The 53rd iteration of the Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) Conference, co-chaired by Operation ATALANTA and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), convened in Bahrain, Oct. 22-23.
More than 150 stakeholders from the military, shipping industry and academia attended the conference to strengthen and discuss maritime security in the western Indian Ocean, adjacent seas and the region.
Initially established to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean, SHADE has expanded to include a wider range of threats and serves as a crucial platform for dialogue between naval forces and the shipping industry. The conference also aims to improve information sharing, operational coordination and emergency response by providing better advice to the shipping community.
The conference was organized in plenary and working group sessions.
The plenary sessions explored the current theater status of maritime operations and the industry perspective on the current situation. This included a session on maritime industry intelligence perspectives and the impact on commercial shipping by Global Navigation Satellite System spoofing.
The working groups focused on information sharing, operations, intelligence, capacity building and enhancement. For the first time, the conference included a foresight and sustainability working group.
The working groups also followed up on the progress on recommendations made last year and during the industry strategic meeting in Madrid in June 2025. Notable achievements included the enhancement of understanding of the robust information sharing process that improves the flow of information between maritime operations in the area and the maritime industry. This critical issue and the need to have accurate information of the situation in the area is essential, due to the evolving maritime security landscape.
Conference participants included regional centers like the Regional Coordination of Operations Centre Seychelles, the Information Fusion Centre of Singapore and ATALANTA Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean.
SHADE 53 renewed the commitment of facilitating the dissemination of relevant maritime security information among military operations and shipping industry, making this forum vital for fostering cooperation among all actors in the region.