The Hindu : National : “Pirates may hit back”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

“Pirates may hit back”

Staff Reporter

Kochi: The Navy has tightened security and its Western Command is working in tandem with other agencies in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks and its anti-piracy operations off Somalia.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Naval Command Vice-Admiral Sunil K. Damle told the media on Thursday: “The Navy’s decisive action against pirates off the Somali coast has brought us into the limelight and therefore we could be targeted by these elements which have fair amounts of illegal money.”

Vice-Admiral Damle said there was a possibility of pirates ‘encouraging’ bad elements by pumping money into their hands to target the Navy.

He said Malacca Straits had been the problem area earlier, but now it was the Red Sea, the eastern coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. The Navy took the lead and did something that was needed for long, he said.

The Vice-Admiral said the Navy had been relieved of Operation Tasha and Operation Swan, patrolling on the eastern and western coasts respectively. The Coast Guard ensured the security of India’s exclusive economic zone.

Asked about the security preparedness for the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) stopover here in early December, he said the race was the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism and the Cochin Port Trust. “Port security, Marine Police and the Coast Guard will take care of the security of the race, but we will help them. We are interested to participate in anything that has got a marine connotation. We will actively support the race by augmenting support ships, boats and helicopters. We will also have an off-shore sailing regatta from Kochi to Kavaratti when the next leg of VOR commences on December 13,” he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National

News Update

Stories in this Section