010.  Since that time, the crew has been left to rot in a Somali hell-hole by the owners of the vessel, Azal Shipping and Cargo, who have since gone out of business.  At least one of the crew has already committed suicide.

The following is a report by Somalia Report earlier this year:

MV Iceberg 1 – Interview with Hostages

by Andrew Mwangura, 02/08/2011

The Panamanian flagged Ro-Ro ship MV ICE BERG I was attacked and hijacked by armed pirates on 29th March last year while underway in position latitude 13:15 north and longitude 046:40 east in the Gulf of Aden at approximately 0930hrs.

On March 29th, 2010 the MV ICEBERG 1 was only ten miles out from the port of Aden heading to the United Kingdom when she was attacked and seized by Somali pirates. Her cargo consists of generators, transformers and empty fuel tanks for a British power rental company, Aggreko International Power Projects.The ICEBERG 1, a RoRo ship with a multinational crew, is typical of much of the traffic in the region, but they became an example of the inhumanity dealt to innocent seafarers on behalf of piracy.

On December 17th the Captain of the vessel, Abdirazzak Ali Saleh, told Agence France-Presse, “The water we have is unclean and we have only one meal a day, boiled rice, that’s it. The crew is suffering physically and mentally,” in a phone interview. He added that they had been locked up in a lower hold approximately five meters square for close to nine months.

Earlier reports indicated that the negotiations were in progress, but the crew members now tell Somalia Report that nothing good is going on except hunger and starvation. A crew member also said that there are currently three crew members suffering from psychological problems.

Almost a year after being hijacked by pirates, the situation aboard MV ICEBERG I is very dark and gloomy, according to a phone interview with the crew members conducted by Somali Report. They are running out of ship stores, fuel and fresh water supply, and in their opinion, Dubai-based Azal Shipping, the ship owner has abandoned them.

They alleged that no negotiations are ongoing to secure the release of the vessel and her 23 multinational crew. They also claim that nothing is being done on behalf of their deceased mate who died on October 27, 2010. The Iceberg’s 3rd officer Wagdi Akram, father of four, jumped overboard and drowned. Crew members told Somalia Report that the deceased crew man had begun to suffer psychological problems after 7 months in captivity and knowingly ended his life.

The remains of the deceased Yemeni 3rd Officer are being kept in the vessel’s freezers but there is only sporadic generator power. The crew reported the matter to the ship owner, but the owner just gave instructions to take the body off the vessel. There have been no arrangements to fly it back to Yemen. “The body is still in the freezer but we have no diesel to run the generators,” the captain said.

The multinational crew of the vessel is comprised of 8 Yemenis, 6 Indians, 4 Ghanaians, 2 Sudanese, 2 Pakistani and 1 Filipino.

Azal Shipping has a Dubai phone number listed on their website, however not surprisingly, nobody was there to answer when we called them this morning.  If anyone has an update to this story, please feel free to comment in the Forum.

In what may be the first reported case of Somalis doing their part to prevent Somalia-based piracy operations, a speed boat carrying 7 men, AK-47s, RPGs, and ammo were seized by government and African Union officials.

Two of the men arrested from the speed boat, (c) Somalia Report

By MOHAMED ODOWA, ABDI

A Senior Somali government official told Somalia Report that Somalia’s coast guard, with the support of African Union peacekeeping forces, today seized a speedboat near Mogadishu’s old port carrying at least seven men and a variety of weapons.

“We are still busy searching the boat. So far we have found variety of weapons. Once we are done we will speak to the media. We strongly believe that the weapons belong to al-Shabaab,” said the official on the condition of anonymity.

Two Kenyans and one Tanzanian were arrested and are being questioned at the Afar-Irdood police station in Hamar Weyne district of Mogadishu, while two others were taken by African Union forces, according to Mogadishu’s central commander Garad Nur Abdulle. Two others reportedly escaped by jumping into the sea, however, this has not yet been confirmed.

Somali naval commander Farah Ahmed Omar (Qare) confirmed the arrest of three men, Ali Omar Ali, Abdalle Ksuwa Ali, and Ali Nakari Said and reported that Ali Nakari Said told police they had been lost at sea for the last seven days. They claimed the boat came from Mombassa, Kenya.

African Union spokesman Paddy Ankunda confirmed to Somalia Report that they are holding some suspects, but would not verify the number. Once the investigation has concluded, the AU will make an official comment.

The speedboat was carrying with AK-47 rifles, RPGs, machine guns, and ammunition, according to the official.

The article originally appeared on SomaliaReport.com and is republished with permission.

Men arrested on speed boat, (c) Somalia Report

Men arrested from speed boat, (c) Somalia Report

Seized speed boat with weapons, (c)Somalia Report

Image courtesy Somalia Report

Insiders tell how pirates are destroying the system that allows them to flourish. 

