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THE new commander of the crack anti-piracy taskforce based in Bahrain is all set for a stormy few months ahead tackling the ruthless raiders of the high seas.
Experts fear easing monsoon winds and good visibility could allow a new surge of attacks in the coming days.
US Navy Rear Adm. Scott Sanders assumed command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 in a ceremony held aboard the coalition counter-piracy flagship USS Anzio (CG 68) while pier-side in Bahrain.
Rear Adm. Scott relieved Turkish Navy Rear Adm. Caner Bener and heralded the Turkish Navy's first command of a CTF as a success.
"Rear Adm. Bener and his staff of Turkish, US, Pakistani, Greek and UK sailors have made huge strides, not only in combating piracy, but also in fostering international coordination and the relationships that are crucial to the mission," said Rear Adm. Sanders.
"The capture of 17 armed and dangerous men and their mother-ship, the first pirate mother-ship ever captured, demonstrated the ability of CTF 151 to effectively execute counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia."
However, he is well aware of the potential storm arising and is confident that CTF 151 staff, comprised of personnel from multiple nations, can form a cohesive team to tackle any challenge.
The Turkish Navy assumed command of CTF 151 in early May, relieving US Navy Rear Adm Howard and her staff following the successful rescue of Capt Richard Phillips of the US-flagged merchant vessel, Maersk Alabama.
"As a result of cooperative counter-piracy operations there has been a considerable decrease in piracy activities in the region," said Rear Adm Bener. "Commercial shipping cannot underestimate its own power to prevent and defend against pirate attack."
The Turkish Navy chief, however, was likely to have been highlighting standard safety measures such as removing ladders and making evasive manoeuvres against the fast boarding vessels many pirate gangs use rather than the full out assault undertaken by one group of angry fishermen last week.
The crews of two Egyptian fishing vessels have escaped from Somali pirates after overpowering their captors and killing two of them. The kidnappers had held the 34 fishermen hostage since hijacking the Momtaz 1 and Samara Ahmed in April and declined a $200,000 offer to release them.
Gunmen from the failed Horn of Africa state have made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from attacks in the strategic Gulf of Aden and were holding out for more money.
The Egyptians escaped last Thursday after seizing weapons. Two pirates were killed in a shoot-out, several were captured and one was rescued after being stabbed and thrown into the sea.
In another blow to the pirates, police in Somalia's northern region of Puntland arrested six suspected raiders who were preparing to launch attacks from a coastal village. They also seized a mother ship, five speed boats, spare boat engines, weapons and ammunition, ladders for boarding vessels and a truck loaded with fuel.
The police commander said the raid, which came hours after the Puntland authorities met with military officials from the anti-piracy force off the Somali coast, was part of a range of measures discussed during that meeting.
Puntland is a self-proclaimed Somali state where the Horn of Africa juts out into the ocean and commands access to one of the world's busiest and most strategic maritime routes.
The majority of the hundreds of attacks carried out by pirates against merchant vessels in the region over the past two years were launched from Puntland.
With no more than six ships still in pirate hands, the sea-jacking crisis has ebbed to its lowest level in more than a year.
It could be a lull before the storm and CTF 151, which was formed in January, says it is actively ready to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy in order to protect global maritime security and secure freedom of navigation for the benefit of all nations.
Although based in Bahrain the sailors operate in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia, covering an area of approximately 1.1 million square miles.
"While the ultimate solution to the problem of piracy is ashore in Somalia, the combined maritime force made the decision to focus coalition maritime efforts on security and stability at sea in order to create a lawful maritime order and deter acts of piracy on the high seas while giving the international community time to address the long-term solution of piracy," said Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, Commander, US Naval Forces Central Command and Combined Maritime Forces.
