EU mobilises anti-piracy task force

The fight against international piracy moved up another notch last week as the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on piracy and the European Union mobilised its new naval task force for deployment off the east coast of Africa. The Security Council’s resolution 1848 legally backs naval forces and military aircraft patrolling pirate-infested waterways, especially the Gulf of Aden. It calls for the “seizure and disposition of boats, vessels, arms used, or suspected of being used,” for piracy. The EU’s new anti-piracy drive, dubbed Atalanta, was to kick off with the first vessels arriving off Africa on Monday, December 8, the remainder to follow during the course of this month. It remains unclear how many vessels are involved. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), which already has three warships escorting food aid vessels from Mombasa to Somalia, is gravely concerned at the greater sophistication and tactics of pirates, for example attacking unsuspecting vessels much further out to sea. Put simply, says Nato, piracy has become a major threat of on a scale that could impact the global economy. The Association of Independent Tankers and independent tankers owners are calling for a military blockade off the Somalia coast to intercept pirates heading out to sea.