Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 8 held a change of command ceremony in the forecastle of multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) while in the Red Sea, May 19. Capt. Arturo M. Garcia relieved Capt. Mark H. Scovill as PHIBRON 8 commodore. This will be considered a ‘fleet-up’ assignment
On Wednesday 16 May the Republic of the Seychelles agreed to accept for prosecution 11 suspected pirates who were captured by EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) on 12 May 2012, EU NAVFOR updated today. On 19 May 2012, a team from HNLMS Van Amstel handed over the suspect pirates to the Seychelles authorities
Today the Republic of the Seychelles agreed to accept for prosecution 11 suspected pirates who were captured by EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) frigate HNLMS Van Amstel on Friday 11 May. The 11 suspected pirates had pirated an Iranian dhow with 17 innocent Iranian fishermen onboard at the beginning of Ma
The Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden (Djibouti Code of Conduct) was signed yesterday on behalf of South Africa by the South African High Commissioner, His Excellency Dr. Zola Skweyiya, who was attendi
Earlier today, following the decision taken on 23 March 2012 by the Council of the European Union to allow the EU Naval Force to take disruption action against known pirate supplies on the shore, EU forces conducted an operation to destroy pirate equipment on the Somali coastline. The operation was
On 11 May EU NAVFOR frigate HNLMS Van Amstel released a fishing dhow and her Iranian crew off the coast of Somalia. The dhow had been pirated 10 days earlier and was being used to carry out pirate attacks on merchant vessels. Yesterday afternoon, during a surveillance flight 400 nautical miles off t
The EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) French flag ship FS Marne visited Djibouti between Saturday 21 April and Friday 27 April. Whilst there the Task Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Dupuis and his staff met with representatives and authorities of the maritime world and various stakeholders in t
April 28, late afternoon, after 24 dense hours and three consecutive replenishments at sea led by EU NAVFOR flag ship Marne, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis received his counterpart from NATO – Operation Ocean Shield. This long sequence started at dusk on April 27 for the command and replenishme
HMS Dauntless played a key part in helping to keep the waters off West Africa safe during a major international exercise. The Portsmouth-based destroyer joined warships and personnel from ten other nations off Senegal for Exercise Saharan Express aimed at dealing with the enduring threats of people
RFA Fort Victoria conducted a ceremony to mark the loss of the Titanic while working with the Combined Task Force in the Gulf of Aden. At sunset a moment of silence was held to remember the 1,517 lives lost, which took place 100 years ago to the day. The event was attended by the Commander […
HMS Dauntless visited Lisbon in Portugal on her journey to the South Atlantic, bringing a new crewmember – Percy the bear. This is the Navy’s latest globe-trotting mascot, enjoying his first foreign port on the maiden deployment of Britain’s most-advanced warship, HMS Dauntless: Lisbon in Portugal.
All eleven pirates that were apprehended by EU Naval Force warship FS Nivose in May 2009 and transferred to Kenyan authorities in May 2009 were found guilty on 19 April 2012. By ruling of the Magistrate the eleven pirates now face 20 years imprisonment. It was 3 years ago when French frigate FS Nivo
One hundred and two incidents of piracy and armed robbery have been reported for the first quarter of 2012, with dangerously increasing numbers in West African waters, according to figures released today in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global pira
Sixteen Sailors from USS Simpson (FFG 56), six Cape Verdean Coast Guardsmen and school staff painted classrooms at the Escola Lavadouro School in Praia, Cape Verde, April 20. Simpson Sailors scraped away old paint, sanded down the walls and added several layers of paint to two classrooms that had pr
