Piracy back with reduction of commerce through Red Sea: Italian Naval official

Panaji: The diversion of most shipping traffic from the Red Sea through the Cape of Good Hope has led to the resurgence of piracy, a senior Italian Navy official said on Friday.

Vice Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, commander in chief of the Italian Fleet including aircraft carrier Cavour, told reporters in Vasco, Goa, that the Indian Navy has been doing an excellent job in the Indian Ocean.

Owing to the threat of Houthis, an Iranian-backed rebel group, the flow of commerce through the Red Sea, between northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, has reduced and most shipping has been diverted through the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, he said.

“And this, in some way, might have fuelled a comeback of piracy in the area,” he said.

He said that the Indian Navy, which is active in the area, is doing an excellent job in fighting piracy.

“I must say that they (Indian Navy) are doing an excellent job. At the end of the day, it’s called the Indian Ocean, not by chance,” he said.

Real Admiral Giancarlo Ciappina, Italy’s commander of navy carrier strike group, said they will engage in bilateral exercises with their Indian counterpart on October 5-6 off the Goa coast.

“The exercises will happen as we (the Italian aircraft carrier) exit the area,” he said.

The Italian naval official said that the place to conduct the exercises has to be selected considering all the airspaces used by civilian airlines. “There is a lot of coordination happening and I am glad to see that our forces are going to interact with each other,” he said.

The Rear Admiral refused to divulge the information about the Indian Navy fleet that would be participating in the exercise. “I know the name of the ship. But I am not able to disclose it if they have not done so,” he said.

He said there was an event on board the Italian aircraft carrier on Thursday night during which he learnt a lot about the way the Indian Navy operates.

Vice Admiral Carolis said that the Italian Navy would be holding naval exercises with its Indian counterpart on October 5 and 6 “somewhere off the Goa coast”.

The Italian aircraft carrier Cavour had a port call at Mormugao in South Goa. The Italian strike group, comprising aircraft carrier Cavour and the frigate Alpino, have been in Goa since October 1.