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Piracy off the coast of Somalia, one of the world's crucial shipping lanes, has plunged this year because of aggressive military and intelligence steps that have made it too costly for seafaring bandits to operate, regional diplomats and naval officials said.
索馬里地區(qū)的外交人士和海軍官員說，索馬里附近海域的海盜活動(dòng)今年大幅減少，原因是力度極大的軍事和情報(bào)舉措使得海盜團(tuán)伙運(yùn)營(yíng)起來費(fèi)用太高。索馬里海域是世界上的重要航道之一。
The success, however, has had an unintended consequence: The Somali crime lords behind the pirate networks have shifted to other illicit trade, sometimes in partnership with al Qaeda-linked militant groups like al-Shabaab, aiding terrorism in the Horn of Africa, diplomats and intelligence officials said.
不過，外交人士和情報(bào)官員說，打擊海盜行動(dòng)的成功產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)意想不到的后果：海盜網(wǎng)絡(luò)背后的索馬里黑幫頭目轉(zhuǎn)向了其他非法活動(dòng)，有時(shí)與青年黨(al-Shabaab)等跟基地組織(al Qaeda)有關(guān)系的軍事組織合作，向非洲之角的恐怖活動(dòng)提供援助。
'None of these operations exists in a vacuum,' said a regional intelligence official who traces terrorism financing across Gulf states. Al Qaeda and smugglers 'trade off the same connections, the same sea routes and the same protection rackets.'
一位跟蹤海灣國家恐怖活動(dòng)資金來源的地區(qū)情報(bào)官員說，這些活動(dòng)都不是存在于真空中的。基地組織和走私者使用的是同樣的關(guān)系網(wǎng)，同樣的航道，向同樣的組織交保護(hù)費(fèi)。
In 2011, there were 237 piracy-related events in the waters off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy and the effect on commercial shipping. In 2012, the figure dropped to 75. This year, as of Oct. 14 there were 10 incidents--only two of them hijackings.
據(jù)國際海事局(International Maritime Bureau)說，2011年，索馬里附近海域發(fā)生237起與海盜有關(guān)的事件。該組織監(jiān)控海盜活動(dòng)及其給商業(yè)航運(yùn)活動(dòng)帶來的影響。2012年這類事件減少至75起。今年截至10月14日，發(fā)生了10起事件，其中只有兩起是劫船事件。
The United Nations reports similar figures. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week there had been 17 attacks in the first nine months of 2013 in the Arabian Sea, compared with 99 in the same period last year.
聯(lián)合國(United Nations)發(fā)布了類似的數(shù)據(jù)。聯(lián)合國秘書長(zhǎng)潘基文(Ban Ki-moon)上周說，2013年前九個(gè)月阿拉伯海發(fā)生了17起襲擊事件，相比之下，上年同期發(fā)生了99起。
Most of the piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the adjacent Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean has been controlled by Somali organized crime lords whose business networks stretch between their homeland and Gulf Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, according to U.N. and regional diplomats who follow crime and terrorism issues.
據(jù)聯(lián)合國及該地區(qū)跟蹤犯罪和恐怖活動(dòng)的外交人士說，亞丁灣及鄰近的阿拉伯海和印度洋上的大部分海盜活動(dòng)是由索馬里組織的黑幫頭目控制的，他們的業(yè)務(wù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)從他們自己的國家延伸至海灣阿拉伯國家，包括沙特、也門、阿聯(lián)酋和伊朗。
The Somalis have helped finance pirate ships and have laundered an estimated $400 million in ransom paid by shipping companies between April 2005 and December 2012, regional diplomats and U.N. investigators said.
該地區(qū)的外交人士和聯(lián)合國調(diào)查人員說，索馬里人幫助為海盜船只提供資金，2005年4月至2012年12月期間，將航運(yùn)公司支付的約4億美元贖金洗白。
Their profits began to slip in 2012 when navies and shipping companies began beefing up military defenses.
2012年海軍和航運(yùn)公司開始加大軍事防御力度后，海盜們的利潤(rùn)開始下滑。
The international naval force known as Task Force 151 stepped up its use of drones and other intelligence gathering resources, allowing them to better position warships to intercept pirates, said Commodore Jeremy Blunden, the British naval officer currently in charge of the fleet.
