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…