Operation Allied Protector

On 28 March 2009, USS Halyburton received a piracy emergency call from Grandezza, a 37-metre (121 ft) Maldivian-flagged yacht in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel reported that it was under machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade attack from at least one pirate skiff. Two Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters were scrambled from Halyburton and disrupted the attack. Due to the distance from the incident, the pirates were able to retreat before NATO surface forces arrived. HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën later debriefed the crew of Grandezza and obtained statements and photographs from the attack.^[7]

On 18 April 2009, at approximately 3:00 pm local time, RFA Wave Knight stopped an attempted pirate attack of the Norwegian oil tanker MV Front Ardenne. Seven pirates were ultimately detained after a several hour pursuit involving HMCS Winnipeg, Halyburton, and Wave Knight. According to NATO, the suspects were "interrogated, disarmed,...[and] were set free according to national regulations."^[8] From 26–27 April 2009, SNMG1 made a port call in Karachi, Pakistan. Due to an increased amount of pirate activity, two other port visits in Singapore and Australia were cancelled. Furthermore, the end of SNMG1's participation in the operation was brought forward from June to May.^[1]

On 1 May 2009, NRP Corte-Real intervened in an attempted pirate attack of the Norwegian oil tanker MV Kition. The sole pirate skiff retreated to a dhow mothership, which was later intercepted by NATO surface forces. Eight Portuguese marines boarded the craft and detained 19 suspects and recovered several weapons, including several high-explosives. According to Côrte-Real's commander, this was the first time that such weapons were recovered from a pirate vessel.^[9] On 24 May 2009, Winnipeg boarded two pirate skiffs off the coast of Somalia, resulting in seizure of equipment, arms, and ammunition.^[10][11] Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) took over from SNMG1 on 29 June 2009 and continued operations off the coast of Somalia until the end of Allied Protector on 17 August 2009, when the operation was superseded by the new NATO operation, Operation Ocean Shield which widened the scope of the mission.^[6]

The following units were deployed in Operation Allied Protector:^[1]

Country	Vessel	Class	Type
Portugal	NRP Corte-Real	Vasco da Gama class	Frigate
Canada	HMCS Winnipeg	Halifax class	Frigate
Netherlands	HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën	De Zeven Provinciën class	Air defense and command frigate
Spain	Blas de Lezo	Álvaro de Bazán class	Frigate
United States	USS Halyburton	Oliver Hazard Perry class	Frigate

Country	Vessel	Class	Type
Italy	Libeccio	Maestrale class	Frigate
Greece	Navarinon	Elli class	Frigate
Turkey	TCG Gediz	Oliver Hazard Perry class	Frigate
United Kingdom	HMS Cornwall	Type 22 Broadsword	Frigate
United States	USS Laboon	Arleigh Burke class	Destroyer

• Fahron-Hussey, Claudia (2019). Military Crisis Management Operations by NATO and the EU. Wiesbaden, Germany: Springer VS. ISBN 978-3-658-23517-8.
• Geiß, Robin; Petrig, Anna (2011). Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea: The Legal Framework of Counter-Piracy Operations in Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-960952-9.