On 13 August the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Aircraft Detachment deployed in support of the EU anti-piracy operation ATALANTA passed its 4.000th operational flight hour during its 707th operational sortie in theatre. This milestone occurred when Captain SOLOMON and his crew were crossing the equator
Counter piracy forces from the EU Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) Operation Atalanta and NATO disrupted two pirated dhows and freed the crew taken hostage in the Gulf of Aden. On 10 August, a suspicious dhow, reportedly pirated in Bosaso – Somalia, was located off the coast of Oman by the Spanish EU
Babcock has started work on Sandown class minehunter HMS Grimsby, now in dock in Rosyth for a six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)). The support period is the first Sandown class refit to be undertaken under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA) Class Output Management (COM) Phase 2 arrangem
The Navy will participate in the regularly scheduled Exercise Reliant Mermaid in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 13-16. Reliant Mermaid, in its 11th iteration, is an annual search and rescue exercise designed to increase interoperability by developing individual and collective maritime proficiencies of
After a three day hunt by NATO and EU counter piracy forces, HNLMS Rotterdam in close cooperation with EU unit FGS Sachsen, has successfully disrupted a pirated dhow. This end game took place in the coastal waters of Somalia. The crew has been freed and is in good condition. The suspected pirates wi
Guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams transferred 10 Iranian mariners rescued from a burning dhow Aug. 8 to an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman Aug. 10. Members of Williams’ visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team transferred the mariners from the destroyer to an Iranian-flagged dhow
Two employees from BMT Defence Services and BMT ARGOSS, subsidiaries of BMT Group Ltd, are set to embark on a challenging journey which will see them make an epic motorcycle ride from Bath, UK to Gdansk in Poland. With the trip fully funded by the two riders, all donations and sponsorship raised wil
The U.S. Navy achieved successful open-water validation dives July 2012 on MK 16 MOD 1 Underwater Breathing Apparatus’ (UBA) electronic circuitry to extend service life into the next decade for a world-class unique diving rig capable of extreme depths in open sea water. Naval Surface Warfare Center
Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) completed three days of annual disaster preparedness drills during Citadel Rumble 2012 (CR-12) from Aug. 7-9. CR-12 is a fully integrated response and recovery exercise designed to evaluate Navy shore-based commands and installation emergency preparedness in response to a
Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 11, which is permanently embarked aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and is forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan, commenced a fall deployment of the 7th Fleet area of responsibility Aug. 10. During this deployment, PHIBRON 11’s staff includes over 120 Sailors from differe
The guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) continued to strengthen relationships with Baltic nations as it began a four-day port visit in Riga, Latvia, Aug. 4. During the port visit, Sailors played a game of basketball against members of the Latvian National Armed Forces and participated in
The surge in Somali pirate attacks has been wiped out completely based on the figures for this month, which has been the first full month without pirate attacks since 2007, The Telegraph writes. Based on the data released by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the last attempted boarding and fi
On Tuesday 7 August 2012 seven Somali men were found guilty by a Kenyan court of attempting to commit an act of piracy against a French fishing vessel, MV Captain St Vincent, off the Somali Coast in October 2009. Following the terrifying attack, the pirates, operating in 2 attack skiffs, were locate
Friends and family of the crew members from USS Louisville (SSN 724) gathered at the submarine piers to welcome back the Los Angeles-class submarine as she returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after completing a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) region, Aug. 8. “I am extrem
