NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2009
Shield
DON’T look down.
which merchantmen are advised
Enjoying a stunning bird’s
to pass, the NATO group’s
eye view of Turkey’s TCG Gediz
theatre of operations covers two
and an AB212 helicopter from
million square miles of ocean
Greece’s HS Navarinon are the
(that’s seven times – ish – the
ship’s fl ight of Her Majesty’s
size of the North Sea).
Ship Cornwall in their Lynx.
Four ships join Cornwall in the
Somewhere off the Horn of
NATO effort (HMS Cumberland
Africa, the ships of NATO’s
is also in the region as part of
Standing Maritime Group 2 –
the CTF 150 task group): Gediz,
led by the RN from fl agship
Navarinon, USS Donald Cook
Cornwall – converged for an
and Italy’s ITS Libeccio.
anti-piracy sweep, Operation
“There is a huge amount of
Ocean Shield.
assets committed to the counter-
It’s working. But don’t take
piracy operations now, but for us
our word for it, take the word
to be truly effective and keep
of the Fighting 99 herself.lf.
the merth chant ships safe
“There has now not been en
coorco dination is the key,”
a successful hijacking in in
explains Cdrex e Steve Chick
the Gulf of Aden in over r
who’w s directing the NATO
three months,” says
effort from Cornwall.
Lt Cdr Alex Kendrick,
“There has been a
Cornwall’s weapon
determined effort by
engineer offi cer,
everyone involved
proudly.
in protecting the
To be sure part of
merchant traffi c here
the reason for that was
to make the most
the monsoon seasonn
effie cient use of the ships
keeping the skiffs and
and aircraft available, and
dhows used by Somali pirates
we have forged very close
in port.
working relationships with my
But now that season has
counterparts in the various
passed – and attacks have not
national and multi-national task
picked up.
groups around us.
“So far, with the deterrence
“The result is a clear
provided by ships such as
improvement in our success rate
Cornwall, there has only been a
against the pirates compared to
limited increase in activity by the
last year.”
pirates in the Gulf of Aden, and
What’s made the big
this has been easily dealt with
difference in 2009 compared
by the patrolling surveillance
with 2008 is the sheer scale of
aircraft and warships,” says
the anti-piracy mission – and not
Lt Cdr Kendrick.
just by the typical players.
“Those pirates that have tried
China, Japan, India, Russia –
their luck have fared poorly as
all have dispatched warships or
the multi-national forces work
task groups. Even Luxembourg
together to deter, intercept and
has become involved in the
disrupt them.”
mission, not, of course, sending
From September 1 to October
any ships, but providing a patrol
1 Cornwall was continuously at
aircraft.
sea, beginning in Dubai (where
“Having a clear, common goal
she underwent mid-deployment
in terms of beating the pirates
maintenance) and ending in Port
to safeguard innocent seafarers
Victoria in the Seychelles, adding
is a worthy objective in any
8,186 miles to a tachometer
language. The natural bond
which is approaching 650,000
miles steamed in 21 years’
service.
The bridge team thought at
first it was a record (it wasn’t
quite according to the F99’s
documents).
But it is, says navigator Doug
Owen, proof of the relentless
nature of the anti-piracy
mission.
“It’s testimony to the nature
of this task – and the huge
distances covered to provide an
effective deterrence,” he adds.
While much of the security
effort is focused on the ‘transit
corridor’ – a 500-mile-long strip
of the Gulf of Aden through
n photographer of the year
es: po(phot) owen king, r
pictur
020-021_NN_Nov.indd 1 19/10/09 17:28:23
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52