Operation Ocean Shield

Operation Ocean Shield Part of Piracy in Somalia, Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa USS Farragut destroying a Somali pirate skiff in March 2010. Date 17 August 2009 – present Location off Somalia, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean Result Operations ongoing Belligerents  NATO  United States  United Kingdom  Denmark  Netherlands  Spain  Greece  Germany  Belgium  Canada  Italy  Portugal  Turkey Non-NATO:  Seychelles  Puntland  Saudi Arabia  Oman  Pakistan  India  Australia  Singapore  South Korea  Indonesia  China  Russia Somali Pirates

v t e Operation Ocean Shield Action of 23 March 2010 Action of 30 March 2010 Action of 1 April 2010 Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden Operation Dawn 9: Gulf of Aden MV Beluga Nomination incident SY Quest incident Operation Umeed-e-Nuh

v t e OEF – Horn of Africa Action of 18 March 2006 Ras Kamboni Action of 3 June 2007 Bargal Action of 28 October 2007 Dobley Operation Thalathine Dhusamareb Action of 11 November 2008 Maersk Alabama Hijacking Operation Ocean Shield Operation Celestial Balance Rescue of Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted

v t e Piracy in Somalia Operation Enduring Freedom - HOA Action of 18 March 2006 Action of 3 June 2007 Action of 28 October 2007 Operation Atalanta Operation Thalathine Carré d'As IV incident Action of 11 November 2008 Ekawat Nava 5 incident Action of 9 April 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking Operation Ocean Shield Action of 23 March 2010 Action of 30 March 2010 Action of 1 April 2010 Action of 5 April 2010 Action of 6 May 2010 Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden Operation Dawn 9: Gulf of Aden Beluga Nomination incident Operation Island Watch Battle off Minicoy Island Quest incident Operation Umeed-e-Nuh Action of 12 January 2012

Operation Ocean Shield is NATO's contribution to the anti-piracy campaign off the Horn of Africa, following the earlier Operation Allied Protector. Naval operations began on 17 August 2009 after being approved by the North Atlantic Council and involves warships primarily from the United States though vessels from many other nations are also included. Operation Ocean Shield focuses on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider which are distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. It also helps strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states to assist in countering the Somali Pirates. China and South Korea have sent warships to participate in the activities as well.^[1][2]

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 Alvares Cabral near Bosaso, Somalia and focused on human intelligence gathering, capacity building and counter piracy cooperation between NATO and Puntland authorities.^[2]

Pirates attacked the Panamanian flagged merchantman MV Almezaan on 25 March. One pirate was killed by the Almezaan's crew during the boarding and shortly afterwards the Spanish Navy frigate Navarra arrived and launched a helicopter. Warning shots were then fired and the pirates surrendered without further conflict. Six Somalis were taken prisoner for a short time before being released in two skiffs and the mother ship was sunk by gunfire.^[3]

The small Seychelles Coast Guard patrol boat Topaz engaged in another battle with pirates five days later on 30 March. While patrolling just off the Somali coast, the Topaz encountered a captured dhow. After warning shots were fired, the dhow seemed to ignore the patrol boat and its occupants eventually opened up with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. The Seychellois then engaged and after shooting off 10,000 rounds of machine gun fire, the dhow was burning and eventually sank. Twenty-seven members of the dhow's crew were rescued and the Topaz was returning to base when she was attacked by a trawler and two skiffs. Again the Seychellois responded with counter battery and the trawler exploded. One of the skiffs was sunk as well. Casualties of the Somalis are unknown and one member of the dhow's crew was wounded.^[4]

A United States Navy helicopter conducting anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea in May 2011.

USS Nicholas was attacked by a skiff on 1 April, while in the waters between the Seychelles and Kenya. The Americans returned fire briefly and three pirates surrendered. Nicholas then pursued a mother ship vessel for a while, a boarding team was put on the ship and it was captured. A little later that day, USS Farragut was also operating in the area and she captured thirteen more Somalis. This was following the attempted to seizure of the Sierra Leone flagged tanker MV Evita. The crew of the tanker defended their ship with flares and outmaneuvered the pirates.^[5]

Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden was launched by Republic of Korea Navy commandos with support from Oman and the United States in January 2011. Following the capture of the Norwegian owned chemical tanker MV Samho Jewelry on 15 January off Muscat with its crew of twenty-one, a failed boarding action was carried out on 18 January which resulted in the wounding of three commandos. A second attempt on 21 January succeeded in freeing the ship and the captives while eight pirates were killed altogether.^[6]

A failed rescue operation was carried out by the Danish frigate HDMS Esbern Snare and a Seychellois Coast Guard patrol boat on 26 January. The MV Beluga Nomination was taken over four days before and the attackers cut into the freighter's citadel with a blow torch to get at the crew. The Seychelles patrol boat and the Esbern Snare were dispatched and when they found the pirates and engagement began. Boarding teams from the patrol boat were repulsed but the Seychellois were able to kill one or two of the pirates. Two of the Nomination's crew managed to escape in a lifeboat and were rescued by the Danish though four others were killed either by drowning or the Somalis. Ultimately the operation was aborted and the pirates sailed away with the tanker and seven remaining hostages.^[7] The Quest Incident occurred in February 2011. In the first attack on an American private ship since the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009, the yacht SV Quest was taken over by nineteen pirates on 4 February. The United States Navy responded by dispatching the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and the guided missile destroyers USS Bulkeley and USS Sterett to release the four captives. The ships found the Quest on or about 21 January off the coast of Oman and negotiations to free the hostages began. However, on the following day, the pirates opened fire on the USS Sterret with rocket propelled grenades and shorty thereafter small arms fire was heard. The American commander then ordered a team to board the yacht and after doing so, all four of the prisoners were found to have been killed by the Somalis. Fifteen pirates were taken into custody and two of them were killed in the boarding action. The bodies of two other pirates were also found but American officials have no explanation for the cause of their deaths.^[8]

On 5 May 2011, as part of Operation Ocean Shield, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, and the Turkish frigate TCG Giresun responded to a distress call from the Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned bulk carrier MV Full City. An Indian Navy Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft located the Full City, and while TCG Giresun boarded the merchant vessel, USS Bunker Hill and its embarked helicopters intercepted a dhow believed to be the 'mothership' for the pirate attack. Bunker Hill's VBSS boarding party seized weapons and other equipment commonly used in piracy, and the boarding party also sank a small skiff being towed by the dhow. Giresun's boarding party found the Full City's Chinese crew safe and in control of their ship.^[9][10][11]

Vessels Deployed

USS Leyte Gulf along side USS Enterprise in the Red Sea in March 2011.

^[1][12][13]

See also

• Piracy in Nigeria
• Piracy on Falcon Lake

References