2010-09-02
Light Rain Shower
Now: 13°C
RSS-feed Subscribe via RSS


News

Swedish force to Somalia lack proper protection

National News | 2009-05-09 | 4 comments

Swedish Navy now in Gulf of Aden.
Photo: Marcus Olsson, Försvarsmakten
The Swedish Navy has now deployed two corvettes and one support ship in Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden. As from May 15 will they take action against pirates and protect UN food transports in the area. But the ships lack protection against even the simple weapons used by the pirates.

Military sources tell newspaper Svenska Dagbladet that it is possible to penetrate the hulk of the ships with the common automatic carbines Kalashnikov or the anti-tank grenade weapon RPG-7.

”Sure, it is possible to shoot through certain areas where the hulk is thin. Therefore is it important to take actions in order to minimise that risk”, confirms Magnus Jönsson, chief commander of the force.

The reason is that the corvettes were built to strike from distant ranges with missiles, canons or torpedoes. Heavy, protecting, plate armour is not possible to combine with the demand of small, light and speedy ships.

Machine-gunners have been given extra
protection. Photo:Sergeant Johan Lundahl,
Försvarets Bildbyrå

To intervene against pirates from short distance is a new task, resembling police work. Because of this has especially vulnerable personal, as for example machine-gunners, an improved protection. But it is seen as impossible to totally protect the whole of the corvettes.

Instead has a heavy machine-gun been mounted on aft deck. Also the support ship has been given a better near distance protection with four heavy machine-guns.

“Our weapons give us a far better range than what potential pirates have. We expect to solve problems on this range. If we walk into any trouble will we adopt our behaviour onboard, we will remove people from the deck and put on body armour also inside of the ship”, Magnus Jönsson explains.

At both corvettes is their a smaller boat manned with an especially trained protection force from the 1st Marine Regiment. It will be them who will approach and investigate suspected pirates while the corvettes cover them on distance with machine-guns and snipers.

Facts

Sweden participates under EU flag in the military operation Atalanta during four months. The mission is to protect vital UN food transports to Somalia and to prevent piracy. The operation is carried out with support of UN resolutions and it is allowed to use violence.

The Swedish contribution will cost SEK 258 million.

If Swedish forces arrest pirates will they be sent to Kenya where legal proceedings will then take place.

David Jonasson
david.jonasson@stockholmnews.com

       Print Print article

Readers' comments

2009-05-13 04:08 buddy summers wrote:
The Swedish Navy is wrong for telling the world of its short commings. Why don´t you just send a row boat with a sling shot......
2009-05-13 03:04 Christina wrote:
Jay, Are you concerned about the pirates´ human rights?, maybe they should be brought to Sweden and given social benefits and free education, maybe they can stay at your house. By the way, if Somalia was in any kind of shape to take of the pirates this would not be such a major problem, but Somalia is a quasi lawless country, Kenya is the next best place. Piracy is an international crime, punishable by international law.
2009-05-12 17:50 UlfT wrote:
Jay, I just think they should be blessed, beatified and greeted. Are you talking about Pirate Bay? Somalia has no institutions for trial, correction, or even computers...
2009-05-12 14:35 Jay Austin Moore wrote:
I do not understand why captured pirates would be sent to Kenya: Is this not a violation of human rights ????


Write a comment

All comments are reviewed by the moderator before they are posted. Only comments in English written in a respectable tone will be published.
Read a full description of our policy for comments.



Name:
  

Latest headlines




Question

Sweden recently decided to start taking admission fees for non-EU students starting in the fall semester 2011. What do you think of this?

News in short
TODAY
2010-09-01
2010-08-31
2010-08-30
2010-08-28

More...
Reader's comment
Stockholm Calendar
Sep 3
Sep 5 - Sep 11
Sep 7
Sep 12
Sep 16
Sep 17
Sep 19
Sep 22
Oct 8 - Oct 9
Oct 20 - Oct 22
Oct 27
Oct 29 - Oct 30
Nov 13 - Nov 14
Nov 26 - Nov 28