	The United States Has Taken Steps to Implement Its Counterpiracy Plan but Needs to Evaluate Its Efforts and Update Its Plan

As we reported in September 2010, the U.S. government has made  progress implementing its Action Plan for countering piracy, in  collaboration with international and industry partners. We continue to believe that  actions are needed to update the Action Plan to respond to the evolving  pirate threat, and enhance and sustain interagency collaboration in U.S.  efforts, but currently it is too early to assess the interagency effort. In collaboration with their international and industry partners, U.S.  agencies have taken steps across the three lines of action established in  the Action Plan to: (1) prevent attacks by reducing the vulnerability of the  maritime domain, (2) disrupt acts of piracy in ways consistent with  international law and the rights and responsibilities of coastal and flag  states, and (3) ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held  accountable for their actions by facilitating the prosecution of suspected  pirates. The United States has advised industry partners on self-protection  measures, contributed leadership and assets to an international coalition  patrolling pirate-infested waters, and concluded a prosecution  arrangement with the Seychelles. Many stakeholders anecdotally credit international, industry, and U.S.  government efforts with preventing and disrupting piracy off the Horn of  Africa, but despite these efforts from 2007 through 2010 pirates greatly  expanded their area of operations, the number of pirate attacks increased,  the number of hostages captured rose substantially, and the size of ransom  payments grew. The total number of reported pirate attacks increased  from 30 in 2007 to 219 in 2010. Since 2007,  there have been at least eight reported attempted attacks on U.S.- flagged vessels, two of which involved pirates successfully boarding or  hijacking vessels—the attacks on the MV Maersk Alabama and SV  Quest. Additionally, while we previously reported the  rate of successful attacks had dropped from 40 percent in 2007 to 22  percent in 2009, the rate had rebounded to almost 30 percent at the  end of 2010. In following up  with cognizant departments on the current status of their counterpiracy  efforts, all of the departments provided comments to clarify information in  this statement, and an NSS official provided the following information:  As part of a broader U.S. approach toward the region, the Maritime  Security Interagency Policy Committee (MSIPC) is conducting an  ongoing review of U.S. piracy policy. During this review, the MSIPC is  focusing on the Countering Piracy off the Horn of Africa:  Partnership and Action Plan and as part of this effort, departments  and agencies are examining and developing metrics, roles and  responsibilities, and implementation actions to serve as the focus of  U.S. efforts for the next several years. We also reported in September 2010 that as pirates operations had  evolved, the U.S. government had not systematically tracked the cost or  effectiveness of its counterpiracy activities to determine whether its  investment had achieved the desired results or should be revised. As a result, in our September 2010 report, we also recommended that the  NSC, in collaboration with the same federal departments, identify  measures of effectiveness to use in evaluating U.S. counterpiracy efforts;  and direct the Counter-Piracy Steering Group to identify the costs of U.S.  counterpiracy efforts including operational, support, and personnel costs;  and assess the effectiveness of U.S. counterpiracy activities. Agencies Have Worked Collaboratively with Partners but Could Take Key Steps to Enhance and Sustain Collaboration in Counterpiracy Efforts

As we reported in September 2010, U.S. agencies have generally  collaborated well with international and industry partners to counter  piracy; however, U.S. agencies could implement other key practices to  further enhance and sustain collaboration among U.S. interagency  partners. Partnering with Industry. The NSC has not identified roles and  responsibilities for implementing these tasks, and officials have  acknowledged that the agencies have not developed joint guidance to  ensure their efforts work together efficiently and effectively. According to State officials, State has drafted a  governmentwide counterpiracy strategic communication plan for  interagency review but as of March 2011, the department had not  finalized this plan. Disrupting Pirate Revenue. Multiple agencies collect or examine  information on pirates’ financial activities, including DOD, Justice,  State, and the Treasury. Commenting on our testimony statement,  however, the NSS provided a statement indicating that an ongoing MSIPC  policy review is examining roles and responsibilities and other  implementation actions to guide U.S. counterpiracy efforts. Such challenges, along with the growing  frequency and severity of piracy off the Horn of Africa, provide a renewed  a sense of urgency to implement our recommendations to update the  counterpiracy Action Plan and take other steps to prevent, disrupt, and  prosecute acts of piracy. In addition, pirates have captured more ships and  taken more hostages each year from 2007 through 2010. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States.
Why GAO Did This Study

