Britain’s newest operational warship HMS Diamond traded places with HMS Monmouth as the latter relieved the Type 45 destroyer as the Royal Navy’s Gulf guardian. The two ships met up in the Gulf of Aden, where Diamond formally handed over responsibilities to the Black Duke before beginning the long r
During the night on 21 November, French warship FS Dupleix, operating as part of the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) – Operation Atalanta, was patrolling along the northern coast of Somalia, when she was directed by the EU NAVFOR flagship to provide assistance to a Yemeni dhow – ‘Al Fahad’. T
Although part of the ongoing Cougar 12 deployment to the Mediterranean, HMS Montrose was detached from the main Cougar Task Group for two weeks to visit Algiers, the capital and major port of the North African country of Algeria for two days in mid-November. The purpose of her visit, the first by a
HNLMS Rotterdam put an end to the activities of a group of suspected pirates from Somalia. The men in question and their boat were taken on board the Rotterdam pending further decision-making. The search for this pirate group began yesterday when the Spanish fishing boat Izurdia reported being under
Last night EU Naval Force flagship, ITS San Giusto stopped and apprehended a skiff with 7 suspect pirates onboard. The EU warship, that was carrying out counter-piracy patrols as part of Operation Atalanta, had sighted the skiff carrying a ladder and up to 20 fuel drums 180 miles east of Socotra and
On 26 August, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Commission Vice President, Catherine Ashton visited the French EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR) warship La Fayette during her visit to Kenya and Somalia. She was welcomed on board by the Com
Counter piracy forces from the EU Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) Operation Atalanta and NATO disrupted two pirated dhows and freed the crew taken hostage in the Gulf of Aden. On 10 August, a suspicious dhow, reportedly pirated in Bosaso – Somalia, was located off the coast of Oman by the Spanish EU
Amazonas, the first of three BAE Systems built Ocean Patrol Vessels being delivered the Brazilian Navy, departed the UK for Rio de Janeiro this morning after her crew completed a rigorous programme of Flag Officer Sea Training with the Royal Navy off the South coast. Supported by a team from BAE Sys
On the afternoon of 4 July, in the rough seas of the Gulf of Aden, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Italian Frigate Scirocco rescued a Comoros flagged supply vessel which had been adrift and in total black out for more than 13 hours. The entire operation lasted in excess of 24 hours and was conducted [&he
On June 16, EUNAVFOR Force Commander French Rear Admiral Dupuis received on board FS Marne the new commander of TF 508 (NATO – Operation Ocean Shield). On 16 June on board EUNAVFOR French flag ship Marne, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis and his staff hosted the new Dutch Commander of Task Force
From 1 to June 14, 2012, EUNAVFOR frigate Guépratte has concentrated its patrols in the area south of the Strait of Bab el Mandeb and the western Gulf of Aden, areas prone to pirate attacks. The beginning of June usually marks the arrival of the monsoon in the Indian Ocean. It is characterized by su
Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 8 held a change of command ceremony in the forecastle of multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) while in the Red Sea, May 19. Capt. Arturo M. Garcia relieved Capt. Mark H. Scovill as PHIBRON 8 commodore. This will be considered a ‘fleet-up’ assignment
FGS BREMEN has commenced her tour of duty patrolling the waters of the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa as the tenth ship of the EU NAVAL FORCE (EU NAVFOR). Having left her home port of Wilhelmshaven on 7th May BREMEN arrives on station after a 14 day transit. Originally designed as a submarine [&hel
On 11 May EU NAVFOR frigate HNLMS Van Amstel released a fishing dhow and her Iranian crew off the coast of Somalia. The dhow had been pirated 10 days earlier and was being used to carry out pirate attacks on merchant vessels. Yesterday afternoon, during a surveillance flight 400 nautical miles off t
