The Type 23 has been called away from the Response Force Task Group to become the primary surface combatant in support of the NATO Operation Unified Protector. Sutherland has already carried out her first boarding operation, under the auspices of UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973, and se
Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland has been sent at full pelt to support NATO on Operation Unified Protector, protecting the people of Libya. Temporarily split off from the Cougar deployment and the Response Force Task Group (RFTG), HMS Sutherland has dashed her way through the Mediterranean to support
Apache helicopter pilots have found their sea legs on the unfamiliar setting of HMS Illustrious. The newly-refitted helicopter carrier – fresh from her £40m refit – has swapped Harrier jets for the imposing outlines of the Army gunships. Crews from 664 Squadron, 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, took the c
Survey ship HMS Echo stepped up to the mark when she was charged with leading the nation’s flagship in for a beach assault as week-long exercises with the United Arab Emirates reached their climax. The Devonport-bases hydrographic vessel – six months into a two-year deployment east of Suez, where sh
LAET Greg Coulter ‘dances‘ on the surface of the Indian Ocean as HMS Sutherland practises winching drills in the middle of a major amphibious exercise off the shores of Saudi Arabia. The Devonport-based Type 23 frigate is the escort for the Cougar 11 task group – the Navy’s key deployment of the yea
Ploughing through seas whipped up by the monsoon season, HMS Iron Duke and St Albans perform a traditional sail past in the Indian Ocean as one Portsmouth-based frigate hands over Gulf duties to another. The two ships – Iron Duck on the left here, the Saint on the right – saluted each other with jet
Captain Jim Gilmour has relieved Republic of Singapore Navy Rear Admiral Harris Chan Weng Yip as Commander Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, during a Change of Command ceremony onboard USS MASON berthed in Djibouti. It is the first time that a Royal New Zealand Naval Officer has commanded a major multi
Russian warships continue to secure commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden and near the Horn of Africa, reports Northern Fleet Information Support Group. On June 22 Northern Fleet (NF) large ASW ship Severomorsk completed escorting of the first 7-ship civilian convoy through the piracy-hazardous wa
Five midshipmen from colleges across the United States arrived aboard aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) as part of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) summer cruise program, June 21. The midshipmen will be aboard for more than a month and will rotate through several department
After two months on-and-off patrolling the Gulf of Sirte, HMS Liverpool took a break from her Libya operations for a spot of R&R – and ceremonial. The visit to Grand Harbour coincided with the Queen’s official birthday – an event not only celebrated in the UK and RN, but also by islanders in this [&
Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet, visited Sailors and Marines aboard aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) to thank the crew for their hard work while operating in the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR), June 15. Vice Adm. Mark Fox, Commander, U.S. 5th fleet toured the ship, visited with crew mem
After three months ensuring the people of Misrata receive humanitarian aid by keeping their port open, HMS Brocklesby has completed her Libyan mission. But there is no let-up in the international effort supporting the free peoples of Libya – and bringing pressure to bear on the Gaddafi regime – with
Britain’s flagship HMS Albion has passed through the Suez Canal as the Navy’s key deployment of 2011 resumes. Events in Libya saw the assault ship, her escorting frigate HMS Sutherland and tanker RFA Wave Knight, plus helicopter carrier HMS Ocean and ‘floating warehouse’ RFA Fort Rosalie, diverted t
Survey ship HMS Echo is giving the anti-piracy effort in the Indian Ocean ‘the edge’ by updating badly-needed charts of the region – eliminating no-go areas for Allied warships. The Devonport-based ship is gathering reams of bathymetric data – recording the depth of the ocean – in these troubled wat
