Navy probes claims personnel moonlighting off Somalia coast

AN investigation has been launched into allegations that some naval service personnel have been moonlighting as security guards on cargo ships and oil tankers sailing off the pirate-ridden coast of Somalia.

The flag officer commanding the Naval Service, Commodore Mark Mellett, has written to the navy’s 1,000 personnel warning them that anybody caught serving in any security capacity outside the force risks being disciplined.

Sources have indicated that some naval personnel have been using their “leave” to work as anti-piracy protection personnel on ships passing off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, The work, even on a short-term basis, is described as “highly lucrative”.