The German Navy has been forced to withdraw its only two tankers from NATO operations this year. As disclosed, the tanker oldies, Spessart and Rhön, will not be operational until the end of this year. Due to engine issues, both 1974-built ships will undergo repairs in the following months. The compl
NATO’s Standing Maritime Group changed command in a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 30. Commodore Mike Utley OBE formally handed over command of the SNMG2 to his Dutch counterpart Commodore Boudewijn G.F.M. Boots. This marked the end of a yearlong UK commitment leading SNMG2. Rear Admiral Jame
After concluding international exercise Tradewinds 2018, Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay is touring British territories in the Caribbean region to help them prepare for this year’s storm season. The 2017 storm season was among the worst in recent memory with a succession of hurricanes batterin
The French Navy has officially commissioned its newest ice-breaking and polar patrol vessel L’Astrolabe, nine months after receiving it and eight months after sending it on an astral summer mission to Antarctica. As explained, the French Navy puts it newbuilds through two phases of testing. The firs
The Croatian Navy is preparing to deploy one of its vessels to NATO’s Mediterranean Sea operation Sea Guardian this year. While Croatian Navy vessels took part in NATO drills in the past, including Trident Juncture in 2015, the announced deployment would be the first time for a Croatian Navy vessel
The US Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson has visited Norway and the UK to strengthen maritime partnerships and international relationships. While in Norway from June. 24 to 26, Richardson was hosted by his counterpart, Chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy Rear Adm. Nils Andreas Stens
The US State Department has approved a potential sale of five Aegis shipsets for the Spanish Navy’s new F-110 frigates. A contract for the construction of five frigates is expected to be awarded this year and Navantia is already working on some elements of the ships’ systems and design. The potentia
Three Italian Navy warships, with 85 years of service between them, embarked on their final “deployment” before they bow out of active navy service in a ceremony scheduled for July 16. Aside from the task of training navy cadets, the deployment will be more of a tour of Tyrrhenian Sea port cities, a
NATO’s second annual anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Mongoose kicked off on Monday off the coast of Norway. The Norway-hosted Norwegian Sea exercise follows its Mediterranean counterpart – Dynamic Manta – which took place off Italy in March. Dynamic Mongoose will be taking place from June 25
Royal Navy’s Type 23 HMS Montrose escorted two Russian warships through the English Channel as they transited towards the Mediterranean Sea. The Plymouth-based frigate sailed up the Channel to meet with corvettes RFS Boikiy and Stoikiy as the Russian vessels sortied from their base in the Baltic and
The Italian Navy’s LSS logistic support ship Vulcano was launched in a June 22 ceremony at Fincantieri’s Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard. The ceremony was attended by Italian Minister of Defence, Elisabetta Trenta, the Chief of Defense, General Claudio Graziano, and the Chief of the Navy, Admiral Valt
Warships from Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and Great Britain gathered in the Portuguese port of Lisbon on June 18 for the activation of the European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR). The non-standing force was activated after a meeting of the political-military working group of EUROMARFOR concluded in
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class USS Farragut (DDG 99) was underway as part of the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group when a cooling fan failure forced the US Navy to carry out underway repairs on the destroyer in Norway. USS Farragut was scheduled to take part in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exer
Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll became the third Royal Navy ship to deploy to Asia as she got underway from her Devonport Naval base on June 18. The frigate will be spending the next nine-months in Asia, sailing as far as Japan as part of a national push to strengthen military and diplomatic ties in [&he
