Amount of pirate attacks off African coast sharply reduced in 2011, said French defense minister Gérard Longuet. About 200 attacks were registered in 2011 in contrast to 700 attacks in 2010; pirates captured 13 vessels in 2011, while in 2010 there were 30 ships, reports ITAR-TASS referring to Longue
Two new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) laboratories have been opened at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (BLSYW), thanks to a grant and in-kind support from Northrop Grumman Corporation. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on March 12 at the BLSYW campus on W
Austal has enhanced its positioning for Australian and international defence programs by entering into an agreement with mission system integrator General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. The companies aim to combine Austal’s shipbuilding, systems and support capabilities with General Dynamics
HMAS Parramatta handed over duties to HMAS Melbourne in the Middle East maritime Area of Operations last week after completing a successful six-month maritime security and interception operation deployment as part of Operation SLIPPER rotation 27. HMAS Parramatta is now heading home to Fleet Base Ea
The Asian Shipowners’ Forum has called for a United Nations resolution that would see the international body sponsor and manage armed personnel on board ships sailing through pirate-infested waters. The call, in a statement released by ASF on Wednesday, follows the group’s proposal to Working Group
The first of 5 Steber Navy support vessels MV Koala, after the launching ceremony on February 9th 2012, was delivered to its new home in Sydney on Sunday, 4th March, 2012. Sea trials for the vessel, which lasted few weeks, were conducted on Manning River. The vessel, used by the Defence Force and Go
Over the past few days EUNAVFOR warships, operating as part of the EU’s counter-piracy mission codenamed Operation ATALANTA, have provided life-saving assistance to a stricken dhow, with 12 crew and 92 passengers onboard, including a pregnant woman and 33 children. The dhow had put out a distress si
The Ship’s Company of HMAS Parramatta has enjoyed a unique experience when the ship joined the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group on 25 February in the North Arabian Sea. Parramatta closed in on the carrier group at speed and assumed plane guard station for the USS Abraham Lincoln where she wa
HMAS Parramatta has helped build ties with the Pakistan Navy and local residents after conducting a three-day visit to the port of Karachi in late February. The Karachi visit represented an important regional engagement and was focused on enhancing ties through knowledge sharing opportunities with t
Members of the Royal Australian Navy paused this weekend to mark the 70th anniversary of one of Australia’s most tragic naval losses of World War II. On 4 March 1942, HMAS Yarra (II) was escorting a small convoy from Java to Australia when a superior force of Japanese warships came into view. The Au
U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., visited Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., for the dedication of the Coast Guard’s newest fleet of Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). Sen. Landrieu, chair of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, was instrumental in acquiring $358 million in the FY 20
The Latvian Navy’s new SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) patrol boats will be kept under Germanischer Lloyd (GL) class. GL surveyors will conduct periodic examinations throughout the life cycle of the vessels to verify that the vessels continue to be fit for purpose, technically reliable and s
EU NAFVOR warship FGS BERLIN has successfully engineered the release of an Indian flagged dhow and crew, disrupting a Pirate Action Group and destroying two attack skiffs. On 28 February 2012, EUNAVFOR Warship FGS BERLIN received a distress call from a merchant vessel reporting that they had success
The contract is expected to be valued at A$300 million (c £200 million) over an initial five year period, with an option to extend for a further five years. The final contract is expected to be signed by the end of June 2012 and become operational, after a transitional phase, on 1 January 2013. [&he
