\u200bThe UK plays a leading role in the fight against piracy in the Western Indian Ocean. We contribute to the Commander and Operational Headquarters of the EU's counter piracy mission, EU Navel Force (NAVFOR) Operation Atalanta. We also contribute to the Deputy Commander for the Combined Maritime Force, whose Task Force 151 has a specific focus on counter piracy. We are also a supporter of bilateral and multilateral maritime security capacity building programmes in the region. Between 2010 and 2016, the UK contributed over £17.2m to these programmes, which have helped to support counter-piracy efforts, increase regional maritime awareness and improve legal frameworks.<\/p>
In May 2017, the UK hosted and co-chaired the London Somalia Conference, at which the international community reaffirmed its commitment to deterring and combatting piracy, and the Federal Government and the Federal Member States of Somalia reiterated their commitment to improving maritime security and building a capable coastguard.<\/p>
According to EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, there have been six piracy attacks on commercial vessels in the region in 2017. Of those, only one \u2013 an attack against a Comoros flagged oil tanker, the Aris 13,<\/em> on 13 March 2017 \u2013 was successful. By contrast, in 2011, there were 176 reported piracy attacks.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/343", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rutland and Melton"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir Alan Duncan"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-10-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-10-11T16:42:06.26Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2017-09-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Somalia: Piracy"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of maritime piracy off the Somali coast.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"}
], "uin" : "10317"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/515936", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/515936/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The United Kingdom fulfils its enduring commitment through the provision of the two-star Operation Commander (Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces and Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces in rotation). The UK also contributes Operation Headquarters facilities (OHQ) at Northwood and on average 60 members of OHQ staff, approximately 40% of the total OHQ.<\/p> The Royal Navy (RN) will continue to contribute to Operation Atalanta. In addition the RN maintains a constant presence in the Gulf region. Anti-piracy and anti-terrorism measures are among a number of concurrent tasks carried out by the RN and supporting assets.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2000", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Earl Howe"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Earl Howe"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2016-05-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2016-05-09T15:34:31.183Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2016-04-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Somalia: Piracy"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what contribution the Royal Navy has made to Operation Atalanta, and what contribution it is expected to make in the future.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/510", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Radice"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Radice"}
], "uin" : "HL7999"}
], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]}
}