Interview

with Vice-Admiral Roberto Cesaretti,
Commander Maritime Component Command Naples and Commander of Operation Active Endeavour

INTERVIEWER (NATO): We are here today with Vice-Admiral Roberto Cesaretti, the Commander of Maritime Component Command Naples and Commander of Operation Active Endeavour. Welcome.
As the Commander responsible for NATO's Operation Active Endeavour, what has been your biggest challenge so far and can you please give us some examples of the issues which you deal with on a daily basis?

VICE-ADMIRAL ROBERTO CESARETTI (Allied Maritime Component Commander Naples, Commander of Operation Active Endeavour): Like all the Commanders of an operation, I have to balance every day the resources I have with the need of an increased need of security, maritime security operation, and this is the most challenging aspect of my job. And at the same time, I would underline the fact that everyday I need to choose the proper position and the best employment of limited resources I have trying to achieve the best... the mission I receive and accomplish all the tasks I have to do.

INTERVIEWER: How many member nations and partner countries are part of Operation Active Endeavour and can you please tell us how does the co-operation between partner countries work in practice?

CESARETTI: Right now we have 31 different countries participating in Active Endeavour. Of course, not all in the same way and with the same amount of resources. All the 31 - and I hope in less than two weeks 32, because Jordan will be part of the Active Endeavour - all the 31 are participating and contributing in terms of information exchange. I mean all the information related with the merchant vessel traffic in the Mediterranean. Some others are participating in terms of assets. They are contributing with surface ships, submarine and maritime patrol aircraft.

The second part of your question is related in which way some of the partners are contributing to the Active Endeavour and I would like to underline the fact that Russia and Ukrainian have provided surface assets to the Operation Active Endeavour. Just a couple of weeks ago Russia completed the second deployment in the Mediterranean flying the flag of NATO on one of their frigates. In less than two weeks, we will have the second Ukrainian ship working with us in the Mediterranean operating under the operational command and control of NATO.

INTERVIEWER: Operation Active Endeavour focuses on counter-terrorism operations throughout the Mediterranean. Can you please explain what specific tasks are included?

CESARETTI: Okay. The activity is very complex of course and it's mainly focused on a presence at sea and to perform tasks related with the surveillance and sometimes some of the targets need to be followed and taken under direct control, shadowing some of the targets. In some cases when we need to clarify the situation, we perform the so-called compliant boar dings. We have a special team on board of the ship participating to the Active Endeavour and they move on board of the merchant ship to check, for instance, what is the number and the identity of the crew members, what kind of things they are moving across the sea and so on. These are mainly the tasks they perform.

INTERVIEWER: What would the average day for a ship participating in the operation consist of?

CESARETTI: This is the typical example of the activity of the ship. They stay at sea normally 70-80 percent of the time and moving in a specific area. They take under control the area and report all the targets to the MOC (the Maritime Operational Centre). And here in the MOC we have the chance to verify the correspondence between the data they got from the ship at sea with the data we have in our database. A relationship with the result of this analysis we are able to order further investigation or to consider it clear the merchant ship.

INTERVIEWER: When you leave today after briefing the North Atlantic Council, what will be your key task for the immediate future?

CESARETTI: The immediate task for the future is to continue to improve the level awareness we have throughout the Mediterranean Sea and to improve our capability to perceive what is the so-called bad behaviour or the behaviour against the international law of some of the targets. And finally, if it is necessary, we act against this activity, informing the nation involved on this kind of illicit traffic.

INTERVIEWER: Thank you very much for coming.

CESARETTI: Thank you very much to you.