The pirates of the Seychelles

Telegraph:

Officials on the tourist paradise in the Indian Ocean asked for protection after reports the bandits had moved away from the Gulf of Aden since western governments dispatched patrol vessels to challenge them.

India sent one ship two weeks ago following an urgent request from the Seychelles, but Navy commanders have now sent a better-equipped vessel to replace it following the spate of recent attacks.

The attacks, which targeted a British-owned cargo vessel with a Ukrainian crew, and a French warship, took place inside the Seychelles' Exclusive Economic Zone.

It is not known if they landed on any of its 155 islands, many of which are uninhabited, but it is understood its government quickly sought assistance to avoid any damage to its reputation as a major tourist destination.

India believes the pirates chose the Seychelles because it is relatively unguarded – it has just one fast patrol vessel with attack capability, which was in India undergoing repairs.

An Indian Navy officer said he believed the pirates were shifting their base to the Seychelles because its government did not have the resources to stop them.

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This is another reason why the pirates bases in Somalia should be destroyed along with their infrastructure. The various navies are just playing whack a mole with the pirates.