• 4 comments
• Print
• Email
• Tweet
• Reset

Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa held a joint anti-piracy operation last week that resulted in the arrest of 12 pirates targeting oil exploration vessels in the Indian Ocean.

The multilateral operation took place on Wednesday (April 18th) after the Tanzania Peoples' Defence Force (TPDF) received information from security partners, TPDF Naval Operations and Training Officer Colonel Abdallah Mwemnjudi told Sabahi.

Since Tanzania started anti-piracy operations in 2010, it has arrested 35 pirates, but this was the country's first joint operation, Mwemnjudi said.

"When we received the information, we called our colleagues from South Africa and Mozambique. We also sent the message to the EU piracy command in the Horn of Africa," Mwemnjudi said. "Spain dispatched their warship immediately, and jointly we ambushed the Somali pirates."

Mwemnjudi said the pirates were arrested in two separate boats. Security forces recovered six Sri Lankan hostages, three submachine guns, about a thousand rounds of ammunition and a ladder used to climb ships.

He said the pirates had held the hostages for about six months. "The hostages were weak because they were underfed … [the pirates'] main target was to abduct oil exploration ships in Mtwara in search of a ransom," he told Sabahi.

Seven Somali pirates were arrested in the same area near Mtwara last year. They said they had been targeting oil-exploration ships owned by Brazilian petroleum company Petrobras, according to Mwemnjudi.

In January, Tanzania signed an agreement with Mozambique and South Africa to join forces and allow signatories to chase pirates beyond their own territorial borders.

Mwemnjudi said that before the agreement, pirates were protected by international maritime law, which did not allow military units to cross territorial waters when chasing pirates.

Under the agreement, pirates who are spotted in off the coast of South Africa or Mozambique can be chased to Tanzanian waters without prior notice, and vice versa. In addition, signatory countries share security information and hold joint training sessions to harmonise operations, Mwemnjudi said.

He said Tanzania is currently negotiating with Kenya to sign an agreement.

The TPDF also works jointly with the European Union, India, China and other countries by sharing information.

"Previously, when [pirates] abducted a ship, we remained bystanders. But now, on three occasions, India has attacked pirates on abducted ships and this has instilled fear in them," Mwemnjudi said. "The Indian Ocean now is safer, compared to the past."

Assistant Police Commissioner Fortunatus Musilimu, who heads the Police Force Marine Command, told Sabahi that police will interrogate the suspects. "We received them yesterday, and now it is our role as police to start the investigation in order to establish their connection and level of involvement," he said.

He said after the investigation, the suspects will stand trial in court.

Martine Nyambele, operations manager for LAZ Tanzania Limited, which processes goods that come through Dar es Salaam's port, said that since Tanzania started joint operations, imports and exports have increased by 60%.

Nyambele said that 60% of the port's business serves the landlocked nations of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Zambia. Before the agreement, pirate activity negatively affected the amount of business these countries routed through Tanzania.

"When piracy increased, the cost of insurance and freight went up unreasonably," Nyambele told Sabahi. "The risk was too high that many stopped business, but now we are back in business."