At 3.03 pm January 16, Belfast Coastguard received a mayday call from the crew of a fishing vessel on VHF Channel 16 (International Distress and Calling Channel) reporting that they had smoke coming from the engine room and that they were unable to access the wheelhouse. Belfast Coastguard requested
Personnel on board Portsmouth-based HMS Atherstone have put aside their minehunting skills to instead imitate pirates as part of an exercise with HMS Monmouth in the Gulf. The joint operations come as the Devonport-based frigate builds up to operational patrols policing international trade routes in
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, announced on January 15 that the Republic of Korea has selected the AW159 helicopter to meet its Maritime Operational Helicopter requirement. The contract for eight AW159 helicopters for the Republic of Korea Navy is the first export order for this new generat
Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) held a change of command ceremony in the hangar bay while underway Jan. 11. Capt. John E. Gumbleton relieved Capt. Kevin P. Flanagan as commanding officer. Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3, Rear Adm. Gerard P. Hueber, flew via helicopter to pres
As an island nation, the UK’s prosperity and security is dependent on its ability to access the sea. That is why the Royal Navy is globally deployed and has a range of versatile ships, submarines and aircraft operated by professional sailors, aviators and Royal Marine Commandos. The Navy will be at
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto will deploy early this year until the fall of 2013 with a crew rotation during the deployment contributing to the multinational coalition fleet conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea region. HMCS Toronto has been undergoing extensive tra
Personnel assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 3 are training non-EOD Sailors in special operations tactics aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Once a week, Sailors selected by their division meet in the hangar bay for hands-on training for t
The Royal Navy’s search and rescue fliers will give visitors at Britain’s biggest boat show a taste of what they do – kick-starting their 60th anniversary year. Two days of demonstrations are planned by 771 Naval Air Squadron at the London Boat Show, where the fliers will be joined by Royal Marines
Sailors assigned to the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 41 “Seahawks” celebrated 170,000 operational flight hours without a Class A mishap Jan. 8. A Class A mishap is defined as an incident with a total cost of more than $1 million, destroyed aircraft, fatal injury or total disability. HSM
In the evening of 5th January, a merchant vessel sailing 260 miles off the Somali Coast, made a distress call, reporting that she was coming under attack by six men in a fast moving boat, armed with rocket propelled grenades. Thankfully, having employed avoidance tactics, the merchant vessel was abl
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Edinburgh has returned to sea following a two week mid-deployment period of maintenance in Simon’s Town, South Africa. The Portsmouth-based ship will now continue with her Atlantic patrol and her third crossing of the South Atlantic so far in this deployment. After two month
Australian Naval ship, HMAS Anzac arrived at the Port of Colombo on a goodwill visit on 07th January 2013. She was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with naval traditions on arrival. Ship’s Commanding Officer, Commander John Stavridis called on Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral R
Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, assigned to the Harry S. Truman Strike Group, welcomed the Navy’s first female CVW commander during CVW-3’s change of command ceremony Jan 4. During the ceremony, which was conducted at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Va., Capt. Michael S. Wallace, commander of “Team Battle
Guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) will depart San Diego for a scheduled six-month deployment to the 4th Fleet Area of Operations, Jan. 8. Thach’s crew of 220 Sailors and Coast Guardsmen will be performing Counter-Illicit Trafficking operations designed to improve maritime stability within th
