Danish Navy forges deal with Kenya over Somali piracy

As Denmark prepares to send a second warship to the Gulf of Aden to help patrol the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast, it has sealed an important deal with Kenya to process any pirates the Danes catch in the area. The new bilateral agreement will greatly ease the lingering issue of what to do with the pirates after they are apprehended by Danish patrol boats.

Kenyan authorities will now assume responsibility for any pirate captured by Danish forces patrolling the waters off Somalia. The pirates will be tried by Kenyan courts and given appropriate sentences, though one major clause of the agreement is that they cannot be executed, a method still legal in Kenya.

The Copenhagen Post reports that Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller was pleased with the deal, as it will prevent a repeat of incidents like the one in 2008 when the Danish Navy had to let 10 captured pirates go because no nation would accept them and put them on trial.

Moller says he had hoped to sign agreements with several African nations, including Tanzania, but Kenya was the only country willing to step up and help with this ever-growing problem. Kenya already has similar deals with the US, EU, UK, and China.

It looks likely that Denmark will send another navy frigate to the region by January, when the country assumes command of one of the NATO patrol fleets. Although NATO still runs the overall operation, Denmark expects to be heavily involved in the pirate hunt next year.