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
The Navy’s Antarctic patrol ship HMS Protector ventured further south than ever before on her maiden deployment as she delivered vital supplies to polar scientists. The Portsmouth-based survey ship sailed to Rothera research base – 800 miles south of Cape Horn – allowing her sailors and marines to e
On Saturday the 14th of April the Italian Frigate ITS SCIROCCO has joined the European Naval Force to combat piracy off Somalia. ITS SCIROCCO, while being specifically equipped for anti-submarine warfare, is an effective multi-purpose frigate with an extensive experience in counter-piracy operations
Pacific Fleet (PF) servicemen on Apr 17 commemorated corvette (small-size missile ship) Musson by laying wreaths. Project 1234 corvette Musson serving at PF 165-th Missile Boat Brigade sank 25 years ago in the Sea of Japan 33 nautical miles off Ascold Island at the depth of 2,900 meters being hit by
The ensign-hoisting ceremony on special-purpose boat Grachonok will be held on May 7, a source in Black Sea Fleet HQ told Central Navy Portal. Project 21980 anti-terror boat Grachonok (serial number 982) is the second vessel in the series. The boat was built in Tatarstan at JSC Zelenodolsk Shipyard.
HMS Dragon will formally take her place alongside her older sisters as the fourth of the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 destroyers is commissioned into the Fleet on Friday (April 20th). Hundreds of guests including families of the 190 ship’s company will attend a colourful ‘Christening’ ceremony at Portsm
Ships of Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR) on Apr 13 arrived in Sevastopol. Leaving Romanian Constanta, crew of the BLACKSEAFOR flagship – Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF) large landing ship Caesar Kunikov – paid military honors to destroyer leader Moskva perished off Romania in 194
As regulation slowly and painfully filters down the private maritime security industry, a “proliferation” of new firms from emerging countries is inevitable and British PMSCs will price themselves out of the market, according to Norton Rose partner Philip Roche. The big question, Mr Roche said, is w
£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
Early on Easter Sunday morning (8th April), British Antarctic Survey ship RRS Ernest Shackleton was alerted to assist a Brazilian navy vessel Ary Rongel from thick pack ice in the north eastern end of Bransfield Straits near the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Peninsula. The Ary Rongel — an
As part of a foreign military sales case, the U.S. Navy worked together with French military to execute France’s first aerial-target live-fire event using a GQM-163A Coyote Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST), or missile, on April 4. France’s military procurement agency Direction Generale Pour L’A
Royal Naval Reservist Lieutenant Mark Bannister, 35, has recently returned from a six-month deployment fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia. The Business Development Manager from Burnham swapped his civilian life to work for the European Union Naval Force in Djibouti, north east Africa. Mark sai
Warships from across the globe – including a dozen Royal Navy warships, submarines and auxiliaries – are converging on Scotland for the largest military exercise staged in home waters in many years. Thirty two naval units, plus soldiers and air forces – some 8,000 personnel in all from eight nations
