HMCS Charlottetown Assists Vessel off Somalia Coast

Official U.S. Navy file photo of Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339).

From Combined Task Force 150 Public Affairs Canadian multi-patrol frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) provided assistance to five mariners adrift on a stranded vessel in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.

Upon approaching the vessel as part of routine Maritime Security Operations (MSO), the crew of Charlottetown noticed the vessel had been stranded without food, water or fuel. The vessel had been adrift in the Gulf of Aden for seven days with only a tarp rigged as a makeshift sail. Charlottetown provided the stranded mariners with enough supplies for the vessel's return to Bossaso, Somalia. Charlottetown is currently deployed as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, which is responsible for MSO in the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, North Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.

CTF 150 is currently under the command of Pakistani Commodore Khan Hasham Bin Saddique. CTF 150 has previously been commanded by France, the Netherlands and Germany.