Brazil takes command of international maritime task forceBrazil takes command of international maritime task force

The mission of Combined Task Force 151 is to combat piracy in the Bahrain region

By First-Lieutenant (T) Paulo Yan Carlôto de Souza – Brasília, DF

The Brazilian Navy (MB) assumed yesterday (18) the Command of the Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), in a ceremony held in Manama, capital of Bahrain. The CTF-151 is a multinational task force that conducts operations to deter, disrupt and repress piracy in the Horn of Africa region. Rear Admiral Nelson de Oliveira Leite was given the job by Commodore Ahmed Hussein of the Pakistan Navy and will serve a term that will extend from August 2022 to February 2023.

CTF-151 is one of four task forces subordinate to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the Multinational Task Force formed by the coalition of 34 countries and organized to promote counter-piracy, security and stability in approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters that encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, notably the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea.

Participation in the CMF is voluntary and each country in the coalition decides how it can contribute to operations, either through ships, aircraft, or qualified personnel to make up the General Staffs of the Combined Task Forces or the CMF itself. The period of Command of the Task Forces ranges from four to six months.

Rear-Admiral Nelson Leite highlights that “by accepting another invitation to command the CTF-151, the Brazilian Navy reaffirms its commitment to the maritime community. I look forward to the work that my team will do to continue to promote and defend security in the region.

Brazil’s Participation in the CTF-151

The Commander of Naval Operations, Fleet Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, attended the ceremony and stated that “the Navy, by assuming the Command of CTF-151, reinforces Brazil’s position as an actor capable of contributing to the effort to maintain and secure the lines of maritime communication, participating in an international coalition to combat piracy, while respecting the limits of the Brazilian State’s actions. Besides this, it is a unique opportunity to consolidate knowledge at the operational and tactical levels, thus improving the doctrine and procedures concerning Security Operations, Defense, and Maritime Traffic Control, among others. Brazil was the first and only country in South America to command the CTF-151, taking over for the first time between June and November 2021.

*** Translated by the DEFCONPress Team ***

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