On 4 April, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard intercepted a stash of 91 kilos of drugs near Curaçao. Earlier, on 20 March, 500 kilograms of cocaine had been found on a so-called go-fast boat in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea. These seizures were made during an operation led by the Royal
After passing through the Suez Canal on 1 April, the multipurpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel officially began its participation in EU Operation Atalanta. The Van Amstel will contribute to the mission against pirates operating off the coast of East Africa up to the end of May 2012.Operation Atalanta is
Pirate camps on the Somali coast may now also be tackled from Dutch ships. The Dutch Government approved the expansion of the Atalanta counterpiracy mission and informed the House of Representatives of the decision on 6 April. However, military personnel will not set foot on land for the purposes of
Following their successful entry into the Far East market in 2011 Barnstaple based engineering firm J+S Ltd have been making inroads into the Middle East. The company have just returned from exhibiting at the 2012 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) at the Qatar Na
On Wednesday 11 April, in Harlingen the third of four Holland Class Oceangoing Patrol Vessels, “Friesland” built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for the Royal Netherlands Navy, was transferred to the Defence Materiel Organization of the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands. After delivery the
HMS Daring has flown the flag for the Royal Navy – and UK industry – at the biggest naval showcase in the Middle East. Britain’s most advanced warship, on her maiden deployment, was joined by minehunter HMS Quorn in Qatar at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference. HMS Dari
Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and the leading manufacturer of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), announced that the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) has purchased four additional REMUS 100 systems. The AUVs were acquired by the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) on be
Sailors from HMS Clyde helped preserve the wildlife paradise that is South Georgia by clearing up the debris left by a shipwreck. The crew joined scientists on the remote South Atlantic island picking up flotsam from a fishing vessel which broke apart near the ‘capital’ Grytviken. For nearly a decad
High-Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2 departed Lora Naval Base in Split, Croatia after a three-day port visit, April 6. During the visit, Swift’s crew hosted several tours, including a visit from Croatian Assistant Minister of Defense Dr. Dragan Lozancic, U.S. Senator Mark Bagich, U.S. Ambassador to the R
Specialists of Tranzas company installed Mostik 2000 navigation simulator at Black Sea Fleet (BSF) training center. The simulator will help to train military navigators more effectively. According to Tranzas press service, it is an all-in configuration; the simulator comprises one commanding bridge
Black Sea Fleet (BSF) large landing ship Caesar Kunikov representing Russia in the spring activation of the BLACKSEAFOR joint task naval group left Sevastopol on Apr, 5 and set a course for Constanta, Romania. Recall that Russia took over command of that international task force in Aug 2011. Large l
In a ceremony held on Saturday (7 April) onboard Spanish warship ESPS Patino, and presided over by the EU Naval Force Deputy Commander – Rear admiral Rainer Endres (German Navy), the French warship FS Marne became the new flagship of the EU Naval Force, Somalia, under the force command of Rear Admir
On the morning of 7 April, French Navy frigate ACONIT was heading towards a position in the north of the Horn of Africa to join with Spanish frigate INFANTA ELENA, and take over the escort of a World Food Programme ship. Meanwhile, in Djibouti, Spain was about to hand over command of Task Force 465
Black Sea Fleet (BSF) frigate Smetlivy will continue deployment off Syria within a month, said an informed military diplomat. “At first, frigate Smetlivy will call at port Tartus to replenish water and food supplies; the crew will have a short rest there. After that, the ship will be deployed to eas
