Pirates and Oil Security: The Middle East Edition
The developing investigation of a Japanese oil tanker that was attacked in the Persian Gulf last week carries hefty implications for global energy security. A Mitsui O.S.K. supertanker was damaged in the Strait of Hormuz, the main transportation route for oil produced in the Middle East. Previously speculated sources of damage to the ship, which included a collision, a wave following an earthquake, a mine, or a submarine, are now being discredited following the discovery of remains of homemade explosives on the ship’s hull. Such evidence is being interpreted by as a sign of an attack from a boat loaded with explosives and although other investigating officials have not verified this conclusion, a report released on July 30th by WAM, the Emirates state-run news agency, confirmed that the tanker had been the subject of a terrorist attack. This would mark the first instance that an attack has occurred in the channel and also the first time that a terrorist organization has attacked the Japanese.
A lesser known terrorist group loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda, the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam, is claiming that the attack was the work of one of their suicide bombers. In a public statement, the group identified Ayyub al-Taishan as the ship’s bomber and posted a photograph of him posing with a tanker displayed on a screen. The statement also claimed that the purpose of the attack was to “weaken the international blasphemous system that plundered the wealth of the Muslims.”
Although the damage caused to the ship did not result in any injuries or oil spillage, this incident could be a harbinger of pirate attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, which would greatly threaten global oil security and international economic markets. Seventeen million oil barrels are said to pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the oil shipped by tankers globally.
The threat of al-Qaeda associated groups using pirate techniques in this volatile channel highlights the need for less US dependence on foreign oil sources. Our reliance on foreign oil imports from unstable parts of the world means that such disruptions abroad threaten US economic security at home; our high demand for cheap oil makes the US vulnerable to incidents like the recent attack on the Japanese oil tanker. In May of 2010, the American Security Project and the Sierra Club put out a report highlighting this very issue, calling on President Obama to create a cohesive plan to end US dependence on foreign oil and invest in long term clean energy solutions.
