Warships deploy in the Gulf of Aden as NATO makes war on piracy

THE North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has ordered its naval forces to suppress piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, said its secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
The announcement came as the world shipping industry officials pressed the United Nations to provide a resolution that would give international forces the power of arrest, convict and punish pirates, reported Lloyd's List.
"I believe that NATO can and must be a force for stability at sea as we have been on land," said Mr Scheffer.
The move will form part of wider push by the military alliance to re-establish maritime security as one of the core functions of NATO.
NATO will introduce a sophisticated intelligence network to work with the flotilla of frigates already deploying in the Gulf.
Existing naval operations in the Gulf are made up of destroyers from Italy and the United States, frigates from Germany, Greece, Turkey and Britain, and a German auxiliary vessel. The force is afflicted with differing and enervating rules of engagement that have limited their effectiveness.
Mr Scheffer still sees problems facing the new NATO fleet. "Who for instance will pay the price? But given the urgency of preventing lawlessness on the high seas and the need to ensure oil and gas deliveries there is clearly a role for NATO to play," he said.
But the NATO fleet will have a clearer command structure, and Mr Scheffer felt that the new maritime intelligence network would prove useful in tracking pirates using the latest technology.
"It will also allow us to share much more data with our navies and the national authorities in coastal areas," he said.
NATO and the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) are attempting to establish language of the mandate that would establish a legal jurisdiction to arrest and convict and punish pirates.
Lloyd's chairman Lord Peter Levene also met UK's Ministry of Defence officials to discuss the recent piracy surge, which is understood to have cost over US$100 million in ransom payments.
"We hope that the combination of EU and NATO action here can mirror the success of the Malacca Strait, which proved the value of international co-operation," Lord Levene said.