Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll joined the international Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) during a recent visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Currently under command of Royal Navy Commodore Steve Moorhouse, CTF 150 is part of the 32-nation Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), is responsible for disrupting the illicit activities of terrorist organisations in the Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
This includes preventing the illegal transportation of personnel, weapons, charcoal and narcotics. These operations starve such organisations of the financial means necessary to conduct their illegal activities.
The Type 23 Frigate is currently on a 9-month deployment that will take her to the Far East. En route, she will be spending some time in support of CTF 150 in the Indian Ocean.
“HMS Argyll, with one of the Royal Navy’s new Wildcat helicopters embarked, is a welcome asset to me as Commander CTF 150, as CMF seeks to provide assurance to commercial shipping and to ensure that the high seas remain the preserve of legitimate seafarers,” Commodore Moorhouse said.
Argyll and her crew joined sister ship HMS Sutherland, which is currently also in the region, at a time of an increased threat to shipping in the region. Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandeb after Yemen’s Houthi fighters attacked two ships this week.