SAF lauded for command over anti-piracy task force
The Singapore Armed Forces completed its command of a multi-national counter-piracy task force yesterday and its efforts contributed to zero piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden in the past three months.
SAF's Rear-Admiral Saw Shi Tat handed over command of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) to Captain Ali Alrashidi of the Kuwait Naval Force in a ceremony in Bahrain.
Over the past three months, the SAF led CTF 151 in coordinating operations to deter and disrupt piracy in the Gulf of Aden from its base in Bahrain.
RADM Saw and his team left an "impressive mark" on the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), said CMF commander, US Vice-Admiral Scott A. Stearney.
CTF 151 comes under the CMF, a multinational naval partnership led by the US.
Vice-Adm Stearney said the good performance by the team was a testament to the professionalism, dedication and commitment of SAF personnel.
He added: "Whether it was improving our relationships with key leaders in the region, overseeing hundreds of hours of airborne surveillance of critical maritime reaches or keeping the sea lanes of the Gulf of Aden safe while rendering assistance to mariners at risk when needed, RADM Saw and his team left an impressive mark on the CMF."
RADM Saw, 42, said the strong relationship between the Singapore-led team and the various counter-piracy agencies in the region was one success factor for the deployment.
This enabled effective information-sharing and better operational coordination of forces for counter-piracy operations, he said.
"The successful deployment is important to Singapore because the efforts helped to protect the strategic waterways in the Gulf of Aden through which a large proportion of global maritime trade passes through," he added.
During the term, the CTF 151 command team shared information with partners such as the European Union Naval Force and independently deployed navies from China and India.
The team also coordinated a series of counter-piracy operations involving CMF units, European Union Naval Force forces and international maritime agencies to improve inter-operability.
The command team comprised 53 SAF personnel and 11 international officers from countries such as Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia and Japan.
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