Piracy at Sea

PIRACY AT SEA
Definition of Piracy
The word Piracy can be interpreted in two senses,

i.e.,
1. Robbery at Sea (Traditional Meaning); and

2. Infringement of IPR’s (Modern Meaning).
ORIGIN OF THE WORD PIRATE
• The word ‘piracy’ has been derived from the ancient

Greek word ‘peiraomai’, which means “an attempt to
rob for personal gain.”
• With the passage of time, this word morphed into
‘peirates’, which means brigand, and from that to the
Latin word ‘pirata’, from which we got the modern
English word ‘pirate’.
• In the Greek language, this word appeared around
the year 140 BC.
• Before then, the pirates were known by various labels
like ‘Nine Bows’ and ‘Sea Peoples’ affixed to them by
their victims and enemies.
Piracy has been with
us since men first set
sail. Judge Jose Luis
Jesus of the
International Tribunal
For Law of the Sea has
aptly remarked that:
“The very first time

something valuable
was known to be
leaving a beach on a
raft, the first pirate
was around to steal
it.”
• The earliest recorded
incident of piracy took
place in the year 1350 BC.
• It is inscribed on a clay
plate and depicts pirates
attacking a ship in the
Mediterranean Sea during
the reign of Egyptian
Pharaoh Akhenaton.
Causes of Origin of Piracy
1. Barren Land;
2. Depletion of Fish Stock; and
3. Growth of maritime trade and commerce.
Famous Pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy
1. Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard);

2. Barbarossa;
3. William Kidd;
4. Calico Jack Rackham.
DEFINITION OF PIRACY
According to Article 101 of the United Nations Convention on Law
of the Sea, 1982, piracy consists of the following acts-
I. Any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation,

committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a
private ship or a private aircraft, and directed:
(a) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against
persons or property on board such ship or aircraft; or
(b) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the
jurisdiction of any state;
II. Any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an
aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft;
III. Any acts of inciting or intentionally facilitating an act described
above.
Limitations of this Definition
• The definition of piracy given in UNCLOS, 1982, is not
comprehensive as it does not cover all kinds of criminal
violence at sea.
• According to this definition, piracy can be committed only
for private ends. Hence an act of maritime terrorism on
the high seas would fall outside the ambit of this
definition as terrorist attacks are carried out generally for
the furtherance of religious or political objectives.
• Further, if a piratical act takes place within the territorial
waters of a State, it would be punishable only if the
municipal law of the coastal State criminalizes it as such.
Place of Committing Piracy
• In earlier times, piracy could be committed on

the high seas only.
• However, the UN Convention on Law of the Sea,
1982, provides that acts of piracy may be
committed on the high seas, as well as in a place
which is outside the jurisdiction of any State.
• For example, on an island which is terra nullius.
Object of Piracy
• Generally, pirates aim at plundering the cargo and
other resources of the ship.
• However, the cargo need not be the only object of
their acts of violence.
• In recent times, pirates have also targeted the
personal belongings of the crew and the contents
of the ship’s safe, which contains large amount of
cash needed for payroll and port fee.
• In some cases, they capture the ship and its crew
and hold them for ransom.
United States vs Smith (1820) 18 US 153
In this case, the Supreme Court of USA

observed that “whatever may be the
diversity of definitions in other respects, all
writers concur in holding that robbery or
forcible depredations upon the high seas is
piracy.”
United States vs The Ambrose Light (1885 US)
In this case, the American Federal Court held

that “an armed ship at sea should be under
the authority of some State. If such a ship is
not under the authority of any State, it would
be treated as a pirate ship, irrespective of the
fact whether it has committed an act of
piracy or not.”
Re Piracy Jure Gentium Case [(1934) AC 586]
• In this case, some Chinese citizens were arrested

on the charge of piracy.
• They had made an unsuccessful attempt to
commit robbery on the high seas.
• The Hong Kong court was confronted with the
question as to whether actual robbery was
essential for piracy.
• The Court referred this question to the Privy
Council for its opinion.
Decision of Privy Council
• The Privy Council held that actual robbery

was not an essential element of the crime of
piracy.
• Even a frustrated or failed attempt to commit
a robbery on the high seas could be
considered as piracy.
Piracy by Public Ships
• As a general rule, public ships cannot commit

piracy.
• However, if the crew of a warship or other public
ship of a State revolts and cruises the sea for
committing any of the acts specified in Article
101, it ceases to be a public ship or aircraft, and
acts of violence committed by it may indeed be
piratical.
CAUSES OF PIRACY IN SOMALIA
1. Colonial Effect.
2. Civil War and Famine.
3. Failed Relief Missions of UN and USA.
4. Illegal Fishing.
5. Toxic Waste Dumping.

