Pirates of the High Seas: Dangers of Maritime Crimes

Learning Objectives

Skills We Learnt Last Week:

1 Learning Facts: Police and Power

The police exist to protect us and uphold the law, but sometimes betray this trust with corruption or violence

2 Public Speaking Skills: Speech Practice

Applying our speaking skills to discuss philosophical ideas like human rights

3 Debating Skills: Independent Case Building

Developing your own arguments using speech building without a coach

Skills We Will Learn This Week

1 Learning Facts: Modern Piracy

Pirates still exist today, attacking ships on trade routes in less monitored seas to steal valuable cargo or hold passengers for ransom

2 Public Speaking Skills: Roleplaying

Speaking from their perspectives of different

3 Debating Skills: Analyzing Preventative Versus Reactive Policies

Is it better to try and fix the route cause of an issue, or punish people who commit crimes?

SYMBOL OBJECTIVES:

Learn a special skill Activity time Key takeaway

Reminder: Class Rules

Now that we all know each other, let’s make this class into a proper classroom!

Here are some rules that we will all follow together:

Before Class

1. 2.

Make sure that you’ve eaten breakfast/lunch and have gone to the bathroom

Join the zoom call a few minutes before class starts so we can get started right away!

At the Start of Class

Turn your camera on so we can see your lovely smile! Let your coach know if you need to leave class early

During Class

1. 2. 3.

Keep your camera on unless you are preparing during an activity

Put your hand up if you want to say something Do not leave your computer during class - if you need to go to the bathroom, put your hand up and ask your coach before you go

1. 2.

Warm Up:

Sailing the Seas

You are an explorer, about to sail across the ocean to new undiscovered lands.

Here are the three islands in the distance:

Island A

A large island filled with lots of different plants and animals you have never seen before. There are tall trees, big lakes and lots of hills It is a long journey to get to this island

Island B

A small island covered in rocks and mountains. There is a lot of gold on the island, scattered amongst the rocks and in the beachside caves. Legend says there are dragons on the island, but no one has ever reported seeing one in the flesh.

Island C

A medium sized island where a human civilization with technology far more advances than our own lives. The journey to the island is short, but many storms brew in the ocean there.

Time 2 Mins (Preparation)

You must choose which direction you want to sail in and why.

PART 1: What Is Piracy?

Learning Facts

What Is Piracy?

When you think of a pirate, you think of stories where long ago, captains steered wooden ships with eyepatches and parrots, searching the ocean for buried treasure But did you know that pirates still exist today?

These modern pirates are real people who operate in some parts of the world today, usually in areas where there are lots of ships and trade routes.

Modern maritime pirates are criminals who attack and rob ships. They usually have weapons like guns or knives, and they use them to threaten the crew members on board. They might even take control of the ship and demand money or valuable cargo as ransom.

Piracy also refers to the theft or the unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work (like torrenting movies) We’re not going to learn about that kind of piracy in today’s class!

Example

Image Source: https://www novinite com/articles/102744/Somali+Pirates+Vow+to+Kill+US%2C+French+Sailors

In 2008, Somali pirates hijacked the luxury super-yacht Le Ponant. There were no guest passengers on board, but there were 30 crew that the pirates held hostage. They demanded a €1 7 million ransom to be paid by the yacht’s owner

Image Source: https://www liputan6 com/news/read/15785/polairud-sumsel-menemukan-kapal-inabukwa-yang-dirampok

In 2001, an Indonesian vessel, Inabukwa, carrying over $2 million of metal and pepper was hijacked, and the 22 crew were left stranded on a deserted island. The ship and its cargo was found 5 days later disguised as a different vessel, and the pirates were captured

Piracy still exists today, where people hijack ships to steal its cargo or ransom those on board.

Pirates Then vs Now

Comparative Analysis

Location

Historical Pirates Modern Pirates

The Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Indian Ocean

Off the coast of Somalia, the Gulf of Guinea, and Southeast Asia.

Boats

Large ships with weapons to destroy enemy ships and store cargo

Small, fast boats to approach and board larger vessels, using firearms and other weapons to threaten the crew and take control of the ship

Motives

Valuable metals like gold and silver, and delicacies like spices

Fuel, electronics, or other valuable goods, as well as kidnapping for ransom

Why do you think pirates try to steal different things now than they used to?

