Combined Task Force News

Yemen's Houthis have been targeting vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait in attacks that the Iran-aligned group says aim to support the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war.Several freight firms including MSC, the world's largest container shipping line, said they would avoid the Suez Canal as a result, which could mean having to circumnavigate Africa instead.War risk insurance premiums have risen as a result.WHAT ARE THE RECENT HOUTHI ATTACKS?* Dec.

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

The United States has transferred three U.S. Navy patrol craft to the Egyptian Navy in an effort to help boost regional maritime security.During a formal ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt on March 21, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) turned over USS Hurricane (PC 3), USS Sirocco (PC 6), and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), three former Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships built by Bollinger Shipyards in the early 1990s.“The Egypt-U.S. maritime partnership has been a fundamental pillar of our bilateral defense cooperation for decades,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S.

The 2022 biennial, multi-national Rim of the Pacific's (RIMPAC) exercise has come to a close.This year’s exercise with the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” featured 26 participating nations and 38 surface ships, three submarines, more than 30 uncrewed systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.RIMPAC 2022 featured a wide range of capabilities--projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, and took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug.

Two warships came to the aid of an injured seafarer on board the Indian-flagged merchant tanker Lourdes off the coast of Oman in the early hours on Monday.French frigate Jean Bart and Japanese destroyer Ariake were called to conduct the emergency operation, which saw medical personnel from both vessels assist an Indian patient who had a suspected head injury.At 0100Z (0400 local time), a Japanese medic provided immediate assistance on board MV Lourdes, before coordinating with…

Royal Australian Navy reports that its frigate HMAS Ballarat seized two tonnes of hashish worth approximately $71 million in street value during a boarding operation on 28 February 2019.The boarding was conducted in international waters by the Combined Task Force 150 under the direction of the Combined Maritime Forces as part of Operation Manitou.Following the suspicious behavior of a local fishing vessel (dhow), the boarding team searched and discovered 100 hessian bags of hashish on board…

Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat has seized more than 900 kilos of heroin worth approximately $279 million* during two boarding operations that took place 21–23 Dec 18 as part of Operation MANITOU.Ballarat conducted flag verification checks by boarding vessels of interest, under the direction of the Combined Maritime Forces’ (CMF) Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 in international waters in the Arabian Sea. The fishing vessels, known as dhows, were believed to be engaging in illegal activity.The boarding team discovered and seized illegal narcotics on both dhows.

Naval and merchant maritime experts partnered together to deliver enhanced maritime domain awareness (MDA) for the first time in a Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in 2018.MDA is the ability to maintain situational awareness of seagoing vessel movements, and is used to assess the normal patterns of life on major trade routes. Their interaction provided an adaptive capability that is an important part of maritime security operations.This capability is a critical supporting element in the effort to maintain freedom of navigation…

HMAS Warramunga’s crew has seized record amounts of narcotics on Operation Manitou following their latest interdiction. In the latest haul, the crew of the Royal Australian Navy frigate seized approximately 132 kilograms of heroin valued at almost $40 million while patrolling international waters of the Arabian Sea on 6 March 2018. The illegal narcotics interdiction is Warramunga’s third seizure in the past seven days having also seized in excess of eight tonnes of hashish from two vessels just days earlier.

The crew of Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has intercepted two vessels and seized approximately eight tonnes of hashish valued at approximately $400 million during operations in international waters of the Arabian Sea. Warramunga has now seized 19.5 tonnes of hashish and 1.5 tonnes of heroin, valued in excess of $1.43 billion* since deploying to the Middle East in November 2017. On 3 March Warramunga’s Seahawk helicopter crew detected a vessel of interest during surveillance operations. A boarding party searched the vessel, uncovering 4.1 tonnes of illicit cargo. The Seahawk crew then detected a second vessel of interest and the subsequent boarding and search operation resulted in the seizure of an additional 3.9 tonnes of illegal narcotics.

Australian and New Zealand joint forces have seized 915 kilograms of heroin, valued in excess of $274 million, in a counter-narcotics operation in the Western Indian Ocean. HMAS Warramunga’s crew has conducted one of the largest drug seizures in Operation MANITOU’s history as part of the Australian-led Combined Task Force 150. In a joint counter-narcotics operation, the Royal Australian Navy and the New Zealand Defence Force seized 915 kilograms of heroin valued in excess of AUD$274 million. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 aircraft detected a suspicious vessel in the Western Indian Ocean on 23 January 2018, which was boarded and investigated by the crew in Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga on 24 January.

The crew of the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga have spent the Christmas season hard at work, spending nearly three days seizing almost eight tonnes of hashish and 69 kilograms of heroin from drug smugglers while conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea. Warramunga intercepted and boarded three suspect vessels between 27 and 29 December 2017, in an operation planned and coordinated by the Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 150 which is currently commanded by Australia—supported by a combined Australian-Canadian staff. The illegal drug haul is the largest quantity of hashish seized by an Australian ship on Middle East maritime security operations with the overall haul estimated to be valued at around AUD$415 million.

In coordination with the European Union Naval Force and the Turkish-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, which is a part of the Combined Maritime Forces, the U.S. Navy provided assistance to an Iranian fishing vessel after a reported piracy attack Oct. 24, south of Socotra, Yemen. The Iranian coast guard called U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) to report the incident and seek assistance for the fishing vessel. NAVCENT coordinated with the European Union Naval Force, who sent a patrol aircraft to investigate the incident. The U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83) and the CTF-151 attached Japan Maritime Self Defense Force destroyer JS Amagiri (DD-154) responded to the vessel's location.

HMAS Ballarat has sailed into her home port of Fleet Base West in Rockingham, Western Australia, to a large gathering of family and friends after completing a three month deployment to South East Asia and; participating in Exercise TALISMAN SABER off the Australian coast. The deployment, which began in early April, was part of the Australian Government’s efforts to promote regional stability and improve interoperability between regional partners and included port visits to Zhanjiang, Singapore, Sattahip, Bangkok, Da Nang and Kota Kinabalu. Ballarat’s Commanding Officer, Commander Paul Johnson said that the deployment facilitated great opportunities to enhance the Royal Australian Navy’s interoperability with regional partners…

Australia's HMAS Ballarat has completed a port visit to Sepanggar, Malaysia as part of a three month South East Asia deployment. She was in the region to enagage with the Royal Malaysian Navy, and load supplies before she returns to Australia for further exercises. Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral David Johnston, said Ballarat’s deployment provided an opportunity to engage with many nations in South East Asia. “Our enduring military to military engagement activities contribute to security and stability in our region,” he said. HMAS Ballarat will join Exercise Talisman Sabre in the coming weeks. Talisman Sabre is a biennial combined Australian and United States training activity…

In a four-month span, Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces has proven itself a formidable force against narcotics trafficking, with 10 drug seizures totaling over 3,300 kilograms of heroin, cocaine, cannabis resin and hashish since March. It started with the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta (FFH 151) on March 2, when the crew seized 800 kilograms of hashish, a drug made from cannabis. Eleven days later on March 13, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) seized 270 kilograms of heroin and then again on March 17, when the crew seized 500 kilograms of hashish. All seizures were from small stateless dhows in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

Navy’s deployed ship in the Middle East, HMAS Arunta, has had its small arms weapons inspected, serviced and certified during a recent port visit. HMAS Arunta is serving on a nine-month Operation MANITOU deployment which has necessitated an all-important maintenance period. With all previous ships only spending six months away, the requirement to have weapons inspected and maintained while in the area of operations had not been required. The fly-away team was required as embarked personnel are not qualified to conduct the tightly-controlled specific technical maintenance which is undertaken by the joint logistic units at Australian major bases in Sydney and Perth.

For the second time in five days, guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) intercepted a small, stateless dhow in the international waters of the Arabian Sea and seized 500 kilograms of Hashish, March 17. Laboon, conducting maritime security operations in the region as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of the Combined Maritime Forces, conducted an inspection of the vessel as part of a flag verification boarding and found the illicit cargo. Lt. Dan Foley, the boarding officer who led the team which made the seizure, credited his team for their diligence and putting in many long hours in the process. "They worked tirelessly for over 14 hours to secure the illicit narcotics," Foley said. "I cannot praise them enough for staying calm and collected in a very tense environment.

Amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20), with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), officially kicked off Exercise Cobra Gold 2017 (CG 17) in Sattahip, Thailand, Feb. 14. Cobra Gold is a Thailand/United States co-sponsored, combined task force and joint theater security cooperation exercise conducted annually in the Kingdom of Thailand. CG 17 will be held Feb. 14-24, with up to 29 nations participating. CG 17, in its 36th iteration, will address regional and global security challenges and will promote international cooperation and stability within the region. This year, Cobra Gold will strengthen regional cooperation and collaboration…

USS Laboon (DDG 58) intercepted a small stateless dhow in the international waters of the Arabian Sea March 13, seizing 270 kilograms of heroin. Laboon, conducting maritime security operations in the region as a part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of the Combined Maritime Forces, was conducting an inspection of the vessel as part of a flag verification boarding when the illicit cargo was found. "Keeping these drugs off the street helps everyone, and keeps money from those who use the profits for harm," said Cmdr. Jason Labott, Laboon's commanding officer. The operation could not have succeeded without cooperation between U.S. Navy and U.K. Royal Navy vessels under the command of a Royal Canadian Navy commodore.

U.S. Navy sailors aboard amphibious assault ship USS Boxer took time to reflect on the anniversary of the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden seven years ago. Phillips was rescued April 12, 2009 by special operations personnel aboard USS Bainbridge and transferred to Boxer for medical evaluation and care. Boxer also served as a staging platform for the rescue operation. “This is a great reminder of the flexibility and warfighting spirit USS Boxer exhibits; always ready to respond, no matter the crisis, operation or mission,” said Capt.

Family and friends joined Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett on the wharf at Garden Island, Sydney to welcome HMAS Darwin home from a successful Middle East deployment. During her Operation MANITOU rotation, Darwin and her Ship’s Company seized a large cache of illicit weapons and narcotics. Vice Admiral Barrett  praised Darwin’s Ship’s Company on their accomplishments. “By removing weapons and drugs from circulation, you made a tangible difference, limiting terrorist organisations’ ability to raise money,” Vice Admiral Barrett said. Commanding Officer Darwin, Commander Phillip Henry said the men and women serving in the guided missile frigate worked hard to accomplish their mission. “Every family here today can be justifiably proud of their loved one.

One of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest maritime warfare exercises has begun in several locations off the New South Wales coast. Exercise OCEAN RAIDER involves 11 warships and submarines, aircraft and more than 1,500 personnel from Australia and the United States in a three week program of maritime activities. It is the first year Navy has staged OCEAN RAIDER, which along with OCEAN EXPLORER and OCEAN HORIZON are designed to train and certify the fleet in task-group-level joint sea combat. Commander of the Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer said Navy’s aim was to generate and deploy self-supported, sustainable maritime task groups by 2018 and OCEAN RAIDER was an important step toward achieving that goal.