Operation Ocean Shield
Operation Ocean Shield | |||||||
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Part of Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa | |||||||
USS Farragut destroying a pirate skiff in the Gulf of Aden (March 2010) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Non-NATO: |
Somali pirates |
Operation Ocean Shield was
The
Allies and other organisations
Pirate attacks off the vast coastline of Somalia declined from 236 in 2011 to two reportedly unsuccessful attacks in 2014, thanks to international counter-piracy cooperation efforts as well as armed guards now stationed on most large ships that traverse the region's waters. NATO has indicated that while it will be ending its mission in the Indian Ocean, the organization "will remain engaged in the fight against piracy by maintaining maritime situational awareness and continuing close links with other international organisation's counter-piracy actors."[8] NATO has been supporting international efforts to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean, as well as in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa since 2008, at the request of the United Nations. It had been working alongside other missions including the European's Union's Operation Atalanta, the US-led Combined Task Force 151 and other individual countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea."[8]
NATO's success in the area was due in part to the co-operation of other foreign states with interests in the region. A lot of these informal connections took place at SHADE (Shared Awareness and Deconfliction) meetings. These meetings allowed for shared tactics among a large number of international entities, including China, Japan, Russia, India and South Korea but is definitely not limited to them. With NATO promoting co-operation amongst these foreign entities, Operation Ocean Shield could effectively protect the area. They also utilized EUNAVFOR’s innovative electronic network called Mercury which shared anti-piracy tactics with other task forces and operations. Since this was an informal system, it wasn't weighed down with bureaucracy and could be spread amongst other coalitions and governmental organisations and could effectively help anyone that needed precise information in the area.[9]
Anti-piracy operations
On 10 January 2010, Admiral Pereira da Cunha, of the Portuguese Navy held a meeting regarding piracy with the Puntland coast guard. It was held aboard the frigate NRP Álvares Cabral near Bosaso, Somalia and focused on human intelligence gathering, capacity building and counter piracy co-operation between NATO and Puntland authorities.[6]
Pirates
The small
The
That same day, the destroyer USS Farragut, as flagship of Combined Task Force 151, was involved in a pirate attack on a Sierra Leone-flagged tanker, MV Evita. The incident also occurred in waters north-west of the Seychelles. Evita was fired on by three skiffs but was able to escape and increase speed and due to her crew who shot flares at the rifle and rocket-propelled grenade-armed pirates. The attack was reported to the nearby USS Farragut which arrived in the battle area and began operations. The vessels were boarded by American personnel and a SH-60B Seahawk covered the mission from the air. The pirate mother skiff was sunk later on by gunfire or explosives and after the pirates were stripped of their means to commit piracy, they were loaded onto the other two skiffs and freed. Eleven pirates were captured in total. Several fuel drums and grappling hooks were found aboard the boats. The pirate weapons, ammunition and other equipment such as ladders were seen thrown overboard by the Americans before the pirates were captured. Nobody is believed to have been injured during the engagements.
The captured pirates from the first incident were detained by the United States Navy until it was determined that they would be transferred to the United States to stand trial for piracy. After capture, the pirates were identified as
A failed
The
On 5 May 2011, as part of Operation Ocean Shield, the aircraft carrier
Piracy during the operation
NATO's vehicles have a specific mandate to provide protection and deterrence of piracy in its territorial waters. All members of NATO help make the operation a success via funding or through ships. NATO Allies provide ships and maritime patrol aircraft to
Conclusion of Operation Ocean Shield
The conclusion of Operation Ocean Shield occurred on 16 December 2016. The final operation was led by Danish pilots in an attempt to map the Somali coastline and the gulf of Aden. The Danes' task was to map the inlets, camps and large cities of the coast for an intelligence report. "The detachment covered 1,800 km of coastline in which intelligence specialists reviewed and disseminated photographs and video files to produce the intelligence picture."[21]
NATO is reallocating resources to the Mediterranean to deal with the immigrant crisis and human smuggling but believes that the efforts put into the gulf of Aden will help stem the tide of returning piracy or prevent it altogether.[9] As with the change in the political environment and world new problems have arisen where NATO has had to allocate resources. Therefore, it justifies the funding of the Mediterranean operation.[9]
Business sector regrowth
Through the use of the NATO shipping centre and the private sector,[clarification needed] the Ocean Shield task force could effectively reduce the response time of counterattacks and spent less time having to warn businesses about potential threats in their shipping lanes. Through this coordination, the impact to the shipping industry was lessened; for instance, ships were not required to take indirect routes through other less safe international waters.[citation needed]
Piracy attacks since the ending of Operation Ocean Shield
Piracy attacks have occurred since Operation Ocean Shield has ended. Gunmen hijacked the Aris 13, a small oil tanker, on 13 March 2017 and have demanded a ransom for the crew. Industrial shipping companies are trying to determine if there has been a resurgence in piracy activity in the region, or if it will be a rare occurrence,[22] as this was the first case of Somali piracy in half a decade.[citation needed] More attempts to steal cargo via piracy occurred in 2017.[23]
Vessels deployed
In addition to the frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F310), Norway has previously had a Lockheed P-3 Orion involved in the operation.
See also
- Combined Task Force 151 – multinational force in the area
- Operation Atalanta – EU force in the area
- Piracy in the Strait of Malacca
- Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
- Piracy on Falcon Lake
References
- ^ ""Fuerzas Militares pueden enfrentar cualquier amenaza interna o externa": Mindefensa". 28 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "New Zealand joins NATO's counter-piracy mission Ocean Shield". NATO. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ a b Kozhara: Hetman Sahaidachny frigate to join NATO’s anti-piracy operation, Interfax-Ukraine (17 September 2013)
- ^ "Counter-piracy operations (2008-2016)". NATO.
- ^ a b "Operation Ocean Shield". Manw.nato.int. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ a b "2009 Operation Ocean Shield News Articles". Manw.nato.int. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Operation Ocean Shield". NATO. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ a b "NATO ends Ocean Shield | Maritime Security Review". www.marsecreview.com. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ a b c ""Ocean Shield" Achieved its Mission". maritime-executive.com. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ "Ministerio de Defensa – La 'Navarra' intercepta dos esquifes y un barco nodriza". Defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Thome, Wolfgang H. (30 March 2010). "Robust Response Seychelles Coast Guard intercepts pirates and rescues crew". eTurboNews.com. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Five Somalis sentenced to life in piracy case".
- ^ "11 alleged pirates arrive in U.S. for prosecution - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "South Koreans pull off daring rescue of pirated ship". CNN. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Entführtes deutsches Schiff: Tödliches Feuergefecht um gekaperte "Beluga Nomination" – SPIEGEL ONLINE – Nachrichten – Panorama". Der Spiegel. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Quest incident – the final moments". Sail-World.com. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "US Navy, International Forces Respond to Piracy Attack". NNS110506-15. U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Byron C. Linder, USN (9 May 2011). "Carrier Strike Group One Arrives in 7th Fleet". NNS110509-01. USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Indian Navy thwarts pirate attack; rescues Chinese vessel, crew". NDTV. Indo-Asian News Service. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ a b "Allied Maritime Command – Operation OCEAN SHIELD". mc.nato.int. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ "Danish pilots conduct operation Ocean Shield's final patrol". Naval Today. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ "Somalia pirates: Anger fuels return of ship attacks". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ "Live Piracy Map". icc-ccs.org. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)