USNS Grapple, U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command ship, departed Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach on February 29 to begin its deployment to Africa in the 6th Fleet’s area of operations. With a crew of approximately 45 U.S. Navy divers and Civil Service mariners, Gr
Royal Marines have tested their skills and know-how by fast roping from a helicopter onto HMS St Albans flightdeck. Using St Albans’ Merlin helicopter, one by one members of the ship’s Royal Marines Boarding Team (RMBT) carried out one of their most dangerous training exercises – descending from a h
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Atalaya (P-74) set sail from Ferrol, Spain for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in support of the Spanish Defense Diplomacy Plan. These deployments, organized by the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD) and the Spanish Navy, are inte
A Spanish Special Naval Warfare Force team (FGNE in its Spanish initials) is training Senegalese and Cape Verdean Forces on special operations missions as part of Exercise Flintlock 16. This multinational exercise is conducted by Sahel and NATO nations within the present Cooperative Security framewo
The German Navy corvette FGS Erfurt rendezvoused with the Spanish Navy helicopter Toro 07 in The Gulf of Aden to conduct a rather uncommon exercise. The helicopter is regularly embarked on the Spanish frigate ESPS Victoria which is also deployed to the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta at the Horn of Afr
Commanding Officer of Danish HMDS Absalon, Commander Per Moll Petersen paid a visit to Allied Maritime Command – MARCOM to deliver the Staff his mission debrief regarding his most recent deployment in NATO Operation Ocean Shield. During this visit, MARCOM Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Giorgio Lazio r
Danish Navy vessel HDMS Absalon and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy guided-missile Liuzhou took part in combined sea training during NATO’s Ocean Shield operation. The last week’s, Gulf of Aden, sea training was set in motion by the Chinese boarding team fast roping onto Absalon heli
After being trained by the crew of Danish HDMS Absalon, 22 soldiers from the Somaliland Coast Guard boarded a small vessel in a safe and professional manner this week. The boarded vessel had been hired and assigned for the task, and the successful boarding concluded two days of demanding maritime tr
Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) led by Rear Admiral Alberto Correia, Portuguese Navy, resumed NATO’s counter-terrorism Operation Active Endeavour (OAE) this week. SNMG1 currently consists of the Flagship – Portuguese frigate NRP D. Francisco de Almeida, the Spanish frigate ESPS Blas de Lezo,
The Danish Navy ship HDMS Absalon met at sea with local Somali leaders on Monday and conducted medical outreach with the citizens of the coastal town of Hobyo, within the framework of NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD. The overall focus of the meeting was to build stronger relations betwe
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Centinela left Dakar Naval Base, Senegal, on Tuesday towards the Gulf of Guinea, after a 16-day round of exercises with the Senegalese Navy. The scheduled activities included diving, first aid, damage control and VBSS drills. These activities are framed within t
Turkish led Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 has been working in association with NATO Task Force CTF 465 and the European Union Naval Force’s Task Force CTF 508 in the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and Arabian Sea conducting Approach and Assist Visits (AAV) to local dhows, a small cargo or fishing vessel
Spanish Navy’s frigate ESPS Victoria and Colombian ARC 7 de Agosto recently rendezvoused off Somalia for training. The vessels met at sea on October 9 and conducted a series of exercises including testing their helicopters and performing various maneuvers as well as replenishment at sea. The Sailors
The Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 will visit Algiers, Algeria, from October 12 to 14, 2015, as part of their annual program of activities, to strengthen the friendship and understanding between Algeria and NATO. In this context, the Chief of Staff of the Allied Maritime Command, Rear Ad
