Kenyan Navy News

Piracy off the Somali Coast falls to lowest levels in years as result of tough measures on land & at sea. As Kenyan Defense Forces continue to weaken Al-Shabaab on the ground in Somalia, new reports indicates Somali pirates off the coast have similarly been weakened this year. According to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Center, “The number of ships signaling attacks by Somali pirates has fallen this year [2012] to its lowest since 2009.” For example, only one ship has reported an attempted attack by Somali pirates from July 2012 to September 2012, compared with 36 incidents in the same three month period last year. Kenya has taken drastic action to combat piracy in the past decade.

Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, Det. 5, and Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8, Det. 4, are collaborating with Kenyan naval forces during a bilateral Edged Response training evolution, Oct. 9-19, in Manda Bay, Kenya. The 10-day training exercise encompasses a variety of subjects, including dive medicine, light-weight salvage recovery, and cutting and welding techniques, followed by practical applications. According to Williams, this is a great way for his divers to learn about different techniques and equipment, while expanding their working relationship with the Kenyan forces. Navy divers participating in the exercise say they are excited about working alongside the Kenyan navy divers.

Reuters has reported that the U.S. government on Friday gave the Kenyan Navy six boats to patrol its coastline and help combat terrorism. According to the report, the project, valued at $3m is a major initiative to help the government of Kenya combat insecurity and terrorism. The U.S. government has been helping African governments train and equip local troops to combat militants who Washington believes want to create safe havens in the continent's vast and hard-to-govern regions. Security experts say Kenya's porous borders and coastline could be exploited by militants posing a threat to U.S. interests and looking for a gateway into the continent through Kenya. Kenya has already witnessed a number of attacks -- the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of the U.S.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in conjunction with the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Police have jointly put up stringent security measures to ensure that all ships, and in particular cruise ships plying the Kenyan coastline waters, are safe, according to a recent Kenya Times report. The move was necessitated following the recent incident in which a tourist ship was attacked on its way to the Kenyan coast by Somali militiamen and had to divert to Seychelles. Among the security measures to be put in place include a radar station operated by the Kenyan Navy on the coastline capable of automatically identifying ships and will be in constant communication with port control stations, says the report.