Security Needed off Somali Coast and the Gulf of Aden as Piracy Situation Worsens

摘要

The waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for some 17 years and plagued by insecurity, are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world. Heavily-armed Somali pirates, some operating from larger mother ships, have hijacked more than 30 vessels off the Horn of Africa country this year alone. The sea-lane in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal and is critical to Gulf oil shipments. The ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre largely unpatrolled coastline, despite the presence of Western navies deployed in the wider region to fight terrorism.