On Monday, 11 November 2013, the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta Flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt, has hosted the Contact Group of Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) during the Counter Piracy Week in the port of Djibouti. Government representatives from all over the world took the opportunity to
The personnel of the Marine Company of Feodosia Detached Marine Battalion returned to Crimea after NATO Response Force Exercise Steadfast Jazz – 2013. During military maneuvers, the marines skillfully completed combat training tasks and were highly praised by the exercise leaders. According to Deput
The operating area for NATO’s counter-terrorism task group, Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2), covers 2.5 million square kilometres of vast open space from Gibraltar to the Suez Canal, from the shores of Tripoli to the Turkish beaches. A NATO maritime force tasked with covering so much water
The first NH90 NFH Step B has been delivered to the Italian Navy. This fully operational naval helicopter will be assigned to the 5th Helicopter Squadron of the Italian Navy at the Sarzana-Luni base. The Italian Navy has ordered 56 NH90s, 46 of which in the NFH variant. “This NH90 Step B will allow
The UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship, Fort Victoria, simultaneously refueled the Australian ship, HMAS Melbourne, and the Norwegian ship, HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen, in balmy conditions off the north-eastern coast of Somalia. This risky manoeuvre requires nerves of steel from each ship’s captain and
Maritime forces from the United States, 10 East African and two European nations, along with several international organizations, commenced the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express 2013, Nov. 11. Exercise Cutlass Express 2013, held in several operational areas in waters off East Africa, i
Onboard RFA Lyme Bay, which is part of European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, the Boarding teams from the Fleet Contingency Troop and K Company 43 Commando Royal Marines have taken advantage of the Lynx MK 8 that embarked from RFA Fort Austin to practice fast roping techn
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group reentered the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR) after transiting the Suez Canal, Nov. 8. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11, Carrier Air Wing 11, and Destroyer Squadron 23, spent nearly three weeks in
On Sunday NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD warship HDMS ESBERN SNARE boarded two small craft and detained nine suspected pirates, following an attack in the area the previous day. On the previous day, the Danish flagged vessel TORM KANSAS reported she was attacked unsuccessfully by pirat
The Lithuanian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD), deployed with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta since August 2013, is tasked with the protection of the World Food Programme (WFP) ship MV Caroline Scan. Embarked on the Caroline scan around the clock, the AVPD en
Exercise Steadfast Jazz concluded successfully on Nov. 8 after two weeks of intense multinational joint military training in locations across Europe. About 6,000 personnel from 28 NATO member nations as well as three-partner nations (Sweden, Finland and Ukraine) trained together in a combined multin
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has formally established a Regional Maintenance Center detachment in Rota, Spain, to support the destroyers scheduled to be homeported in the area, the command announced Nov. 7. The detachment will provide management, industrial, engineering, technical and contract
Just a few weeks after the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant, issued another warning about the on-going piracy threat, there have been two more piracy related incidents off the Somali coast. The first incident happened on Tuesday 5 November, when EU Naval Force Germ
General Sir Richard Shirreff, KCB CBE, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) paid a visit to NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) on Wednesday, 6 November 2013, and met with its Commander, Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, CBE. The two NATO leaders took the opportunity for an exchange of views
