Everything about Combined Task Force 150 totally explained
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) is a multinational coalition
naval task force with logistics facilities at
Djibouti. It is coordinated with, and incorporates vessels of, the US Navy's
Fifth Fleet, under the Combined Forces Maritime Component Commander/Commander US Naval Forces Central Command in
Bahrain.
The multinational task force was established to monitor, inspect, board, and stop suspect shipping to pursue the
War on Terrorism and includes operations in the North
Arabia Sea to support
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and operations in the
Indian Ocean to support
Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA). These activities are referred to as
Maritime Security Operations (MSO).
Countries presently contributing to CTF-150 include
Canada,
France,
Germany,
Pakistan,
United Kingdom and the
United States. Other nations who have participated include
Australia,
Italy,
Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Portugal,
Spain, and
Turkey. The command of the task force rotates between the different participating navies, with commands usually lasting between four to six months. The task force usually comprises 14 or 15 vessels.
In
January 2003, the task force held a
Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) exercise
involving the following vessels:
On
June 8,
2005, CTF-150, under the command of Royal Navy Commodore Tony Rix, successfully conducted the boarding of the vessel
Safari in international waters, leading to the seizure of 2.3 tons of hashish. The French frigate
D'Estienne d'Orves-class sloop Commandant Birot (F796) performed the boarding. The captured crew were transferred to the
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS O'Kane (DDG 77).
On
August 17,
2005, French
Vice Admiral Jacques Mazars replaced British
Royal Navy Commodore Tony Rix as commander of CTF-150. At the time, it comprised vessels of
France,
Germany,
Pakistan,
Canada, the
United Kingdom and
United States.
2006 - 2007: Operations off Somalia
Anti-piracy operations
» See also: Piracy in Somalia
On
22 January 2006 USS Winston S. Churchill captured a suspected pirate vessel in the Indian Ocean as part of an ongoing effort to help maintain law and order in the region.
On
April 4,
2006, the South Korean fishing vessel Motor Vessel Dong Won (628) reported it had come under rocket attack off the coast of Somalia. Immediately two ships from the task force, the Dutch vessel
HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802) and the US guided-missile destroyer
USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) responded. However, the pirates had already hijacked the vessel and reached Somali territorial waters after threatening the captured crew members.
On
April 24,
2006, Pakistani
Rear Admiral Shahid Iqbal took command of CTF-150 from Dutch
Commodore Hank Ort on a ceremony aboard the
HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën. The Pakistani ship
PNS Shahjahan served in the task force during this time. On
August 22, Rear Adm. Iqbal was relieved by German Rear Admiral Heinrich Lange.
In March 2007, the Dutch frigate
Hr.Ms. Evertsen deployed to the waters of the Horn of Africa, as part of CTF-150, and in response to a request from the
United Nations World Food Programme, against piracy off the Somalian coast.
Interdiction
Somali Civil War continued to escalate. During this time, the task force conducted normal operations in the Indian Ocean. By early
2007 it became actively involved in providing a maritime cordon to prevent the escape of members of
Al Qaeda suspected of being embedded within the ranks of the
Islamic Courts Union (ICU).
Open warfare broke out between Ethiopian and
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces on
December 20,
2006, but until
January 2,
2007 there had been no request by the Ethiopian or Somali military for CTF-150 to take action. On that day, the aim of the patrols shifted to "...stop SICC leaders or foreign militant supporters escaping"
On
January 4, ships of the task force began performing
Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) missions, boarding fishing boats (
dhows) and oil tankers passing near the Somali coast. US ships of Combined Task Force 150 include the
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Ramage and the
Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Bunker Hill.
Commodore Bruce Williams of the
Royal Navy led the task force at this time.
Further Information
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