US launches anti-piracy task force near Horn of Africa

09 January 2009 00:09  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US will launch an anti-piracy task force in mid-January to protect chemical and oil tankers near the Horn of Africa, naval officials said on Thursday.

Three ships including the USS San Antonio and two aircraft will fight piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, the US Fifth Fleet announced.

The new task force would focus exclusively on fighting Somalian pirates, who attacked more than 100 ships in 2008 and raked in an estimated $120m (€89m) in ransoms, according to the US Navy statement.

The task force is comprised only of US ships, though the US Navy statement said other nations were expected to announce their participation soon.

European naval vessels already patrol the Gulf of Aden, one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world. Last December, the EU dispatched a force of six ships to the region to escort trading and World Food Programme vessels to Somalia.

But US Vice Admiral Bill Gortney said international naval efforts will not end the piracy problem.

"The problem of piracy is and continues to be a problem that begins ashore and is an international problem that requires an international solution," Gortney said in the statement.

($1 = €0.74)

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By: Lane Kelley
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