Spain will direct two ships to the fight against Somali pirates

The Spanish Ministry of Defense plans to send two ships to fight with piracy off the coast of Somali, on which there will be 395 military personnel. This was announced during a speech in the country's parliament on Wednesday by the Minister of Defense Karme Chakon.

According to ITAR-TASS, the minister turned to the Congress of Deputies (lower house of parliament) with a request to allow the Spanish military personnel as part of the EU mission to participate in the pan-European operation to combat the Atalanta naval piracy.

Almost all political forces presented in the Spanish parliament, including the opposition national party, spoke out in support of the participation of Spain in this EU mission.

In case of approval of this initiative and the Council of Ministers, this Friday, the Spanish frigate Victoria with 200 military personnel on board will go to the shores of Somalia.

Later, the Victoria will join the oil tanker “Marquis de Enesenade” with 114 military, which will provide fuel of the court involved in the operation.

Chacon also confirmed that from April to August the operation “Atalanta” will be the commander of the flagship “Victoria” Juan Garat Karama, RIA Novosti reports.

The Minister also noted that the Atalanta operation is complicated by the political chaos prevailing in Somalia and the dramatic humanitarian situation in this African country.

Over the past six months, several Spanish fishing ships have been attacked by pirates. According to Chacon, currently Somali pirates hold 13 ships with 242 hostages on board.

In April 2008, the pirates captured and held for six days, before receiving ransom, the Spanish fishing vessel Playa de Bakio. In early September, the Playa de Antzoras ship barely avoided the capture of 300 miles from the Somali coast. The fishermen managed to get away from the pirates only thanks to the onset of darkness.

Since the end of September, 90 Spanish military personnel have been in the operation zone. They serve the flights of the P3-Orion reconnaissance aircraft, the place of registration of which is the French military base in Djibuti.

At the end of October last year, the crew of the aircraft managed to prevent the capture of the Somali pirates of the Panama tanker.

The Ministry of Defense intends to spend on fighting pirates from 3.7 to 5.1 million euros per month. These funds will be allocated from that part of the budget of the department, which is provided for conducting international operations and participating in peacekeeping missions. At the moment, the Spanish military are involved in five missions outside the country: in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Chade and Lebanon.