UK minehunters HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Grimsby visited Aqaba in Jordan to round off a three-year deployment. The ships have been working in the Arabian Gulf since 2008 as part of a permanent Royal Navy presence. The visit to the Middle East country was an opportunity for the Royal Navy to cement a
Three Royal Navy ships return home this weekend bringing to a close an eventful and complex operational deployment to the Mediterranean and Middle East. The Task Force Flagship, HMS Albion, and her escorting Frigate, HMS Sutherland, both arrive back in their homeport of Plymouth on Mon 8 Aug. RFA Ca
American frigate USS Carr arrived in Baltic Fleet (BF) main naval base paying informal visit, reports Russian Defense Ministry. The ship called at Baltiysk after friendly visit to St. Petersburg where she had participated in 5th International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS-2011) held since June 29 till
Commanded by Commander Andreas von Kielmansegg, FGS Bayern and her crew have joined the EU NAVFOR taskforce in the Indian Ocean for a five month deployment to protect World Food Programme (WFP) and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) shipping from pirate attack. The ship and crew are completel
Despite the situation in Syria, authorities of this country have not raised the issue of Russian Navy’s maintenance base in Tartus, reports RBK on Aug 2 referring to Sergei Vershinin, director of Middle East and North Africa Department (Russian Foreign Ministry). Russian Navy maintenance base in Tar
The Royal Navy’s Flagship, HMS Albion, and its largest ship, HMS Ocean, are reunited off the coast of Libya for a transfer of stores, ammunition and personnel. The two Devonport based amphibious ships are both part of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Task Group, but for the past six weeks HMS Albion
In the short term Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF) will be reinforced with six Project 636 diesel electric submarines and six new frigates, reported Interfax on June 31 referring to Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Vysotsky. As for him, in total the Navy will receive about 40 new warships unde
The Cold War may be over but Royal Navy fliers have been keeping their submarine-hunting skills fresh. A Merlin helicopter flew from the frigate HMS St Albans to search the seas below for enemy boats. The aircraft from 829 Naval Air Squadron was designed to give the Navy the best chance of finding s
Planning for the fourth and last Vanguard class Long Overhaul Period and Refuel (LOP(R)), to be undertaken by Babcock at Devonport Royal Dockyard on HMS Vengeance, has reached an important milestone with the submission of the tender, following identification of the full work package requirement, for
Sailors aboard USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) conducted deck landing qualification (DLQ) training with Romanian navy pilots July 31-Aug. 1 as part of the bilateral exercise Summer Storm 2011. The eight Romanian pilots, the only aviators in that country’s navy, are members of “Black Sea Knights” and fly
USS Carr (FFG 52) completed a four-day port visit to Klaipeda, Lithuania, Aug. 1, as part of a three-month deployment supporting theater security cooperation engagements throughout the Baltic nations. While in port Klaipeda, Carr Sailors held a reception, office calls and wreath laying ceremony aboa
On July 28th, after sixty days proudly serving under the European Flag, the French Frigate FS COURBET completed her participation as an EU NAVFOR warship in Operation ATALANTA. During the period, FS Courbet has conducted a multiplicity of tasks in the force, primarily conducting the EU NAVFOR’s main
The Gowind offshore patrol boat L’Adroit began its first sea trials on Wednesday 27 July for DCNS to validate the seakeeping and other nautical qualities of the vessel. These initial sea trials mark the beginning of the next phase of the ambitious Gowind OPV programme, which spearheads DCNS’s effort
HMS Albion, Flagship of the Royal Navy, visited Valetta, Malta, between 25 and 27 July 2011 for a short operational stand down following a period East of Suez. The 18,500 tonne assault ship has had a busy few months undertaking amphibious exercises in the Mediterranean in May, supporting NATO mariti
