Senior British military figure visits CMF HQ
The most senior British military officer visited Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) headquarters in Bahrain this month.
CMF scores another huge win against drug traffickers
The Royal Navy’s HMS Defender has seized over a metric tonne of high grade hashish being trafficked across the Indian Ocean yesterday.
Combined Maritime Forces enjoys further success
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) has made four more seizures of heroin as part of its ongoing, successful campaign to combat illicit activities in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.
CMF Commanders come together
The Commanders from the three Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Combined Task Forces (CTFs) have met this month to discuss maritime security.
CTF 150 visits HMCS TORONTO in Bahrain
Commodore Asif Khaliq, Pakistan Navy, who is currently the Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, recently visited the Royal Canadian Navy warship, HMCS TORONTO, whilst she was alongside in Bahrain to learn first-hand about her capabilities. TORONTO, a Halifax-class frigate, is one of the most advanced general purpose platforms in the world and has been actively participating in CTF 150 since Spring 2013, successfully conducting six seizures of illegal drug shipments during the past year. She has been assigned to CMF by the Canadian Government in order to help counter terrorism. In addition the ship and her crew are tasked with encouraging greater regional cooperation, thus setting the conditions for a safe maritime trading environment for all. Speaking of the visit to HMCS TORONTO, Commodore Khaliq said “Our visit gave the team hands on insight into TORONTO’s impressive capabilities.” It is also gave Commodore Khaliq an ideal opportunity to…
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink
HMS Kent is currently part of the UK’s standing commitment to operations in the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, at sea for weeks on end interacting with legitimate users of the sea, whilst trying to identify and apprehend those who seek to use it for more nefarious activity. On an average day the ship will conduct around a dozen Approach and Assist Visits (AAV) to dhows and medium sized ships and boats, monitoring the patterns of life, tracking hundreds of vessels and having face-to-face contact with numerous mariners. Operating 4 000 miles from home, in a region with some 20 varieties of language and a vastly different culture presents challenges that require of HMS Kent the ability to interact diplomatically and with sensitivity to local personnel. In gaining trust and empathising with the tough existence that many of these mariners endure, there is one simple currency that secures…
CTF 150: HMS KENT JOINS INTERNATIONAL FORCE FOR GOOD
HMS KENT continues her broad ranging maritime duties, conducting Counter Piracy, Counter Terrorism patrols and curbing illegal activity from within the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea. The ship has now joined the international Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), already consisting of French and Canadian warships, working with ships from Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Together this flotilla has established a task group to provide assurance for the safe passage of merchant vessels of any nationality through the infamous Bab Al Mendab (BAM) strait and beyond. CTF 150 is pictured in formation as it approached the eastern point of the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC), effectively a protected motorway of the sea for all legitimate mariners. The CTF was later joined by a warship from the Australian Navy, highlighting the importance of this stretch of water to the global economy. By delivering the ‘policing’ of the IRTC the CTF…
CTF 150: Operations in the Bab El Mandeb Strait Continues
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) operations continue in the southern Red Sea, Bab el Mandeb strait and Gulf of Aden, some of the most frequented waters in the world. The third phase of this recent operation under the French command of the CTF 150 started yesterday. Indeed, after the planning then the integration phase of the different units that would have been able to coordinate the different assets available, the operation enters in its execution phase. Patrol ships from the Yemeni Coast Guard and Navy and from the Djibouti Navy joined the different ships of the CTF150 in order to start common patrols. The French commander, in charge of all activities, said, “This operation shows and reinforces the interoperability that already exists between the different navies engaged under the CTF 150 banner and the forces of the region. The coordination has exceeded the framework of the traditional meetings of…
Maritime Security Operations with France, Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia
Warships from 6 international navies are currently operating as part of the French led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), conducting maritime security cooperation in close coordination with coastal states and regional partners in the southern Red Sea, Bab el Mandeb strait and west of the Gulf of Aden. This operation is part of a series of several maritime security operations conducted in the region by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). The operation has been planned to establish a routine flow of information between CTF 150 assets and their regional partners and specifically the ships and Naval Operation Centres (NOCs), to be able to coordinate a wide response to any possible terrorist threat and the subsequent use of the maritime environment in this strategic area. <!–more–> This cooperation will deter the illicit activities linked to terrorism and will enable CMF forces to maintain a safe maritime area for the legitimate…
Bahraini Naval Vessels take part in CMF Search and Rescue exercise
Units from the Bahrain Navy and Bahrain Coast Guard have recently completed a major Search and Rescue exercise off the coast of Manama, working as part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). <!–more–> The patrol vessel RBNS Al Jaberi and the corvette RBNS Manama joined RBCGS DAR-14 for Exercise Falcon Response, designed to develop the Bahraini maritime forces’ ability to rescue distressed mariners at sea. Working with warships from the United States Navy and cutters from the United States Coast Guard, the three Bahraini vessels practiced searching wide areas of open ocean for a simulated ‘casualty’. The exercise called for close cooperation between the ships and an operations base ashore in Bahrain. Commander Rashed Al Ameen, Commanding Officer of RBNS Al Jaberi, said: “I think the integration between all the participants was outstanding. “As navies, we only get to see each other at sea. This integration isn’t something we can…