Yemen ready to cooperate with Russian Navy in fight against piracy

26.02.2009
Yemen is ready to assist Russian ships in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a meeting in the Kremlin.

Yemen is ready to provide the incentives Russian ships need in their fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa. "The question of the fight against pirates is very important to Sanaa," said the Yemeni president. He added that a regional center meant to solve questions related to the fight against pirates has been created in his country. The center has been created to ensure safe sea navigation and strengthen international peace, Salleh said.

Approximately 10% of all world sea navigation and more than 30% of all oil shipped by sea go through the Gulf of Aden. Sea piracy took on a new dimension off the Somali coast in 2008: approximately 50 ships were captured, including the biggest in the entire history of piracy; the Saudi oil tanker Sirius Star, with 2 million barrels of oil. The Ukrainian dry cargo ship Faina was also captured with a cargo of arms. Pirates were able to pocket tens of millions of dollars in ransom money in 2008 alone. Somali pirates have captured 4 boats so far in 2009. Russia, the U.S., EU, and other countries have dispatched warships in the Gulf of Aden to help stem piracy there. The Russian escort ship Neustrashimy patrolled the region from October 2008 to January 2009. It was replaced by the heavy antisubmarine ship of the Russian Pacific Fleet Admiral Vinogradov.

Picture: www.the-two-malcontents.com
Translation: RusNavy.com