Hulking gray naval frigates fanned out across the Gulf of Aden have combined with monsoon storms to sharply reduce pirate attacks in the world’s busiest shipping lanes in recent weeks.

But the commanding officer of the European Union armada warned Tuesday
that it is too early to declare victory over heavily armed Somali
pirates in tiny, fast-moving skiffs.

“This is not a thing where we can say ‘job done,’” Rear Admiral Peter
Hudson said on the sidelines of an EU defense ministers’ meeting.

Hudson’s warning came as EU officials hailed their anti-piracy flotilla
as a resounding success, saying it has helped shepherd hundreds of
thousands of tons of World Food Program aid to starving Somalis and
foiled 100 pirate attacks since it began patrolling the Gulf nine
months ago.

The EU is joined patrolling the region by the United States, which has
been at the forefront of fighting piracy, and NATO, Japan, South Korea,
and China.

On Saturday, Turkish marines operating under NATO command captured
seven pirates before they could attack two Panamanian-flagged
freighters.

Earlier this year, U.S. Navy snipers from the USS Bainbridge killed
three Somali pirates holding hostage the American captain of the Maersk
Alabama cargo ship, which had been captured April 8 off Somalia.

And just a month ago, pirates opened fire at a helicopter from the
American guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville as it flew over a
Taiwanese ship being held hostage near the Somali port of Hobyo.

The EU mission, originally slated to last one year, has been extended by a further 12 months to end in December 2010.

Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop visited the Dutch ship
currently commanding the EU fleet over the weekend and also praised the
naval effort, which helps protect an estimated 35,000 merchant ships
that ply the Gulf each year.

But Van Middelkoop cautioned that some merchant ships continue to try
to slip through the pirate-infested waters unprotected rather than wait
to join a convoy with naval escort, figuring that any delay in
delivering their freight will cost them money.

“We can’t be responsible for them,” Van Middelkoop said. “I would
appeal to them: Please don’t do it, it is much more responsible to take
a certain financial loss and arrive safely than risk being hijacked.”

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden soared as the rule of law crumbled in
Somalia and organized criminal gangs ramped up the lucrative business
of holding ships, their crews and cargos to ransom.

Choppy seas whipped up by monsoon storms largely confine the small
skiffs to their home ports during the summer months, but Hudson said
that the monsoon season is nearly finished and with it will end the
lull in pirate attacks.

“So it’s not victory — far from it — but we’ve had a good period of
weather that has been supportive of us,” he said. “The weather is now
back on the side of the pirates and I would expect to see activity
increase.”

There have been 169 pirate attacks reported off the Horn of Africa this
year, including 35 successful hijackings, according to Risk
Intelligence, a Danish-based maritime security firm that has tracked
pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa since 2004. In all of 2008 there
were 46 hijackings in 141 attempts, said Hans Tino Hansen, the
company’s director.

He said that since May there have only been 37 attacks, five of them
successful. “The EU has done a great job, but the recent dive has
mostly been due to weather conditions,” Hansen said.

EU defense ministers meeting in this Swedish port city of Goteborg on
Tuesday said they would look into training Somali security forces in
either Djibouti or Uganda as a way of boosting the bloc’s eight-ship
anti-piracy flotilla. France already is running a training camp in
Djibouti.

“Piracy is not going to be solved at sea alone,” Hudson said. “The solution to piracy … rests in Somalia.”

What to do with captured pirates remains a vexing issue among the
world’s navies. Many have been transported to Kenya for trial, and the
Dutch — who are prosecuting five pirates captured by a Danish ship —
are keen to have an international piracy tribunal in the country.

Hudson said the EU also is close to finalizing a deal with the
Seychelles for that country to take custody of captured pirates. Even
so, some pirates just have their weapons and equipment destroyed and
are then released back onto dry land in Somalia.

Part of the success of the EU mission is its cooperation with other navies, Hudson said.

European commanders swap information with other ships to ensure the
best possible coverage of the vast area and alert one another to
attacks.

“Exchanging tactical information with the (Chinese navy), is not
something we expected to be doing a year ago,” Hudson said. “But we are
now doing it and China is involved in our secure chat rooms, we
exchange tactical information.”

Source: Associated Press

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