Anti-piracy Horn of Africa: International problem, regional approach, local solution

摘要

Piracy is a well-known problem in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa. Late 2008 the European Union launched the counter-piracy operation European Union Naval Force Somalia - Operation Atalanta and in August 2009, NATO's counter piracy mission Operation Ocean Shield came into force to help deter and disrupt pirate attacks, while protecting vessels and increasing the level of security in the region. The Netherlands takes part in both operations and Rear Admiral Ben Bekkering (at that time Commodore) of the Royal Netherlands Navy was Commander of the Ocean Shield Task Force from June to December 2012. According to him, piracy is an international problem that demands a regional approach to find a local solution: "Piracy might have started out as a Robin-Hood-like act, but has evolved into truly organised crime. By the time I took command in 2012, the tactics of the pirates changed: instead of attacking with small skiffs, they hijacked dhows, using them as mortherships, transporting their skiffs on board. This made it easier to approach vessels without being recognised as pirates. At the same time the number of hijacks decreased, a clear indication of an effective counter piracy campaign in being. More difficult to explain, however, was the reduced number of pirates going to sea in the first place. That explanation, we felt, required help from local communities and regional traders. Therefore we decided to move closer inshore."