Bahrain

New Zealand’s economic prosperity depends upon open sea, air and electronic lines of communication. The New Zealand Defence Force makes an important contribution to international efforts towards freedom of navigation. This includes participation in multinational counter-piracy and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean.

New Zealand provides two staff officers to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Headquarters in Bahrain. The CMF is a multinational naval partnership, which exists to promote security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, encompassing some of the world’s most important shipping lanes. The CMF’s main focus areas are defeating terrorism, preventing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, promoting a safe maritime environment and preventing drug and people trafficking.

The NZDF commanded CMF's Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150) from June 2021 to January 2022. This Task Force covers some of the world's busiest shipping lanes from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman. CTF 150 intercepts the illegal trafficking of people, weapons, narcotics and charcoal - the proceeds of which are often used to fund terrorist activities. 

For more information about the CMF go to: http://www.combinedmaritimeforces.com(external link) (external link).

The mandate for this deployment expires in June 2024.