Somalia: Piracy Largely Curbed but Threat Persists – Admiral

The war against piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean scored a 100 percent success

Somalia: Piracy Largely Curbed but Threat Persists – Admiral

The war against piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean scored a 100 percent success, the German Commander of the Naval Task Force 465, Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen has declared.

Commander Mühlen said this at a press conference yesterday during the visit of the European Naval Force flagship vessel, the German frigate Brandenburg which is docked at the port of Dar es Salaam from 6th to 10th of May.

He told reporters yesterday at Umoja House that since the launch of the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta in 2008, the number of successful pirate attacks has dramatically fallen.

Mühlen said that in 2010 pirates captured 47 vessels and their crews, but by end 2011 the number was down to 25 vessels held for ransom by pirates.

“In December 2012 EU NAVFOR registered four ships still in the hands of pirates. Since 2011 the number of hostages held dropped from a peak of 743 in January 2011 to 114 in December 2012,” he said.

However, Mühlen emphasized that the threat of piracy continues to exist. Ten days ago, the crew of Brandenburg boarded an Indian dhow which had been taken hostage by pirates. The pirates fled from the captured dhow as EU naval forces intervened from the air and sea.

“This event confirms that the piracy threat is still very real in the Indian Ocean. The deterrence and swift action by EU Naval Force once again denied the freedom of action to pirates,” he elaborated.

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Source: allafrica.com