French Navy command and replenishment ship FS MARNE left Toulon on 25 March and is heading towards the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin, with the future EU NAVFOR Force Commander, Rear-Admiral Dupuis and his staff on board. The FS MARNE carries a complement of 215 personnel on board, among whom are
On Monday 26th March one of Portugal’s largest warships, the Vasco de Gama Class frigate NRP CORTE REAL added its name to the list of EU ships (EUNAVFOR) operating in the Horn of Africa. It will set out immediately on its mission to counter piracy and protect World Food Program (WFP) shipments to So
Russia protects regime of Syrian president Assad because it is afraid of losing naval bases in Latakia and Tartus, writes president of Eurasia Group Ian Bremmer in his article published by The Financial Times. If Assad’s regime falls down, Russia may direct its eyes, say, to Greece which urgently ne
As of 23 March 2012 the Counter-Piracy force of the European Union (EUNAVFOR) which normally includes between 4 and 7 warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa will be joined by two new warships of the French navy; Frigate FS GEORGES LEYGUES and Amphibious Assault Ship FS DIXMUDE. FS G
On Friday 23 March 2012 the Council of the European Union confirmed its intention to extend the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) counter-piracy mission, Operation ATALANTA off the Somali coast until December 2014. At the same time the Council also extended the area of operations to include Somali coastal
A media day was held onboard the EU Naval Force Spanish flagship, ESPS PATIÑO alongside Mombasa Port on Thursday 15 March. The event was hosted by the EU Naval Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jorge Manso and the EU’s Head of Delegation in Kenya, Mr. Loedwijk Briet. They were also accompanied at the Me
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
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 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 Greek EU NAVFOR warship HS HYDRA used its recent port visit in Mombasa, Kenya, to support the Coast Province General Hospital and a local orphanage. In line with local support for countries of the Horn of Africa, HS HDRA provided medical supplies to the hospital. Medical supplies remain a scarce
Rear Admiral Duncan Potts welcomed His Excellency President James Michel of the Seychelles; Mr Joel Morgan, his Minister for Home Affairs, Environment and Transport; the Hon Crispus Kiyonga, Ugandan Minister of Defence; Lt Gen Katuma Wamala, Commander Land Forces of the Ugandan Army; and Maj Gen Pau
Royal Navy Fishery Protection Vessel HMS Mersey was joined by her sister ships HMS Severn and HMS Tyne for the annual Fishery Protection Squadron Exercise last week. The exercise saw the ships put through their paces in a series of challenging combined evolutions at sea as well as team-building and
NORWAY-based boat handling system and specialised davit supplier Vestdavit has been contracted by shipbuilder Austal to supply its state-of-the-art PLAR-6500 davits to eight new Cape Class Patrol Boats (CCPBs) to be built for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Austal will build th
