Things the Navy does

Following on Babbling's post below, some real action:

Canadian Forces patrolling near Somalia have saved a commercial vessel from a pirate attack.

Crew on HMCS Calgary received a broken distress call yesterday morning from a vessel that had come under small-arms fire. As the Canadian warship changed its direction and sped toward the attackers, the ship's Sea King was redirected toward the pirates to gather information, a release from the Department of Defence said.

When the Sea King arrived on the scene, the chopper crew spotted two small boats that appeared to be armed near the merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, located about 120 kilometres off the coast of Somalia.

"I am convinced that the presence of our aircraft drove them away from the traffic lanes and prevented any further attack today on merchant shipping in the area," said the frigate's commanding officer, Cmdr. Kelly Larkin.

The Gulf of Aden has been a hot spot for pirate attacks recently.

The International Maritime Bureau, which works to make shipping safer around the world, has issued a "piracy alert" about the area.

"Six attacks, including two hijackings, have been reported by vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden" since May 19, says the alert. "Pirates are firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades in an attempt to board and hijack vessels."

The alert advises all vessels in the area to take "additional precautionary measures and maintain strict 24-hour anti-piracy watch using all available means."

Crews are warned to look out for "small, suspicious boats converging" on the vessel.

The maritime bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre has received complaints of 31 actual and attempted attacks in Somalian waters during 2007. Many more attacks may have gone unreported.

"Pirates are believed to be using 'mother vessels' to launch attacks at very far distance from the coast. These mother vessels are able to proceed to very far out to sea to launch smaller boats to attack and hijack passing ships," the bureau says.

HMCS Calgary is one of three Canadian warships participating in Operation Altair, Canada's maritime contribution to the campaign against terrorism.

The question is, if a Canadian ship was not there, would there be another NATO ship in the area to do the job? I believe there would be. Is it Canada's job to be fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden?