The commander of Singapore-led Combined Task Force 151 (CTF) recently met with senior officers from the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) and ROP Coast Guard during a visit to Oman, which included port stops in Muscat and Salalah.
Rear Admiral Giam Hock Koon of the Singapore Navy met Commodore Mahfoodh al Wahaibi, director general for operations and plans, RNO, and the director general of ROP’s Coast Guard unit, Colonel Bader al Zadgali, in Muscat, where discussions were held on regional maritime security and piracy situation.
“Oman is an important contributor and we greatly appreciate their support of Combined Maritime Forces in our counter-piracy efforts,” said Rear Admiral Koon.
The sultanate’s support of CTF 151’s counter-piracy efforts include providing coalition ships access to Salalah and Muscat ports for replenishment and maintaining communication channels.
According to a release from the Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain, which oversees the different CTF fleets, CTF and Omani officials noted that although measures taken by counter piracy had been effective in keeping attacks down this year, there was a need to remain vigilant.
During the visit to Port of Salalah, command staff on board UK’s RFA Fort Victoria welcomed new officers from four countries into the team.
GCC countries Saudi Arabia and UAE have already contributed personnel to the CTF 151 counter piracy mission.
Currently operating from their flagship RFA Fort Victoria and commanded by Rear Admiral Giam Hock Koon, CTF 151 was established in January 2009 specifically to deter pirates in the Northern Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Command of CTF 151 rotates through the 28 nations of the Combined Maritime Forces every three months, with the current team due to hand over to a team from the Pakistani Navy in June.
Via: http://www.muscatdaily.com/
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