On Monday, Australia’s second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ship departed the Navantia Ferrol Dockyard in Spain for a short trip south to Vigo, where she will be loaded onto the Dockwise Heavy Lift Ship (HLS) Blue Marlin for transit to Australia. Weather permitting, Blue Marlin is scheduled to depar
On Tuesday 3 December, Spanish Ocean Patrol Vessel, ESPS Tornado joined the European Union’s counter piracy task force operating off the coast of Somalia. The warship will be part of the EU Naval Force for four months as Spain’s contribution to Operation Atalanta. Commissioned in 2012, ESPS Tornado
Recently, Captain John Vandyke, the Royal Australian Navy’s Commander Shore Forces (COMSHORFOR), paid a visit to the Commanding Officer Navy Headquarters – South Queensland (NHQ-SQ), Commander Peter Tedman, and his headquarters staff. It was CAPT Vandyke’s first official visit to a Navy establishmen
During the medal ceremony which was held on the flight deck in the Gulf of Aden, the international staff and ship’s company were decorated by the Force Commander of Atalanta, commodore Peter Lenselink of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Commodore Lenselink praised the EU flag staff and ship’s company “Yo
On Saturday 1 December, an EU Naval Force Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) handover ceremony was held in Djibouti between Lithuanian and Serbian Forces in Djibouti. Members of the Lithuanian Forces have spent the past four months embarked in the World Food Programme (WFP) aid ship, MV
STS Young Endeavour has returned to Australia following the Sydney Auckland Tall Ship Regatta and the ship’s New Zealand Voyage Program. It was Young Endeavour’s first overseas visit in seven years, and the young Australians on board certainly made the most of it, spending several weeks exploring th
Three federal politicians were given a hands-on experience of life in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) recently, when they visited HMAS Creswell as part of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program 2013. Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, the Hon. Darren Chester MP, together with Parliamen
Operation RENDER SAFE, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) mission in Solomon Islands has been a “spectacular success” according to the head of the Task Force Commander, Commander Doug Griffiths. Commander Griffiths said the team located more than 10,000 items of une
Australia is leading maritime security operations in the Middle East and North Indian Ocean after assuming command of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) on 1 December. The fifth rotation of the Royal Australian Navy’s maritime security task force command group departed Australia on 19 November for a
On Thursday 28 November EU Naval Force warship, ESPS Meteoro made its ninth and last replenishment at sea (RAS) with the logistic American ship USNS Joshua Humphries. The meeting between both ships was close to the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden, and five days befor
The 49th New Entry Officers’ Course has graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College, at HMAS Creswell. It was just last week that the graduating officers were completing a four-day leadership exercise in the field, demanding fitness, decision-making and command skills, but it will seem like a
HMS Daring’s Lynx proved indispensable in first finding devastated remote communities in the Philippines – then delivering vital aid to them. During a hectic five days of flying, the helicopter carried more than eight tonnes of aid, ferried 150 people about and got to villages far beyond the reach o
An intensive three week submarine escape and rescue exercise has drawn to a close off the east coast of Australia. During Exercise BLACK CARILLON 2013, members of Navy’s Submarine Force simulated being evacuated from HMAS Farncomb, which was bottomed in 112 metres of water, in the James Fisher Rescu
A Standing Offer contract has been awarded to Canberra based company CEA Technologies, to develop high powered Phased Array Radar technology, Australian Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston today announced. The contract relates to development of systems based on the CEAFAR radar that would su
