United States and Law of the Sea

There is a movement underway to get the United States to ratify the United Nations Law of the Sea. Some call it the Law of the Sea Treaty, so as to give it the acronym LOST. However, the United States is already adhering to the Convention's guidelines, despite keeping its option to take action only in its own interests. While the United States upholds rule of law as its guiding principle, it needs also to lead the way in providing law and order at sea. If it does choose to adopt the Convention though its own domestic laws, it should be able to keep to its principles of acting only in its national interests. International law is not law in the sense that municipal law is, and can be changed to suit changing needs of the state. 

US Navy disrupts pirate attack on Suezmax off Yemen

London (Platts)--22Dec2011/707 am EST/1207 GMT

US Navy destroyer USS Pinckey disrupted suspected pirates south of Yemen on December 19, the US Navy said in a statement late Wednesday.

The destroyer responded to a distress call by the Nordic Apollo, a Suezmax crude tanker, that "they were under attack and [had] been fired upon by pirates from a skiff."

Pinckey's helicopter successfully tracked and located a skiff, "observing nine suspected pirates and pirate paraphernalia on board, including several ladders, weapons and fuel containers," the US Navy statement said.

Cyrus Mody from the International Maritime Bureau said Thursday navies operating in the area off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden have helped reduce successful hijackings by Somali pirates this year.

"After the monsoon we have not seen a lot of piracy attacks," Mody said, adding that "the navies had been very actively targeting the pirate action groups and that has helped in reducing the numbers."
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US Navy Stops Somali Pirate Attack
December 21, 2011

A U.S. destroyer broke up an attack by Somali pirates on Monday in the lawless waters of the Gulf of Aden, but the American Sailors let the would-be hijackers go, the Navy announced.
The incident highlights the difficulty for the U.S. and international navies that patrol the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa, where warships can help disrupt attacks when they happen or sometimes rescue ships after the fact -- but only treat the symptoms of the piracy problem, not its root causes.
According to the Navy, the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Nordic Apollo radioed for help at about 8:40 a.m. local time on Monday -- its crew reported being fired upon by pirates in a small skiff. At 11:00 a.m., another vessel reported "suspicious activity by a skiff," and the destroyer USS Pinckney responded to investigate....(cont at link below)

http://www.military.com/news/article/2011/us-navy-stops-somali-pirate-attack.html

So finally the British Submarines will be cut up? Not at all a sure thing. 17 are sitting at dock waiting for someone to come up with a cunning plan...

Royal Marines destroy pirate vessel 
A Military Operations news article
24 Nov 10

Royal Marines based onboard a Royal Navy warship destroyed a boat yesterday that was being used by pirates off the coast of Somalia to attack merchant ships. The pirate vessel destroyed by Royal Marines from HMS Montrose [Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010] The Marines, from Plymouth-based frigate HMS Montrose, fired their machine guns at the pirate vessel as they hovered above it in the warship's Lynx helicopter. The incident took place during a routine patrol off the Somali coast yesterday, Tuesday 23 November 2010, when the helicopter identified the suspect boat as the whaler from MV Aly Zoulfecar, which had been acting as a pirate 'mother ship' since it was hijacked on 3 November 2010. The whaler was anchored off a known pirate camp and, once permission had been given to take it out, the Royal Marines marksmen fired their M3M .50-calibre machine guns and destroyed it. HMS Montrose's Commanding Officer, Commander Jonathan Lett, said: "HMS Montrose has been patrolling off the Somali coast for some time and we know how the pirates operate. "Our destruction of the whaler close to a known pirate camp has sent a message to the Somali pirates that NATO and other coalition forces are willing to take the fight to them in order to prevent them from attacking merchant ships." HMS Montrose is operating off the Somali coast as part of NATO's counter-piracy operation, OCEAN SHIELD. Image of skiff on beach that was destroyed in 2010 

Royal Marines from the Navy frigate HMS Portland intercept two pirate skiffs in the Gulf of Aden