Sailors on survey HMS Echo completed the Full Monty in the sweltering heat of the Mediterranean. The ship’s company mirrored the advance of the legendary WW2 general from Tobruk to Tripoli 70 years ago by cycling the 630-mile distance. Sailors from the survey ship clambered on to exercise bikes to c
Australian sailors, soldiers, airmen and women have joined defence forces from 21 other nations, including France, Canada and Russia, for Exercise RIM-OF-THE-PACIFIC (RIMPAC 12) in the islands of Hawaii. Approximately 1100 Australian Defence personnel are among 25,000 personnel participating in the
Fresh from maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean, Merlins of 814 Naval Air Squadron decamped to Stavanger to hunt three diesel boats determined to ‘sink’ a German tanker. Normally they don’t make it quite as easy as this for the Navy’s top submarine hunters to find them… The tell-tale mas
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced the launch of the second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) at the Navantia shipyard in Spain. The launch represented a major milestone in the shipbuilding process and was attended by the Chief of Navy, Vice
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope gave a keynote speech yesterday to international naval leaders, historians and maritime experts, underlining the importance of the aircraft carrier to the future of the Navy – and the nation. Addressing the Future Maritime Operations Conference at the globall
Brand-new £1bn destroyer HMS Dragon saluted the seven cruise ships of world’s famous P&O line last night as they gathered in the Solent to mark the firm’s 175th birthday. The seven liners – displacing more than half a million tonnes in total – conducted a sail past out of Southampton, with HMS Drago
HMCS Regina departed Esquimalt, B.C., July 3, 2012 for the Arabian Sea region. Regina will replace HMCS Charlottetown on Operation Artemis, Canada’s contribution to Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) to conduct maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea region. “HMCS Regina’s deployment to the A
The guided missile frigate USS Carr (FFG 52) arrived in Santa Marta, Colombia, for their first Caribbean port visit, June 28, during their deployment in support of Operation Martillo. Carr visited Santa Marta following a month at sea conducting operations to counter transnational organized crime (CT
Representatives from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and Naval Sea Systems Center (NAVSEA) hosted a Maritime Environmental Conference and workshop that concluded July 3 on board High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) as part of the ship’s participation in Africa Partnership Station (APS) East 2012. Thi
Guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment Team (LEDET) employed airborne use of force (AUF) to stop a vessel suspected of transporting illegal drugs, June 19 in support of Operation Martillo. The interdiction operation recovered
On July 1, HNLMS Evertsen, the flagship of NATO’s counterpiracy mission Ocean Shield, handed over 7 Somalis suspected of piracy to the Royal Navy of Oman. The suspects and all of the evidence were transferred to the Omani navy ship RNOV Al Muazzar (C32). The suspects were apprehended in the morning
On June 25, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis visited the headquarters of the Tanzanian Navy to meet General Omar, Commander of the Navy. Tanzania faces the scourge of piracy off its coasts and is therefore intrinsically concerned. Its navy works daily in Tanzanian territorial waters to combat pir
Spain and Australia have agreed today that the Combat Supply Ship Cantabria will operate with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from February to November 2013. This deployment will be the longest and most extensive that the Navy ship will have made to date. Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral General
HMNZS TE KAHA and HMNZS ENDEAVOUR sailed from Devonport Naval base at the beginning of June bound for Hawaii and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC 2012), being conducted from 29 June to 3 August. Other units from the NZ Defence Force are also taking part in the exercise—the Operational Diving Team
