Commodore Aage Buur Jensen and key members of his staff visited NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) on Friday, 12 December 2014, to formally hand over command of Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD Task Force 508 (TF-508). Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, C
Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to overhaul the Swedish Navy submarine HMS Södermanland. The order covers the period 2014-2016 and is valued at SEK121 million. The order is part of the letter of intent regarding Swedish a
US Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) arrived to Souda Bay, Greece, on December 10. The vessel pulled into the Marathi NATO pier facility during a scheduled port visit. Leyte Gulf, homeported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of
The future Task Force Commander for the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Jonas Haggren (Swedish Navy), visited the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to meet with MARCOM Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Giorgio Lazio for discussions concerning counter-piracy operations and other ma
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
Whilst deployed on operations in the Middle East, HMS Defender’s helicopter Miss Adventure has celebrated her 35th birthday. The Westland Lynx Mk 8 helicopter normally based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovil has been embarked on the fifth Type 45 Destroyer since the Ship departed Portsmouth at the b
On 10 December 2014 Spanish Navy warship ESPS Navarra headed for home after completing a deployment with the EU Naval Force in the Indian Ocean. ESPS Navarra joined Operation Atalanta, the EU’s counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, on 23rd July. Since then she has completed a range of dut
On Monday 8 December Spanish warship ESPS Rayo joined the EU Naval Force. The ship will be deployed at sea in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden for the next 6 months. Following an intense period of operational sea training, ESPS Rayo departed her home port of Las Palmas on 17 November, with an [&hel
After covering 7,300 miles attached to a NATO minehunting force in and around the Mediterranean Sea, the Sandown-class ship HMS Grimsby has parted company with her Allied friends. The ship has spent the autumn with NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2, working under the Italians with vessels
The incoming Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) maritime security and counter-terrorism task force, Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), conducted successful staff talks with the US Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) Command in Naples, Italy, on 1 December 2014. During the visit, C
On Friday 5 December EU Naval Force Spanish frigate, ESPS Navarra, rendezvoused at sea with the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Andrea Doria, off the coast of Somalia. After sailing near to each other, the Commanding Officer of ESPS Navarra, Commander Alejandro Cuerda Lorenzo, and two Spanish journalis
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
Royal Navy’s vessels will soon have its first permanent naval base in the Middle East since UK formally withdrew from Bahrain and Sharjah in 1971. In the margins of the 10th IISS Manama Dialogue, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond signed a new defence arrangement with His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin
On Tuesday 2 December Colonel Giampaolo Schiavo handed over command of the Djiboutian-based Italian Task Force Air (TFA) to Colonel Elio Volpari. During the past four months the TFA team has been operating with the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta, and conducted over 200 unmanned aerial flight
