That raises questions about where pirates will be tried. At the moment, Kenya seems to be the answer, largely because it is willing and not far from the centre of the action. Britain, the U.S. and the European Union have now signed agreements allowing pirates to be brought to the Kenyan city of Mombasa for trial.
The Americans have also brought one Somali pirate to the U.S. to face prosecution. But they had a vested interest in that case as it involved the hijacking of an American ship and the hostage-taking of an American captain.
The French had a similar situation with the yacht Le Ponant last year and the legal run-up to that case has become something of a gong show in France.
The Russians caught 26 pirates and threw them into the brig of a warship. After several weeks, they're still there. No one knows what to do with them or how to prove exactly that they were involved in piracy.
The Netherlands nabbed a couple of pirates who are, apparently, quite pleased with their arrest: they told a Dutch newspaper that life with a flushable toilet and three meals a day is utopia and that they hope for long prison sentences.
Navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden off Somalia hope word of this doesn't get out. If it does, Somalian speedboats may be surrendering en masse.
Of course, all this legal confusion is very frustrating for the Canadian sailors working their patch of the Gulf of Aden. This fight is not unlike trying to prosecute a street gang until they do something illegal, you can't throw them in jail.
And most governments including Canada have told their navies not to intervene once a hijacking has actually taken place, out of fear for the lives of any hostages.
It's almost the classic Catch-22. Pirates can't be prosecuted until they hijack, but once they hijack, it's unlikely anyone will try to stop them.
A few of the Photos of Pirate interceptions by HMCS Winnipeg.
View from a Sea King.
The Naval Motto Ready aye Ready certainly is upheld by the crew of HMCS Winnipeg. Canada's contribution to this NATO operation.
Please remember tomorrow is Red Friday, Show your support for our troops in operations Land, Sea and Air.
Red Rally coming up 26 June in Charlottetown. Please try and show support our Guys and gals. Thankyou.
Nil Sine labore
Robby
Canada's brave sailors of HMCS Winnipeg are in a CATCH-22 situation. They chase and capture pirates intent on either destroying global shipping. Or keeping the crews for Ransom. Under current internaional law, Just stopping them before they actually board the vessel, is ok but they cannot detain the Pirates. They can by International law confiscate the weapons. This simply allows them to go back to Somalia and re arm themselves. I am sure that there is no shortage of weaponry for these modern day pirates. Dave Common a CBC reporter on board the Winnipeg has this to say about the Catch-22 situation.
Catch-22 Never mind that, until fairly recently, very few people had been charged with piracy, or sea robbery, as it was called in a 17th century law, in 150 years. It's not an area many lawyers, judges or jurisdictions have much expertise in.