Somali pirates have attacked 640 ships and taken more than 3,150 hostages since 2007. A few U.S.-flagged vessels have been affected--most recently the SV Quest, a private yacht on which four Americans were killed in February 2011. The growing frequency and severity of attacks renew the urgency to address the piracy threat. As Somalia is unable to repress piracy, the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) developed the interagency Countering Piracy off the Horn of Africa: Partnership and Action Plan in December 2008 to prevent, disrupt, and prosecute piracy in collaboration with international and industry partners. In September 2010, GAO issued a report evaluating the extent to which U.S. agencies (1) have implemented the plan, and the challenges they face, and (2) have collaborated with partners. This testimony is based on the September 2010 report and its objectives, and work GAO conducted in March 2011 to update report findings.

What GAO Found

As GAO reported in September 2010, the U.S. government has made progress in implementing its plan for countering piracy, in collaboration with industry and international partners. However, piracy is an escalating problem, and the U.S. government has not updated its plan as GAO recommended. The United States has advised industry partners on self-protection measures, contributed leadership and assets to an international coalition patrolling pirate-infested waters, and concluded a prosecution arrangement with the Seychelles. Many stakeholders credit collaborative efforts with reducing the pirates' rate of success in boarding ships and hijacking vessels, but since 2007 the location of attacks has spread from the heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden--the focus of the Action Plan--to the vast and much harder to patrol Indian Ocean. Also, from 2007 to 2010 the total number of reported hijackings increased sevenfold, and, after dropping in 2008 and 2009, the pirates' success rate rebounded from 22 percent in 2009 to almost 30 percent in 2010. In addition, the number of hostages captured and the amount of ransom paid increased sharply, and pirate attacks have grown more violent. The Action Plan's objective is to repress piracy off the Horn of Africa as effectively as possible, but as pirate operations have evolved, changes to the plan have not kept pace. The United States has not systematically tracked the costs of its counterpiracy efforts and is unable to determine whether counterpiracy investments are achieving the desired results. According to a statement by an NSS official, the United States is reviewing U.S. piracy policy to focus future U.S. efforts. These recent steps are encouraging because the growing frequency and severity of piracy off the Horn of Africa provides a renewed sense of urgency for taking action. GAO's September 2010 report found that U.S. agencies have generally collaborated well with international and industry partners to counter piracy, but they could take additional steps to enhance and sustain interagency collaboration. According to U.S. and international stakeholders, the U.S. government has, among other things, collaborated with international partners to support prosecution of piracy suspects and worked with industry partners to educate ship owners on how to protect their vessels from pirate attack. However, agencies have made less progress on several key efforts that involve multiple U.S. agencies--such as those to address piracy through strategic communications, disrupt pirate finances, and hold pirates accountable. For instance, the departments of Defense, Justice, State, and the Treasury all collect or examine information on pirate finances, but none has lead responsibility for analyzing that information to build a case against pirate leaders or financiers. In September 2010, GAO recommended that the NSC identify roles and responsibilities for implementing these tasks, and develop guidance to ensure agency efforts work together efficiently and effectively. In March 2011, an NSS official stated that an interagency policy review will examine roles and responsibilities and implementation actions to focus U.S. efforts for the next several years. It is too early to assess this effort's effectiveness in bolstering interagency collaboration in U.S. counterpiracy efforts.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is not making new recommendations in this statement. GAO previously recommended that the NSC (1) update its Action Plan; (2) assess the costs and effectiveness of U.S. counterpiracy activities; and (3) clarify agency roles and responsibilities. A National Security Staff (NSS) official provided a statement that an interagency group is reviewing U.S. piracy policy, costs, metrics, roles, and responsibilities. Agencies also commented to clarify information in this statement.