The CTF 154 handover in Manama, Bahrain, on Wednesday brings the Indian Navy's first command of a Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) task force to a close. The Navy is relinquishing command of Combined Task Force 154, the training arm of the 47-nation partnership, after a tenure that began on 11 February.

In eight months, the task force under Indian command logged more than 7,800 training hours. Personnel from 39 countries took part in its activities, according to the Indian Navy.

CTF 154 handover closes the Navy's maiden CMF command

India joined CMF as an Associate Partner in 2022 and became a full member in 2023.

Commodore Milind M Mokashi, Shaurya Chakra, took over as Commander CTF 154 from an Italian Navy officer at CMF headquarters in Manama on 11 February. Vice Admiral Curt A Renshaw of the US Navy, Commander CMF, presided over that ceremony. Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, attended for the Indian Navy. Command of CMF task forces rotates among partner navies, and the Indian tenure now passes on in the same way.

The Navy has said the tenure that ends with the CTF 154 handover further reinforced its role as a Preferred Security and Training Partner in the region.

Over 7,800 training hours with personnel from 39 countries

The training ran under CMF's Maritime Domain Enhancement Training framework. It covered 20 Staff Enhancement Training engagements, Operation Compass Rose 26-1, Operation Southern Readiness 26-2 and the first Subject Matter Expert Exchange on Piracy and Armed Robbery, known as SPAR 2026.

Sessions were held in virtual, hybrid and in-person formats. Instructors came from the Indian Navy, other CMF task forces, partner nations, regional maritime agencies and specialist international organisations. According to the Navy, the tenure also widened the task force's links with operational task forces, regional partners and specialist institutions, with an eye on future multinational training.

SPAR 2026 put piracy on the syllabus

Piracy is a working problem for the Navy, not a classroom one. Indian warships answered more than one piracy call in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden this year, among them INS Trikand's response to a piracy bid on a cargo vessel in July, when marine commandos boarded and secured the ship. SPAR 2026 brought specialists together on the same threat.

Southern Readiness came to Kochi for the first time

The largest single event of the tenure was held in India. Operation Southern Readiness 26-2 ran at Southern Naval Command, Kochi, from 20 to 23 July, the first time the engagement had been conducted on Indian soil.

It opened with 254 participants from 26 countries, supported by 74 facilitators and four international organisations. Participants trained on ship handling, navigation, astro navigation, distress communication, damage control and firefighting, using the Navy's simulators at Kochi. A session by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime covered maritime threats in the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean.

Numbers grew over the four days. When Operation Southern Readiness concluded on 23 July, 276 personnel from 27 countries had taken part and the engagement had generated 3,800 training man hours.

Commodore Mokashi gave the closing address. The opening ceremony on 20 July had been addressed by Commodore Dan Thomas of the Royal Navy, Deputy Commander CMF, and Rear Admiral Deepak Singhal, Chief Staff Officer (Training) at Headquarters Southern Naval Command.

CTF 154 is the training arm of a 47-nation partnership

CMF is headquartered in Bahrain. CTF 154 was raised in May 2023 and is one of five CMF task forces. The other four handle maritime security in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, counter-piracy, security in the Arabian Gulf and security in the Red Sea.

CTF 154 does the teaching. Its training rests on five pillars: maritime domain awareness, the law of the sea, maritime interdiction operations, maritime rescue and assistance, and leadership development.