Operation Atalanta Force Commander, Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri on February 10 welcomed Captain Khyber Zaman, the Commanding Officer of PNS Saif to ITS Carabiniere, the mission flagship. The Italian warship has been deployed with the European Union’s counter-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean si
Spanish Marine Corps Special Naval Warfare Force (FGNE in its Spanish initials) exercised with the Spanish 5th Aircraft Squadron made up of Sikorsky SH-3D helicopters in Cartagena, Spain. The purpose of the training exercise was to implement common operational procedures and enhance interoperability
U.S. Navy’s future amphibious assault ship USS Portland (LPD 27) was launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard February 13. The ship was transferred from the land level facility to the drydock, which was then flooded allowing her to float off the blocks. Captain Darren Plath, LPD
820 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, whose Merlin’s are set to be the first helicopters on the Queen Elizabeth carrier, now have a new commander. On February 8, Commander Jon Holroyd took the helm of RNAS Culdrose’s 820 Naval Air Squadron from his predecessor Commander Ros
Operation Atalanta flagship ITS Carabiniere conducted a joint exercise with the French frigate FS Floreal in the waters off Seychelles’ main harbour on February 5, 2016. The exercise was coordinated by the ships’ commanding officers, Commander François Xavier Waroux and Commander Francesco Saladino.
Having seized almost a tonne of heroin and made more than 50 boarding operations, Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Melbourne is now returning home to Australia. The guided missile frigate handed over maritime security responsibilities to sister ship, HMAS Darwin, after five months of operations in
As the Royal Navy’s previous Fleet Commander has moved up the ladder to become the First Sea Lord, the Navy has welcomed his successor at a handover ceremony in Portsmouth, UK. Vice Admiral Ben Key CBE is taking up the role from outgoing Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB who is to be
The Visakhapatnam International Fleet Review 2016, concluded February 9 with Indian and foreign Naval ships undertaking a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Bay of Bengal. As maritime traditions mandate, visiting foreign ships are generally escorted to the open seas on their way home upon their comple
The Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (The Seven Provinces) left her homeport Willemstad, the Netherlands, for the Caribbean Sea. The first ship of the De Zeven Provincien class will be used as a station ship in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea. A Belgian Navy Alouette III h
Helicopters from the Royal Navy Auxiliary Fort Victoria have been providing direct front-line support to daily strikes from the French carrier Charles De Gaulle against Daesh in the Middle East. The distinctive Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control Mk7 helicopters are scouring Gulf skies and se
U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) rescued distressed mariners at sea, February 7. Ike received a distress call via bridge-to-bridge communications from the U.S.-flagged sailing vessel (S/V) Selket. The vessel was located 40-miles from Miami, with reports of a b
Images: EUNAVFOR 2016 Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Victoria on February 6 left EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta after four months of counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. Led by Commander Fernando José Suarez Fonseca, the ship’s crew contributed to Operation Atalanta which deters and disrupts pir
The eleventh Fleet Review comprising naval warships from Indian as well as frontline foreign navies took place February 6, 2016. After a 21-Gun salute and ceremonial Guard of Honour, President and the Supreme Commander of the armed forces of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, embarked INS Sumitra, an ind
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, together with the Italian frigate ITS Libeccio and the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton, headed for the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish frigate TCG Barbaros joined them in Aksaz, Turkey. The group conducted a range of drills before and after their port cal
