Norfolk, VA ? Members of the US Navy 5th Fleet will soon be back on the water, in the pirate hunting business after the action taken recently in the United Nations.
Last Tuesday the United Nations voted overwhelmingly for a resolution that approves aggressive military action against the Pirates and criminals that are currently operating in the Somalia region.
The UN resolution gives different nations and their military forces the permission to conduct shore based and air raids against these Pirate bases that are disrupting and attacking ships in the region. There is also a plan to create a European-US backed Piracy court judicial system based in Kenya to prosecute those hijackers that are captured. This will lay the foundation for the new and increased Navy action.
?We will be aggressively pursuing these criminal pirates when the whole judicial and court system is finally in place,? said Vice Admiral Bill Gortney.
Vice Admiral Gortney is the top US Navy Admiral in the Middle East and Commander of the US Navy 5th Fleet.? ?Our sailors are learning that the different international governments, and international community is pulling together to put the legal framework in place so we can go after these criminals,? said Admiral Gortney.
?We will have rules or engagement, positive identification limits, basically all of the boundries which we need so we can bring these hijackers and criminals to justice,? said Admiral Gortney.