Royal Navy-Led Force In Middle East Moves To New HQ

A Royal Navy-led force which safeguards merchant shipping in the Middle East has moved to new operational headquarters.

Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel, established last year, consists of eight nations: the UK, Australia, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates and USA.

Each country provides personnel or military assets such as warships, patrol vessels and aircraft, to ensure the safe passage of shipping in the tense region.

Among the UK's contribution is Plymouth-based frigate HMS Montrose which is on a long-term deployment to the Gulf in a pilot initiative, alongside her sister HMS Argyll, which is on a regular Middle East deployment.

The new headquarters for the task force is at the US Naval Base in Bahrain.

The task force previously operated from two large air-conditioned tents at the base.

The facility will allow for greater coordination in tracking ships as they pass through the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the gulfs of Oman and Aden, the Navy said.

An estimated six million barrels of oil and nearly 3.5 billion cubic feet of liquid natural gas pass through these waters every day, making it one of the most strategically important waterways in the Middle East.

The Royal Navy said that the most likely threat to ships is posed by a suicide bomber in a boat, such as the one which attacked the American destroyer USS Cole off Yemen 20 years ago.

The other main threat is a terrorist armed with rockets. 

Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, Commander of the US Fifth Fleet and the senior Coalition naval officer in the Gulf region, said. "This coalition fulfils a much-needed role.

"Its watchwords of ‘vigilance, surveillance, and assurance’ tell you exactly what CTF Sentinel is about and why the task force plays such a key role in the region.

"They are providing the much-needed collective eyes and ears to some of the world’s most congested, contested waters."

The task force was setup following heightened tensions in the region, which included the seizure of a British-flagged tanker in July 2019.

Cover image: The new HQ being opened in Bahrain (Picture: Royal Navy).