EU to launch first anti-piracy operation

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EU to launch first anti-piracy operation

(CNN) -- The European Union will launch its first naval operation

Tuesday, protecting vessels from pirate attacks off the coast of

Somalia, EU policy chief Solana announced Monday.

EU foreign ministers approved the mission during their regular

meeting in Brussels on Monday. Solana said the operation is " very

important " because EU vessels will be operating " in a place in the

world that everybody's looking at because of the new problems related

to piracy. "

" It's very important that we have taken that decision to launch it

tomorrow, " he added.

The EU naval force will take over the role of escorting United

Nations World Food Program vessels carrying food and relief supplies

to war-torn Somalia, an EU news release said.

Its mandate, which is spelled out in several U.N. Security Council

resolutions, also will include " the protection of vulnerable vessels

cruising off the Somali coast, and the deterrence, prevention and

repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast, "

the news release stated.

The deployment follows a decision by the European Council in

September that established a coordination cell that supported

surveillance and protection operations by several member states off

the Somali coast.

Piracy has become increasingly common in that area this year,

particularly in the Gulf of Aden. So far, pirates have attacked

almost 100 vessels off Somalia's coast and successfully hijacked

nearly 40, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Those hijacked vessels include an enormous oil tanker, a chemical

tanker, and a ship laden with Soviet-era arms, including tanks. The

pirates normally hold the ships for ransom.

The Somali-based pirates have extended their reach beyond Somalia's

coastline. On Saturday, a Dutch-operated container ship outran

pirates off the coast of Tanzania, an IMB official told CNN.

A luxury cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew

successfully outran pirates off the coast of Yemen last weekend.

A multinational fleet -- including vessels from the United States,

NATO member states, Russia and India -- has been patrolling the

Indian Ocean waters near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea

and the Arabian Sea. Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and

merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year.

In a recent interview provided to CNN, a pirate leader claimed

attacks on shipping would continue so long as life in Somalia

remained desperate.

" The pirates are living between life and death, " said the pirate

leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. " Who can stop them?

Americans and British all put together cannot do anything. "