On May 19, Brussels hosted the Senior Level Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defense Reform led by Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The leader of the Ukrainian delegation Andriy Parubiy, Secretary of the National Security and
Dynamic Monarch 2014, which is currently underway off the coast of Poland, is the world’s largest submarine rescue exercise. It is designed to test international forces’ interoperability and ability to respond to submarines that have become disabled anywhere in the world. The Russian Kursk disaster
Austal Limited (Austal) has delivered the second of eight Cape Class Patrol Boats being supplied to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service under a $330 million design, build and in-service support contract. Cape Byron was delivered four weeks ahead of its original delivery date. Aust
Two ships of the PLA Navy, Zhenghe and Weifang, with Rear Admiral Han Xiaohu, Commander PLAN Training Ship Task Group, and Rear Admiral Li Jianjun, Assistant Chief of Staff and Political Commissar of PLA Dalian Naval Academy embarked, arrived Visakhapatnam on 17 May 14, on a four-day maiden visit to
On Monday 19 May 2014, Dutch frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provenciën joined EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta. As the ship sailed towards the Gulf of Aden the crew maintained a high level of operational readiness. They conducted a hostage release exercise with a Dutch merchant vessel
Waters lap around the 97m-long hull of Britain’s newest submarine as HMS Artful was lowered into a huge basin in Barrow for the first time. The third of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class nuclear submarines was launched over the weekend in a delicate two-day operation. The boat was formally named last
The Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarine HMAS Sheean has taken advantage of a mid-ocean encounter by getting in some anti-submarine warfare practice on its way to Singapore for a major exercise. HMAS Sheean will participate in Exercise Bersama Shield 2014 with other Australian Defence F
ADV Ocean Shield arrived at Geraldton, Western Australia, yesterday to begin preparations to receive spare parts related to the transponder mounted on the Ocean Shield and the transponder mounted on the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Bluefin-21. The repairs are necessary to correct a hardware issu
Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Wollongong has made a mercy dash to embark two injured Australians who were rescued by an Indonesian merchant vessel in the Arafura Sea. An Indonesian registered civilian offshore supply ship, MV POSH Shearwater, initially responded to a vessel in distress ca
The Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Base West based operational tanker, HMAS Sirius, entered Sydney Harbour this week as part of a visit to Garden Island on the east coast. At over 190m in length, and displacing more than 46,000 tonnes with a full load, Sirius is currently the largest ship in the Na
Publication of the UK’s first ever National Strategy for Maritime Security, launched on May 13th at the UK Chamber of Shipping by the Shipping and Armed Forces Ministers, is a major step forward for the shipping industry, according to the UK Chamber of Shipping it demonstrates the UK’s commitment to
Forty-five delegates from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which provides an essential link between NATO and the parliaments of NATO nations, visited Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt on Friday, May 2nd to discuss security developments in the Asia-Pacific region and their significance for Canada.
The Chief of Navy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Vice-Admiral (VADM) Ray Griggs, was conferred Singapore’s prestigious military award, the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) [or the Meritorious Service Medal (Military)] by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Bluefin-21, has been recovered about two hours into its first mission since returning to the search area so a communications problem could be investigated. During the recovery, Bluefin-21 was damaged but was able to be repaired expeditiously with spare parts on b
