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.
Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain lead the SHADE counter-piracy conference
The latest Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conference took place in Bahrain at an opportune time with the International Mine Counter Measures Exercise 16 (IMCMEX16) as the background to the discussions, and as a reminder of the global importance of the maritime environment.
CMF Celebrates Its Diversity With Ambassadors Day
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) welcomed Ambassadors from 10 nations and representatives from 18 countries to US Navcent HQ to celebrate the partnership of the willing as CMF aims to further strengthen the relationship between the contributing nations.
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…
COMMANDER CTF 151 AND COMMANDER CTF 150 MEET ONBOARD TCG GÖKSU
On July 5, 2013, Commander, Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, Commodore Muhammad Ihsan Qadir SI Pakistan Navy (M), met with Commander, CTF 150, Captain Hervé Bléjean of the French Navy. The meeting between the two task force commanders took place at sea onboard TCG GÖKSU (F-497), the CTF 151 flagship. The Commanding Officer of TCG GÖKSU, Commander Ahmet Gül Turkish Navy, and the CTF 151 Chief of Staff, Captain Khalid Pervez Pakistan Navy, also attended the meeting. <!–more–> CTF 151 and CTF 150 are organized and operated under the command of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), which is headquartered in Bahrain. CMF is a coalition of 29 nations dedicated to securing and stabilizing the maritime environment across a huge area – spanning from the Arabian Gulf to the Suez Canal in the north and from Pakistan to Kenya in the south. CTF 150’s mission focuses on counter-terrorism operations, whereas 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…
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…
CHARLOTTETOWN PROVIDES MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
Sailors from Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Charlottetown provided medical assistance to local fishermen in the Gulf of Aden, May 16.
USS HALSEY GIVES AID TO YEMENI DHOW
On 19 January 2012, M/V Albrouj, a Yemeni dhow en route to Somalia from Yemen, hailed a helicopter conducting operations from USS HALSEY (DDG 97) and indicated that they were in distress.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97), which was two hours away from the position of the dhow, immediately responded to the distress call. USS Halsey is currently the flagship of Combined Task Force 151 conducting counter piracy and maritime security operations.