While in Kenya, Commodore Edmundson conducted a series of high-level meetings in both Nairobi and Mombasa. In Nairobi he had an office call with the Canadian High Commissioner Ms Sara Hradecky and attended a roundtable discussion with key members of the High Commission staff. The main discussion points included promoting CMF as a partner of choice in the region, a brief summary of CTF 150 recent Operation(Op) QUEENSTON, and a presentation on the newly arrived Unclassified Remote-sensing Situational Awareness(URSA) capability which has been deployed to support the CMF.
In the afternoon of Jan 9, CCTF 150 met with select members from the United Nations Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group. Discussion points included CMF as a partner of choice, information sharing between the two organizations and an introduction to URSA.
On Jan 10, the group travelled to Mombasa to meet with senior staff from the Kenyan Navy. Colonel Lawrence Gituma (left), provided an overview of Kenya's ongoing operations and challenges encountered. Discussions took place regarding collaboration, training opportunities and capacity building.
It was a very successful week of engagements with maritime security partners in eastern Africa. We look forward to working with Kenya and Tanzania in the future
Next stop, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and on Jan 12, CCTF 150 attends a series of meetings with:
- Canada's High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Ian Myles
- UK National Crime Agency, Mr Mark Lewendon and Mr Andrew Stephens, Crown Prosecutor service.
On Jan 13, 2017, CCTF 150 met with Capt(N) Mumamga and his key staff from the Tanzania Navy. Capt(N) Mumamga recognized the long relationship between Tanzania and the Canadian Armed Forces. He provided an overview of the Tanzanian Navy's platforms and discussed with CCTF 150 future information sharing, collaboration and training opportunities.
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) is one of three task forces operated by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). Its mission is to promote maritime security in order to counter terrorist acts and related illegal activities, which terrorists use to fund or conceal their movements. The activities of CTF 150 directly influence events ashore, as terrorist organisations are denied a risk free method of conducting operations or moving personnel, weapons or income-generating narcotics. CTF-150’s area of operation includes some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. CTF 150‘s Area of Operation (AOR) spans over two million square miles, covering the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman (but not the Arabian Gulf, which is the responsibility of CTF 152).
This area is a vital artery of world trade that includes the main shipping routes from the Far East to Europe and the US with over 23,000 shipping movements per year. Over one third of the world’s oil passes through the Area of Operation (AOR) each year. In addition the AOR contains three narrow waterways, know as ‘choke points’, where vessels are required to pass closely between two shorelines. This means they have limited maneuverability and are more vulnerable than would otherwise be the case in open waters.
About the Combined Maritime Forces
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multi-national naval partnership, which exists 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. CMF’s main focus areas are defeating terrorism, preventing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, and promoting a safe maritime environment. CMF counters violent extremism and terrorist networks in maritime areas of responsibility; works with regional and other partners to improve overall security and stability; helps strengthen regional nations’ maritime capabilities and, when requested, responds to environmental and humanitarian crises. CMF operates three task forces: CTF 150 (maritime security and counter-terrorism), CTF 151 (counter piracy) and CTF 152 (Arabian Gulf security and cooperation).
