Japan escorts 15 merchant ships off Somalia in April

Convoy escort programme still operating. 

Japan escorts 15 merchant ships off Somalia in April

Hisane Masaki

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) vessels escorted 15 commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia in April to protect them from pirate attacks, the Japanese transport ministry said on 15 May.

Of the 15 commercial ships escorted by the SDF vessels on seven occasions under Japan’s Anti-Piracy Law, only one was Japanese-registered, while the remaining 14 were foreign-registered. Five of these vessels were oil tankers, seven were general cargo ships, one was a special cargo vessel, one was an LPG carrier, and one was a passenger vessel.

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Source: ihsmaritime360.com