Operations
BAE Systems to build 60 RIBs for the Royal Navy
BAE Systems, the UK-based shipbuilder, was awarded a £13.5m ($20.4m) contract for 60 new Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boats. The announcement was made by the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Michael Fallon during his visit to Portsmouth Naval Base on December 14. This Pacific 24 Mark-4
HMS Richmond returns home
Royal Navy’s type 23 frigate, HMS Richmond returned home to the Naval Base Portsmouth on December 11 after a nine-month deployment. Sailing more than 40,000 miles, the Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate travelled as far as the Indian Ocean on security patrols, where her crew intercepted their first ma
Former navy ship sunk in Delaware, USA
The U.S. state Delaware and its Department of natural resources and environmental control DNREC sank the former Army and Navy ship Shearwater on December 11. The ship was sunk onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef as the latest fish-attracting habitat and underwater enhancement to Delaware’s acclaimed artif
Russian Destroyer Fires Warning Shots at Turkish Vessel
Russian Navy’s destroyer ship Smetlivy fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing vessel in the Aegean Sea on December 13. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the destroyer was forced to open warning fire in order to avoid a collision between the two vessels. At the moment of the incident, the destro
Royal Navy Makes Second Drug Bust in the Mediterranean
The Royal Navy has carried out its second drugs bust in the Mediterranean in just two weeks with HMS St Albans seizing around 320kg of cannabis. The Type 23 frigate stopped the drug smugglers during a routine security patrol and prevented around £1 million worth of narcotics reaching European market
US, Japan Fire Jointly Developed Missile
U.S. Navy’s Weapons division performed a live-fire test of the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missile, a 21-inch diameter Standard Missile variant cooperatively developed by the United States and Japan for use with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program, on December 8. This is the second such tes
German Frigate Collides with Container Ship
The German frigate FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern collided with the container ship Nordic Bremen in Kiel Canal, Germany on December 9. The collision took place near Rendsburg in the 98-kilometer-long Kiel Canal in bad weather conditions around 4 am. According to German Navy, no one was injured in the ac
Op Sophia Vessels Rescue 374
Improved weather conditions in the Central Mediterranean Sea have led more migrants to embark on the dangerous voyage towards European coasts. In order to avoid the further loss of life at sea, operation Sophia vessels saved 374 migrants in the last couple of days. According to EUNAVFOR Med’s press
Canadian Navy Ships Conclude Op Caribbe 2015
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships Brandon and Whitehorse recently concluded their participation in Operation Caribbe 2015, a Canadian organized operation aimed at contributing to the multinational campaign against illicit trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Since leaving their home port of Canadian
HMS Bulwark Returns from Cougar 15
Royal Navy amphibious assault ship, HMS Bulwark, has returned to Plymouth from operations in the Mediterranean after leading a major Royal Navy deployment. The Plymouth-based ship was leading this year’s exercise Cougar comprising exercises with the French Navy off Corsica and then Exercise Trident
USS Ross Trains with Black Sea Navies
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) participated in a bilateral passing exercise (PASSEX) with ships from the Romanian, Turkish and Ukrainian Navies, Dec. 6. The PASSEX was conducted in order to improve maritime capabilities between the U.S. and Black Sea n
German FGS Augsburg Joins Fight against ISIS
German Bundestag authorized the deployment of German troops and units against ISIS in Syria on December 4, 2015. The German Navy will support the French group assembled around the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle. The frigate FGS Augsburg will be sent to aid the aircraft carrier’s operat
UK, US Navy Conduct Mine Countermeasures Exercise
A combined US/UK task group recently finished a Mine Countermeasure (MCM) exercise in the Persian Gulf. The scenario for the exercise was to clear ports of mines thereby allowing civilian vessels to pass through. The task group was commanded by Commander Paul Ottewell, Royal Navy, and made up of US
Australian Surveying Ships Secure Shipping Routes in Papua New Guinea
The Australian Survey Motor Launches, HMA Ships Benalla and Shepparton, arrived in Papua New Guinea on December 3 to conduct survey operations in the vicinity of Long Reef, in order to provide alternate routes for shipping through the area. Hydrographic Survey Ship, HMAS Leeuwin (HS Red Crew), had b