The battle staff of the Singapore-led Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) welcomed new members and officers from four countries during a port call in Salalah, Oman.
Multinational representation in CTF 151 grew from seven to 11 nations with France, Brunei, Vietnam and Thailand joining a command team that already includes representatives from Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
The influx of new personnel and expertise will allow CTF 151 to draw on their diverse range of views and experience regarding the conduct of counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden.
Major Sahibul Bahari Bin Haji Zainal Abidin, Royal Brunei Navy, acknowledged the value of a multinational team. “This is a great opportunity to share processes and learn from each other whilst engaged in counter-piracy operations.”
Through their participation, the new battle staff officers will be exposed to different cultural and operational perspectives. The majority of the Singaporean members of the CTF 151 battle staff also conducted a crew change, allowing more personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces an opportunity to participate and contribute to the mission.
Currently operating from their flagship, RFA Fort Victoria, and commanded by Rear Admiral Giam Hock Koon, CTF-151 was established in January 2009 specifically to deter, disrupt and thwart piracy operations in the Northern Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
It is a multinational task force that conducts counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
Command of CTF 151 rotates through the 28 nations of the Combined Maritime Forces every three months, with the current team due to hand over to a team from the Pakistani navy in June.
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) 