The Norwegian military is once again contributing to the battle against pirates off East Africa, after lots of urging from the shipowners’ lobby.
“Finally an Orion aircraft is on its way,” Sturla Henriksen of the Norwegian Shipowners Association, told Aftenposten this week. The shipowners have earlier criticized the Norwegian government for not contributing enough to the international efforts to curb piracy attacks on commercial shipping.
Defense Minister Grete Faremo joined the send-off of the Orion P-3N aircraft and its support crew of around 40 from the Andøya naval air station on Monday. It will take part in the NATO-led anti-piracy operations OCean Shield, flying surveillance missions from the Seychelles over the Indian Ocean from September 19 until December 15.
Views and News staff
