A UK Navy-led team from Portsmouth are heading back to the UK after leading a multinational force of warships in the Gulf which achieved seven significant heroin and hashish seizures. Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) is in charge of maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean and aims to det
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) arrived in Batumi, Georgia, for a scheduled port visit, Aug. 18. While in Georgia, Vella Gulf is scheduled to participate in a joint training exercise with the Georgian Navy focusing on signaling and visit, board, search and seizu
On Tuesday 12 August, whilst conducting counter-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, the EU Naval Force flagship and Italian Navy destroyer, ITS Andrea Doria, gave assistance to a stricken yacht. The yacht’s two French crewmembers had put out a mayday signal after they suffered engine failure. The
On August 13 a combined exercise concluded in the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone of Lithuania in the Baltic Sea. The training event was attended by vessels from the Lithuanian Navy and Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1). The exercise that took off on August 11
On August 15-17 Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1), currently under a six-month command of Commander Giedrius Permeneckas of the Lithuanian Navy, conducted a port visit to Riga, Latvia. When the vessels moored at Riga, SNMCMG1 Commander Giedrius Premeneckas and other ship comm
Spanish Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Relámpago’ has returned from EU Naval Force’s Operation Atalanta to its naval base in Las Palmas, Spain. The vessel recently completed the six-month anti-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean. Since leaving its base on 23 February and joining the operation on
The two week long Northern Coast 2014 (NOCO14) exercise, arranged in August and September is the Finnish Navy’s main exercise this year. The main aim of the Northern Coasts exercise is to improve the multinational interoperability between the participating troops. The shallow and shoaly waters alo
On 11 of August 2014 the Combat Support Ship FGS Berlin received a visit from the Force Commander of the European Union Naval Force Somalia Rear Admiral Guido Rando. It was the first visit aboard an Operation Atalanta unit other than the flagship since he assumed command on 6 August in Djibouti. T
Sailors from Malaysia, Ireland, Singapore, Oman and Kuwait spent a week onboard HMS Westminster testing their navigation skills at sea. After several weeks working in a simulator, the week at sea was the culmination of their training and the end of a three month course. The students also enjoyed e
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) arrived in Constanta, Romania, for a scheduled port visit, Aug 11. Vella Gulf’s presence in Romania and the Black Sea reaffirms the United States’ commitment to strengthening ties with NATO allies and partners, while working towar
HMS Penzance has completed a seven week transit, arriving in her new base port of Bahrain, a journey which covered 6,850 nautical miles in the Monsoon season. She arrived in Bahrain and was met by Captain Philip Warwick, the Deputy United Kingdom Maritime Component Commander (UKMCC). After a 47 da
The new flagship of EU Naval Force ITS Andrea Doria conducted its first friendly approach in the Gulf of Aden. To help strengthen mutual understanding and trust between the EU Naval Force and local seafarers, as well as obtain first hand information about possible piracy incidents in the area, EU
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) conducted a division tactics exercise with the Turkish navy fast attack craft TCG Tuzla (P 1200) in the Black Sea, Aug. 8. Vella Gulf and Tuzla conducted tactical maneuvering during the exercise. U.S. Navy ships regularly hold sim
NATO’s Counter-Piracy Mission, Operation Ocean Shield, has bid farewell to the Italian destroyer ITS MIMBELLI. The ITS MIMBELLI left Task Force 508 on Wednesday, 6 August 2014, after a job very well done as part of Operation Ocean Shield. The continuous, main effort of Task Force 508 is keeping co
