On 13 July 2012, Rear Admiral Rainer Endres (German Navy) handed over the role of Deputy Operation Commander (DCOM) of the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta to Rear Admiral Gualtiero Mattesi (Italian Navy). The handover was conducted at the EU NAVFOR Operation Headq
On the afternoon of 4 July, in the rough seas of the Gulf of Aden, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Italian Frigate Scirocco rescued a Comoros flagged supply vessel which had been adrift and in total black out for more than 13 hours. The entire operation lasted in excess of 24 hours and was conducted [&he
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced today that 12 foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during May 2012 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection. Latest monthly figures show that there were six new detentions of foreign flagged ships in UK ports during May 20
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced the launch of the second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) at the Navantia shipyard in Spain. The launch represented a major milestone in the shipbuilding process and was attended by the Chief of Navy, Vice
On June 25, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis visited the headquarters of the Tanzanian Navy to meet General Omar, Commander of the Navy. Tanzania faces the scourge of piracy off its coasts and is therefore intrinsically concerned. Its navy works daily in Tanzanian territorial waters to combat pir
Spain and Australia have agreed today that the Combat Supply Ship Cantabria will operate with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from February to November 2013. This deployment will be the longest and most extensive that the Navy ship will have made to date. Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral General
On the morning of June 28th 2012, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Italian Frigate Scirocco provided technical assistance to a tug type vessel which experienced an engine failure while sailing in international waters in the Gulf of Aden. In the evening on the 27th of June, ITS Scirocco was conducting a pa
The Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced that the Royal Australian Navy would participate in a unique deployment to Australia of the Spanish Armada Ship, SPS Cantabria, with a series of training exercises in Australia from mid-February until November 2013. The Cantabria deployment will str
From the 18th to 21st June 2012, EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) frigates Guépratte and Reina Sofia collaborated with USS Taylor, engaged in TF 508 (NATO) to escort World Food Programme chartered ship MV Tupi Maiden 3. The escort of WFP ship started in Salalah (Oman) and was performed by EUNAVFOR French f
The Naval Service annual fleet exercise, Exercise Rua, is taking place from the 26th to the 28th of June 2012 off the South and South West Coast of Ireland. The Naval Service are currently conducting a major fleet exercise off the South West Coast of Ireland involving armed boarding parties, search
The deployment of a Dutch military security team for the protection of World Food Programme transports to Somalia will be extended by a maximum of 3 months. That was the upshot of a letter sent to the House of Representatives on behalf of the Government by Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosenthal and M
Multipurpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel last week returned to its home base of Den Helder. For the past three months, the ship was deployed to counter piracy in the waters of Somalia. The Van Amstel also escorted UN World Food Programme ships sailing in the area. The navy frigate left for the Somali B
The Dutch and Australian armed forces are looking into ways to intensify their cooperation with regard to cyber warfare, submarines and the F-35. This was announced during the visit to Australia by the Netherlands Chief of Defence, General Peter van Uhm. “Due, among other things, to the strategic po
During a port visit by EU Naval Force Flag Ship FS MARNE in Salalah (Oman), the EUNAVFOR Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis flew to Muscat on June 12 and 13 to meet Omani maritime authorities. After an initial meeting on June 11 in Salalah with the local commander of the Royal Navy of Oman, EUNAVFO
