Netherlands won't put military guards on ships
02.07.2009
The Dutch parliament has agreed to a decision by the country's defence
minister not to put armed soldiers on Dutch ships travelling through
the high-risk piracy zone off the Somali coast.
Eimert van Middelkoop
was willing, he said, to ask the commander of the EU's anti-piracy
mission to allow a Dutch frigate to escort especially vulnerable ships,
those with a low freeboard and whose speed was less than 10 knots.
This
would apply to "six to eight ships" per year. Van Middelkoop opposes
the placement of military personnel on civilian ships due to the
uncertain legal implications, the costs and the risk of escalating
violence from pirates.