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
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
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
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
HMS Illustrious tops up her fuel tanks ready for her arrival in the Philippines. The Portsmouth based amphibious helicopter carrier met with Australian tanker HMAS Sirius in the South China Sea roughly halfway through the 1200 nautical mile journey between Singapore and the Philippines. HMS Illustri
Twenty-six international defence attaches have been shown the vital role that Portsmouth plays in supporting the Royal Navy worldwide. The London-based officials visited Portsmouth Naval Base to see the part it plays in keeping surface ships available for operations. The attaches were also told how
During the evening of November 22, a search and rescue exercise was conducted by ESPS Meteoro and her embarked helicopter. The exercise was part of an intensive air-sea training programme. During the exercise, two qualified rescue divers from the embarked air wing simulated two men who had been wash
On Friday 22 November 2013 a delegation from EU Naval Force’s flagship HNLMS Johan de Witt visited the Chinese Force Commander and his staff on board the Chinese flagship CNS Jing Gang Shan in the Gulf of Aden. The visit was an opportunity to discuss counter piracy operations. The Royal Netherlands
The Naval Service Ship LÉ Roisín made a significant detention of a Dutch Registered Fishing Vessel on friday, November 22, for alleged breaches of fishing regulations. The fishing vessel was detained shortly after 11am approximately one hundred nautical miles north west of Tory Island and is expecte
UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary, RFA Lyme Bay is heading for home having completed a 32 day tour of duty with Operation Atalanta – the European Union’s counter piracy operation off the coast of Somalia. RFA Lyme Bay departed the UK in mid August to form part of the Cougar 2013 Response Force Task Group (RF
In the early morning of Tuesday 19 November, EU Naval Force warship ITS Libeccio carried out a replenishment at sea (RAS) with the American auxiliary ship, USNS Arctic. The RAS, which was conducted in coordination with the US Fast Combat Support Ship, required the two ships to sail very close togeth
HNLMS Johan de Witt and RFA Lyme Bay have participated in the US led international exercise ‘Cutlass Express’. The exercise, which was held in several operational areas in the waters off East Africa, is a maritime exercise, designed to improve cooperation, tactical expertise and information sharing
Earlier this week during a port-call at Dar es Salaam the Spanish Ocean Patrol Vessel ESPS ‘Meteoro’, as part of the EU Naval Froce (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta has carried out a series of trainings with personnel from the Tanzanian Navy as part of the Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMC
