During the past week the NATO Shipping Centre received reports on two incidents involving fishing vessels in the High Risk Area. The first is a report of a pirated fishing vessel, while the second incident appears to be a SOLAS related accident. The first report confirms that pirates continue to dis
Back in 2011, a total of 16 warships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels supported humanitarian, embargo and combat operations off the coast of Libya, either under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector or the UK’s Operation Ellamy. These included elements of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Ta
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) has a new German Commander. Captain Marco Von Koelln (German Navy) handed over command of SNMCMG2 to Commander Mathias Seipel (German Navy) on Monday, 24 June 2013. The ceremony took place at the Hellenic Naval Base in Souda Bay, Crete, and was pr
On Saturday afternoon (22 June), EU Naval Force Italian warship, ITS Zeffiro and Chinese Navy warship CNS Mianyang, which are both conducting counter piracy operations, met at sea in the choppy waters of the Gulf of Aden. The aim of the meeting was to enable CNS Mianyang to take over escort duties o
HMS Penzance is in the throes of demanding training after completing a six-month revamp in Rosyth. The Faslane-based warship is now Britain’s most up-to-date minehunter following the refit, which prepared her for impending duties with a NATO task group. After six months in refit – four of those out
On June 24, members of the Somali Federal Government flew on board the EU Naval Force Portuguese flagship, NRP Alvares Cabral, at sea off Mogadishu. They held talks with the EU Special Envoy to Somalia, the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force Atalanta, and the Head of Mission for EUCAP NESTOR,
Between 17- 21 of June 2013, the EU Naval Force Portuguese flagship, NRP Álvares Cabral, visited the port of Pemba in Mozambique. Given the strong relations that exist between Mozambique, the European Union and specifically, Portugal, when NRP Alvares Cabral sailed in to the port, her crew were give
USS Enterprise to Return to Newport News Shipbuilding USS Enterprise (CVN 65) will return to Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) with shipbuilders on board on Thursday, June 20. UK: Final Section of HMS Queen Elizabeth Heads for Rosyth The final section of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of two new aircr
The Royal Navy is to get its first unmanned ‘eye in the sky’ in a £30m deal to buy the ScanEagle reconnaissance aircraft. The pilotless plane has been used by the US Navy over the past decade and has been trialled by the Royal Navy. Whitehall is investing in the small, unarmed ScanEagle robot planes
They may be gone – but not forgotten. That was the sentiment of sailors from HMS Lancaster during a recent stopover in Key West, Florida. While on the island they visited and restored the graves of two British naval officers who were buried there in 1952. Sub Lieutenant Smith and Midshipman Dewer we
The number of reported attacks and suspicious activity is down over the last week. This decrease in reports may be due in part, to an improved understanding of the operating environment as ship’s masters and security teams continue to transit the region. Another factor could be the recent meetings b
HMS Ledbury has just completed a visit to the Albanian Port of Vlore in the company of her NATO counterparts. As part of the standing NATO Mine Counter Measure Group 2 – she arrived in port with ITS Crotone of the Italian Navy and TGC Edincick from the Turkish Navy. The Task Group spent three [&hell
The Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessel (MCMV) HMS Brocklesby will visit Torbay on Friday (June 21) for the start of a three-day regional engagement programme, and in particular, to support the town’s Armed Forces Day events. The Royal Navy warship will anchor off the town from 5pm on Friday nigh
Rear Admiral Antonio Natale, Italian Navy, handed over command of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) on Saturday, 15 June 2013 to Rear Admiral Eugenio Díaz Del Río, Spanish Navy, concluding a very successful six-month NATO deployment. The ceremony, presided over by Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, NAT
