‘Welcome to China’, that was the signalled greeting afforded to HMAS Ballarat (Commander Jonathan Earley) by warships of the PLA-N, as Ballarat carefully weaved her way through the busy nine hour pilotage that encompassed transits of the Yangtz and Huangpu Rivers into Shanghai on 17 May 12. Escorted
FGS BREMEN has commenced her tour of duty patrolling the waters of the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa as the tenth ship of the EU NAVAL FORCE (EU NAVFOR). Having left her home port of Wilhelmshaven on 7th May BREMEN arrives on station after a 14 day transit. Originally designed as a submarine [&hel
Dundee Beach, south of Darwin was the venue on Friday for the culmination of two weeks of training for seven Royal Australian Navy ships participating in Exercise TRITON THUNDER 01-12. HMA Ships Ararat, Larrakia, Diamantina, Gascoyne, Balikpapan, Shepparton, Benalla, AS350BA Squirrel Helicopters fro
On 16 May 2012, Italian EU NAVFOR warship ITS SCIROCCO provided a one-day training session for the Seychelles Coast Guard and on 17 May 2012 welcomed the Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Investments, Natural Resources and Industry of the Republic of Seychelles, and the Italian Co
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), and guided missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) are scheduled to return to their homeport of San Diego, May 23. USS Carl Vinson serves as the flagship for Carr
On Wednesday 16 May the Republic of the Seychelles agreed to accept for prosecution 11 suspected pirates who were captured by EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) on 12 May 2012, EU NAVFOR updated today. On 19 May 2012, a team from HNLMS Van Amstel handed over the suspect pirates to the Seychelles authorities
On May 17, the Anzac Class Guided Missile Frigate, HMAS Ballarat, began a five-day ship visit to Shanghai, China. Ballarat will be docked at the northern end of Shanghai’s historic Bund from 17-21 May. The visit will involve cultural exchanges and visits to significant icons in Shanghai. The exercis
The EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) frigate Corte-Real recently visited Port Victoria in the Seychelles to perform boat-handling training with the local Coast-Guard. This military cooperation is seen as an important way to improve the counter-piracy capabilities of the Seychelles’ Coast-Guard. The Seyche
HMAS Ballarat (Commanger Jonathan Earley) has been making waves in the South China Seas as part of the maritime component for the annual Five Power Defence Arrangement Exercise – Bersama Shield. Exercise Bersama Shield 12 (Ex BS12) saw Ballarat join forces with Malaysian Frigate KD Lekiu and Singapo
HMS Westminster smashed the actions of three pirate groups in a fortnight – sending the boats to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. The Portsmouth-based warship treated the skiffs to a Viking funeral, blasting them out of the water with her guns and those of her Merlin helicopter. With orange-red flame
Today the Republic of the Seychelles agreed to accept for prosecution 11 suspected pirates who were captured by EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) frigate HNLMS Van Amstel on Friday 11 May. The 11 suspected pirates had pirated an Iranian dhow with 17 innocent Iranian fishermen onboard at the beginning of Ma
The commitment of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia through boosting capacity building in the region has been underlined with the signing of five strategic partnerships with a number of UN agencies and the EU, following a Conference on Capacity B
Defence ties between Australia and Indonesia continue to strengthen with the conclusion of the biennial patrol boat exercise CASSOWARY. Royal Australian Navy Armidale Class Patrol Boats HMA Ships Ararat and Larrakia joined with Indonesian Armed Forces patrol boats KRI Kakap and KRI Tongkol for the e
Chiefs of European Navies (CHENS) have held their annual meeting in Ostend from May 10 to 11, 2012. This event serves as an opportunity for maritime leaders to discuss common interests, define the major themes of research for work and trade, and set forth their findings from the studies undertaken d
