Back in 2011, a total of 16 warships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels supported humanitarian, embargo and combat operations off the coast of Libya, either under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector or the UK’s Operation Ellamy. These included elements of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Ta
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) has a new German Commander. Captain Marco Von Koelln (German Navy) handed over command of SNMCMG2 to Commander Mathias Seipel (German Navy) on Monday, 24 June 2013. The ceremony took place at the Hellenic Naval Base in Souda Bay, Crete, and was pr
On Saturday afternoon (22 June), EU Naval Force Italian warship, ITS Zeffiro and Chinese Navy warship CNS Mianyang, which are both conducting counter piracy operations, met at sea in the choppy waters of the Gulf of Aden. The aim of the meeting was to enable CNS Mianyang to take over escort duties o
About 220 personnel comprising men and women from Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) gathered at the mnb parade square to celebrate its 48th year anniversary on 14 June 2013. The event was organised at a later date to give way to the ASEAN Humanitarian and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise. The ce
The Royal Australian Navy has joined forces with the United States Navy (USN) and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) to participate in a tri-lateral exercise, Pacific bond 2013, June 22-26. Pacific Bond is a multi-national naval exercise designed to advance participating nations’ military-to-
Maritime forces from four countries began participation in the multinational naval exercise FRUKUS, in port Brest, France, June 25. FRUKUS, which is led this year by the French navy, is focused on improving maritime security through open dialogue and increased training of the participating nations,
Medical staff onboard HMAS Choules have been honing their skills in a number of areas during Exercise Sea Lion 2013. A big part of the training being conducted by the MR2 (embarked medical team) and the ship’s medics involves Aeronautical Medical Evacuations. As the name suggests this involves a pat
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, on behalf of the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans today announced funding of up to $488M to procure 18-21 new vessels for the Coast Guard Fleet. Minister MacKay made the announcement during the 2013 Mari-Tech Confe
The first warship built by BAE Systems for the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) as part of Project Khareef for the design, build and delivery of three corvettes, has been formally handed over in a ceremony at HM Naval Base Portsmouth today. Employees and guests, including senior representatives from the Roy
HMAS Perth is a little way from her home port of Fleet Base West as she works hard in the East Australian Exercise Area, near Jervis Bay to prepare for a Unit Readiness Evaluation where she will be tested on Warfare, Seamanship, Emergency Procedures and much more in preparation for a busy six months
Following the recent departure of HMS Penzance from Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard after a successful upkeep period, Babcock has now started work on Sandown class mine hunter HMS Pembroke, in dock at Rosyth for a similar six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)) under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (
The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) embarked elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s (MEU) Aviation Combat Element (ACE), June 24. The Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st MEU will conduct joint forces operations in the 7th Fleet Area of
HMS Penzance is in the throes of demanding training after completing a six-month revamp in Rosyth. The Faslane-based warship is now Britain’s most up-to-date minehunter following the refit, which prepared her for impending duties with a NATO task group. After six months in refit – four of those out
Survey ship HMS Echo has spent 12 days in Malta on the first stage of her 18-month mission to the Mediterranean and Middle East. The Devonport-based hydrographic vessel will be updating charts used by seafarers the world over, courtesy of her hi-tech sonar suites. It’s just under a year since the De
