Combined Task Force 150 reaches the half way mark

February 21, 2020 – Defence Stories

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The RAN, RCN, and RNZN CTF 150 team during the Change of Command ceremony held at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, 5 December 2019.

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Crew from FS COURBET (including their drug detection dog) with the 3,500kg of hashish seized from a dhow in the Gulf of Oman on 13 December, 2019. The estimated regional wholesale value of this bust was $1.8 million U.S. dollars.

Author: Lieutenant (Navy) Tony Wright
CTF 150 Public Affairs Officer

The present rotation of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, led by Australia and supported by Canada and New Zealand, reached its half way point on 22 January 2020. With nine weeks since assuming command and nine more to go until command is passed to the incoming French-led rotation, the team has made some significant contributions to maritime security in the wider Gulf region.

CTF 150, headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, is one of three combined task forces within Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). The 33 member nations of CMF work together to promote security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

Day to day, the CTF 150 Battle Watch and staff direct ships from participating countries working in support of CTF 150 to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO) so that legitimate commercial shipping can freely transit the region, and to seek out and seize drug shipments and other illicit cargo that fund and support terrorist operations in the region and around the world.

Australia assumed command of CTF 150 on 5 December 2019. Eight days later, they had their first drug seizure.

The French Ship (FS) COURBET, a frigate of the French Marine Nationale, seized 3,500 kilograms (kgs) of hashish from a dhow in the Gulf of Oman.

Not to be outdone, Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) DEFENDER of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy followed less than a week later with a seizure of a record 131 kgs of crystal methamphetamine. That amount was a huge increase in the amount of crystal methamphetamine being smuggled year-on-year, with 257 kgs interdicted in 2019, versus only nine kgs in 2018.

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Royal Marine Commandos and the Royal Navy crew of HMS DEFENDER with their ‘WILDCAT’ shipborne helicopter and the 131 kgs of crystal methamphetamine seized from a dhow in the Gulf of Oman on 19 December, 2019.

In 2020, it seems FS COURBET came back determined to outdo their 2019 performance. Only five days into the New Year, on 5 January 2020, COURBET seized another 1,500 kgs of hashish from a dhow in the Arabian Sea.

On 17 and 18 January, FS COURBET was at it again. In 24 hours FS COURBET’s boarding teams conducted three boardings and searches. Two were a bust, but the third search netted 3,000 kgs of hashish from a vessel, again sailing in the Gulf of Oman.

Altogether, over 8,000kg of narcotics have been seized in the first half of this deployment by ships working in direct support of CTF 150. Those drugs have an estimated regional wholesale value of $ (U.S.) 4.3 million. Had these drugs reached their intended destination, the street value would have been many, many times more.

“We trained hard and prepared for this mission,” said New Zealand’s Captain (Navy) Sean Stewart, Deputy Commander of CTF 150. “The results we’ve had so far with the support of the French Marine Nationale and the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy are brilliant, but we are not going to slow down. Right up to the last day, we are going to push hard and keep up the pressure on those who exploit the maritime domain for illegal purposes.”

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Members of CTF 150 participate in the Jingle Bell 5k run event at NSA Bahrain. The kilometres they clocked go towards the “Kangaroo Hop Home for Charity”, CTF 150’s effort to raise funds for the Australian bushfire recovery.

Throughout their time in Bahrain, the team has been watching the news and following the devastation from the Australian bushfires. It motivated CTF 150 to act.

In an effort to raise funds to support those in need, CTF 150 personnel from all three nations are conducting a number of fundraising activities to support the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Disaster Appeal.

“It’s difficult to be here and watch what is going on at home,” said LCdr. Melanie Lenard, a RAN Training Systems Officer assigned to the mission. “Many of us know someone who has been affected by the fires and we wanted to do something to help.”

The team has given themselves a goal of raising $10,000 by the end of the deployment. They are almost half way there and everyone can help them. The donations raised will go directly to the Australian Red Cross in March 2020.

The CTF 150 team is still focused on the mission but, of course, they are looking forward to returning home to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to reunite with friends and family in late March.

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