英國海軍準(zhǔn)將布倫登(Jeremy Blunden)說，被稱為“聯(lián)合行動(dòng)部隊(duì)151”的國際海軍部隊(duì)加大了對(duì)無人機(jī)和其他情報(bào)收集資源的使用，使他們能夠更好地部署戰(zhàn)艦攔截海盜。布倫登目前負(fù)責(zé)“聯(lián)合行動(dòng)部隊(duì)151”。
Meanwhile, the commercial shipping industry has standardized the use of armed guards on vessels carrying oil and valuable products through the waterways. The practice had been controversial because it contravened common seafaring ways. But it proved cost-effective, say shipping company executives who are reaping the advantages of lower insurance rates as a result.
與此同時(shí)，商業(yè)航運(yùn)業(yè)已經(jīng)把在經(jīng)由這些航道運(yùn)輸石油和有價(jià)值產(chǎn)品的船只上配備武裝警衛(wèi)作為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)做法。這一做法曾飽受爭(zhēng)議，因?yàn)樗羞`通常的航運(yùn)做法。但航運(yùn)公司高管說，事實(shí)證明這種做法性物有所值。這些高管可以因此享受保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)率降低的好處。
Countries have also stepped up legal prosecution of pirates in recent years, adding risk for Somali pirate financiers, who face loss of crews and ships. On Wednesday, a Spanish court handed multiple-year sentences to six Somalis convicted of piracy and arms possession, according to the Associated Press.
各國近年來也加大了對(duì)海盜的法律追究力度，令為索馬里海盜提供資金的人風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增大，這些人可能面臨失去船員和船只的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。據(jù)美聯(lián)社(Associated Press)報(bào)道，上周三，一家西班牙法庭裁決六名索馬里人犯有海盜及非法攜帶武器罪，判處其多年徒刑。
The only surviving pirate who attacked the Maersk Alabama merchant vessel in 2009--the story on which the Hollywood movie 'Captain Phillips' is based--is serving a 33-year sentence in a U.S. prison.
2009年攻擊“馬士基亞拉巴馬號(hào)”(Maersk Alabama)商船的唯一一名幸存下來的海盜目前正在美國服刑，其刑期為33年。好萊塢影片《菲利普斯船長(zhǎng)》(Captain Phillips)就是取材于這個(gè)故事。
The aggressive military response changed the risk-reward ratio for Somali piracy financiers, who must pay upward of 80% of their earnings to corrupt Somali officials, local warlords and other middlemen, military officials and diplomats said.
軍事官員和外交人員說，這種積極的軍事反應(yīng)改變了為索馬里海盜提供資金者的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)回報(bào)率，他們必須將至多80%的收入用來賄賂索馬里官員、地方軍閥和其他中間人。
In 2012, Somali pirates only managed to rake in $37 million in payments, or about three quarters of the annual average received since 2005, according to a World Bank report.
世界銀行的一份報(bào)告顯示，2012年，索馬里海盜只獲得了3,700萬美元的報(bào)酬，僅為2005年以來年平均收入的四分之三左右。
'We've put a fire blanket over the problem,' said Capt. William Nault, the chief of staff for the international naval force taking the lead on counterpiracy patrols in the area. 'We've raised the cost [analysis] for them.'
在該地區(qū)牽頭反海盜巡邏的國際海軍部隊(duì)參謀長(zhǎng)諾特(William Nault)說，我們已經(jīng)壓制住了這個(gè)問題，增加了海盜的成本。
Somali piracy bosses, however, have proven nimble businessmen. As piracy profits decreased, they refocused resources on other long-standing illicit operations, including arms smuggling and region's lucrative trade in charcoal made from Acacia trees, according to diplomats and law-enforcement officials in the region who monitor illicit activity.
