The US Navy and Royal Navy completed a UK/US mine countermeasures exercise (MCMEX) in the central Persian Gulf on December 7. This quarterly event doubled as the certification for the staff of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 52 by Surface Mine Warfighting Development Center. The exercise involved a rang
Italian Navy frigate and current operation Atalanta flagship ITS Fasan trained with ships from the Chinese PLA Navy and Republic of Korea Navy off the coast of Somalia recently. Fasan first rendezvoused with South Korean and Spanish Navy ships after delivering medicine to the Somalian port city of H
A team of Dutch and Swedish sailors and marines have returned from a three-month deployment to the Horn of Africa as part of the EU counter-piracy operation Atalanta. Dutch Navy landing platform dock HNLMS Rotterdam returned to her homeport Den Helder on December 3 with an embarked Swedish boarding
Ships from the NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) are among the units taking part in the Turkish-led maritime exercise Nusret 2017 in the Aegean Sea off Canakkale, Turkey. SNMCMG2, consisting of flagship Royal Navy ship HMS Enterprise, Turkish minehunter TCG Alanya, Bulgarian m
Frigate Captain Matthias Schmitt is to transfer command over the German Navy frigate Lübeck to his colleague Christoph Sallermann, the navy said in a statement. The ceremony will be held at 10:00 A.M. on November 2017. Frigate Captain Schmitt has been at the helm of the F122 Bremen-class frigate sin
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) and embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived in Souda Bay, Greece, for a scheduled port visit, Nov. 27. This is San Diego’s second port visit in Souda Bay during this deployment. While in port, the crew will con
Over the course of three days from 12th to the 14th November, members of the Tanzanian Defence Force Navy trained with members of ITS Fasan to bolster Maritime Capability in the Indian Ocean. During port visits, EU NAVFOR personnel take the opportunity to pass on essential maritime skills to local f
On 14th November, the Force Commander of EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori visited General Mabeyo, Chief of Tanzania People’s Defence Force and Rear Admiral Makanzo, Commander of Naval Forces in Dar Es Salaam. During his visit the Force Commander took the opportunity to invi
The UK defense ministry has announced a new homeporting plan for the Royal Navy’s thirteen Type 23 frigates. After the relocation is complete, all eight anti-submarine warfare frigates will be calling Plymouth their home, while the remaining five general-purpose variants will be based in Portsmouth.
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland will be joining sister ship HMS Argyll as it deploys to the Asia Pacific region next year. This was announced by the new UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson who addressed the crew of HMS Sutherland Friday morning during a visit to HM Naval Base Devonport
Ships and personnel from a number of NATO and ally navies are participating in the Greek-hosted maritime exercise Niriis 2017. Taking place off the coast of Crete in the southern Aegean Sea, the drill kicked off November 17 and is set to conclude on Saturday, November 25. The exercise is joined by S
When Royal Navy aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth got underway from Rosyth in June this year, the ship sailed with a specialized night vision goggle (NVG) lighting suite developed by UK-based lighting specialist Consolite. As the company explained, the aircraft carrier’s original design did not incor
Albanian Navy Iliria-class patrol boat ALS Oriku has wrapped up a full year of operations with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), concluding the Albanian Navy’s first ever NATO deployment. Deploying with SNMG2 in November 2016, the Damen-built patrol boat spent over four thousand hours on p
Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset scrambled recently to shadow a Russian naval destroyer as it transited the Moray Firth, returning home from the Mediterranean Sea. It was not the Kulakov’s first visit to UK waters as the destroyer was also shadowed by HMS Somerset from the same position in the Moray
