This seizure, carried out with the direct assistance of the Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of the CMF, marks the fourth seizure of CMF drugs since October. Currently, the drugs are in US custody awaiting examination. The boarding team conducted carefully executed precautionary measures before and after the boarding, including decontamination of all seized contraband, to reduce the risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19.

Initially, Ralph Johnson observed a dhow loitering in international waters without fuel. They failed to produce flag registration documents when the ship approached to determine if the dhow needed assistance.

The CMF is a multinational maritime alliance that promotes peace, stability and development in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman by countering illegal non-state actors in international waters.

Outside the Persian Gulf, CTF 150 conducts maritime security operations to disrupt criminal and terrorist groups, ensuring that legal commercial shipping, free from non-state threats, can move through the area. CTF 150 is currently headed by the Royal Saudi Naval Force, with the country's Navy leading the task force for the second time.

Maritime Business World