The number of UK military personnel deployed in the Gulf of Aden over the past 12 months is broken down by month in the following table.
Number of UK Military Personnel June 2008 880 July 2008 675 August 2008 189 September 2008 872 October 2008 255 November 2008 460 December 2008 367 January 2009 437 February 2009 563 March 2009 442 April 2009 194 May 2009 1,635
The fluctuations in numbers are caused by Royal Naval ships transiting the region as part of an operation or exercise. For example, most recently, the Royal Navy’s Taurus 2009 deployment in May 2009.