A Royal Navy officer has assumed command of the multinational flotilla which is responsible for patrolling the waters of the Gulf on the lookout for terrorist activity.

At a change of command ceremony on board the French ship FS Compte de Grasse in Bahrain, Commodore Tom Cunningham took over the reins of Task Force 150 (TF150) from Rear Admiral Jean Pierre Tuele of the French Navy.

Although the staff who run TF150 will be based ashore at Bahrain, at sea the Royal Navy is represented by Type 22 frigate HMS Campbeltown, which recently took over from sister warship HMS Cumberland.

For the past two years the ships of TF150, represented by up to 12 nations, have patrolled an area of more than two million square miles, taking in parts of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Horn of Africa and the Somalia Basin.

Task Force 150 is a key element in the contribution by Commander US Naval Forces Central Command/Commander US 5th Fleet towards the fight against international terrorism.

The group’s role is to carry out maritime interdiction operations – checking shipping, and boarding where suspicions are aroused – in order to counter the illegal movement of weapons, contraband material such as oil, and people within the international waters of the Gulf region.

The Force currently includes units from France, Italy, Germany, Pakistan and the United States as well as the UK.

The French have headed the Task Group since June of this year, having taken over from the Royal Navy in the guise of Commodore Tony Rix.

Beside HMS Campbeltown, the Royal Navy is also represented by HMS Somerset, a Type 23 frigate deployed to the Gulf as part of the latest phase of Operation Telic, the drive to bring stability and normality to Iraq.

At the ceremony in Bahrain, Commodore Cunningham said: “It is a great honour for me to take command of this highly-capable and truly multinational Task Force and to carry on the good work of our French allies in the campaign against international terrorism.”