Maritime Counter Piracy Forces honoured by Lloyd’s List

The Lloyd’s List “Newsmaker of the Year” award is presented to the organisation or person influencing a major aspect of the news agenda.

The 2011 award recognised the highly cooperative approach and outstanding efforts by counter-piracy forces from CMF, NATO and EUNAVFOR at an awards ceremony in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Captain Tony Aldred, Royal Australian Navy, CMF Director of Operations, accepted the award along with Commander Stephen Draper Royal Navy representing EUNAVFOR, and Lieutenant Commander Mark Reed Royal Navy representing NATO.

All three officers work in the CMF headquarters, located in Bahrain.

Captain Aldred offered brief remarks on behalf of the three maritime naval forces, highlighting the tremendous cooperation and dedication from the maritime industry and navies working together to combat piracy:

“Piracy is a global threat that demands a global response. CMF, NATO and EUNAVFOR, independently deployed forces, the merchant shipping industry and many other agencies within the maritime community that support the safe movement of shipping have made great strides in recent years to reduce the threat of piracy.

"The highly cooperative approach by all counter-piracy forces along with the maritime community’s commitment to the Best Management Practices Version 4 have undoubtedly been key factors in saving many ships and crews from being pirated.

"We are proud to be part of the solution towards ultimately defeating the scourge of piracy.”

The three maritime naval forces represent 33 member countries and are fully committed to disrupting and deterring piracy in the region of the Somali Basin, Arabian Sea, Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden; an area covering 2.5 million miles of the high seas.