Changing Seas

Over time, piracy has shifted to different parts of the ocean across the globe There are two reasons for this:

Trade Routes

most cargo ships take the same journeys, across standard ‘routes’ between continents

some areas of the sea are governed by nearby countries (excluding international waters). If that government is unstable, they may not be able to defend the seas against pirates

Piracy has shifted to different parts of the ocean across the globe

Modern pirates typically target trade routes along poorly protected waters. They typically don’t have their own ‘pirate ship’ they rely on stealth to build other ships or sneak away with stolen cargo.

1. Stability

2.

How Is Piracy Unique to Other Theft?

Comparative Analysis

Location:

Thieves can operate in densely populated areas where there are police around. Because piracy happens out on the open ocean, it’s far less likely that you’ll get reinforcement urgently once an attack starts This can make ocean piracy less safe for people working on boats

Stealth:

Sometimes, pickpockets and thieves can steal something without the owner even noticing. It’s hard to do this with an entire boat! It’s much more likely that crew onboard vessels can raise the alarm, and it’s also harder to get away without being noticed. Pirates have to take bigger risks and be more aggressive to pull off a heist.

Punishment:

Piracy affects different countries around the world, especially when cargo is being transported from one place to another. Given this, there are many international laws where countries cooperate together to capture pirates and bring them to justice Usually thieves break the law by stealing within different countries, so countries often don’t work together to catch them

The sea is less protected and monitored than on land, meaning that piracy can be really dangerous. However, the international community recognizes this risk and cooperates to address this global issue.

Countries cooperate together to capture pirates

Quiz Time

1. Searching using maps for buried treasure

How do modern pirates typically make their money?

a) Attaching vessels to steal items that go overboard and kidnapping passengers

2.

3.

c)

b) Boarding vessels to steal cargo and hold passengers for ransom

Where do pirate attacks mainly occur today?

a) The coast of Somalia and Southeast Asia

b) The Mediterranean Sea and South America

c) The coast of Australia and South of Pakistan

If you were a modern pirate, which boat would be best to use?

a) A submarine

b) A small fast boat

c) A giant ship with weapons

Fact Recall

See if you can remember what we’ve learned about homelessness

Quiz Time

1. Searching using maps for buried treasure

How do modern pirates typically make their money?

a) Attaching vessels to steal items that go overboard and kidnapping passengers

2.

3.

Investigating crimes

c)

b) Boarding vessels to steal cargo and hold passengers for ransom

Where do pirate attacks mainly occur today?

a) The coast of Somalia and Southeast Asia

b) The Mediterranean Sea and South America

c) The coast of Australia and South of Pakistan

If you were a modern pirate, which boat would be best to use?

a) A submarine

b) A small fast boat

c) A giant ship with weapons

Fact Recall

See if you can remember what we’ve learned about homelessness

Why Do People Become Pirates?

Many fishermen often choose to be pirate.

Many people who choose to come pirates do so because they don’t have any other option. Often, they work as fisherman. Previously, they would use small boats to catch fish, would then would be sold at the market to either locals or exporters.

Over time, the international fishing industry has boomed, including the use of ‘trawling’ - using a large boat and net to scrape up everything they can in the ocean they travel over, and then throwing back the waste and keeping the fish.

This has two effects:

These large companies can catch far more fish than local fishermen, and can sell them at a cheaper price so the fishermen don’t get any business; and

2.

1. Trawling destroys the natural eco-system meaning that far less fish

Trawling can affect local fishermen and ecosystem.

have an education so they can t get a new job. Given this, they turn to piracy for survival.

Sometimes, people turn to piracy at of desperation because their government has failed to provide support from them after they have lost their jobs to an increasingly globalised fishing industry.

Do you think it’s morally justified for fishermen to steal from others, including large companies transporting cargo, when those companies are the reason the fishermen lost their jobs?

The Pirate and the Official Activity:

One group will individually deliver a speech from the perspective of a local fisherman who has turned to piracy.

And the the other group will individually deliver a speech from the perspective of a government official who wants to crack down on piracy in the area.

Remember that our speech building blocks are:

1. 2. 3 4

Introduction

Reason 1

Reason 2

Conclusion

Use the building blocks below to help you put together a speech.

