The Commanding Officers of the three largest Counter Piracy Task Forces in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean met on board the NATO flagship NRP Alvares Cabral on November 21 in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The three commanding officers, Commodore Pieter Bindt, Force Commander of the European Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR), Rear Admiral Scott Sanders, Commander of the Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) and Rear Admiral José Domingos Pereira Da Cunha, Commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1) met to evaluate their recent initiatives to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their combined counter piracy forces and discuss ways ahead for continuous improvement after the recent change in command of the NATO counter piracy operation Ocean Shield. Despite three different, but overlapping, mandates they have a common goal to deter, disrupt and repress piracy.
The Commander of SNMG1, who conducted counter piracy operations earlier this year, remarked that he had seen “a marked improvement in cooperation, effectiveness and efficiency of the combined counter piracy effort.”
Presently there are approximately 25 ships from 16 different nations conducting counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. They are part of EU NAVFOR, NATO, CTF 151, or nationally deployed such as China, Russia, Japan, India and many others.
All three Commanders agree that the solution to piracy is in stabilizing Somalia itself and bringing law and order to the area. They pledged to continue their deterrence, disruption and suppression of piracy in the area.
Merchant ships are strongly advised to implement the advertised Best Management Practices and heed the routing advice as issued on the “Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa” website: www.mschoa.eu
The three commanding officers, Commodore Pieter Bindt, Force Commander of the European Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR), Rear Admiral Scott Sanders, Commander of the Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) and Rear Admiral José Domingos Pereira Da Cunha, Commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1) met to evaluate their recent initiatives to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their combined counter piracy forces and discuss ways ahead for continuous improvement after the recent change in command of the NATO counter piracy operation Ocean Shield. Despite three different, but overlapping, mandates they have a common goal to deter, disrupt and repress piracy.
The Commander of SNMG1, who conducted counter piracy operations earlier this year, remarked that he had seen “a marked improvement in cooperation, effectiveness and efficiency of the combined counter piracy effort.”
Presently there are approximately 25 ships from 16 different nations conducting counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. They are part of EU NAVFOR, NATO, CTF 151, or nationally deployed such as China, Russia, Japan, India and many others.
All three Commanders agree that the solution to piracy is in stabilizing Somalia itself and bringing law and order to the area. They pledged to continue their deterrence, disruption and suppression of piracy in the area.
Merchant ships are strongly advised to implement the advertised Best Management Practices and heed the routing advice as issued on the “Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa” website: www.mschoa.eu