Birkenhead (Liverpool City Region UK) shipyard and marine engineering services provider Cammell Laird is completing a £49.5m refit of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Victoria. The massive 10-month refit is the biggest ever undertaken by the yard since it began its through life support ‘cluster’
Vice Adm. Robert Thomas, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, visited U.S. and Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) units at Misawa Air Base Dec. 15. Thomas took the opportunity to learn about the different work centers that help the units accomplish their missions while expressing his appreciation to service memb
Leadership from Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific (Commander, Task Force 75), Naval Special Warfare and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 toured littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) while the ship stopped to refuel in Guam en route to Southeast Asia, Dec. 11. With an eye towar
The time honored title of commodore was passed from one senior leader to another during a change of command ceremony for Commander, Amphibious Squadron 5 (PHIBRON 5), Dec 14. The formal program was held in the fo’c’sle of amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), where Capt. Vic Cooper trans
USS Tortuga’s (LSD 46) Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Thomas Goudreau and Executive Officer, Cmdr. John Fleming, were relieved of their duties Dec. 16, due to loss of confidence in their ability to safely operate and navigate the ship and their credibility to lead the crew. At approximately 7:30 a.m. on
Interactive software that can dramatically cut the time it takes to plan safe submarine missions is crossing over to the surface fleet and is being installed this month on the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), officials announced Dec. 16. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR),
Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) Adm. Michelle Howard visited Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West and conducted an all-hands call, Dec. 15. During Howard’s visit, she toured annexes, received a first-hand look at on-base housing provided by Balfour Beatty Communities and addressed Sailors and Coas
OSI Maritime Systems (OSI) has signed a contract with the Royal Navy to upgrade its fleetwide ECPINS-W Sub license. The upgrade includes two modules from the OSI ECPINS software suite of capabilities: Ship Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL), and Officer of the Watch State Board (OOW SB). OSI will al
More than 16,000 people in Sierra Leone have food for a month thanks to a three-day mission by Britain’s Armed Forces to islands cut off from the rest of the country by the Ebola outbreak. Royal Navy helicopters and Royal Marines landing craft delivered 220 tonnes of food for the United Nations to r
Babcock, in association with Raytheon, is to deliver four Phalanx 1B kits and convert four land Phalanx Weapons Systems to their original marinised configuration to provide naval Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) capability (the UK’s primary defence for ships against anti-ship missiles), under a contra
The Deputy Commander of Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), Lieutenant General Ed Davis, CBE, visited the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to meet with the MARCOM Command Group to discuss coordination of joint operations between the two NATO components and exchange views on areas of common ongoing e
On Monday 15 December, during her port visit to Djibouti, EU Naval Force warship ESPS Rayo conducted Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) training in support of and in coordination with, the EU maritime capacity building mission, EU CAP Nestor. The training began with a briefing on board ESPS Ray
The Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark, returned to her base port of Plymouth on 15 December from its amphibious and diplomacy deployment. After four months deployed to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf on the amphibious exercise Cougar 14, the vessel docked in Devonport Naval Base. HMS
Rear Admiral Pakorn Wanich, the Commander of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) visited senior leadership in Djibouti on 9 December 2014, building on existing relationships to cement and reinforce the bonds between the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and the north African country. During his visit to
