After navigating the Suez Canal and Bab-el-Mandeb strait, French frigate FS Courbet has joined EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. The French frigate replaces the FS Surcouf, who has been operating within the EU counter-piracy operation since last December. On Monday 18 February
On February 15th 2013, the maritime action ship ‘Rayo’ left Cartagena (Murcia) to integrate in Operation ‘Atalanta’. The Maritime Action Admiral delivered a farewell speech and wished the crew every success in the fulfillment of the mission. After a period of intense training, the patrol boat ‘Rayo’
As part of the Fisheries Monitoring Plan for 2013, the offshore patrol boat ‘Tarifa’ will participate in the International Joint Deployment Plan in the Bay of Biscay for the deep sea fishing campaign in the northeastern Atlantic. Several ships and aircraft from different nations will deploy in the a
On February 13, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, representing Republicans on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, met at the Pentagon with the Navy’s top official for shipbuilding, Sean Stackley, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, to discuss the impact of d
Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith visited Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday 20 February. Australia and Sweden have shared values, a common strategic interest in peacekeeping and stabilisation operations and a longstanding history of cooperation on submarines. Minister Smith met with Swedish Min
On February 20 the Spanish Armada Ship Cantabria arrived at her adopted Australian home, Fleet Base East, Sydney. SPS Cantabria is a modern Auxiliary Oil Replenishment ship, which is capable of supplying fuel, food, stores and ammunition to ships underway. During her deployment to Australia, Cantabr
With major, across-the-board defense spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta issued a message yesterday to the Defense Department workforce. Here is the secretary’s message: “For more than a year and a half, the president, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I hav
Commander Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 Commodore Muhammad Hisham has crossed decked from USS Farragut to HMAS Toowoomba to personally welcome the crew to the counter-piracy task force. The crossdecking was conducted to bolster the already-high level of cooperation between the nations involved in th
On 19 February, HNLMS De Ruyter, has stopped the activities of a group of suspected pirates approximately 120 nautical miles east of Eyl off the coast of Somalia. Nine suspected pirates were apprehended and taken on board of the De Ruyter. The Dutch frigate that is deployed with the European Union N
On 12 February 2013, during a port visit by the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta flagship ESPS Méndez Núnez to Port Victoria in the Seychelles, the EUNAVFOR Force Commander, Rear Admiral Pedro García de Paredes, met the Chief of Defence of the Seychelles People’s Defence Force
The Swedish Coast Guard MPRA aircraft left the Seychelles on 15 February 2013 after a productive four month deployment to the Seychelles as part of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. The Swedish coastguard Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, joined the operation in October 2012 and lef
The President of the Association of Naval Services Officers announced the cancellation of their convention Feb. 14. NAVADMIN 029/13 announces the official cancellation of the ANSO Convention which was scheduled to take place from May 6-10 in Arlington, Va. “In light of the recent correspondence conc
On February 14, Vice Admiral Peter Hudson CBE (UK Navy), took over command of the NATO Maritime Headquarters during a brief ceremony in Northwood, London. He takes over at a time of major change within NATO which sees Northwood as the Alliance’s sole maritime command with command of the range of NAT
Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith hosted today his Spanish counterpart Minister Pedro Morenés Eulate, who is staying in a visit to Melbourne. They were joined by the Minister for Defence Materiel, Dr Mike Kelly. Minister Morenés was in Melbourne to conduct bilateral discussions and to pa
