Nearly six months after her departure in April for the Middle East, HMAS Newcastle was welcomed home by hundreds of family and friends at a ceremony at Garden Island, Sydney. Joining the ship’s company’s loved ones in welcoming home the 230 men and women of Newcastle was the Prime Minister of Austra
On 6th of October, whilst in the Indian Ocean ITS Zeffiro handed over the Italian commitment to the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta to ITS Libeccio. The counter-piracy duties were handed over in Djibouti from Commander Marco Antoniazzi (ITS Zeffiro) to his successor
HMS Daring has left Australia’s largest city after a week in the spotlight taking part in the country’s centennial celebrations of its navies. On a rather gloomy spring day, tugs helped the 8,500-tonne destroyer under the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the equally-famous Opera House as vessel
EU Naval Force confirmed that on Friday 11 October 2013, a fully laden super tanker, known as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), was fired upon by eight armed men in two ‘skiffs’ 230 miles off the Somali coast. The attack was successfully repelled by the Armed Security Team on board the super tanker
Royal Navy minehunter HMS Quorn has led two of the largest ships in the fleet through a simulated mine threat area as part of the launch of Exercise Sea Khanjar in the Gulf. The scenario for the five-day exercise was for the Fleet Flagship HMS Bulwark and Helicopter and Commando Carrier HMS Illustri
Sailors from HMS Lancaster have dealt a further blow to the drugs trade after seizing cannabis and cocaine with a combined street value of £58m while on operations in the Caribbean. The two incidents came just days after each other – with Lancaster recovering cocaine weighing over 400kg and almost 1
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert spoke to 150 military spouses during the Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club (NOSC) Welcome Coffee at the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Club Oct. 7. The annual NOSC event welcomes new members and spouses who have recently moved to the DC area. This yea
The Supreme Court of the Seychelles sentenced 11 Somali pirates to prison terms ranging from 18 months to 16 years. The hijackers were apprehended in May last year during an operation undertaken by the frigate HNLMS Van Amstel. Crew members of the HNLMS Van Amstel travelled to the Seychelles to act
Royal Navy frigates and Mine-Hunters are ready to take part in the major multi-national military exercise Joint Warrior. Exercise Joint Warrior is a tri-service exercise held in the spring and autumn of each year. Providing high quality tactical training for the three UK armed forces, as well as vis
As HMS Dragon patrols the Eastern Mediterranean her Lynx helicopter breathes fire into the sunset sky with a stunning array of decoy flares. One of the Navy’s newest Type 45 destroyers, HMS Dragon has arrived back from the Gulf and is now in the Eastern Med, patrolling UK sovereign base areas and ta
The frigate ‘Álvaro de Bazán’ (F-101) departed Ferrol yesterday morning towards Barcelona to relieve the frigate ‘Blas de Lezo’ (F-103) as command ship of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2). The SNMG-2 is made up of escorts and logistic ships from different NATO nations. Spanish Navy Rear-a
Royal Navy warship HMS Kent returns home to Portsmouth on Wednesday (Oct 9) from a successful deployment to the Middle East. The Type 23 frigate sailed more than 39,000 miles on security and counter-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and Gulf. HMS Kent left Portsmouth in March
A French military ship has arrived in Plymouth Friday 4 October for a diplomacy visit. The French Naval survey ship FS La Perouse is berthed in HM Naval Base, Devonport, and received a visit from the French consul on arrival this morning. The Royal Navy will give the commanding officer of the ship L
The French Ministry of Defence awarded the contract to modernise the French Navy’s fleet of Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft to Dassault Aviation and Thales. Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian signed the contract at a ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Thales facility in
