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
The French Navy is considering allowing UK’s Royal Marines greater access to its amphibious ships should the Royal Navy’s HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion amphibious assault ships be axed as part of defense cuts. This was revealed by senior French officials, according to a report in Financial Times, who s
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
Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth returned to Plymouth on December 1, concluding a nine-month deployment. Since leaving Devonport in March, the ship has travelled over 40,000 miles through the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and wider Middle East regions. While on counter-narcotics patrols
HM Coastguard and the Royal Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team have been on scene at Maenporth Beach, the UK, investigating reports of a parachute mine 800 meters offshore, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency informed. In the morning hours of November 29, HM Coastguard Operations Centre at
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) and embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived in Souda Bay, Greece, for a scheduled port visit, Nov. 27. This is San Diego’s second port visit in Souda Bay during this deployment. While in port, the crew will con
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
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland will be joining sister ship HMS Argyll as it deploys to the Asia Pacific region next year. This was announced by the new UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson who addressed the crew of HMS Sutherland Friday morning during a visit to HM Naval Base Devonport
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond is returning home early from a deployment to the Persian Gulf after experiencing propeller problems. The Type 45 destroyer was forced to leave the gulf despite sailors’ efforts to repair the ship at sea, a Times report on November 23 said. The problems are reportedly
A French Navy amphibious task group got underway from the Toulon naval base on Wednesday, November 21, for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Composed of Mistral-class amphibious assault ship LHD FS Tonnerre and the Horizon-class air defense destroyer FS Chevalier Paul, the task
Albanian Navy Iliria-class patrol boat ALS Oriku has wrapped up a full year of operations with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), concluding the Albanian Navy’s first ever NATO deployment. Deploying with SNMG2 in November 2016, the Damen-built patrol boat spent over four thousand hours on p
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.
Russian shipbuilder Yantar has launched the fifth and sixth Improved Krivak-class (Project 11356) frigates Admiral Istomin and Admiral Kornilov earlier this month. The launch of the frigates was confirmed to Russian news agency Interfax by Sergey Mikhaylov, a Yantar Shipyard representative. Admiral
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
