R. Adm. Jose Pereira de Cunha, Commander Standing NATO Maritime Group One Operation Allied Protector was an anti-piracy military operation undertaken by NATO forces from March – August 2009 in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, and the Guardafui Channel to protect maritime routes from pirates within the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC).

[3] At the same time the UN established the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), a route that would allow merchant ships to traverse the Gulf of Aden safely and be monitored by warships.

[4] The NAC decided that a new NATO operation off the coast of Somalia would take place in early 2009 and the mission was approved on 11 March 2009.

[5] 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.

[6] 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.

[8] On 24 May 2009, Winnipeg boarded two pirate skiffs off the coast of Somalia, resulting in seizure of equipment, arms, and ammunition.