Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Fort Austin has spent the last few weeks in company with HMS Bulwark as part of the Cougar 14 Task Group, sailing from the United Kingdom into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and Red Sea and up into the Gulf. The Ship’s Company has been busy throughout, keeping th
During the last week EU Naval Force warship, ESPS Navarra, invited local Somali leaders on board in order to help build relations between the EU Naval Force and the Somali people. After being welcomed on board, the Somalis were given an insight into the EU’s Operation Atalanta, that is helping to ma
HMS Atherstone has spent the last two weeks working in close company with the ships and staff of the Japanese 51st Mine Division in the waters of the Gulf. The two Japanese Ships Bungo and Yaeyama and their Battle Staff led by Captain Yoshida, had deployed to the Gulf to take part in the Internation
On 19 and 20 November, during her recent port visit to Dar Es Salam, EU Naval Force warship BNS Leopold I hosted members of the Tanzanian Navy in support of EUCAP Nestor’s initiative to conduct Local Maritime Capability Building (LMCB). On the first day, BNS Leopold I’s crew organised several worksh
The X-men have taken hold in the depths of Cornwall with the formation of the Royal Navy’s first squadron of unmanned aircraft. 700X – X for ‘Xperimental’ – Naval Air Squadron will be at the vanguard of the Fleet Air Arm’s venture into the world of unmanned flight with ‘eyes in the sky’ pilotless ai
Last week (November 17 – 21) the bilateral exercise MAGRE-14 was conducted in the Bay of Cadiz with participation of Spanish Mine Countermeasures Divers (UBMCM) and U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians (EODMU-8). The exercise was oriented towards the implementation of interoperability p
During their recent port visit to Djibouti, Dutch warship HNLMS van Speijk hosted a visit from the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management, or CIVCOM, which is an advisory body within the European Union dealing with crisis management. The delegation consisted, amongst others, of sixteen
Sailors and Royal Marines played out scenes reminiscent of Captain Phillips as they practised taking down pirates in the Indian Ocean. Plymouth-based HMS Bulwark and Portsmouth-based HM Ships Chiddingfold and Penzance, as well as Royal Fleet Auxiliary Cardigan Bay, have been training with the US Nav
Russian Navy’s second Mistral-class helicopter carrier Sevastopol has been floated out of Saint Nazaire shipyard’s dry dock in France. Sevastopol is one of two Mistral-class vessels ordered by the Russian Navy. A military diplomatic source, quoted by RIA Novosti, said that the Russian Defense Minist
Bravo Zulu to six crew members of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto who sprang into action in response to a fire and assisted in the evacuation of a burning building during a port visit on November 14th in Antalya, Turkey. Two of the ship’s officers, Lieutenant(Navy) (Lt(N)) Samuel Gaudreau
The future Commander of Combined Maritime Forces Task Force 150 (CTF-150), Commodore Brian Santarpia (CAN N), visited NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to discuss coordination and interaction with NATO forces in the Indian Ocean. During the visit, Commodore Santarpia met with MARCOM Deputy Comma
The Commander of French Submarine and Strategic Oceanic Forces (ALFOST), Vice Admiral Louis-Michel Guillaume, and his Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Captain Bertrand Dumoulin, visited NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to meet with the MARCOM Command Group following his appointment in Septe
UK Minister for Portsmouth Matthew Hancock opened a new £4 million centre for research into unmanned autonomous boats, submarines and other vessels on November 17. This market is estimated to be worth £9 billion each year over the next 8 years. The Centre for Maritime Intelligence Systems (CMIS) was
Seven ships of Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1), under command of Lithuanian Navy Commander Giedrius Premeneckas, arrived in London for a routine port visit. SNMCMG1 is visiting London as part of the Group’s deployment to enhance maritime security and NATO’s readiness in the r