By Robert Young Pelton, Somalia Report

Somalia Report has identified a trend that indicates that the $4.5M ransom may have been the tipping point for ship owners. Desperate to hit this magic number a number of recent ships have gone through heart breaking betrayal as negotiators reach an agreement only to discover they had been suckered. When discussions begin again the crestfallen owners are expected to dig deeper into that imaginary pot of money to meet the pirate investors’ demands. The bottom line is that the main pirate groups are hurting. Stalled inventory, maxed out ransoms and heavy investments that have not paid off are putting more pressure on getting higher ransoms for the existing ships.

But this may be the beginning of the end.

What the pirates might not have noticed is that ships with the capability to pay these jumbo-sized ransoms have migrated to Best Management Practice (BMP), security on board, hardening, training, emergency drills, establishing secure citadels, and closer coordination with naval forces in the area. The oft repeated mantra that an armed ship has never been taken still rings true and insurance companies demand security and BMP on ships traveling exception routes. Companies like Maersk turn Somali waters into a race course as they zoom by at almost 20 knots, leaving small skiffs bobbing in their wake. The pirate’s pickings are now low sided bulk carriers who have avoided insurance requirements and hope to play the law of averages.

In addition drones and local informants have been used to identify clumsily labeled “Pirate Action Groups” as they set out from land and look for victims. Although some nations use the mandate of preventative or collaborative action it is generally accepted that once the act of piracy commences, violent action can be taken to warn off, disable or kill all members of a pirate group.

The most destructive link to the criminal act of piracy would be the removal of the ransom process. Without the actual cash transfer process going smoothly, piracy would lose its main driver. The ransom process is a criminal act in most countries. Some countries like the UK condone the payment of funds to criminals due to concern for the hostages well being. The skewed logic is that the pirates fully intend to give life and property back therefore the payment itself just expedites the victim’s safety and well being. Other countries (including Somalia) will arrest and convict anyone caught paying money to criminals essentially making the clear statement that ransom payers are collaborating and supporting the crime.

The filmsy moral rationale for piracy has long vanished. Only about 6% of vessels attacked are fishing in Somali waters and most are used for motherships. The “Robin Hood” effect of piracy has also vanished with local communities up in arms from Eyl to Hobyo. They are tired of the violence, drugs, alcohol and hangers on destroying their lifestyle.

The returns of piracy have diminished. Dozens of missing Somalis who went to sea in small skiffs looking for fortunes never to return are testament to the fool’s gold of piracy. Piracy attacks are delivering less and less success forcing them to demand more from their current stolen inventory. There has been a significant drop in ships and hostages held with longer and longer negotiation times. This burns pirate investor money.

The facts are that piracy supports a handful of financiers, a few sea teams and that is about it. The good old days of a quick 90 day turn from grab to gone are over. Somalia’s coastal communities are not awash with wealth. Pirates squander their cash windfalls while investors have put money back into more and more expensive failed missions.

Somali fishermen do not ply their trade with gusto and the entire coastal region of Somalia is a ‘no go’ zone putting pressure on all seafaring Somali’s to survive.

Dealing with the problem of piracy has been a simple line item for ship owners. Less than 1% of all traffic in the region can expect an attack, let alone a ransom payoff.

Pirates are self interested criminals who steal, beat, abuse and sometimes kill innocent people to make money. Their names, phone numbers and locations are known to us, the local governments and we would assume the more sophisticated tracking elements of international governments. Yet nothing is done. Booyah [a known pirate leader] is in prison operating by mobile phone. Garaad [another known pirate leader] is a man about town in Puntland, small armed skiffs are tracked by drones and yet nothing substantial has been done to end this criminal anomaly.

The only thing standing between the status quo and total annihilation is the collective hand wringing of the governments who command the world’s most impressive warships in the region. The maritime business is not set up to fight pirates, navies are. The men and women on the naval vessels are keen to fight pirates but hampered by rules of engagement, the locals on land are ready but frustrated by lack of money and support. Even burgeoning anti piracy efforts in Bosaso have been blocked by the UN, the very agency created to end piracy. It is time to deal a death blow to a tiny band of brigands who hold all of Somalia hostage. Somalia Report encourages insiders to speak out and have their stories, solutions and opinons published freely and without fear of censorship. Please send your thoughts and opinions topublisher@somaliareport.com

This article originally appeared on SomaliaReport.com and is republished here with permission.

© Somalia Report 2011

© Somalia Report, Somalia's fisherman are hampered by their inability to reach foreign markets

By Jama Deperani, Somalia Report

Local fishermen in Somalia will now wear uniforms to differentiate them from the pirates, according to officials from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia known for piracy.

