Piracy ‘cannot be solved at sea’

The new commander of the European Union’s anti-piracy naval operation has told the BBC that piracy can only be solved diplomatically – not at sea. Rear Adm Peter Hudson’s comments come on the day a Dutch cargo ship was released after being held by Somali pirates since early May. One Ukrainian sailor was shot dead and eight other crew members injured. He said the key was to bring stability to Somalia, which has been without a stable government since 1991. Known as Atalanta, the operation off the Horn of Africa was launched last December to deter and prevent piracy and armed robberies off the Somali coast.