The shipping industry issued the decision in August based on the lack of attacks against merchant vessels in the area since 2018. Although this reflects positively on the work of CTF 151, which was established in 2009 to detain, disrupt, and suppress piracy and armed robbery at sea, Admiral Leite explained that the sense of security could cause a relaxation in security procedures by these vessels, bringing piracy back to the area. 

 “The threats of piracy were suppressed, but unfortunately not eradicated. The same conditions that fostered piracy a decade ago remain present,” he said. 

 The HRA entails the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as Somali and Yemini waters, and the eastern and southern parts of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). The war in Yemen and the severe drought in Somalia, which is the worst in 40 years, are part of the factors considered by the international community to reinforce its commitment to combat piracy and provide maritime security in the region. 

 “[The drought] is an extremely dramatic situation for Somalia. We have people losing their livelihood because lots of them depend on their livestock. We are talking about the loss of millions of animals. On top of that, Somalia imports 90% of its grains from Ukraine, and they haven’t received shipments because of the war,” Brazilian Naval College researcher Melissa Rossi said during the conference. 

 This situation creates perfect conditions for the increase of illicit activities, which are already significant in the region. In 2021, US and international forces operating under the US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet, and the CMF, seized a record amount of US$193 million of narcotics after increasing patrols in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, according to the US Navy. 

 In 2019, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) showed that about 138,000 people use the route from Bosaso, in the northern part of Somalia, and also from the region of Obock, in Djibuti, to arrive in Yemen, which is used as a transit country to get to the richer Gulf states. 

 “138,000 is higher than the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in the same period, which is 110,000. The [counter-piracy] mission can encounter these people and, according to the law of the sea, they have to conduct search and rescue operations if there are vessels in distress. This is, of course, an extra challenge for the mission,” she explained. 

 A 2013 World Bank report indicated that Somali pirates alone costed the world US$ 18 billion a year. Although this number most likely changed, it still illustrates how piracy affects not only shipment companies, but also multiple sectors all over the world. 

 The high price is composed, among other things, of the insurance of companies, maintenance of security protocols, and extra fuel that have to be used to change routes or move faster in order to escape from attacks. “This is a much greater threat and it does affect all of us,” said Rossi. 

 Brazil’s contribution to the CMF dates back to 2013, when the country sent its first liaison officer to participate in the multinational coalition. Admiral Nelson Leite, who took over the command of CTF 151 in August 2022, is the second Brazilian Admiral to command the force. The first one was Rear Admiral André Luiz de Andrade Félix, who was also the mission’s first South American leader.