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Turkey to take command of anti-piracy force: US
Manama (AFP) April 24, 2009 The US Fifth Fleet announced on Friday it is transferring command of the counter-piracy international naval force CTF 151 to the Turkish Navy on May 3. "The US Navy will transfer command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 to the Turkish Navy on Sunday May 3, 2009," Lieutenant Nathan Christensen of the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said in a statement. Rear Admiral Michelle Howard will hand over control of the task force to Turkish Rear Admiral Caner Bener in a ceremony aboard the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, the Navy said. "Turkey will be the second nation to command the counter-piracy task force. This also marks the first time Turkey will command a Combined Maritime Forces Task Force," the statement said. CTF 151 was established in January this year to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean after a wave of hijackings off the coast of Somalia. Somali pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden last year, an increase of more than 200 percent on 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau which tracks piracy. Heavily armed pirates operate high-powered speed boats and sometimes hold ships for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or ship owners. More than 150 suspected pirates were arrested by naval patrols in the Gulf in 2008. CTF 151 is one of four international naval forces operating in the region. The others are the European Union's "EUNAVFOR Atlanta", NATO's Standing Naval Maritime Group One and French-commanded Combined Task Force 150. CTF 151 was launched in January 2009 by the United States as an international effort "specifically for counter-piracy operations". Its remit was to lead operations conducted by any states that might choose to put themselves under US command, rather than work with NATO or the European Union. Noone at the Fifth Fleet was immediately available to give details of the current composition of CTF 151. Turkey's Anatolia newsagency reported in February that Turkish frigate TGC Giresun, with 263 men on board, had set sail to join CTF 151. The same month, Singapore said it would send a navy transport ship and two helicopters to work with CTF 151. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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NATO extends anti-piracy mission off Somalia
Brussels (AFP) April 24, 2009NATO decided Friday to extend its anti-piracy work off the coast of Somalia given the increase in attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden. |
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