The Finnish Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD), deployed with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta since March 2013, is tasked with the protection of the World Food Programme (WFP) ship MV Caroline Scan. Embarked on the Caroline scan around the clock, the AVPD ensure
ZNT Yard OJSC laid the keels of four search-and-rescue boats (project 23040) ordered by RF Defense Ministry. In late March, 2013, ZNT Yard OJSC signed a state contract for construction of 16 search-and-rescue boats (project 23040) by the order of RF Defense Ministry. 23040 project boat is a continua
During the past week the NATO Shipping Centre received reports on two incidents involving fishing vessels in the High Risk Area. The first is a report of a pirated fishing vessel, while the second incident appears to be a SOLAS related accident. The first report confirms that pirates continue to dis
Back in 2011, a total of 16 warships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels supported humanitarian, embargo and combat operations off the coast of Libya, either under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector or the UK’s Operation Ellamy. These included elements of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Ta
The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond will sail up the River Thames and go alongside at West India Dock today for the start of a five-day visit to the capital. HMS Richmond is affiliated to Richmond-upon-Thames – and also to Richmond in North Yorkshire – and the ship’s commanding officer, Comm
What happens when the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and Royal Netherlands Navy work together? A $24 million drug bust. The multi-agency seizure of 1,517 pounds of cocaine – estimated to have a wholesale value of more than $24 million – all began with a suspicious go-fast vessel. The cre
HMS Lancaster, one of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, has paid a visit to Grand Cayman, the largest island in the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. It was the second British Territory Lancaster has visited as part of her six-month deployment to the North Atlantic and Caribbean. Th
Following the recent departure of HMS Penzance from Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard after a successful upkeep period, Babcock has now started work on Sandown class mine hunter HMS Pembroke, in dock at Rosyth for a similar six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)) under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (
HMS Penzance is in the throes of demanding training after completing a six-month revamp in Rosyth. The Faslane-based warship is now Britain’s most up-to-date minehunter following the refit, which prepared her for impending duties with a NATO task group. After six months in refit – four of those out
Survey ship HMS Echo has spent 12 days in Malta on the first stage of her 18-month mission to the Mediterranean and Middle East. The Devonport-based hydrographic vessel will be updating charts used by seafarers the world over, courtesy of her hi-tech sonar suites. It’s just under a year since the De
The tugboat “RB-404” (Building No 623, project 16609) has successfully passed its mooring and sea trials and it is ready for its official trials. The tugboat, being built by Pella shipyard, will be delivered to the Russian Navy and put into operation within Pacific Fleet of the Navy by the end of th
HMS Defender took families and friends to sea for the first time recently, showing off the ship and giving family members the chance to see what life is like at sea for their serving relations. The day included escorting HMS Edinburgh into harbour for the last time before she was decommissioned, ful
Sandown-class minehunter HMS Ramsey may only be a sixteenth of the size of HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air defence destroyer, but the two vessels are working side by side maintaining maritime security in the region – a task the Royal Navy has been undertaking for over twenty years. Two Sandown and two Hun
Between 17- 21 of June 2013, the EU Naval Force Portuguese flagship, NRP Álvares Cabral, visited the port of Pemba in Mozambique. Given the strong relations that exist between Mozambique, the European Union and specifically, Portugal, when NRP Alvares Cabral sailed in to the port, her crew were give