然而，索馬里海盜的老板證明了自己是活絡(luò)的商人。外交人員和該地區(qū)監(jiān)控非法活動(dòng)的執(zhí)法官員說，隨著海盜業(yè)務(wù)的利潤(rùn)下降，他們重新將資源投入到其他長(zhǎng)期非法活動(dòng)中，包括軍火走私和該地區(qū)利潤(rùn)豐厚的金合歡木炭貿(mào)易。
In a report issued to the U.N. Security Council this summer, diplomats watching violations of U.N. sanctions in Somalia provide evidence of alleged links between the Somali businessmen suspected of running the pirate networks and smuggling rings and al-Shabaab. The militant group is battling Somali government forces and African peacekeepers to try to establish a fundamentalist Islamic government.
在今年夏天提交給聯(lián)合國安理會(huì)的一份報(bào)告中，外交人員提供了涉嫌經(jīng)營(yíng)海盜網(wǎng)絡(luò)和走私集團(tuán)的索馬里商人被指與青年黨有關(guān)的證據(jù)。這些外交人員關(guān)注違反聯(lián)合國對(duì)索馬里制裁措施的情況。武裝組織青年黨正與索馬里政府軍和非洲維和部隊(duì)交戰(zhàn)，試圖建立原教旨主義的伊斯蘭教政府。
The U.N. report presents telephone records and other surveillance that links alleged Somali financiers of piracy with business partners in Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the charcoal-smuggling network.
聯(lián)合國的報(bào)告提供了電話記錄和其他監(jiān)聽內(nèi)容，表明被指資助索馬里海盜者在木炭走私網(wǎng)絡(luò)中與伊朗、沙特阿拉伯和阿聯(lián)酋的商業(yè)伙伴有關(guān)聯(lián)。
The report also alleges similar business links between these same actors and weapons smuggling into Somalia. Most weapons sales to Somalia are prohibited under U.N. sanctions, as is the charcoal trade there.
報(bào)告還指出，這些人與走私進(jìn)入索馬里的武器也有類似的商業(yè)關(guān)聯(lián)。按照聯(lián)合國的制裁措施，大多數(shù)武器都禁止向索馬里銷售，木炭貿(mào)易也是禁止的。
Counterterrorism officials say that the charcoal trade is one of the main avenues that al-Shabaab finances its terrorism operations and pays for the weapons they use to fight the Somali government and African peacekeepers. The business has grown from roughly $30 million a year in the late 2000s to a business now worth an estimated $340 million-$380 million a year, according to the U.N.
反恐官員說，木炭貿(mào)易是青年黨的主要收入來源之一，青年黨以此為其恐怖活動(dòng)提供資金，并購買武器用于對(duì)抗索馬里政府和非洲維和部隊(duì)。聯(lián)合國數(shù)據(jù)顯示，這項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)的規(guī)模上世紀(jì)末約為每年3,000萬美元左右，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)增長(zhǎng)至每年約3.4億至3.8億美元。
The White House slapped a trade ban on Somali-sourced charcoal in 2012 because of the alleged trade links to al-Shabaab.
2012年，白宮方面以涉嫌與青年黨存在貿(mào)易關(guān)系為由，針對(duì)來自索馬里的木炭實(shí)施貿(mào)易禁令。
The U.N. investigators complain that while regional governments understand the threat of terrorism financing, there has been no political will to arrest the men at the top of the Somali crime networks.
聯(lián)合國調(diào)查人員抱怨說，雖然地區(qū)政府明白為恐怖主義提供資金的威脅，但政界毫無意愿逮捕索馬里犯罪網(wǎng)絡(luò)的高層。
The majority of recent pirate trials involve men at the midrange of these organizations or foot soldiers suborned into piracy for their sailing knowledge, a regional counterterrorism official said.
一位地區(qū)反恐官員說，最近受審的海盜大多數(shù)都是這些犯罪網(wǎng)絡(luò)的中層，或是因其航海知識(shí)而被收買從事海盜行為的底層士兵。
U.N. investigators have recommended adding these Somalis to an international sanctions list, and some diplomats argue that they should be prosecuted for sanctions violations or terrorism ties.
聯(lián)合國調(diào)查人員建議將這些索馬里人添加到一個(gè)國際制裁名單上，一些外交人員認(rèn)為，這些人應(yīng)當(dāng)為違反制裁或與恐怖主義有關(guān)聯(lián)而被起訴。
