On 12th of November, Lt CDR Diego Canovas-Canovas representing EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA attended the Maritime Information Exchange Vessel Operators’ Meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
UKMTO Dubai organized the VTC meeting attended by company security officers, maritime security advisors of the shipping industry, representatives of Naval Forces in Western Indian Ocean Region, as well as representatives of maritime security industry.
EU NAVFOR provided an update on the situation in the Ocean Indian Region, including conclusions drawn so far from EU NAVFOR ATALANTA research on the impact on shipping traffic of COVID19 in the region and latest developments in maritime security and events in the area. Also, he included a brief explanation on the extension of EU NAVFOR ATALANTA’s current mandate, which will end on 31st of December this year, and will be extended. In addition, following Best Management Practice in force, he stressed the importance of registering with EU NAVFOR MSCHOA Voluntary Registration Scheme, as a key factor to get a full understanding of shipping traffic transiting across the region, and the need to keep BMP compliance at maximum level.
In a Q&A round, EU NAVFOR ATALANTA pointed out the factors, leading the shipping industry to establish current HRA boundaries, as an essential reference for any risk assessment that companies conduct, when planning a voyage across the Somali Basin, as well as environmental factors.
It was also clear that information and data, EU NAVFOR ATALANTA exchanges with the shipping industry is derived from ongoing detailed research based on registrations and surveys, and other sources, all based on a unique Maritime Domain Awareness structure developed after 12 years operating in the region.
EU NAVFOR ATALANTA is the only international naval operation in the world that manages a voluntary reporting scheme (MSCHOA VRS), monitors vessels and conducts full risk assessment of vessels transiting the area to assess their vulnerability, while providing military response to incidents at the same time.