Fishermen in Caluula, Mareero, Qandalla and Bargaal told Somalia Report that people are afraid to go fishing because of the threat from pirates who steal their boats, motors, and fuel and concerns international navies may mistake them for pirates.

To remedy this, Puntland officers have initiated a program to identify legitimate fishermen by issuing uniforms and ID cards.

“We know that pirate activities in the region have caused fear among local fishermen, so we need to help them. We will issue them with uniforms and ID cards. First we will register all local fishermen in Puntland. We have already begun in Bosaso and all coastal lands in Bari region,” Dr. Mohamed Farah Aadan, Puntland’s minister responsible for fishing, told Somalia Report. “We will inform our coast guards and international warships that there will be a clear difference between the pirates and fishermen,” he added.

(c) 2011 SomaliaReport.com

Go figure…

I can’t imagine the decision to cancel a sailboat race between Cape Town and Abu Dhabi would have been a tough call considering the dire warning by the International Sailing Federation, the publicity of recent acts of piracy along the race course, and this year’s murder of 4 American sailors on board S/Y Quest… but apparently it was.

A brief background…

The Volvo Ocean Race is an around-the-world yacht race followed by millions of people worldwide, and sailed by experienced professionals on board the fastest mono-hulled offshore yachts ever designed.  These 70-foot sailboats have hit speeds of up to 39 knots in the Southern Ocean and hold the 24 hour distance record of 562.96 nautical miles.  Racing these offshore machines for months at a time requires an extraordinary amount of skill, endurance, and mental toughness.   Since the early 1970s, this race has been the ultimate test of seamanship.

In recent years, the conditions have changed…

The huge seas and endless storms of the southern ocean still present the same fundamental challenges, however massive corporate sponsorship and global intrigue has altered the race route to include ports in warmer climates.  This year’s race includes the city of Abu Dhabi, the first-ever middle eastern Volvo Ocean Race stopover, and sponsor of Team Abu Dhabi.

On 29 October, 7 teams will start from Alicante, Spain on a 39,000 nautical mile trip around the planet.  Until this morning, the race route included a leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi, a track that would have led these teams directly offshore Somalia and the western Indian Ocean.  Discussing today’s decision to alter the race course, Knut Frostad, a two-time Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) skipper and the current VOR Chief Executive stated, “this has been an incredibly difficult decision…We have consulted leading naval and commercial intelligence experts and their advice could not have been clearer: ‘Do not risk it.’”

According to the VOR press release, “The boats will now race from Cape Town to an undisclosed ‘safe haven’ port, be transported closer to Abu Dhabi, and then complete the leg from there. The process will be reversed for the third leg before the race continues on to Sanya.”

This should not have been a difficult decision.  The decision to not sail past Somalia is painfully obvious, and leads me to believe that the reason this was a “difficult decision” is because a great deal of sponsorship money was involved.  The spirit of this yacht race is seamanship and pushing the sport of sailing past the edge of what was once thought impossible.  It’s about teamwork, technology, and mitigating risk while motivating one another to keep pushing hard under terribly uncomfortable conditions.  If something had gone horribly wrong off the coast of Somalia, it could have come with tragic consequences while at the same time destroying the reputation of this historic race.

Piracy is a crap shoot.  You may be able to sail your boat from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi with no problems, but then again, you may not.  Taking risks like that would have been irresponsible and not in the spirit of offshore yacht racing, and certainly not in the spirit of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Thank you for making the right call, and we look forward to following the race…

Image by Dan Armstrong, Puma Ocean Racing

NORFOLK, Va.—A man accused of negotiating on behalf of Somali pirates in the deadly hijacking of a U.S. yacht has been indicted on charges he successfully negotiated the ransom for a German tanker and its 22 crewmembers, the government said Thursday.

The accused, Mohammad Saali Shibin, is the biggest catch in the U.S. prosecution of pirates plaguing shipping lanes off the coast of Africa, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said outside the federal courthouse in Norfolk.

“Mr. Shibin is alleged to be among the select few who are entrusted with one of the most important tasks in Somali piracy—ensuring a ship’s owners pay the maximum amount of ransom possible for the release of a hijacked vessel,” Mr. McBride said.

Mr. Shibin, already in U.S. custody for his alleged role in the deaths of four Americans on the yacht Quest earlier this year, is multilingual and is technologically savvy—skills needed to assess a ship’s value and to serve as a go-between, Mr. McBride said.

The chemical tanker Marida Marguerite and its crew of 22 aboard was hijacked in May 2010 and held off the coast of Africa for seven months until a ransom believed to total millions was paid to the pirates. All 22 crewmembers survived.

Mr. Shibin was paid $30,000 to $50,000 for his alleged services, according to the indictment, which is dated Wednesday.

The superseding indictment, which includes previous charges related to the Quest hijacking, accuses him of piracy, hostage taking, violence against maritime navigation, conspiracy and firearms violations.

