Written question asked by Lord Spellar (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 March 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 28 March 2011. It was answered by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 31 March 2011 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Somalia: Piracy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the relevance of the UK maritime doctrine to the situation of piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the western Indian Ocean.

Answer: UK maritime doctrine is at the forefront of both the UK and NATO effort to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean and is reflected in NATO established doctrine contained in EXTAC 789, which is kept under regular review. Recognised as a lead NATO nation in this area, the UK recently took over ownership of this NATO publication which is widely employed by the Royal Navy alongside UK standard operating procedures for boarding operations.EXTAC 789 is amended on a regular cycle and discussed annually at the NATO maritime operations working group.

Secondary information