For the first time, a navy ship off the coast of Somalia has prevented pirates from taking to the seas. The operation was carried out last week by landing craft from the Dutch navy ship HNLMS Johan de Witt. Two pirate mother ships near the ports of Haradheere and Hobyo were intercepted by the navy and confiscated.

The Johan de Witt joined the European anti-pirate operation 'Atalanta' only last week. “After we arrived we searched the coast for pirate activity,” commanding officer of the navy amphibian transport ship, Captain Ben Bekkering tells Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

“Then we deployed two groups of the landing vessels some distance from the pirate camps and positioned the Johan de Witt as command platform in the middle. From this position we observed the pirate camps.”
 
“First we encountered a whaler, a pirate mother ship,” says Captain Bekkering. “When we entered the ship we found so much pirate gear that we confiscated it. Then another pirate whaler tried to get away and we managed to capture it.”
 
Intensive patrols
The new tactics are a reaction to a change in pirate activity. Somali pirates have moved their activities from the Gulf of Aden (which is intensively patrolled by international navies) to the Indian Ocean, up to 1500 sea miles from the coast. Captain Bekkering, “The arrival of the Johan de Witt, which unlike the other navy ships has landing craft, means we can use different tactics. Instead of waiting in the ocean for pirates to try their luck, we go to the areas where they come from to prevent them from sailing out. If they try anyway, we capture them.”
 
The captain says the navy ship will stay in position off the Somali coast to “keep the pressure on”.  The pirates who were captured have been released on the beaches after consultation with the Dutch Public Prosecution Office. Their boats have been confiscated.