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The Force Commanders of the three international Counter-Piracy task forces, (Archive picture from Aug 24, 2012, courtesy Maritime Command Northwood). |
NATO's Operation Ocean Shield, European Union Naval Force Somalia - Operation Atalanta and Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) - the big three - call upon the shipping industry to continue to take anti-piracy measures despite the current downward trend in piracy events. In a recent report published by the International Maritime Bureau it was announced that there was a 54% drop in global piracy during the first half of 2012. One of the key contributors to this welcome development was the fall in both Somali hijackings and attacks. There are many factors which have led to this, two of which were the work of military forces in the region and self-protection measures taken by commercial shipping.