Photo By Lt. Cassandra Thompson | Korean Navy Rear Adm. Lee Beom-Rim (right) assumes command of Combined Task Force 151...... read more read more
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MANAMA, Bahrain - Republic of Korea Navy, Rear Admiral Beom-rim Lee assumed command of the Combined Maritime Forces counter-piracy unit, Combined Task Force 151, in a ceremony aboard the ROKS Kang Gam Chan, April 21. Rear Admiral Lee relieved Singapore Navy Rear Admiral Bernard Miranda, who has commanded CTF 151 since January.
Rear Admiral Miranda marked the conclusion of a highly successful deployment with the April 21 ceremony. During his tenure in command, there was a dramatic drop in the success rate of piracy attempts; plummeting to roughly 25 percent. Miranda stressed that to achieve this success they built on the fine work of their predecessors. "We engaged our partners actively, especially
the EU and NATO, in order to make the seas safer together. We proactively enhanced cooperation with the independently deployed nations; China, India, Japan and Russia, so as to reach a better level of information exchange and integration."
At the ceremony, Rear Admiral Lee assumed command of the deployed staff, which is made up of coalition personnel from a variety of nations, including Bahrain, Canada, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and US. While this is their first time commanding a CMF task force, the Republic of Korea Navy has a long tradition of maritime partnership around the world.
Vice Admiral Gortney, Commander of CMF thanked the Republic of Korea for taking leadership in the fight against piracy, confident that Rear Admiral Lee and his staff would expand on the security and stability the world has come to expect from the Combined Maritime Force.
In his speech, Vice Admiral Gortney commented on the importance of the global community working together: "The idea that nations from across the world are combining forces in an effort to ensure our global maritime security is not a bureaucratic pretense or empty slogan; it is the congress
of nations embodied here today, dedicating their time, resources and people to ensure freedom of the seas for all nations," he said. "The world is joining or working alongside CTF 151 for the presence, deterrence and leadership needed to ensure the security of the seas on which our shared economic stability depends. These efforts are the essence, as well as the real-world application of our Global Maritime Partnership."
CTF 151 is a multi-national task force established in January 2009 to conduct counter-piracy operations under a mission based mandate to actively deter, disrupt and suppress piracy in order to protect global maritime security and secure freedom of navigation for the benefit of all nations. It
operates in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia. CTF 151 has had a significant effect disrupting pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin. Although the number of piracy attempts has increased over the past year, the number of successful attacks has been reduced by 40 percent over this same time.
"CTF 151's achievements were attributed to the remarkable teamwork, excellent working relationship and mutual understanding amongst multinational members and friends," Miranda concluded.
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2010 09:54 |
| Story ID: | 48511 |
| Location: | MANAMA, BH |
| Web Views: | 755 |
| Downloads: | 615 |
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