US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) returned to her homeport of Mayport, Florida, Dec. 4, after nine weeks of operations in the northern Atlantic Ocean. As flagship of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), the ship returned to sea after completing a six-month deployment to part
US Navy destroyer USS McCampbell carried out a freedom of operation in the Sea of Japan on December 5, in a move that is seen as a challenge to Russian territorial claims in the region. McCampbell sailed near the Peter the Great Bay which is claimed by Russia but not recognized as Russian territory
Irving Shipbuilding hosted a keel-laying ceremony for the Royal Canadian Navy’s third Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) at its Halifax Shipyard on December 5. Welder Vicki Berg laid a coin on the keel of the future Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Max Bernays signifying the start of full prod
UK’s Defence Equipment and Support agency has awarded Thales a £23 million contract to equip Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships with new V/UHF radios. As announced by the agency, the radios will be installed on 39 ships in total, including Type 23 frigates, survey and ice patrol vessels, min
The Royal Saudi Naval Force (RNSF) handed over command of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) CTF150 to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in a change of command ceremony at the CMF headquarters in Bahrain on December 6. Commodore Darren Garnier RCN took command from Commodore Al-Shahrani RSNF. The ceremony w
US Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is scheduled to enter Persian Gulf waters by the end of the week, ending an eight-month period of carrier strike group absence from the region. According to Wall Street Journal who first reported the news, this is the longest period of US Navy aircraft ca
Ships from the US Navy’s Japan-based carrier strike group centered around aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan teamed up with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181) for joint operations in the Philippine Sea. The cooperative deployment started November 28 and con
The Norwegian defense ministry has shared a detailed, and illustrated, plan of how it plans to salvage the HNoMS Helge Ingstad which has been sitting on the sea bottom in the Hjeltefjorden fjord after colliding with a tanker on November 8. While the plan provides no timetable on when the operation w
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose met her former sister ship as she sailed to South America to mark the 200th anniversary of the Chilean Navy. The former sister ship is ex-HMS Marlborough, which now flies the Chilean flag as CNS Almirante Condell. A second Gulf War veteran, Marlborough was s
The crews of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Greeneville (SSN 772) and the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) completed a series of bilateral engagements this week with Malaysian officials during a visit to the region. Both Greeneville and Emory S. Land submarine maintenance
The US Navy has awarded Austal USA a $40.3 million contract for the procurement of long lead-time materials for the construction of the fourteenth Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ship for the US Navy. Long lead-time materials for the additional vessel will include diesel engines, water jets and r
After over fifty years of service, Canadian CH-124 Sea King maritime helicopters performed their final flight in a parade in Victoria, B.C., on December 1. The Sea King will officially retire from service by December 31, 2018 as the RCAF completes its transition to the new CH-148 Cyclone maritime he
Leaks in HNoMS Helge Ingstad’s watertight compartments could be responsible for the frigate’s sinking following a collision in the Hjeltefjorden fjord, a preliminary report from the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board (AIBN) suggests. In addition to blaming the vessel’s lack of watertight integri
Australia will deploy a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to Japan next week to conduct maritime surveillance in support of North Korea sanctions, the Australian defense minister has announced. The MPA will support the international effort to enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions
