The Royal Navy recently hosted the first Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) conference in Portsmouth headed by Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Ben Key and Commander of UK Maritime Forces Rear Admiral Alex Burton. The UK, with partner nations Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and No
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel Vigía set sail from Cadiz to conduct a series of activities in Africa as part of the Spanish government’s Defense Diplomacy Plan and a follow-on of the Africa Partnership Station (APS) initiative. These deployments are intended to enhance maritime security and to
Iraqi and Pakistani naval officers joined the U.S. Coast Guard for a multilateral visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercise at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Feb. 26-Mar. 9. The exercise, held at the ship-in-the-box (SIB) facility, is the first time in three years that the Iraqi and Pakistan
Two Royal Navy Merlins have embarked French amphibious assault ship FS Mistral, the lead ship of French Navy task group, for the French annual Jeanne d’Arc deployment. The five-month amphibious deployment will take the force – which includes the frigate Courbet – as far east as Japan and Guam, as fa
Austrian Jagdkommandos, an Austrian Armed Forces’ Special Operations group, will embark German Navy tender ‘Main’ on March 2 to support EU’s counter-smuggling mission in the Mediterranean Sea. An official send-off ceremony for the Jagdkommandos took place in the Roßauer barracks in Vienna on Februar
The Canadian government awarded Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards a $230 million contract for design work on the Royal Canadian Navy’s Joint Support Ship (JSS). Announced on February 28 by ministers of defense and public services and procurement, the contract will see the company develop and finalize th
Spanish Navy frigate Reina Sofía (F-84) departed naval base Rota on February 27 to integrate into the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1). During the two and a half-month mission, the Spanish frigate will participate in several training activities with other NATO units, among them exercise Join
After 33 years of service with the U.S. Navy, Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) was decommissioned during a ceremony held at Keyport Undersea Museum on February 27. Albuquerque arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) for inactivation and decommissioning Oct. 28,
A Spanish Navy frigate and an auxiliary oiler left their home port in Ferrol, Spain, last weekend to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in the Mediterranean Sea. Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate Méndez Núñez and oiler AOR Patiño will become part of SNMG2’s Task Unit 02 (TU.02), currently under com
The U.S. Coast Guard said it offloaded approximately 4.2 tons of seized cocaine, worth an estimated $125 million at Coast Guard Sector San Juan on Monday. This interdiction is the largest maritime seizure in the Atlantic since 1999 and was the result of ongoing, multi-agency and international law en
The UK Government, Royal Navy and Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership signed an agreement on February 27 that is expected to bring in more financial opportunities for the locals. Millions of pounds of investment in developing HM Naval Base Clyde as the Royal Navy Submarine Centre of Speci
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has contracted Saab for product support and maintenance of the Swedish Navy’s underwater weapon systems, the company announced on February 28. The contract enables FMV to place orders for product support and maintenance of underwater weapon systems d
Canadian Navy’s coastal defence vessel HMCS Saskatoon has begun patrols in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean in support of a multinational campaign against transnational criminal organizations. Deploying under Canada’s operation HMCS Saskatoon is joining operation Martillo (Hammer), a U.S., European,
Warships from Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) made a port call in Trondheim, Norway after concluding exercises in the North Atlantic off the coast of Norway. The force led and participated in two multinational exercises over the past two weeks, with more than 12 ships from several countries
