Operation Allied Protector

Piracy off the coast of Somalia came to the forefront of NATO's attention when at the request of the United States Secretary-General on 25 September 2008, that NATO provide naval protection for vessels chartered by the UN's World Food Program based on UN Security Council Resolutions 1814, 1816, and 1838. On 21 October 2008, a letter was received by the United Nations from the Somali Transitional Federal Government authorizing NATO to enter Somali waters to protect World Food Program ships. Furthermore, they were authorized to perform counter-piracy operations in the region, including in Somali territorial waters. This led to the first NATO operation in the region, {{interlanguage link|Operation Allied Provider|de||no|Operasjon Allied Provider|ru|Операция «Эллайд Провайдер»|uk|Операція «Союзницький постачальник»}} which lasted 24 October to 13 December 2008. NATO operations were suspended when the European Union's Operation Atlanta began.{{sfn|Geiß|Petrig|2011|pp=22–23}}

After an informal meeting among the defence ministers of NATO nations in Kraków, Poland, in February 2009 the North Atlantic Council (the managing council of NATO) met.{{sfn|Fahron-Hussey|2019|p=213}} At the same time the UN established the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), a route that would allow merchant ships to traverse the Gulf of Aden safely and be monitored by warships.{{sfn|Geiß|Petrig|2011|p=17}} The NAC decided that a new NATO operation off the coast of Somalia would take place in early 2009 and the mission was approved on 11 March 2009. The start date for the operation was decided on 24 March 2009.{{sfn|Fahron-Hussey|2019|p=213}} Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), consisting of five NATO warships, was assigned to the operation.{{sfn|Geiß|Petrig|2011|p=23}}

On 28 March 2009, {{USS|Halyburton}} received a piracy emergency call from Grandezza, a {{convert|37|m|adj=on|0}} Maldivian-flagged yacht in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel reported that it was under machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade attack from at least one pirate skiff. Two Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters were scrambled from Halyburton and disrupted the attack. Due to the distance from the incident, the pirates were able to retreat before NATO surface forces arrived. {{HNLMS|De Zeven Provinciën|F802|6}} later debriefed the crew of Grandezza and obtained statements and photographs from the attack.{{cite press release |url=http://www.manw.nato.int/pdf/oap/snmg1_2009_04.pdf |title=Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 Disrupt Piracy Attack off the Horn of Africa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228172516/http://www.manw.nato.int/pdf/oap/snmg1_2009_04.pdf |archive-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=NATO |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=27 December 2013}}

On 18 April 2009, at approximately 3:00 pm local time, {{RFAux|Wave Knight|A389|6}} stopped an attempted pirate attack of the Norwegian oil tanker MV Front Ardenne. Seven pirates were ultimately detained after a several hour pursuit involving {{HMCS|Winnipeg|FFH 338|6}}, Halyburton, and Wave Knight. According to NATO, the suspects were "interrogated, disarmed,...[and] were set free according to national regulations."{{Cite web |title=NATO Task Force foils hostile pirates |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_53310.htm|access-date=2023-01-15 |publisher=NATO |date=20 April 2009}} From 26–27 April 2009, SNMG1 made a port call in Karachi, Pakistan. Due to an increased amount of pirate activity, two other port visits in Singapore and Australia were cancelled. Furthermore, the end of SNMG1's participation in the operation was brought forward from June to May.

On 1 May 2009, {{ship|NRP|Corte-Real|F332|6}} intervened in an attempted pirate attack of the Norwegian oil tanker MV Kition. The sole pirate skiff retreated to a dhow mothership, which was later intercepted by NATO surface forces. Eight Portuguese marines boarded the craft and detained 19 suspects and recovered several weapons, including several high-explosives. According to Côrte-Real{{'}}s commander, this was the first time that such weapons were recovered from a pirate vessel.{{cite news |date=2009-05-02 |first=Alison |last=Bevege |title=Somali pirates hijack 2 ships, NATO scuppers attack |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-piracy-idUSTRE54102L20090502 |access-date=2023-01-15}} On 24 May 2009, Winnipeg boarded two pirate skiffs off the coast of Somalia, resulting in seizure of equipment, arms, and ammunition.{{Cite press release |title=NATO Task Force disrupts pirate attack |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_55153.htm |access-date=2023-01-15 |publisher=NATO |date=24 May 2009}}{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2009/05/24/canadian_warship_intercepts_pirate_boat_in_gulf_of_aden.html |title=Canadian warship intercepts pirate boat in Gulf of Aden |work=Toronto Star |date=24 May 2009 |access-date=20 June 2023}} Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) took over from SNMG1 on 29 June 2009 and continued operations off the coast of Somalia until the end of Allied Protector on 17 August 2009, when the operation was superseded by the new NATO operation, Operation Ocean Shield which widened the scope of the mission.{{sfn|Geiß|Petrig|2011|p=23}}

The following units were deployed in Operation Allied Protector:

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Fahron-Hussey |first=Claudia |date=2019 |title=Military Crisis Management Operations by NATO and the EU |publisher=Springer VS |location=Wiesbaden, Germany |isbn=978-3-658-23517-8}}
• {{cite book |last1=Geiß |first1=Robin |author1-link=Robin Geiss |last2=Petrig |first2=Anna |year=2011 |title=Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea: The Legal Framework of Counter-Piracy Operations in Somalia and the Gulf of Aden |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-19-960952-9}}

Category:Piracy in Somalia

Category:Anti-piracy