NATO completed its mission on Friday to escort World Food Programme (WFP) shipments to Somalia and to deter piracy in the Gulf of Aden, said the alliance.
Four NATO warships provided escort on eight occasions which resulted in the safe delivery of 30,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Somalia, and conducted deterrence patrols in the area most susceptible to criminal acts against merchant shipping, said the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
"The decision to run this mission has set a valuable precedent for our alliance," said General John Craddock, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. "With little time to plan, NATO has completed a very successful mission. We have demonstrated that we can react, and quickly, in times of crisis."
The WFP has said more than two million Somalis could go hungry without the NATO protection. Since the NATO mission started on October 24, 2008, no pirate attacks have been launched against ships loaded with WFP food.
The NATO mission has been replaced by a European Union (EU) operation codenamed Atalanta. The EU naval operation, the first of its kind, would run for 12 months.
NATO, meanwhile, is considering its long-term strategy on the piracy issue and stands ready to consider further requests for the use of its naval assets in this regard, the alliance has said.
Piracy remained rampant despite the presence of NATO ships and that of a dozen from other countries, such as Denmark, France, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Since October 24, pirates assaulted 32 vessels and captured 12 off the coast of Somalia. Every day, over 50 merchant vessels sail through the Gulf of Aden, which is a key trade route linking the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.