ON BOARD HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC , September 19, 2008 — The commanding officer of HMCS Ville de Quebec had to escort a United Nations ship delivering aid to the war-torn country and after Somali pirates seized two vessels earlier this week, he knew it was a risky mission.

As he watched the food aid containers offload at Somalia 's Mogadishu port Thursday, Commander Chris Dickinson breathed a sigh of relief.

The Canadian frigate began assisting World Food Programme (WFP) ships last month as they go about transporting food supplies from Kenya to Somalia where at least 3.2 million people are facing shortages.

Dickinson eventually lifted the onboard red alert signal when he was certain there was no further risk of an insurgent rocket attack.

"It feels great. I always feel relieved at that stage," he said. "When I'm heading off again, I'm looking forward to the next one."

Ninety minutes earlier, as both vessels entered Somali waters, the rise in tension and focus onboard HMCS Ville de Quebec was palpable.

Silence quickly descended on board as the alert level was notched up to yellow and then red, leaving only a gentle humming from the ship's engines.

Men wearing flak jackets and armed with assault rifles spread out along the deck, and in the ship's command centre officers carefully orchestrated the final approach.

According to the commander it is during this latter stage in the voyage when they are the greatest threat from speedboats laden with explosives ramming the hull or rockets fired from the shore.

A brief anxious moment followed when officers caught sight of a small Somali fishing boat stray from the mouth of Mogadishu port. But the threat was short lived.

"Normally, when we are at sea, the risks come from the pirates. But when we get to coast, it becomes different: ashore violence and terrorist attacks," said Dickinson .

Outside a helicopter took off for a reconnaissance flight, while seamen lowered a speedboat to fetch the Canadian naval officers from the Golina, the WFP cargo ship.

HMCS Ville de Quebec's escort ended two nautical miles (3.7 kilometers) off the Somali coast.

Two speedboats carrying armed Ugandan soldiers from the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia came to meet the Golina and guide it to the offloading point at the port.

Having completed its mission, the Ville de Quebec immediately heads back to the Kenyan port of Mombasa , where the next WFP cargo ship is expected from the South African port of Durban in a few days.

The WFP relies on naval escorts to protect its ships during food aid deliveries to Somalia following a string of pirate attacks along the country's largely unpatrolled coastline on the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden .

On Thursday Somali pirates seized a Greek ship, a day after taking a Hong Kong-flagged vessel.

According to the International Maritime Board, 55 ships have been attacked off Somalia since January and 11 are still being held for ransom.

However, for the WFP the problems do not end after arriving at the port. Ensuring the 4,000 tones of food is safely unloaded from the Golina and then delivered to the people is the next big challenge.

"From the moment it (the food) lands in a port in Somalia , be it Mogadishu , be it Merka, the first thing is that it needs to be stored," said Peter Goossens, the WFP's Somalia country chief via telephone to AFP.

"Then we have to make sure that it doesn't get looted while stored, and then of course we have to get it to its final destination," he added.

There are other challenges, including securing a transport contract, getting through the various checkpoints and past the militias, all of which requires many bribes.

"The problem as well is that we're not moving just food but we're moving staff around," said Goossens, who explained that a member of his team was killed a couple of weeks ago and two more were injured in shootings.

"These are all complications that you face working in Somalia ," he added.

Source: AFP

Home | Contact us | Links | Archives | Search