On Wednesday 2 December the Force Commander of the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR), Commodore Pieter Bindt, met with his South Korean counterpart, Commander of the Republic of Korea Naval Escort Task Group, Captain Seung-Woo Kim on board the EU NAVFOR flagship Netherlands HNLMS Evertsen in the port of Salalah, Oman.
The meeting was held to discuss developments in counter piracy operations and further cooperation between the counter piracy forces in deterring, disrupting and suppressing piracy off Somalia.
Like the EU the Republic of Korea recently extended their counter piracy mission with one year. The Republic of Korea provides escorts for convoys in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), the busy shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The convoys are in principle for national flagged, owned or crewed ships but other ships can attach.
Captain Kim said that South Korea studies the merits of having details of its convoys published on the MSCHOA website. When not conducting national convoys, the South Korean flagship Dea Joyeong frequently operates under CTF151 flag (the counter piracy task force of the Combined Maritime Forces) and then participates in the defense of the IRTC.
Commodore Bindt briefed Captain Kim on the Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) meeting in Bahrein which he briefed on the coordination mechanisms at sea now and suggestions for further developments. In the SHADE, navies, military organizations and industry share information and de-conflict counter piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia.
Established in December 2008, EU NAVFOR is an European Union Task Force established to protect vessels of the ‘World Food Program (WFP)’ delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia, to protect vulnerable shipping through the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast and to prevent, deter and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast, including arrest.
The meeting was held to discuss developments in counter piracy operations and further cooperation between the counter piracy forces in deterring, disrupting and suppressing piracy off Somalia.
Like the EU the Republic of Korea recently extended their counter piracy mission with one year. The Republic of Korea provides escorts for convoys in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), the busy shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The convoys are in principle for national flagged, owned or crewed ships but other ships can attach.
Captain Kim said that South Korea studies the merits of having details of its convoys published on the MSCHOA website. When not conducting national convoys, the South Korean flagship Dea Joyeong frequently operates under CTF151 flag (the counter piracy task force of the Combined Maritime Forces) and then participates in the defense of the IRTC.
Commodore Bindt briefed Captain Kim on the Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) meeting in Bahrein which he briefed on the coordination mechanisms at sea now and suggestions for further developments. In the SHADE, navies, military organizations and industry share information and de-conflict counter piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia.
Established in December 2008, EU NAVFOR is an European Union Task Force established to protect vessels of the ‘World Food Program (WFP)’ delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia, to protect vulnerable shipping through the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast and to prevent, deter and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast, including arrest.