On March 23, 2024, Somali pirates who hijacked a cargo ship vessel, MV Ruen, back in December have been captured and brought to India to face trial. 35 men took the crew on board the ship hostage and will be prosecuted. After the Indian navy recaptured the cargo ship on March 17, 2024, it was able to rescue 17 crew members made up of people from Myanmar, Bulgaria, and Angola. After a successful rescue mission, this will be the first time in some time that Somali pirates have been brought to custody and tried.
This rescue operation should be praised because the hostages have been saved after four months of being held captive. According to Aljazeera, a statement made from the Indian navy concluded that they ““successfully cornered and coerced” all 35 pirates on board to surrender”. The European Union Naval Force also voiced that the stolen vessel, the MV Ruen “could have been used by pirates for their successful hijacking of the bulk carrier MV Abdullah off Somalia on March 12”.
It is being said that the war on Gaza has exacerbated the vulnerability of cargo ship vessels traveling the Red Sea. Because vessels are unsure whether it is safe or not to pass through, it makes it easy for pirates to use their hesitancy to their advantage and increase hijacking. Therefore, the war on Gaza continues to be disruptive and an international security issue. Furthermore, although capturing these Somali pirates alleviates some security issues, the idea of those men facing death sentences does not sit well and is not expected to sit well with those who hear about this. Fighting fire with fire should not be tolerated, regardless of the situation. It does not enable future conflict prevention no matter the severity of the circumstances.
In the history of the Somali pirates, they have been plaguing the waters of the Somalia coast, ransacking ships and reaping millions of dollars and exploiting the hijacked. According to the BBC, it had died down at some point because security protocols were enhanced but it has started up again. There were many similar instances like this hostage situation in recent years leading up to this one which have been attributed to the Yemen Houthi attacking ships after the attack on Gaza back in October.
The hostages are getting the justice that they deserve but it is unclear how conflict prevention can be obtained as the Somali pirates face trial. Security has been drastically altered globally and there is not a clear solution as to how to mitigate that. More needs to be done to alleviate the extremity of the war on Gaza.
