Too Few Ships

Expert opinion may often be divided on the issue of fighting piracy, but it has united in one serious verdict.

It seems there are simply not enough naval ships to stop the current rash of pirate attacks.

This has prompted renewed debate over how to deal with the problem. Professor Peter Lehr of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, claims, “You never have enough warships on station. If you look at the coastline of Somalia alone, that’s 3,300 kilometres we are talking about.  And then take a look at how far away from their own shores they strike.  That’s now 1,500 nautical miles, which means that reaches up to the west coast of India to the Mozambique Channel.  Looking for them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

While even our own leaders recognise and confess to the problem. Major General Buster Howes, operations commander of EUNAVFOR claims that the Indian Ocean would need 83 destroyers instead of just 6 to respond to piracy effectively.

The search for answers continues.