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Nations step up piracy patrols in Gulf of Aden

NORFOLK, Va. — Things are about to get even more intense in the Gulf of Aden, already a perennial global hotspot, as U.S. and allied naval forces clamp down on piracy in the troubled waters.

U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain announced the establishment of a maritime security patrol area in the waters between the coasts of Somalia and Yemen; the area will be patrolled by allied naval forces under Combined Task Force 150.

A natural chokepoint for maritime traffic, pirates have stepped up commercial ship hijacking in the area. The Yemeni port of Aden was where the Norfolk-based destroyer Cole was bombed by suicide terrorists Oct. 12, 2000, and nearly sunk; the explosion killed 17 sailors and wounded 39.

Since then, U.S. warships have mixed it up regularly with pirates, many operating out of lawless Somalia.

Cmdr. Jane Campbell, public affairs officer at 5th Fleet, said the patrol area could be described roughly as a rectangular shape over the Gulf of Aden, with a constant allied naval presence. “The number will vary, but we’ll have ships on station,” she said. “This is not a long-term solution; it’s a short-term, focused operation.”

Along with surface patrols, shore-based aircraft, shipborne helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles also will keep a weather eye on the Gulf of Aden.

CTF 150, set up under Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001, includes naval forces from France, Germany, Pakistan, the U.S., the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and other allied nations. The task force is responsible for maritime security from the Red Sea down the east coast of Africa and into the Arabian Sea toward Pakistan and India, until the area of responsibility shifts to Pacific Fleet forces.

Operations focus on combating piracy and interdicting weapons smuggling, human trafficking and drug-running.

The new campaign will provide a “concentrated look” at who comes and goes in the area, Campbell said, with forces constantly on watch for hijackers.

In June 2007, the dock landing ship Carter Hall chased down the pirated Danish cargo ship Danica White, destroying several towed skiffs. But the crew was unable to stop the ship before it slipped out of international waters into Somali territory, a country lacking a viable national government. It’s that sort of complication that the new patrol aims to overcome, Campbell said.

The campaign also focuses on what happens ashore in those situations, she said, such as how money is transferred for ransoms.

The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy at sea around the world, issued to mariners an Aug. 26 warning of increased activity in the Gulf of Aden because four ships had been hijacked in the previous two days. There have been 176 pirate incidents in 2008 around the world, according to the IMB; 19 took place in the Gulf of Aden.