His arraignment is scheduled Wednesday. His attorney didn’t immediately return a telephone message left by the Associated Press.

(c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

By Avi Jorisch

Pirates are on a hot streak this season. World-wide, the first quarter of 2011 saw 142 recorded attacks, up from 67 in that time last year. Off the coast of Somalia there were 97, as against 35 last year. Why? Despite some efforts by Western powers to patrol the Horn of Africa, pirates are still able to access capital, as any successful business must.

The world’s first pirate stock exchange was established in 2009 in Harardheere, some 250 miles northeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. Open 24 hours a day, the exchange allows investors to profit from ransoms collected on the high seas, which can approach $10 million for successful attacks against Western commercial vessels.

While there are no credible statistics available, reports from various news sources suggest that over 70 entities are listed on the Harardheere exchange. When a pirate operation is successful, it pays investors a share of the profits. According to a former pirate who spoke to Reuters, “The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials. . . . We’ve made piracy a community activity.”

The big player on the Harardheere exchange is a pirate named Mohammed Hassan Abdi, who goes by the name of “Afweyne,” or “Big Mouth.” Known as the “father of piracy,” Abdi and his son Abdiqaadir are in charge of the exchange and are, according to a recent United Nations report, among the best-known pirates in the area. Abdi’s boats have hijacked a variety of ships, including the German freighter Hansa Stavanger, which German special forces tried unsuccessfully to liberate in 2009. After a four-month hostage ordeal, the pirates released the ship off the coast of Kenya.

Piracy has changed Harardheere from a small fishing village to a town crowded with luxury cars. As local security officer Mohamed Adam put it to Reuters, “Piracy-related business has become the main profitable economic activity in our area and as locals we depend on their output.” Mr. Adam claims that the district government gets a cut of every dollar collected by pirates and uses it—naturally—for schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure.

Cutting off these financial relationships is essential to curbing piracy. The U.S. could begin by instituting, via executive order, a sanctions regime against these rogue actors. Just as the government maintains lists of terrorists, narco-traffickers, weapons proliferators and money launderers, so too should it keep a list of pirates. This would heighten international awareness of piracy and give banks an additional tool to employ against illicit actors. Pirates, like all other criminals, eventually use the banking sector to try to hide their criminal gains.

The U.N. and other international organizations—such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body that sets standards regarding terrorism finance and money laundering—also have roles to play. For one, the U.N. should expand its current Somalia and Eritrea monitoring committee, which was established in 1992 to implement the U.N. travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo on Somalia, as well as the arms embargo on Eritrea. An expanded committee could improve the anti-piracy intelligence-gathering capabilities of its members and track the finances of significant international pirates.

For its part, the FATF could get serious about including piracy within its mission of highlighting how money launderers and terrorists raise and move funds. To date, the organization has never issued a report on piracy. Doing so would prod a variety of international organizations, policy makers, law-enforcement agencies, and banking authorities to grapple seriously with this threat.

There are four banks in Somalia today—the Central Bank, the Commercial and Savings Bank of Somalia, and the Somali Development Bank (all of which are wholly or partly owned by the government), as well as the independent Universal Bank of Somalia. International financial institutions providing correspondent banking services to the four, or wiring money into or out of the country, should carry out enhanced due diligence on all transactions to make sure they are not related to piracy or the Harardheere stock exchange. In Washington, the Treasury Department could mandate this standard of care by issuing guidance to all American financial institutions.

Piracy increases the cost of international commerce by $12 billion annually, and in Somalia alone more than 20 vessels and 400 hostages are currently being held, according to the International Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. and others have a duty to deploy their financial firepower against this threat.

About the Author: Mr. Jorisch, a former U.S. Treasury official, is president of the Red Cell Intelligence Group and the author of “Tainted Money: Are We Losing the War on Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance?” (Red Cell IG, 2009).

Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Photo: After months in captivity, the M/V Faina and her crew were released after a ransom payment of US $3.2 million. U.S. Navy photo by Mass communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky

At approximately 3.00pm local time on Mar. 5., at report came in from the Japanese-owned commercial oil tanker M/V Guanabara that it was under attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

According to reports, after Guanabara’s master confirmed the suspected pirates were on board, he and his crew had taken refuge in the ship’s “citadel”.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

The guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), assigned to CMF’s counter-piracy mission Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 was directed to intercept Guanabara, supported by the Turkish warship TCG Giresun of NATO’s counter-piracy Task Force 508. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

Bulkeley’s specialist boarding team, supported overhead by its embarked SH-60 helicopter, secured the Bahamian-flagged vessel and detained four men with no exchange of fire from either sides.  Here, the suspected pirates indicate their surrender with a white cloth on the bow.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)