Pirate Nomenclature
The Somali term for a pirate is “burcad
badeed” which means “ocean robber”.
However, the pirates themselves prefer to be
called “badaadinta badah” which means
“saviours of the sea”.
CAUSES OF PIRACY IN INDONESIA
1. Long Coastline (Indonesia has the world’s second

longest coastline after Canada).
2. Poverty and Corruption (Many poor people living

along the coastline resort to piracy to make easy
money).
3. Islands offer easy escape route (Over 18000 islands of
the Indonesian archipelago offer an easy escape route
to pirates).
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK
TO COMBAT PIRACY AND VIOLENT
CRIMES AT SEA
1. Geneva Convention on the High Seas, 1958.
2. United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, 1982.
3. International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, 1979.
4. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the
Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988.
5. Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety
of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, 1988.
6. Djibouti Code of Conduct, 2009.
7. IMO Code of Practice for the Investigation of Crimes of Piracy
and Armed Robbery Against Ships, 2009.
INDIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO
COMBAT PIRACY AND VIOLENT
CRIMES AT SEA
1. The Admiralty Offences (Colonial) Act, 1849.
2. The Admiralty Jurisdiction (India) Act, 1860.
3. The Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890.
4. The Navy Act, 1957.
5. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.

6. The Indian Penal Code, 1860.
7. SUA Act, 2002.

8. The Admiralty Bill, 2005 (Lapsed).
9. The Piracy Bill, 2012 (Lapsed).
10. The Anti Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019 (Pending).
Universal Jurisdiction over Pirates
Piracy involves acts of robbery and violence

committed at sea, and pirates have been
traditionally considered as hostis humani generis
(the enemy of whole mankind) and subject to
universal jurisdiction since the seventeenth
century.
SS Lotus Case (France vs Turkey) (1927 PCIJ)
• The PCIJ held that Piracy by law of nations, in its
jurisdictional aspects, is sui generis (unique in its
characteristics).
• As the scene of the pirate’s operations is the high
seas, which it is not the right or duty of any
nation to police, he is treated as an outlaw, as
the enemy of all mankind, hostis humani generis,
whom any nation may in the interest of all
capture and punish.
Universal Jurisdiction under UNCLOS
• Article 105 of the UNCLOS, 1982, provides that on
the high seas, or in any other place outside the
jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a
pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by
piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest
the persons and seize the property on board.
• The courts of the State which carried out the seizure
may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and
may also determine the action to be taken with
regard to the ships, aircraft or property.
Authority to seize Pirate Ships
As per Article 107 of UNCLOS, 1982, a seizure

on account of piracy may be carried out only
by warships or military aircraft, or other ships
or aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as
being on government service and authorized
to that effect.
Problems in Prosecuting Pirates
• Most of the western countries are reluctant
to prosecute captured pirates in their own
courts because of apprehensions about costs,
logistics, asylum claims and related human
rights and due process issues.
• Many Navies follow the policy of “arrest,
disarm and release” in dealing with pirates
on the high seas.
The Republic of Seychelles vs. Mohamed
Ahmed Dahir and Ten Others (2009 SCS)
• In this case, eleven Somali nationals were charged
with seven different offences including piracy.
• Five of them related to terrorism under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2004, which could not be
proved.
• However, the accused were convicted on the other
two charges of piracy, i.e., committing piracy and
aiding and abetting piracy.
• Each one of the convicts was sentenced to 10 years of
imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Seychelles.
United States vs Muse (2011)
• In this case a Somali national named Abdulwali
Abdulkhadir Muse was tried for piracy for hijacking
the US Container Ship “Maersk Alabama” in the
Indian Ocean, and the subsequent taking of
Captain Richard Phillips as hostage.
• He pleaded guilty before the US Federal Court in
New York for his role in seizing a ship by force,
hostage taking, kidnapping, and conspiracy to
commit each of these offences.
• However, he avoided the most noteworthy charge
he had faced, i.e., piracy under the law of nations.
Decision of the Court
• During the trial, the charges of piracy and
possession of a machine gun were dropped in
exchange for his guilty plea.
• On 16th February 2011, Muse was sentenced
to 33 years and 9 months of imprisonment in
federal prison by the US District Court for the
Southern District of New York.

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PIRACY AT SEA

The word Piracy can be interpreted in two senses,

1. Robbery at Sea (Traditional Meaning); and

• The word ‘piracy’ has been derived from the ancient

“The very first time

1. Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard);

I. Any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation,

• In earlier times, piracy could be committed on

In this case, the Supreme Court of USA

In this case, the American Federal Court held

• In this case, some Chinese citizens were arrested

• The Privy Council held that actual robbery

• As a general rule, public ships cannot commit

5. Toxic Waste Dumping.

1. Long Coastline (Indonesia has the world’s second

2. Poverty and Corruption (Many poor people living

5. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.

7. SUA Act, 2002.

Piracy involves acts of robbery and violence

As per Article 107 of UNCLOS, 1982, a seizure

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