NATO Naval Task Group en route
to escort duties off Somali coast
October 24, 2008
Mons, Belgium —
Three NATO ships, part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) – separated
from the main SNMG2 group and are en route to the East African coast responding
to the UN Secretary GeneralÂ’s request for NATO to escort merchant ships carrying
World Food Programme (WFP) cargo.
The three NATO ships, part of Operation ALLIED
PROVIDER, will begin escort duties and establish a naval presence in the area as
a deterrent to piracy upon arrival.
The three Operation Allied Provider ships
are:
• ITS Durand de la Penne (flagship,
Italy)
• HS Themistokles
(Greece)
• HMS Cumberland
(United
Kingdom)
During the course of the operation, WFP escort ships will provide
close protection while those NATO ships providing a deterrent presence will
patrol various routes most susceptible to criminal acts against merchant
vessels. NATO ships may use force
pursuant to the authorised Rules of Engagement and in compliance with relevant
international and national law.
After the North Atlantic Council (NAC) agreed to the UN Secretary
GeneralÂ’s request, NATO military elements immediately began planning to redirect
assets of SNMG2, already underway as part of an out of area deployment to
promote practical military cooperation with the countries of the Istanbul
Cooperation Initiative (ICI), to the escort/deterrence task off the Somali
coast.
“NATO’s ability to quickly react to the UN’s
request for support demonstrates NATOÂ’s military flexibility to respond to real
security challenges on the seas as well as on the land, and in the air,” said
General John Craddock, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “It signifies NATO’s continued relevance
and willingness to ‘step in’ and ‘step up’ to threats of all descriptions – in
this case the persistent threat of piracy.”
The remaining
four SNMG2 ships – FGS Karlsruhe
(Germany), FGS Rhön
(Germany), TCG Gokova
(Turkey), and
USS The Sullivans (USA) – will continue on the out-of-area deployment
to ICI nations, notable for being the first time a NATO-flagged force deploys to
the Gulf.
Notes
to editors:
A
video interview with the Commander as well as B-roll of the ships in
transit may be available through NATO HQ. Please call: +32 2 707 1048 or
1014
SNMG2 information is
available at: http://www.jfcnaples.nato.int/FACTSHEETS/snmg2.htm
Information about ICI is available at: http://www.nato.int/ici/home.htm
Public Affairs, Allied
Component Command Maritime Headquarters
Naples:
+39 081 721 6521
Public Affairs Duty
Officer, Allied Joint Force Command
Naples:
+39 335 460 322
Allied Command Operations Public Affairs Office at
SHAPE:
Tel: +32 (0)65 44 4119 (week days 0830 – 1730)
Mobile: 0032 (0) 475 77 31 05 (week days 1730 –
0830, weekends and holidays) Email:
shape.pao@shape.nato.int