THE HAGUE, Wednesday - Ships sailing under the Dutch flag past Somalia will not be given any marines on board. The Lower House has acquiesced to Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop's refusal.

According to the minister, it is not sensible to deploy marines on board merchant vessels. Pirates could play into this situation by arming themselves more heavily so that violence would ultimately increase. There are also legal and financial obstacles, he said in a debate.

The Christian democrats (CDA) and small Christian party ChristenUnie, along with the conservatives (VVD), Party for Freedom (PVV), the smallest Christian party SGP and independent MP Rita Verdonk, did want it to be made possible to deploy marines on board. But this majority has acquiesced with the minister's promise to look once again at the French model.

The French do deploy marines on merchant ships, with a frigate in the neighbourhood. Van Middelkoop also said he would in exceptional cases ask the commander of the EU's Atlanta mission to withdraw a frigate from the mission in order to escort a ship individually. According to the minister, there are some six to eight 'vulnerable' merchant ships a year - with a sailing speed lower than 10 knots.

The House backed the upcoming Dutch contribution to the EU's Atlanta mission. The frigate HMS Evertsen will operate in Somali waters from mid-August to mid-December. In these four months, the ship will also take on the daily command over Atlanta, in which eleven navy vessels are participating.

Atlanta began at end-2008 and has since been extended to end-2010. The first priority is the protection of UN ships bringing food aid to the Somali population. Additionally, the EU ships have to scare off pirates and they can escort other ships. A threatened ship must for the first 20 minutes try to ward off a hijacking. After that, a frigate or helicopter would have to help, but this period is not an enforceable obligation, said Van Middelkoop.

On board HMS Evertsen, two security teams and one helicopter will sail with it. The teams are allowed to sail on the food ships, with the frigate nearby. The navy can also use appropriate force if a suspect vessel comes too close.