The right to safe passage at sea

Leaving their families for six months may be tough but the men and women on board the US warship, USS Laboon, remain enthusiastic about their mission to counter piracy off Somalia.

The warship, on her way to join a multi-national mission in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia, sailed in two days ago and leaves tomorrow.

“We have seen a lot but there was a lot of excitement to visit a place with so much history,” said Commanding Officer Donald Donegan, adding that, although the ship had not stopped at the island before, the crew had friends who did.

The ship will be making another stop before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden, where it will take part in its third counter-piracy mission in four years.

“Hundreds of ships traverse the Suez Canal and they should have safe passage but the pirates have been very successful, capturing ships and demanding ransom,” said Executive Officer Jonathan Russell.

The mission, dubbed Operation Ocean Shield, is run by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and goes hand-in-hand with the European Union’s Operation Atlanta.

A detachment from the Armed Forces of Malta just arrived from the area two months ago and the members will now share their experiences with the US Navy during the ship’s stay.

“Piracy is constantly developing, so we will hold roundtable discussions with the Charlie Company so they can share the lessons they learnt and what they encountered,” said Cdr Donegan.

“Piracy has been around for hundreds of years and we cannot make it go away completely, but we can put a stop to it in the area,” he said.

During their stay, the crew members have also volunteered to take part in a beach clean-up at Selmun Bay together with the Marsa open centre.

The ship, berthed at Pinto Wharf, will not be open to the public for security reasons.