Thursday November 30, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on Thursday appointed Admiral Abdi Warsame Osman as the new Commander of the Somali Navy and Coast Guard, replacing Lieutenant Colonel Mubarak Abdiqani Muse.
President Mohamud instructed the new Commander to assume the role expeditiously and carry out his responsibilities. The newly appointed Commander brings a wealth of experience from his extensive service in various sectors of the Somali Armed Forces.
The appointment of the new Commander of the Somali Navy coincides with the reemergence of Somali pirates along the country's coast.The U.S. Navy thwarted a piracy attempt on the Liberian-flagged tanker M/V Central Park on Monday, detaining five Somali nationals in the process, according to the Pentagon.
The M/V Central Park, managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime and associated with an Israeli firm, found itself under siege on Sunday when five armed individuals attempted to breach the crew's cabin. "The crew [of the Central Park] was able to lock themselves into a safe haven," reported Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder at a Pentagon press briefing. Ryder described the event as piracy-related.