Time 6 Mins (Preparation) | 1-2 Mins (Speaking)

Group A: A speech from the perspective of a local fisherman who has turned to piracy.

Group B: A speech from the perspective of a government official who wants to crack down on piracy in the area.

Feedback Time!

How Do We Stop

Analyzing Policies

POLICY ONE: INCREASED SECURITY

This involves putting more police in patrol bo across areas that frequently suffer from pirate a

These police would act as a deterrent for a another vessel. Even though they can’t be eve around just enough for people to think twice be

Some other crackdowns could involve:

Strict licencing for who is allowed to own an on background checked

Arming patrolling police with weapons like g

A strict registration system where the purp boat is constantly monitored

Stronger punishments for those convicted o

Police patrols in boats for incre

Who do you think should pay for the cost of more security forces in these regions: the countries that are shipping valuable cargo back and forth, or the countries that have governance over that area of water? What if those countries don’t have the money to pay?

Do you think increased patrolling would still be effective, even if you can’t have a patrol boat in every place all the time? Do you think pirates will still attack if they can’t see a patrol boat nearby?

while for backup to arrive if a boat is being attacked. Given this, why don t we just give boats the ability to defend themselves?

This policy would involve:

Legalizing the possession of weapons on boats, so that boat captains and crew could fight back if they are being attacked

Legalizing any violence, including murder, used by crew to defend their boat from an attack

The ability for crew to defend themselves also provides a deterrent - even if not every boat is armed, pirates will think that there is a higher risk so may choose not to attack.

Do you think this rule could make it even easier for pirates to get weapons for their own boats and fly under the radar?

Could fighting violence with more violence make boat travel more dangerous than it was at the start? How could it go wrong?

How does this policy play out in international waters, where the crew and pirates aren’t under the jurisdiction of any country?

POLICY THREE: WELFARE FOR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES

This involves trying to solve the problem at the root cause, by trying to prevent the desperation that people feel before being forced into a life of crime.

This is called welfare - a government program that assist people in need. This welfare would target people who live in the coastal regions of piracyprone areas, who may have been displaced as fisherman due to globalization of the fishing industry

Welfare could look like:

Payments to people who have recently lost their jobs in the fishing industry

Free education to people who have lost their jobs, so they can upskill and get a job in another industry

Paying for the cost of essential goods and services, like food or healthcare

One problem is that the governments of countries where piracy is the most frequent often don’t have a lot of money They may struggle to afford these welfare policies.

Do you think its reasonable to make the companies that benefit the most from using those trade routes to pay for these welfare programmes?

How effective do you think these programmes would be? What if people still decide to become pirates because the money is still better?

Which of the three policies is your favourite, and why?

Practice Debate Activity:

The topic for the debate is “We would prevent piracy by arming vessels and allowing the crew to defend themselves”.

Half of the group will be FOR arming the boats, and half of the group will be against.

Spend ten minutes thinking about why your side is the right one.

You might want to think about:

2 3 4 5

Whether the policy will deter pirates

How much the policy will cost to implement

Whether things could go wrong and make situations more dangerous

Whose responsibility it is to stop pirates

Whether the pirates are doing something morally wrong

Use the building blocks below to help you put together a speech/case.

Time 10 Mins (Preparation) | 1-2 Mins (Speaking)

Group A: arming the boat and allowing the crew to defend themselves

Group B: against arming the boat and allowing the crew to defend themselves

Recap

Modern maritime pirates are criminals who attack and rob ships. They usually have weapons like guns or knives, and they use them to threaten the crew members on board

Pirates usually have two main objectives:

Boarding vessels to ransom hostages 1 2

Boarding larger vessels to steal their cargo

Piracy most often occurs along popular trade routes in regions that are less monitored (sometimes as a result of governmental issues), including Somalia and some parts of South Eats Asia.

Modern pirates also operate on stealth, because they board other ships rather than using their own ‘pirate ships’.

Differences between maritime piracy and normal theft: location (less security), stealth, and punishment (international cooperation).

Sometimes, people are forced to become pirates because they have lost their jobs due to the increasing globalization of the fishing industry and the increased use of trawling.

Potential policies:

1 2 3

Increasing security

Arming vessels

Targeted welfare