[R-G] NATO group embarks on Africa maritime mission

[Anthony Fenton]

  Jane's Defence Weekly  - August 08, 2007

NATO group embarks on Africa maritime mission

Robin Hughes Deputy Editor, JDW
London

A NATO maritime mission left for a 12,500 n mile circumnavigation of  
the African continent on 30 July.

The mission comprises naval elements from Canada, Denmark, Germany,  
the Netherlands, Portugal and the US - forming NATO's Standing Naval  
Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). It aims to highlight NATO's capability to  
uphold security and international law on the high seas.

SNMG1 - one of NATO's four standing maritime forces - will sail from  
the Mediterranean Sea to the west coast of Africa and onto the Niger  
Delta as part of the two-month mission.

The Niger Delta has seen an increase in incidents involving the  
kidnapping of oil workers and attacks on oil instillations by  
criminal gangs.

The mission will also make port in Cape Town, South Africa, where  
SNMG1 US Navy Commander Rear Admiral Mike Mahon - on board the  
flagship Ticondera-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy - will  
conduct exercises for the first time with the South African Navy as  
part of a four-day visit to the country.

The NATO mission will also conduct exercises in the Indian Ocean off  
the coast of Somalia - an area frequently affected by acts of piracy  
and where vessels carrying aid shipments have been subject to pirate  
attacks.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that ensuring  
maritime security on the high seas, in international waters, was a  
key mission for the alliance.

"Maritime security, ensuring the safe passage of shipping and  
supporting a co-ordinated international approach to protect energy  
supplies are high priorities for NATO," the secretary general said.

During the final phase of the mission, the ships will visit the  
Seychelles in mid-September and end their mission after passing  
through the Suez Canal.

NATO said the deployment "will demonstrate the alliance's continuing  
ability to respond to emerging crisis situations on a global scale  
and foster close links with regional navies and other maritime  
organisations".