International military students from America’s partner nations are learning how to become Navy Divers at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC), Panama City, Fla. The international students are eligible for five courses of study taught throughout the year: The International Diving cour
Gowind® offshore patrol vessel L’Adroit returned to her homeport of Toulon on 29 June 2012 after a two-month mission in the Mediterranean. DCNS has made the ship available to the French Navy for three years. The client Navies, in turn, is using the ship primarily for government missions at sea. Duri
Australian Defence Force personnel have been praised for their ongoing commitment to disaster response and humanitarian civic assistance in the Asia-Pacific region as the first ADF medical contingent rotates home from Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12). PP12 Mission Commander Captain Jim Morgan (US Nav
Australian sailors, soldiers, airmen and women have joined defence forces from 21 other nations, including France, Canada and Russia, for Exercise RIM-OF-THE-PACIFIC (RIMPAC 12) in the islands of Hawaii. Approximately 1100 Australian Defence personnel are among 25,000 personnel participating in the
Fresh from maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean, Merlins of 814 Naval Air Squadron decamped to Stavanger to hunt three diesel boats determined to ‘sink’ a German tanker. Normally they don’t make it quite as easy as this for the Navy’s top submarine hunters to find them… The tell-tale mas
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope gave a keynote speech yesterday to international naval leaders, historians and maritime experts, underlining the importance of the aircraft carrier to the future of the Navy – and the nation. Addressing the Future Maritime Operations Conference at the globall
The guided missile frigate USS Carr (FFG 52) arrived in Santa Marta, Colombia, for their first Caribbean port visit, June 28, during their deployment in support of Operation Martillo. Carr visited Santa Marta following a month at sea conducting operations to counter transnational organized crime (CT
Representatives from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and Naval Sea Systems Center (NAVSEA) hosted a Maritime Environmental Conference and workshop that concluded July 3 on board High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) as part of the ship’s participation in Africa Partnership Station (APS) East 2012. Thi
Guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment Team (LEDET) employed airborne use of force (AUF) to stop a vessel suspected of transporting illegal drugs, June 19 in support of Operation Martillo. The interdiction operation recovered
On July 1, HNLMS Evertsen, the flagship of NATO’s counterpiracy mission Ocean Shield, handed over 7 Somalis suspected of piracy to the Royal Navy of Oman. The suspects and all of the evidence were transferred to the Omani navy ship RNOV Al Muazzar (C32). The suspects were apprehended in the morning
Military leaders from 22 nations formally launched Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2012, July 2. RIMPAC is hosted biennially by U.S. Pacific Fleet in and around Hawaii. U.S. and international speakers at the opening press conference included Adm. Cecil D. Haney, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fl
On the morning of June 28th 2012, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Italian Frigate Scirocco provided technical assistance to a tug type vessel which experienced an engine failure while sailing in international waters in the Gulf of Aden. In the evening on the 27th of June, ITS Scirocco was conducting a pa
Two days after HNLMS Evertsen released a hijacked dhow, the small ship sailed home today. Very grateful, the saved seafarers said goodbye to the flagship of the NATO counter-piracy operation Ocean Shield. “Of course we are here because of the importance of the sea lanes of communications and their r
After a two day hunt in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, NATO’s flagship HNLMS Evertsen boarded a pirated dhow on June 29 and released seven hijacked Indian and Bangladeshi crew members. The Omani flagged dhow Nebarkad had been hijacked on 20th June off the coast of Oman, and was used by the pirate
