Speaking to parliament in mid-April, the prime minister, Mizengo Pinda, announced that the government had decided to increase its military and naval commitment to the country's offshore maritime zone in order to prevent attacks by Somali pirates, mainly against firms exploring for oil off the coast of Tanzania. He explained that in March and April alone there had been 11 instances of piracy in the country's waters, largely aimed at kidnapping offshore oil workers, and that in response to this the government will offer to provide protection to vessels involved in oil and gas exploration in Tanzanian waters. In addition, he also committed the government to providing escorts to ships entering Tanzanian waters if they requested it.

The problem of pirate attacks off the East African coast is rising, with only a handful of the most high-profile attacks making any significant headlines. Moreover, the cost of it is increasing-the UN estimates the annual cost of piracy in the Indian Ocean at between US$5bn-7bn a year. Not only is there the cost of the increased military outlay, but recently the Kenyan government has stressed the cost, in both time and money, of trying to prosecute pirates through its overstretched legal system as it had been requested to do by the international community. Added to this are the additional insurance and related costs to shipping lines, which pushes up the price of shipping goods into and out of East Africa.