Eldritch
06-29-2010, 11:55 PM
Somalia agrees to establish coastguard to battle piracy threat
The four state-like entities comprising Somalia have agreed to collaborate on the development of a coastguard to assist in counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa.
Several hundred million dollars – by some estimates as much as USD8 billion – have been spent on security-related concerns in Somalia but nothing has been specifically allocated to coastguard capacity-building.
Representatives of the four administrative regions met to discuss coastal monitoring and have drawn up a wish list for procurement and infrastructure developments as well as a training programme for conscripts working in inland waters. The latter have been plagued by overfishing and toxic dumping, precipitating the piracy crisis that has affected international shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Currently, only Somaliland has a substantive coastguard capability, according to Simon Jones, chief executive of Triton International, a maritime security firm providing support and training to the Somaliland government. Puntland, the other semi-autonomous region in Somalia's north, has also developed a modest coastguard capacity, which recaptured a Panamanian-flagged vessel in early June that had earlier been seized by pirates.
Link. (http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jni/jni100628_1_n.shtml)
In other words, problem solved. :coffee:
The four state-like entities comprising Somalia have agreed to collaborate on the development of a coastguard to assist in counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa.
Several hundred million dollars – by some estimates as much as USD8 billion – have been spent on security-related concerns in Somalia but nothing has been specifically allocated to coastguard capacity-building.
Representatives of the four administrative regions met to discuss coastal monitoring and have drawn up a wish list for procurement and infrastructure developments as well as a training programme for conscripts working in inland waters. The latter have been plagued by overfishing and toxic dumping, precipitating the piracy crisis that has affected international shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Currently, only Somaliland has a substantive coastguard capability, according to Simon Jones, chief executive of Triton International, a maritime security firm providing support and training to the Somaliland government. Puntland, the other semi-autonomous region in Somalia's north, has also developed a modest coastguard capacity, which recaptured a Panamanian-flagged vessel in early June that had earlier been seized by pirates.
Link. (http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jni/jni100628_1_n.shtml)
In other words, problem solved. :coffee: