On Sunday, 15 December 2013, EU Naval Force French flagship, FS Siroco hosted a meeting with Somaliland representatives, including Vice President Abdirahman Abdallahi Ismail Saylici. “We welcome this engagement with EUCAP Nestor as it will pave the way for technical cooperation in the field of mar
Last Monday 9 December, EU Naval Force flagship FS Siroco came to the assistance of seafarers who had been adrift at sea for more than two days after their boat suffered engine failure. The seafarers, who were very tired and hungry attracted the attention of the French warship, which was conducting
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens held an all hands call with Sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America (LHA 6), Dec. 11. During his visit, Stevens also frocked five Sailors, toured the ship and met with senior leadership. “I’m gla
On Wednesday 11 December the Force Commander of EUNAVFOR, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjéan, visited ITS Libeccio. The Italian warship is currently conducting counter piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean as part of the European Union’s Operation Atalanta. The visit was an opportunity for the
On Wednesday 11 December, Spanish EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) ship ESPS Tornado completed a three day escort of a World Food Programme (WFP) chartered vessel. The WFP ship was escorted by ESPS Tornado from Mombasa to the port of Kismayo in Somalia. During the escort, members of the Spanish Navy crew
HMAS Tobruk has completed its mission in the Philippines and is returning to Australia with a load of Army engineer machinery, vehicles and 35 Army personnel. A small Recovery Support Force of 65 combat engineers, tradesmen and support personnel, mostly from Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment
The Royal Navy has adopted a new approach to minimising its impact on the environment that could become a blueprint for other Naval services. It has produced Environmental Protection Guidelines (Maritime) (EPG(M)), an interactive military layer of electronic charting which provides advice on the sui
After supporting ongoing British relief efforts in the Philippines, HMS Daring has arrived in Shanghai. The goodwill visit to China comes at an important time in bilateral relations, just after the UK-China summit when Prime Minister David Cameron led a strong delegation of ministers and businessmen
Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation Mr Warren King today announced that the Defence and Industry (D+I) Conference will be held in Adelaide from 29 to 30 July 2014. “The Conference will bring together Defence officials and representatives of Defence Industry from a
ALHD “Adelaide”, the second of two Canberra class landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships under construction for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was loaded onto the “Blue Marlin” vessel of the Dutch company Dockwise at the Vigo inlet, NAVANTIA, its shipbuilder, and the Port Authority at Vigo informed ye
On Friday 6 December 2013, the French Navy ship FS Siroco joined the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta. FS Siroco will be the flagship of the European Union’s counter piracy operation off the coast of Somalia for the next four months. Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean is the Force Comma
After spending almost five months operating with the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta off Somalia, German frigate FGS Niedersachsen is heading home. During its time with Operation Atalanta, FGS Niedersachsen sailed a total of 26,000 nautical miles and conducted daily counter piracy patrols to
Italian warship ITS Libeccio has reached the half way point in its four month deployment with the European Union Naval Force, operating off Somalia. ITS Libeccio, which has 237 sailors on board, took over counter piracy duties from another Italian warship, ITS Zeffiro on 6 October 2013. Having now s
Australian Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston today met with Dr Fabian Pok, Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Defence, for the inaugural Australia-Papua New Guinea Defence Ministers’ Meeting. “This was my first meeting with Dr Pok, and we had valuable discussions on how Australia and Papua Ne
