A German P-3C Orion maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) and its crew have returned to Djibouti to rejoin the fight against piracy as part of the EU NAVFOR-led operation Atalanta. The P-3C, its crew and supporting staff deployed to the Horn of Africa area of operations on March 23 to w
Dutch naval vessels will not participate in the European Union’s counter-piracy operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia this year. This was stated in a letter sent by Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, the country’s Minister of Defense, to the lower house of the Dutch parliament on March 7. Problems with t
South African defense procurement agency ARMSCOR has finalized negotiations with South African Shipyards (SAS) for the construction of a hydrographic survey vessel as part of the navy’s Project Hotel. The agreement was finalized in February 2018, a year after SAS was selected as the preferred bidder
Royal Canadian Navy coastal defense vessels HMCS Summerside and HMCS Kingston got underway from Halifax on January 26, starting a deployment to West Africa. The two Kingston-class ships will foster relationships with partner navies and take part in exercise Obangame Express 2018, in the Gulf of Guin
The US Navy’s forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) joined Royal Moroccan Navy SIGMA frigate Tarek Ben Ziyad for a series of live fire exercises off the Moroccan coast. The drill took place after USS Ross departed Agadir, Morocco, January 13, after a scheduled port visit t
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) got underway from Naval Station Rota, Spain, on January 8, to start its sixth forward-deployed patrol in Africa and Europe. Ross completed its previous four-month patrol in July 2017. The 2017 patrol saw the destroyer take part
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate ITS Fasan has returned home from a five-deployment to the EUNAVFOR counter-piracy operation Atalanta. Fasan and her 133 crew departed the mission earlier this month and entered their homeport in La Spezia on December 18. During her time off the coast of Somalia, the
The Royal Australian Navy is at the helm of Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150) after assuming command from the Pakistan Navy in a change of command ceremony at CMF headquarters in Bahrain on December 7. Australian Commodore Mal Wise assumed command of CTF150 from Pakistani Re
Italian Navy frigate and current operation Atalanta flagship ITS Fasan trained with ships from the Chinese PLA Navy and Republic of Korea Navy off the coast of Somalia recently. Fasan first rendezvoused with South Korean and Spanish Navy ships after delivering medicine to the Somalian port city of H
After concluding several days of drills with the Egyptian Navy, the French task group composed of helicopter carrier BPC Tonnerre and destroyer FS Chevalier Paul pulled into Aqaba, Jordan, to embark US Marines on December 4. The French Task Group 473.1, together with sailors and marines from Naval A
A team of Dutch and Swedish sailors and marines have returned from a three-month deployment to the Horn of Africa as part of the EU counter-piracy operation Atalanta. Dutch Navy landing platform dock HNLMS Rotterdam returned to her homeport Den Helder on December 3 with an embarked Swedish boarding
On 14th November, the Force Commander of EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori visited General Mabeyo, Chief of Tanzania People’s Defence Force and Rear Admiral Makanzo, Commander of Naval Forces in Dar Es Salaam. During his visit the Force Commander took the opportunity to invi
The crew of the Italian Navy frigate ITS Virginio Fasan has arrested six pirates and seized their vessels after a chase in the Southern Somali Basin over the weekend. The suspected pirates were apprehended after they attacked a 52,000 tonne container ship and a fishing vessel on November 17 and 18.
French Navy frigate FS Auvergne docked in the Western Australian port of Freemantle on November 15, four months into her maiden operational deployment. Departing her homeport of Toulon with an embarked NH90 helicopter in August, the FREMM frigate spent most of the time in the Indian Ocean, as part o
