Seychelles, Spain to join hands in fighting Somali piracy

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Seychelles, Spain to join hands in fighting Somali piracy

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Spanish Defense Minister Carcem Chacon and Seychelles Interior Security Minister Joel Morgan signed a "Declaration of Intention" to fight Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean waters, local media reported on Thursday. The signing ceremony took place in the Spanish capital Madrid on Wednesday, witnessed by Seychelles President James Michel and his host Spanish Prime Minister Luis Zapatero. On Wednesday, Michel ended his two-day official visit to Spain at the invitation of Zapatero. The signing of the document is a very important step in the fight against the piracy and it comes at the onset of northeast monsoon winds which promote piracy activities. Piracy is a threat to some maritime routes in the Indian Ocean, which are mostly used by the Seychelles to import merchandise. Owing to piracy, the cost of maritime insurance has gone up hence making imported products very expensive in Mauritius. Spanish tuna fishing boats in the Indian Ocean waters have become a target for the Somali pirates. Last year, pirates launched 200 attacks on vessels in the waters with a success rate of 34 percent. They managed to get 50 million U. S. dollars in ransom. In one of the cases, a Spanish tuna boat with 36 crew members on board were captured last year. They were released after the payment of 4 million dollars.