Faced with rising piracy problem, Navy is taking fight to Africa

NORFOLK

In just two weeks, a new U.S. Navy anti-piracy effort has picked up a pair of allies - the weather and a nation willing to accept captured pirates.

Choppy seas have discouraged piracy attempts since the Navy established the force, known as Combined Task Force 151, two weeks ago. The U.S. also has reached a preliminary agreement with Kenya to accept captured pirates, said Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, commander of the task force.

The Navy established the task force as piracy attempts in the Gulf of Aden continued to grow and Chinese and Russian navy ships moved to guard merchant vessels.

The U.S. task force is coordinating efforts with 14 nations, said McKnight, a Norfolk native in charge of both the force and Norfolk-based Expeditionary Strike Group Two. The navies have established a corridor along the Gulf of Aden to make it easier to protect merchant ships, he said.

Piracy attacks rose at an unprecedented rate in 2008, according to an annual report issued last week by the International Maritime Bureau. Reported incidents grew 11 percent, to 263 worldwide.

More than one-third of the attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia. The incidents peaked with 19 attacks in September, including the high-profile seizure of a Ukrainian freighter ship carrying weapons. That ship is still being held by pirates waiting for their ransom demands to be met.

The Navy's new task force is operating with the amphibious ship San Antonio and destroyer Mahan, both based at Norfolk Naval Station.

On Monday, the San Antonio's crew discovered artillery shells aboard an Iranian charter boat in the Red Sea, according to CBS News, raising concerns about the intended recipient of the munitions. Navy officials requested assistance from Egypt to perform another search of the ship, according to reports from CBS and The Associated Press.

A Navy spokesman declined to comment on the report.

The anti-piracy operation is being coordinated from the San Antonio, which is making its maiden voyage. The ship spent a month in the shipyard in Bahrain to fix oil leaks shortly into its deployment.

McKnight said the ship's communications systems, helicopter air wing and Marines make it an ideal ship to command anti-piracy operations. The ship also includes a Coast Guard law enforcement unit and a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent to collect and preserve evidence to be used against suspected pirates.

"It's really a law enforcement operation," he said.

McKnight has been meeting with European navy officers to coordinate efforts. Kenyan assistance will be important, he added.

Captured pirates have often been released back to their native Somalia, where they face no punishment because the government has collapsed, he said. Kenya has agreed to a framework for holding suspects, and lawyers are working on the details.

The international cooperation has come about through common goals, he said. "We want free commerce throughout the world."

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com