SA jack up navy to combat Somali piracy
International shipping lines are seriously thinking about the safety of their vessels transiting East African waters as the threat of Somali piracy grows, says Defence and Military Veterans Affairs Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Speaking at a Parliamentary press briefing on Sunday, Sisuslu said the threat was growing with 17 incidents reported in Tanzanian waters during the past year.
“As the international patrols off the Somali coast hamper the pirates’ ability to operate there, then they move further down and away from the coast,” she said.
Last year SA deployed one of its four modern German-built frigates into the Mozambique Channel and Sisulu signed an agreement with her Mozambique counterpart to allow the SA Navy to patrol offshore waters there.
Sisulu said the SA government’s policy with piracy would be changing to deterrence from one of reaction, meaning that the fleet would have to mount a standing patrol of ships and aircraft up the east African coast rather than wait for an incident to happen and then respond.
Story by Paul Vecchiatto, for BusinessLive.
