The Netherlands has agreed to a NATO request for a submarine to help fight piracy in the Indian Ocean, outgoing Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop announced, while visiting a Dutch Navy patrol in the Gulf of Aden. The Netherlands is participating in Atalanta, a European Union operation to prevent merchant ships being hijacked by Somali pirates.

The Dutch submarine will join a NATO flotilla in late September, and contribute to the organisation's Ocean Shield anti-piracy mission until December. The submarine carries sensitive monitoring equipment which will be helpful in gathering information about the pirates. The cost of using the submarine, estimated at 2.3 million euros, will be carried by the Dutch foreign ministry.
 

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