In an impressive change of command ceremony held at the Naval Central Command Headquarters in Bahrain, Pakistan Navy (PN) assumed the Command of Multinational Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) for the 9th time.

According to the Spokesperson of PN, this is the 9th time that the Pakistan Navy has taken over the command of this important task force responsible for counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and Horn of Africa under the overall ambit of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). Before Pakistan, the Turkish Navy held the command of CTF-151.

In his address, Commodore Abdul Muneeb said that Pakistan Navy will continue to work with the navies of other countries for peace and stability in the region.

Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia.

Its mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea and to engage with regional and other partners to build capacity and improve relevant capabilities in order to protect global maritime commerce and secure freedom of navigation. It operates in conjunction with the EU’s Operation Atlanta and NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield. Pakistan Navy joined CTF-151 in 2009 to combat piracy.