On Saturday 14 April Spanish warship ESPS Reina Sofia, who is now operating as part of the EU’s counter-piracy mission, Operation Atalanta, stopped a Yemeni dhow that was suspected of carrying armed Somali pirates. The French Air Force Awacs E3F, FS Dixmude and her helicopters, as well as an Austral
Having taken over as the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) flagship on 7 April 2012, French warship FS Marne has already been very busy out at sea ensuring that the Task Force remains fully prepared for counter-piracy operations off Somalia. In her first 3 days the ship has carried out a number of replenish
£14m of drugs used to fund terrorist activity will never reach their destination thanks to a major bust by HMS Westminster. The Portsmouth-based warship intercepted a suspicious dhow in the Indian Ocean, seizing over 70 bales containing more than 180kg of pure heroin. The Portsmouth-based frigate po
A German-owned freighter loaded with military equipment and ammunition heading to Syria, was stopped on Friday 50 kilometres (31 miles) away from the Syrian port Tartus, a German Magazine Der Spiegel reports. The ship “Atlantic Cruiser”, leased to a Ukrainian company, White Whale Shipping, was inter
After passing through the Suez Canal on 1 April, the multipurpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel officially began its participation in EU Operation Atalanta. The Van Amstel will contribute to the mission against pirates operating off the coast of East Africa up to the end of May 2012.Operation Atalanta is
Pirate camps on the Somali coast may now also be tackled from Dutch ships. The Dutch Government approved the expansion of the Atalanta counterpiracy mission and informed the House of Representatives of the decision on 6 April. However, military personnel will not set foot on land for the purposes of
HMS Daring has flown the flag for the Royal Navy – and UK industry – at the biggest naval showcase in the Middle East. Britain’s most advanced warship, on her maiden deployment, was joined by minehunter HMS Quorn in Qatar at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference. HMS Dari
Rear Admiral Rainer Endres, Deputy Commander (DCOM) EUNAVFOR, as part of his recent visit to Djibouti to oversee the Operational Handover between the outgoing Flag Ship, ESPS PATINO (Spain) and incoming French Flag Ship FS MARNE , took the opportunity to visit the Japanese Maritime Patrol Aircraft D
The Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2013 Initial Planning Conference (IPC) took place in Garmisch, Germany, March 28-30. The three-day conference provided a venue for participating partner nations from Africa, Australia, Europe and North America to meet and continue the dialogue for building future
In a ceremony held on Saturday (7 April) onboard Spanish warship ESPS Patino, and presided over by the EU Naval Force Deputy Commander – Rear admiral Rainer Endres (German Navy), the French warship FS Marne became the new flagship of the EU Naval Force, Somalia, under the force command of Rear Admir
Great Britain and France are forming strike task force in order to destroy land infrastructure of Somali pirates, reports BBC. The task force includes French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, British light aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark, and s
Deployed since 15 March to take part in the fight against piracy, a Falcon 50M from the French Navy has left the operation and been relieved by a maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique 2. It will operate from Djibouti as is also the case since 26 March for the detection and air control aircraft Awacs E
Spain plans to curtail its military budget on 12-14% in 2012, reports Jane’s Defense Weekly referring to national defense minister Pedro Morenes. At the same time, participation in international operations will remain “absolute priority” for new government, said Morenes. According to him, reduction
On Thursday 29th March Spanish warship ESPS INFANTA ELENA, operating as part of the European counter piracy force (EUNAVFOR), came to the aid of a Somali fishing vessel, adrift off the coast of Mogadishu. INFANTA ELENA was patrolling the waters off the coast of Somalia as part of its mission to dete
