Commentary: On the trail of Somali pirates Pirates may be a big hit at the box office think Johnny Depp and Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 and 3 but nothing can match the real-life drama and danger of piracy off the lawless coast of Somalia. Last spring, the world was mesmerized by the attempted seizure of the Maersk Alabama and the daring rescue of its American captain, held hostage in a pirate skiff for five days before Navy SEALS killed three of his four captors. But that was only one of in a string of pirate attacks that continually threaten international shipping in the Somali Basin, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Since January, Combined Task Force 151 made up of military personnel from the United States, Britain and several other countries has been conducting counter-piracy operations in an area the size of Texas. The St. Petersburg Times recently talked by phone to the task force commander, Rear Adm. Scott E. Sanders, and his chief of staff, Capt. Keith Blount of the Royal Navy, both stationed aboard the USS Anzio off the Somali coast. Q: A lot of people have this swashbuckling image of pirates. Sanders: In America, the term 'pirate' almost has a romantic feel to it. Here, the word for pirate means 'thug of the sea' and that's more appropriate to what these people are. They are very harsh, they treat people in the most inhumane way and despicable way. There are almost 100 people being held against their will. We have a woman who had a miscarriage and they denied her proper medical treatment. When people get freed or more importantly when we disrupt these criminal acts it makes us feel very good. Q: Do you see any pirate vessels as we talk right now? Sanders: Not in our specific sights but I can tell you there are things going on all the time throughout our area of operations. When you say 'pirate vessel,' it's a legal term we can't prove they are pirates. But there are some people that might look curious because of what they're doing, or the time of day they're operating. One of our main concerns is not only (protecting) merchant vessels but also to keep the Somali waters safer for the Somali people. A lot of people are encroaching in that space because of the lack of government and legal authority. Q: Describe a typical operation. Sanders: A few weeks ago, we had a prime example of the international cooperation out here. We had a Japanese maritime aircraft spot a vessel. A Turkish ship and a German ship launched helicopters and saw people in what's called a skiff a long narrow boat that has a couple of outboard motors and can go fast. They saw extra fuel tanks so at that point we asked the skiff to stop. Sometimes we request warning shots and most of the time they stop and then we'll send a boarding team to get on the vessel and look around. Sometimes the suspects throw their weapons overboard. In this case the vessel was boarded by some Norwegian fast boats and they found four or five people on board. They had AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, extra outboard motors, ladders and all those items without any sighting of fishing gear. According to the U.N. security resolution, those are pirate 'trip-wires' (an indication the suspects really are pirates). At that point we take the pirate paraphernalia and keep it for evidence and show the suspected pirates back to shore. What we try to do is keep the paraphernalia so they cannot use it for acts of piracy, but at that point they have not committed an act of piracy so we can't arrest them. Q: Do you ever arrest anyone Blount: We've actually turned over more than 200 pirates for prosecution. The victim nation could control pirates legally, but what happens more commonly and its an issue of practicality because we're a long way from home here it's far more simple to take them to a (nearby) nation like Kenya or the Seychelles. Q: The most famous case occurred in April when Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama was freed and the only surviving pirate was brought to the United States for trial. Have you seen a decrease in piracy since? Blount: It's down, but only because of the efforts of a number of people, not just our task force. There's the EU, NATO and we also share the same mission or at least the same sentiments with nations that operate independently China, Russia, Iran. They're all out here and we all have to cooperate to make this counter-piracy business work. Q: Do you think commercial shippers are doing their part? Blount: One of the critical factors that goes some way to explaining the reduction (in piracy) is the very robust and good measures taken by the merchant marine community. We're working with them on a daily, almost hourly basis. It's not only that we direct them to the International Recommended Transit Corridor, a narrow lane through which ships should pass, but also the way in which the merchant vessels behave. If they see a vessel they suspect, they tell us about it very quickly which is good news, and they maneuver very quickly. Q: Are ship owners still paying ransoms, thereby encouraging more piracy? Blount: When you're dealing with human life and the complete act of terror those people are suffering at the hands of pirates, it's almost inevitable that there may be successful ransom payments made. As military people, our job is to prevent it from getting to that point. Every year, 33,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden and there are still a small number that need to heed warnings to keep themselves safe, to take the medicine, so to speak. But the vast majority are acting exactly as we want them to. Q: As the monsoon season comes to an end over there, and the weather improves, do you expect to see another uptick in piracy? Sanders: There's some historical data that shows it could do that. But the biggest thing that allows piracy to occur is when there is no government, no state, no legal system on land. As long as there's not a government solidified in the country of Somalia and a proper legal system, there will be piracy. Susan Taylor Martin is the senior foreign correspondent of the Times and can be contacted at susansptimes. 