COMBINED MARITIME FORCES
Representatives from around the world came together in Bahrain in December 2015 to discuss the ongoing fight to counter the piracy threat to shipping posed by criminal gangs from Somalia.
The 37th Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conference, which included 80 representatives from 30 nations, is hosted on a rotational basis by the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), NATO and the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
SHADE provides an international forum for frank and open discussions on counterpiracy operations in the Southern Red Sea, Bab El-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, the Somali Basin and the sea lanes around the Horn of Africa. The two-day conference included a series of meetings between representatives from numerous civilian and military organizations and offered delegates the opportunity to hear keynote speakers broadly discuss the issue of piracy in the region.
The conference included a comprehensive analysis of the threat, demonstrating that piracy-related incidents have declined substantially since CMF, EUNAVFOR, NATO and nations, including China and Russia, began operations in the region in 2008.
“The theme for this conference is one team, one mission. This theme captures how we must all come together to ensure piracy does not rise again to delay global commerce. This requires support from all stakeholders,” said Turkish Navy Capt. Tufan Uslu.
“The 37th convening of the SHADE showed once again the commitment from all of the counterpiracy actors that they remain engaged in countering the evolving piracy and maritime security threats that continue to exist in the region. Superb attendance, engaging guest speakers and in-depth discussions at this latest SHADE made it clear that there remains keen interest in the future of SHADE and a desire to move the mandate forward,” said U.S. Navy Capt. William Nault, chief of staff at CMF headquarters in Bahrain.
The SHADE conference allows nations and organizations that would not usually coordinate their naval operations to meet regularly to plan how to best combat piracy.