NATO Plans Tougher Action against Somali Pirates

NATO's military planners and legal experts are developing a comprehensive operation plan for a new anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, with an anticipated launch date in June, a senior NATO source told Jane'sDefenceWeekly.

In contrast to the first NATO foray into piracy deterrence off the coast of Somalia, the new operation will be planned and force-generated, with substantial assets at its disposal, including maritime patrol aircraft and the possibility of close-to-shore patrol vessels.

The current NATO deployment has sent five ships - from Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United States - into the region, where it operates alongside vessels from countries including Iran, China and Russia.

The new mission will have a more aggressive approach, targeting the 'mother ships' that support the high-speed fishing boats that pirates have used to attack 114 ships in 2009 - successfully in 29 cases, according to the International Maritime Bureau. "It's not a matter of simply putting more ships on the ocean," said the source. "We have to use them more efficiently and in a different way." The new NATO mission also seeks to establish a common set of rules governing the capture, handover and detention of pirates.

Source:Ecoterra, May 18, 2009

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