Kiwi takes command of anti-piracy task force

Captain Jim Gilmour has taken command of a US-led task force fighting Middle East piracy. Photo / NZPA/Ross Setford

A New Zealand naval officer has taken command of a US-led task force fighting Middle East piracy.

Captain Jim Gilmour took command of the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 from the Singapore Navy's Rear Admiral Harris Chan Weng Yip at a change of command ceremony on board the American warship USS Mason berthed in Djibouti.

It is the first time a New Zealand naval officer has commanded a major multinational task force in recent decades.

The task force disrupts piracy, protects maritime vessels and secures freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aden and Somali basin region.

Capt Gilmour said more than 23,000 vessels used the Gulf of Aden and Somali basin every year and the risk of piracy was "very real".

He said that since the task force was set up, there had been a significant reduction in the number of successful pirate attacks.

The task force patrolled 1.1 million square miles in the area.

Capt Gilmour will command up to six ships, as well as aircraft.

- NZPA