Pakistan has become the latest country to deploy warships to protect shipping routes in the Arabian Sea, which are under severe threat from pirates. Shipping volume through the Arabian Sea has increased in recent days in the wake of attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi militants. The Houthis had earlier said they would attack “Israeli ships” passing through the area as a response to Israel’s bloodthirsty assault on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack. However, the actual attacks have been indiscriminate, as would be expected by anyone familiar with modern-day shipping. It is almost impossible to identify a ship’s actual ownership based on name or flag alone because of the complex ownership structures of most shipping companies.
Panama, Liberia, and Marshall Islands flagged ships account for over 40% of global tonnage, even though the beneficial owners of almost all of these ships are based in other countries — including Israel and, for that matter, Pakistan. An example is MV Heng Tong 77, which ran aground near Karachi in 2021. The ship was Panama-flagged, Hong Kong-owned, and reportedly used a third country as its home port. The crews of ships are even more international, with dozens of countries represented in some cases. Thus, all the Houthi attacks have accomplished is making shipping more difficult and dangerous, with no positive impact for Gaza or the Palestinian cause.
Meanwhile, piracy in the Arabian Sea has also risen because American warships securing the region have moved to the Red Sea in an attempt to thwart Houthi attacks. A side effect of this has also been that while most pirate groups in the recent past were based in and around Somalia, recent reports would suggest criminals from other coastal areas are also getting in on the action, necessitating additional protection along the shipping routes. This is why Pakistan’s increased presence on the high seas is welcome, not just to protect Pakistani traffic, but also international traffic nearby.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2024.
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