After a two day hunt in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, NATO’s flagship HNLMS Evertsen boarded a pirated dhow on June 29 and released seven hijacked Indian and Bangladeshi crew members. The Omani flagged dhow Nebarkad had been hijacked on 20th June off the coast of Oman, and was used by the pirate
Following six months of preparation and training, Royal Navy mine hunter, HMS Blyth ”left the wall” on Friday, June 29, from her home port of HM Naval Base Clyde to start her journey to the Mediterranean for a six month NATO deployment. The highly equipped Sandown class ship is off to join a NATO ta
To strengthen its defence business development activities and capabilities Austal has appointed former Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Navy, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, AO, CSC, RANR to the executive position of Vice President – Defence. Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said the ski
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced on June 30 that the Navy’s newest ship, Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield, had arrived in Australia. Ocean Shield arrived at HMAS Stirling late on 28 June. In March the Government announced it had p
The Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced that the Royal Australian Navy would participate in a unique deployment to Australia of the Spanish Armada Ship, SPS Cantabria, with a series of training exercises in Australia from mid-February until November 2013. The Cantabria deployment will str
The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is currently preparing for the Bulgarian naval exercise “BREEZE 2012”, an annual , national, naval exercise with international participation and directed by the Bulgarian Navy Command. The exercise involves naval units from the Bulgarian Navy, the Turkish N
At a regular press conference of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People’s Republic of China held on June 28, 2012, Geng Yansheng, spokesman of the MND, said the maritime liaison mechanism between the defense departments of China and Japan can help to avoid maritime misunderstanding and
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) received Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) Star status from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), June 20. The VPP Star certification is OSHA’s highest honor and recognizes worksites that exhibit comprehensive, succe
Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) are attending the first command indoctrination workshop of the ship’s maiden deployment. The command indoctrination workshop seeks to provide n newly reporting Sailors with a base-level of knowledge on the ship to allow for a suc
A Hamilton Boys High School old boy is one of six new Navy Divers who have managed to pass the gruelling 16 week training course required to become an expert diver in the Royal New Zealand Navy. Ordinary Diver Samuel Dickey joined the Navy to travel the world and test himself both physically and men
An eight-man team from HMAS Stirling (CAPT Brett Wolski) successfully completed the 2012 Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge and raised much needed funds for the Ryan Marron Foundation as well as the Navy’s local charity, the Malibu School. The team of six riders and two support personnel chose
From the 18th to 21st June 2012, EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) frigates Guépratte and Reina Sofia collaborated with USS Taylor, engaged in TF 508 (NATO) to escort World Food Programme chartered ship MV Tupi Maiden 3. The escort of WFP ship started in Salalah (Oman) and was performed by EUNAVFOR French f
On June 27, the Netherlands Defence Materiel Organization and Thales Nederland signed an agreement to modify the four SMART-L volume search radars installed on the “De Zeven Provinciën” class air defence and command frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The new SMART-L radar will be optimized for
USS George Washington (CVN 73) arrived in Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 27, for a port visit to foster relations with a longstanding ally of the United States. Welcomed on the pier by ROK military members and the ROK Navy Band, George Washington made its first port call of its 2012 patrol and
