July 24, 2009 -The European Union's anti-piracy force will move some surveillance aircraft further south from the Gulf of Aden to help counter the spread of Somali pirates into Indian Ocean waters, the force's operation commander said.

He plans to rotate some of the surveillance aircraft — currently in Djibouti at the western end of the Gulf of Aden — into Kenya's Mombasa port, following a series of high-level meetings over piracy with Kenyan officials. The move will increase the aircraft's range by hundreds of miles. 

France, Germany and Spain have aircraft based in Djibouti, as do Japan and the United States. The U.S. also used unmanned drones to monitor maritime traffic and potential pirate activity. The aircraft support around 30 warships in the Gulf of Aden that escort food shipments to Somalia and patrol a designated corridor for commercial shipping.

Kenyan military spokesman Bogita Ongeri said he could not give details of the discussions, but that Kenya was eager to help stop piracy.

"Many of our East African neighbors depend on Mombasa port for their goods," he said. "We will work with anyone to secure our trade and stop the pirates."

Hundreds of attacks have been carried out this year already — including one on a Yemeni oil tanker pursued by 14 boats on Tuesday — and around a dozen ships are still held in Somalia. Hudson said it appeared negotiations were taking longer than previously as insurance companies hardened their stance, and there was a risk the pirates might take out their frustration on their captives.

When the Dutch Antilles-flagged Marathon was released recently, the ship had been internally gutted. One Ukrainian crew member was killed in the attack and another was injured, although the circumstances of the injury were unclear.(from AP - click to go to the source)