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Communication key for anti-pirate fleet

The persistent flare-up in piracy off the coast of Somalia that ignited last August has done more than fill front pages around the world with hair-raising tales of captives and gunfire. It’s also attracted warships from around the world to patrol the same patch of sea — and with that, created a challenge to keep them from bumping into each other.

At the latest count, there were some 30 warships from 27 nations in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia with varied missions to stop piracy, according to multiple sources.

Some are part of the U.S.-fostered Combined Task Force 151, led at the moment by a Turkish admiral.

Other combatants in the area fall under a NATO mission called Operation Allied Protector, ships that include the U.S. frigate Halyburton, led from the flagship frigate Côrte Real of Portugal.

The European Union organized its first maritime task force for the counterpiracy mission, known as EU NAVFOR-Atalanta, which in addition to German, Greek, Spanish and French ships boasts a newcomer to such warm waters — two corvettes and a supply ship from Sweden. And finally there are the independent operators such as China and Russia who arrived with various mandates, to include protecting their nation’s commercial shipping.

On top of that, perennial foes India and Pakistan are onboard, along with two ships from the Iranian navy — the frigate Alborz and fleet supply ship Bushehr.

In fact, there are so many foreign warships in the area, the waters off Djibouti has gone from a backwater to a booming U.N. afloat.

With so many warships in the same area, measures must be taken to “de-conflict” to keep everyone from bunching up.

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of 5th Fleet, uses the analogy of young children playing soccer who tend to swarm the ball and stall the game. To prevent such potential dust-ups, allied nations use established systems to communicate, while there have also been some work-arounds to handle newcomers — China, for example.

“We just e-mail communications with the Chinese navy’s Yahoo account,” said Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman at 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

Keeping track of recent actions and future plans in what could be a bewildering situation has been done with great effect at sea in what amounts to an instant messaging system common in the modern workplace.

“What’s working really well is unclassified chat,” Campbell said.

Multiple systems

The system U.S. ships use to communicate with one another and allies is called CENTRIXS, short for Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System.

In use with the fleet for several years, CENTRIXS is a Defense Department program designed to allow joint forces to coordinate their actions. In the 5th Fleet area, allied ships from the Combined Maritime Forces, the U.S., U.K., and others have used CENTRIXS to coordinate operations prior to the counterpiracy mission.

Now, an EU system called “Merc chat” has been put to use. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has begun developing another chat program that takes its name from the monthly working group organized by 5th Fleet known as Shared Awareness and Deconfliction, or SHADE.

That communication paid off June 2, when British sailors from the frigate Portland captured and disarmed 10 suspected pirates who’d been spotted by a Spanish patrol aircraft.

British Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy commander of Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain, was quoted as saying, “This is an excellent example of international coordination. This international collaboration cannot be understated and as more countries join the fight, we will continue to work together.”

ORDER OF BATTLE

Countries with ships conducting the counterpiracy mission either as part of a coalition task force like CTF 151, NATO’s Operation Allied Protector or the European Union’s NAVFOR-Atalanta, or sent by their government on an independent mandate to protect their nation’s shipping:

Australia

Bahrain

Canada

China

Denmark

France

Germany

Greece

India

Iran

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Netherlands

Pakistan

Portugal

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Seychelles

Singapore

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States

Yemen

• Sources: U.S. 5th Fleet, naval attaches in Washington, D.C.