The Coast Off Somalia Is Now Declared A War Zone

Gulf of Aden Declared Warlike Operations Area -- Information Dissemination

Catchy title? According to Lloyd List this morning:

British shipping employers and unions have agreed to declare the Gulf of Aden a warlike operations area, in a deal that will double the pay of seafarers on many ships operated from the UK while serving close to piracy prone Somalia.

Reuters also has some comments from Pottengal Mukundan, director of the London-based International Maritime Bureau regarding a desire to actually go to war with pirates, including some sage tactical advice.

"We want pre-emptive action against the mother ships before the pirates carry out a hijacking," said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, director of the London-based International Maritime Bureau, which monitors international piracy, referring to the ships pirates use as bases from which to launch attacks.

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My Comment: The insurers have been raising rates on ships that travel through this region for the past two years. Treating this entire region as a war zone .... which is now clearly the case .... only confirms what everyone now knows.

The result of these actions will be quickly felt by everyone in the region. No ship is going to pass within a minimum of 200 miles (or more) off the Somalia coast. As for ships bringing aid to Somalia ... this guarantees that they will now be brought in under heavy security.