Naval and armed guard protection is working, but the seas off East and West Africa remain dangerous, warns IMB. Piracy on the world’s seas has reached a five-year low, with 297 ships attacked in 2012, compared with 439 in 2011, the latest International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) report revealed on Janu
Personnel on board Portsmouth-based HMS Atherstone have put aside their minehunting skills to instead imitate pirates as part of an exercise with HMS Monmouth in the Gulf. The joint operations come as the Devonport-based frigate builds up to operational patrols policing international trade routes in
MV Emsstrom, a former German Naval training ship, which was on its way from Germany to Turkey, towed by tug Christos 22 sank on Monday, January 14, approximately 2.5 nautical miles east by north from Hopes Nose, Torquay, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency updated. Accordingly, the tug slowed to i
Sailors assigned to guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) participated in an officer exchange between the U.S. and French navies aboard the French Marine Nationale anti-air frigate FS Jean Bart (D 615) in the Mediterranean Sea Jan. 11. Cmdr. Christopher F. Cigna, Laboon’s commanding officer,
A support ship to the Royal Navy has set sail for the West Coast of North America on a counter narcotics and disaster relief patrol for the next six months. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship Wave Knight left Portland to take up the task of the UK’s Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North), a year round commit
Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset has left Devonport Royal Dockyard for sea trials with significantly increased sustainability and fighting capability, following a successful nine-month docking period undertaken by Babcock; the first major maintenance period conducted under the full implementation of the
Early yesterday morning EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) warship FS Surcouf came to the rescue of ten mariners at sea 30 miles off the Somali Coast, after their boat, known as a dhow, started to sink into the deep ocean. The master of the Indian flagged dhow had sent out a distress call after the [&hellip
Sailors and Royal Marines will receive lighter, more accurate pistols with bigger magazines as of January 11. Some 25,000 new Glock 17 pistols are being issued to all three Services as part of a £9m deal to replace the trusty Browning, which is being retired after 40 years’ service. Over the coming
Defence Ministers Andrew Robathan and Philip Dunne, plus one of the UK’s most senior military commanders, saw the RN’s Gulf mission first-hand on a visit to Bahrain. Armed Forces Minister Mr Robathan and Mr Dunne, who’s responsible for defence equipment, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Comma
The largest ship in the Royal Naval Service has taken on the vital – and unsung – task of keeping international task forces running east of Suez. Fresh from a refit in Dubai, one-stop support ship RFA Fort Victoria has taken over from tanker Wave Ruler with a US-led support force which provides doze
Warrant Officer 1 Wayne Burbury, from Halifax, has been awarded a Commendation from Rear Admiral Clive Johnstone CBE for his outstanding work at Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) training crews to manage logistics while on operations worldwide. He works for the Flag Officer Sea Training organisation
As an island nation, the UK’s prosperity and security is dependent on its ability to access the sea. That is why the Royal Navy is globally deployed and has a range of versatile ships, submarines and aircraft operated by professional sailors, aviators and Royal Marine Commandos. The Navy will be at
Royal Marines based on the deployed warship HMS Monmouth have been practising their ship-boarding skills to combat pirates and smugglers. Among the ship’s company of HMS Monmouth is a detachment of Royal Marines, vital for HMS Monmouth’s tasking at sea. One of the major roles of the Marines is condu
The 4 servicemen from 815 Naval Air Squadron are among 1,500 Royal Navy personnel to receive medals for their part in the NATO-led Libya operation. The aircrew and engineers, based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, were presented with NATO Operation Unified Protector medals for their participati
