On 24 February 2013, whilst on counter piracy patrols in the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) the Force Commander of EU NAVFOR, Rear Admiral Pedro García de Paredes, met with the Commander of the NATO counter-piracy Operation Ocean Shield, Rear Admiral Antonio Natale. The meeting be
At the end of February the Luxembourg Maritime patrol and Reconnaissance (MPRA) Detachment returned to the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta counter piracy mission, having taken over MPRA duties from the Swedish Coast Guard MPRA unit operating from the Seychelles. During their pr
On Monday 25 February Dutch EU Naval Force frigate HNLMS De Ruyter transferred nine suspected pirates to the Seychelles authorities for prosecution. The transfers happened after HNLMS De Ruyter, who was conducting counter piracy patrols, stopped two skiffs on 19 February 120 nautical miles off the S
HMAS Creswell ship’s company have welcomed the return of canteen services to the establishment after a two year absence, as refurbishments to the ninety-nine year old canteen building were completed recently. Commanding Officer of HMAS Creswell, CAPT Brett Chandler welcomed BRAVO Coffee to the base
Exercise DARDANELLES held at HMAS Creswell on 17 February, tested the teamwork skills of members of New Entry Officer Course (NEOC) 48 as their second week in the Navy came to a close. Held just weeks after many had joined the RAN, the exercise was an introduction to the challenges of working with o
Supporting the 71st Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin commemorations, Australian Defence members helped recount the events of 19 February 1942 with a Royal Australian Air Force fast jet flypast and ceremonial gunfire by the Army’s 8th/12th Regiment RAA. The commemoration also included embarking o
After navigating the Suez Canal and Bab-el-Mandeb strait, French frigate FS Courbet has joined EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. The French frigate replaces the FS Surcouf, who has been operating within the EU counter-piracy operation since last December. On Monday 18 February
On February 15th 2013, the maritime action ship ‘Rayo’ left Cartagena (Murcia) to integrate in Operation ‘Atalanta’. The Maritime Action Admiral delivered a farewell speech and wished the crew every success in the fulfillment of the mission. After a period of intense training, the patrol boat ‘Rayo’
As part of the Fisheries Monitoring Plan for 2013, the offshore patrol boat ‘Tarifa’ will participate in the International Joint Deployment Plan in the Bay of Biscay for the deep sea fishing campaign in the northeastern Atlantic. Several ships and aircraft from different nations will deploy in the a
On February 13, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, representing Republicans on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, met at the Pentagon with the Navy’s top official for shipbuilding, Sean Stackley, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, to discuss the impact of d
Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith visited Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday 20 February. Australia and Sweden have shared values, a common strategic interest in peacekeeping and stabilisation operations and a longstanding history of cooperation on submarines. Minister Smith met with Swedish Min
On February 20 the Spanish Armada Ship Cantabria arrived at her adopted Australian home, Fleet Base East, Sydney. SPS Cantabria is a modern Auxiliary Oil Replenishment ship, which is capable of supplying fuel, food, stores and ammunition to ships underway. During her deployment to Australia, Cantabr
With major, across-the-board defense spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta issued a message yesterday to the Defense Department workforce. Here is the secretary’s message: “For more than a year and a half, the president, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I hav
Commander Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 Commodore Muhammad Hisham has crossed decked from USS Farragut to HMAS Toowoomba to personally welcome the crew to the counter-piracy task force. The crossdecking was conducted to bolster the already-high level of cooperation between the nations involved in th
