This week the European Union is marking eight years since it launched its first ever maritime military operation, EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta, in response to a surge in armed pirate attacks on merchant ships and other vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Back in 2008, increasingl
Guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) held a change of command ceremony at the chapel at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay on December 12th. Capt. Brett Moyes relieved Capt. Nathan Martin as the Blue crew’s commanding officer. Retired Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny, former commander of Submarine F
Two more Hunt-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy have started their mid-life refit in the Portsmouth ship hall. The two 196ft vessels entered the shed just days after refurbished HMS Brocklesby, another minesweeper, completed the overhaul. The shed was built to construct giant sections first of Ty
French Navy aviso FS Commandant l’Herminier bid farewell to EUNAVFOR’s Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia last weekend. The ship contributed to the prevention of arms and migrant smuggling since she joined the mission on November 12. During her time with the operation, Commandant l’Herminier was inv
German Navy minesweeper FGS Fulda has concluded her deployment to NATO’s standing mine countermeasures group two and is currently on the way back home. Fulda and her crew are set to enter the Kiel navy base on December 16 after four months at sea. Commanded by Captain lieutenant Michael Montag, the
Russian and Indian Navy ships will be taking part in a wide range of drills in the Bay of Bengal from December 14 to 21, the Indian press office announced. In existence since 2003, this will be the 9th edition of the bilateral maritime exercise dubbed Indra Navy. The primary aim of the exercise will
French shipbuilder DCNS hosted an industry day together with other French companies and officials in Oslo advocating a strengthening of industrial cooperation between the two countries ahead Norway’s decision on who would be building its next generation of submarines. The Norwegian Ministry of Defen
Royal Marines recently trained with their Bahraini counterparts during a three-week amphibious exercise in the Persian Gulf. The marines stormed the beaches under the cover of air power as Exercise Pearl Dagger 16 came to an explosive conclusion, played out before British and Bahraini VIPs. Rewind t
U.S. Navy’s Guam-based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 Det. 6 returned home after a seven-month deployment in the western Pacific and South China Sea. The detachment departed Guam May 25, and supported Commander Amphibious Force 7th Fleet from naval air facility Atsugi and aboard amphibious
David Brown Santasalo, a 150 years old gearbox manufacturer, has started work on gearboxes for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates at its newly opened facility in Huddersfield. UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon attended the opening ceremony of the facility on December 9. The establishment of the com
U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) held a change of command ceremony on its flight deck on December. Capt. Benjamin J. Allbritton relieved Capt. Michael S. Ruth as commanding officer of the ship. In attendance was guest speaker, commander, expeditionary strike group (ESG) 3, Rear
Spanish Navy’s replenishment oiler ESPS Cantabria has concluded its 71-day deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 and is now returning home. The ship is expected to arrive in the Spanish city of Ferrol on December 15. ESPS Cantabria has sailed more than 15,000 nautical miles, supplied more t
The Sri Lanka Navy intervened on Saturday, December 10, to break up a protest and free two merchant held hostage by workers at the Hambantota Port. Port workers staged a several-day protest against the government’s plans to privatize the port, the navy said. Protesters were reportedly obstructing th
The Egyptian Navy officially received its first Type 209/1400 submarine from the German submarine specialist ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) on December 12. The submarine is named S41 and is the first of four submarines Egypt will receive from Germany. S41 was launched in Kiel, Germany, in Decemb
