On Friday 6 December 2013, the French Navy ship FS Siroco joined the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta. FS Siroco will be the flagship of the European Union’s counter piracy operation off the coast of Somalia for the next four months. Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean is the Force Comma
After spending almost five months operating with the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta off Somalia, German frigate FGS Niedersachsen is heading home. During its time with Operation Atalanta, FGS Niedersachsen sailed a total of 26,000 nautical miles and conducted daily counter piracy patrols to
Italian warship ITS Libeccio has reached the half way point in its four month deployment with the European Union Naval Force, operating off Somalia. ITS Libeccio, which has 237 sailors on board, took over counter piracy duties from another Italian warship, ITS Zeffiro on 6 October 2013. Having now s
Australian Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston today met with Dr Fabian Pok, Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Defence, for the inaugural Australia-Papua New Guinea Defence Ministers’ Meeting. “This was my first meeting with Dr Pok, and we had valuable discussions on how Australia and Papua Ne
HMAS Tobruk has completed its mission in the Philippines and is returning to Australia with a load of Army engineer machinery, vehicles and 35 Army personnel. A small Recovery Support Force of 65 combat engineers, tradesmen and support personnel, mostly from Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) with funding from SwampWorks at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Department of Defense Rapid Reaction Technology Office (DoD/RRTO) demonstrated the launch of an all-electric, fuel cell-powered, unmanned aerial system (UAS) from a submerged submarine
On Friday 6 December, Commodore Peter Lenselink (Royal Netherlands Navy) handed over the Force Command of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta to Contre Amiral Hervé Bléjean (French Navy) during a Change of Command ceremony held on board HNLMS Johan de Witt in the Port of Djibouti.
Fire aboard Indian Navy Ship Indian Navy warship INS Konkan caught fire during repair in Vizag on Wednesday, as informed by the Indian Express. INS Konkan, a Pondicherry class minesweeper acquired from Russia, was undergoing a refit at naval base Vizag when the accident occurred. Australian Warships
The Netherlands-Belgian Operational School has opened its doors at the naval port in Den Helder. This binational centre of expertise conducts 170 different maritime training courses every year, with 2,500 to 3,000 attendees from the Netherlands and abroad. The school offers many state-of-the-art fac
On Monday, Australia’s second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ship departed the Navantia Ferrol Dockyard in Spain for a short trip south to Vigo, where she will be loaded onto the Dockwise Heavy Lift Ship (HLS) Blue Marlin for transit to Australia. Weather permitting, Blue Marlin is scheduled to depar
On Tuesday 3 December, Spanish Ocean Patrol Vessel, ESPS Tornado joined the European Union’s counter piracy task force operating off the coast of Somalia. The warship will be part of the EU Naval Force for four months as Spain’s contribution to Operation Atalanta. Commissioned in 2012, ESPS Tornado
Recently, Captain John Vandyke, the Royal Australian Navy’s Commander Shore Forces (COMSHORFOR), paid a visit to the Commanding Officer Navy Headquarters – South Queensland (NHQ-SQ), Commander Peter Tedman, and his headquarters staff. It was CAPT Vandyke’s first official visit to a Navy establishmen
During the medal ceremony which was held on the flight deck in the Gulf of Aden, the international staff and ship’s company were decorated by the Force Commander of Atalanta, commodore Peter Lenselink of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Commodore Lenselink praised the EU flag staff and ship’s company “Yo
On Saturday 1 December, an EU Naval Force Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) handover ceremony was held in Djibouti between Lithuanian and Serbian Forces in Djibouti. Members of the Lithuanian Forces have spent the past four months embarked in the World Food Programme (WFP) aid ship, MV
