The U.S. Navy’s joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) entered U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operations in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS), Jan. 1, 2014. While on deployment, Spearhead is scheduled to visit and interact with more than 20 nations and sail more than 15,000 miles, highl
USCG Searches for Toscana’s Crewmember The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for the master of a freight ship reported overboard approximately 60 miles east of Wake Island Sunday. Russia: Borey-A Class Submarine’s Keel Laid Russia based Sevmash Shipyard, Severodvinsk, on 26th December, 2014, held a keel
On Sunday 21 December whilst conducting counter-piracy patrols, Spanish Navy warship, ESPS Rayo, met local seafarers in the Gulf of Aden. This is the third meeting that the crew from ESPS Rayo has carried out with local fishermen since her departure from Spain. ESPS Rayo is part of Spain’s contribut
Sailors, Airmen, Royal Marines and Medics are stepping up their efforts to help youngsters orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone – without even leaving their ship. The 350 Naval Servicemen and women aboard aid ship RFA Argus are rowing the distance from the ship’s home in Falmouth to Freetown – donating
On 16 December, during her port visit to Antsiranana, the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Andrea Doria, conducted Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) training with personnel from the Madagascan Navy. Italian Marines from ITS Andrea Doria provided instruction in techniques for the safe detainment of
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
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
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
Representatives from international counter-piracy organisations, as well as nations deploying warships independently, have gathered in Bahrain to discuss how they can best work together to combat the threat posed to shipping by criminal gangs from Somalia. NATO chaired the 34th Shared Awareness and
On Sunday 7 December Djiboutian Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed awarded Commander Bernard Baron (French Navy) the rank and dignity of Officer of the National Order of 27th of June. Commander Baron was presented with the award for his ‘outstanding service and assistance given to the Djibouti
Rear Admiral Rando visited Brigadier-General Philippe Montocchio, the Commander of French Forces in Djibouti. They both discussed the current piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden. During the meeting Rear Admiral Rando said: A lot has been done, but we have to maintain focus as piracy is not yet erad
This week the crew of a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) P-3 Orion from the Royal New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) completed their support to NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD (OOS) Task Force 508 (CTF-508). Between 13 and 30 November, the NATO partner nation’s detachment of more than 50 cr
Royal Navy helicopters have flown more than 10,000 miles over Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola. In their first month in West Africa, the Merlins of 820 Naval Air Squadron have covered the length and breadth of the small republic supporting Britain’s efforts on the ground to halt the spread of
On Tuesday 25 November the outgoing 20th Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft Contingent held a Transfer of Authority (TOA) ceremony with the 21st Contingent team to hand over their counter-piracy duties in the Horn of Africa. The ceremony took place at the French Air Base in Djibouti. The military cere
