EU partners with Kenya to prosecute suspected maritime crime suspects

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) recently removed the Indian Ocean from the list of High-Risk Areas (HRA) giving a major boost to trade for Kenya and the wider Eastern African region. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

Kenya has agreed to help the European Union in dealing with maritime crime suspects in the region, amid a rising threat from pirate activity and attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The EU, which has a force operating in the Indian Ocean, is concerned that the insecurity which is also affecting ship traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, is disrupting international trade.

With threats to shipping on the rise in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea, the European Union is asking Kenya for assistance in prosecuting suspected criminals caught in the region's waters.