Operations
VIDEO: Nato Flagship’s Readiness Put to Test at Sea
Spanish warship Alvaro De Bazan, NATO’s counter-piracy flagship, took part in an air defence training drill in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday (5 March 2014) in order to maintain its readiness to tackle any challenge on the high seas, including deterrance of Somali pirates. French air force fighters
HMNZS TE MANA Welcomed Home
The Royal New Zealand Navy’s frigate HMNZS TE MANA returned this morning to Devonport Naval Base after a seven-month deployment. About 700 family members along with three Seasprite helicopters welcomed TE MANA’s 182 Warriors of the Sea. The ship fired a 17-gun salute as she arrived, replied by a s
HMAS Melbourne’s Seahawk Sets the Sky Alight as the Ship Advances Home
The Warrnambool community were granted a rare opportunity to see a warship on Tuesday, when HMAS Melbourne conducted a close proximity transit during her return voyage to her homeport Garden Island, Sydney. As dusk set in, Melbourne launched her embarked S-70B Seahawk helicopter, affectionately kn
EU NAVFOR Warships Perform Friendly Approaches in Gulf of Aden
During the last week, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta warships FGS Hessen and ESPS Tornado have carried out several ‘Friendly Approaches’ in the Gulf of Aden. In addition to patrols in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocea
Major Drug Bust for HMAS Darwin on Operation SLIPPER
In a combined French and Australian operation, naval ships seized and destroyed almost 650 kilograms of cannabis resin hidden aboard a smuggling skiff in the Red Sea. After HMAS Darwin intercepted the skiff, her boarding party discovered the cannabis resin in 120 plastic packages concealed in hess
Canada Beefs Up Its Role in Operation CARIBBE
Canadian ships HMCS Kingston and Glace Bay have joined HMC ships Nanaimo and Whitehorse and a CP-140 Aurora aircraft detachment on Operation CARIBBE, Canada’s contribution to the multinational campaign against illicit trafficking in the Americas and Caribbean. The concurrent deployment of four shi
Home-Bound HMS Montrose Stops in Malta
The Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose made her penultimate stop in Grand Harbour, Malta on her seven-month deployment. The Devonport-based warship has been at the sharp end of Royal Navy operations in the opening weeks of 2014, helping to eliminate Syria’s ability to chemical weapons by escorting merchant s
Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group 2 Conducts Salvage Exercise
On Friday, 7 March 2014, Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) carried out a major damage control exercise near the island of Corfu. The exercise included a focus on basic seamanship exercises, including firefighting, steering gear breakdown, man overboard, medical casualty, speedb
USA: Four New Littoral Combat Ships Receive Funding
The U.S. Dod issued contract modifications yesterday to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Austal USA under their respective Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) block buy contracts to add funding for construction of two fiscal year 2014 Littoral Combat Ships each. The amount of funds added under the block buy c
Australia: Austal Wins High Speed Support Vessels Contract
Austal Limited (Austal) has been awarded a contract from a naval customer in the Middle East for the design, construction and integrated logistics support of two 72 metre High Speed Support Vessels (HSSVs). The value of the contract is approximately US$124.9 million. Austal will construct the HSSV
World Navies Intensify Search for Malaysian Lost Flight
The search for the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which lost radar signal in the early hours of Saturday, when it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam, is intensively underway. Nine countries are contributing to the search 24/7 across the South China Sea for the ai
VIDEO: USS Bataan Medevacs Two Crew from Turkish Vessel
On March 8th, the US Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) received a distress call from a grounded Turkish Flagged Container Vessel, Yusuf Cepnioglu. When Bataan’s Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter arrived on-scene the Hellenic Coast Guard was responding to the listing Turkish vessel
Israeli Navy Seizes Iranian Rocket Shipment
The Israeli Navy said on Wednesday that its commando units had interdicted a suspected Iranian shipment of advanced weapons in the Red Sea. The shipment was said to had been destined for Gaza-based terrorist organizations. The claim was refuted by Iran. The commandos boarded a Panamanian flagged c
USS Philippine Sea Visits Aksaz, Turkey
The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), attached to the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG), arrived in Aksaz, Turkey March 9, for a scheduled port call. The visit is the second port call for the Philippine Sea this deployment. “I’m very excited to be in Turkey,” said Op