An air and maritime exercise involving Australia and its regional security partners starts today in Malaysia. Exercise Bersama Lima 2013 is a Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) activity involving Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand. Commander Australian Contingent,
On Sunday, 3 November, EUNAVFOR Force Commander, Commodore Peter Lenselink and members of his staff, visited the Italian warship, ITS Libeccio. After being welcomed by the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Stefano Calvetti, Commodore Lenselink was introduced to the crew and given a tour of the sh
RFA Lyme Bay has carried out the first of six friendly approaches in the Gulf of Aden. It was the first friendly approach carried out by a UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay Class ship, as part of European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta. The ship’s boat team interacted with the lo
Dogu Akdeniz, an annual Turkish-led naval training exercise, began Nov. 4. USS Stout (DDG 55) was invited to participate in this year’s exercise, hosted by Commander, Turkish Fleet, with forces from the Turkish coast guard, Turkish air force and ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). Led
On Saturday, 2 November 2013, NATO`s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD flagship, HNoMS FRIDTJOF NANSEN, hosted a visit from the Republic of Korea Escort Task Group, which is also conducting counter-piracy operations in the area. Captain Sung Mok Choi, Commander of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Nav
On 13h of October the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta Liaison Officer (LNO) for Seychelles and Mauritius, Lieutenant Commander Billy Adams Royal Navy, boarded NATO’s Danish counter piracy maritime patrol aircraft for a reconnaissance mission off the coast of Somalia. In the spi
During their recent logistical visit to the Seychelles, Spanish Ocean Patrol Vessel (OPV), ESPS Meteoro, held a number of very productive meetings with EUCAP Nestor and the Seychelles Coast Guard. On the 25th of October, ESPS Meteoro was visited by 18 members of the Seychelles Coast Guard, in conduc
Shortly after dawn the alarm breaks the silence on board HNLMS De Ruyter as the crew of the flagship prepare to head out to sea. After months of planning, a week in port and some final preparations during the pre-sail conference, everyone is focused and excited about what is going to happen in the c
The Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, General Knud Bartels, travelled to the Gulf of Aden on 28-30 October 2013 to visit the Ukrainian Navy frigate Hetman Sahaydachniy deployed there as part of Operation Ocean Shield, NATO’s counter-piracy mission. “Ukraine’s ability to plug in and out of NATO’
Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2) and Standing NATO Mine-Countermeasures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) met on Wednesday, 30 October 2013, for a joint training opportunity at sea near Crete, Greece. Both Groups have been operating in the Mediterranean in support of the counter-terrorism Operation ACTIVE
During the scheduled port-call at Tunis, the frigate ‘Álvaro de Bazán’ (F-101) and the Turkish frigate ‘Salihreis’, integrated into the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2), have trained with naval units from the Tunisian Navy. These PASSEX-type exercises are intended to assure that the participa
HMS Ledbury has sailed into Poland for the start of a NATO exercise involving ships from partner nations including Norway, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Estonia. The two-week exercise will see the personnel take part in a number of warfare serials including hunting for dummy mines, di
This past weekend, two NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2) paid a visit to the port of Tunis. The port visit provided the crew of the SNMG2 ships a welcome break from the high tempo supporting NATO’s counter-terrorism Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR (OAE), actively deterring t
On Tuesday, 29 October 2013, SNMCMG1 marked 40 years of service afloat with a ceremony in port, during the harbour phase of Exercise STEADFAST JAZZ 2013. More than 260 crewmembers from six SNMCMG1 ships participated in this event along with former commanders of the Group and official guests from all