HMAS Parramatta – OP SLIPPER Rotation 23
7 May 2010 By ASLT Bradley Pettit, RAN
HMAS Parramatta (Commander Heath Robertson, RAN) deployed on the 23rd rotation to OPERATION SLIPPER on March 15, 2010. Whilst deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO), Parramatta will be under the operational control of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). CMF is a multi-national force comprised of more than 24 countries based in Bahrain, whose common aim is to increase the security and prosperity of the Persian Gulf and surrounding regions. CMF is working to defeat terrorism, prevent piracy and to reduce illegal trafficking of people and drugs in order to promote the maritime environment as a safe place for mariners with legitimate business. Parramatta’s Ship’s Company has a immense job ahead of it as the CMF area of responsibility includes more than 2.5 million square miles (only just smaller in size than Australia) of international water that are commanded by three principle Commanders of Task Forces.
Since departing Sydney, Parramatta has transited to the MEAO and patrolled within it for 56 days, only spending 5 nights alongside in that period. Of his Ship’s company, CMDR Robertson said “our people are maintaining high spirits and strong camaraderie, despite the lengthy periods at sea. Our mission is to contribute to the security of the vital waterways that enable international trade and commerce to flow.” To work towards this mission, Parramatta’s men and women have been hard at work escorting vulnerable merchant traffic, conducting over 250 queries on shipping in the region and 40 visits and boardings utilising the Ship’s boarding parties in just the first four weeks on station.
In the first month in the MEAO, Parramatta has operated under the control of Commander Task Force (CTF) 150. CTF 150 was established in early 2002 and aims to seek and disrupt violent extremists’ use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack, or for the transportation of personnel, weapons and other material used for such attacks. CTF 150 achieves these aims through the conduct of Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the Gulfs of Aden and Oman, Arabian Sea, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Until recently, CTF 150 was commanded by Australian staff and following their handover in April, is now commanded by the Pakistan Navy (Rear Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi). MSO includes a broad range of activities from assisting mariners in distress to visiting or boarding vessels in accordance with international law and United Nations Security Council Resolutions. These efforts are designed to complement the maritime security efforts of Arabian Gulf regional nations.
As the deployment continues, Parramatta also expects to operate under CTF 151, the multinational coalition task force established to actively deter, disrupt and suppress acts of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the waters east of Somalia. The primary mission that Parramatta’s people will conduct under CTF 151 will be to protect global maritime security and secure freedom of navigation and trade shipping for the benefit of all nations. Opportunities exist for Parramatta’s crew to interact with foreign navies as the counter-piracy efforts is a collaborative effort between CMF units and units operating in support of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Task Forces. At the time of publication, Parramatta’s crew had been fortunate to have had interaction with officers and sailors of the US, Dutch, Japanese, Pakistani, British, Turkish, Kuwaiti, Singaporean, German, Greek, Canadian, French, Chinese and Russian navies, with many more to come.
The counter-piracy mission is very topical at the moment with a high interest from both the international maritime community and the media. To support the international maritime community, Parramatta will conduct close escort operations for merchant traffic transiting along the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden and also engage in Maritime Security Operations around the Horn of Africa and in the waters to the east of Somalia. CMDR Robertson went on to say, “Our training, equipment and procedures are world’s best, and we are ready to join with the international community to stamp out acts of piracy and armed robbery in these waters.”
Parramatta is the third Australian Warship in recent times to be deployed outside the Persian Gulf, flexibly tasked for the counter-terrorism and counter-piracy missions whilst concurrently supporting Australia’s strategic international engagement initiatives necessary to continue to improve Australia’s relations with regional maritime nations. This recent change of tasking continues to present the Navy with an exciting and promising future as we adapt to new threats and challenges posed by these new missions. Parramatta is expected to be deployed for six months before returning to her home port, Sydney in September 2010.
