Italian coastguard vessels had indeed intercepted boats carrying illegal immigrants heading for the island of Lampedusa.

Almost 6 of the staff of the Special Security Service and 12 of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba coastguard are women.

A. The modestly resourced Coastguard Department has partially achieved its intended goal of securing Yemeni ports, in addition to carrying out patrol activities.

Using available resources, the Coastguard Department is engaged in securing the Yemeni coasts by conducting marine patrols to check for any possible breaches occurring by sea.

As fishing could play a key role in economic recovery, it is imperative that, in the short term, the Somalis monitor and report infringements of maritime law in their waters to international mediators, while in the longer term, work towards setting up a coastguard.