U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations after departing its homeport earlier his month. Cole, assigned to Commander Task Force 65, entered Europe on December 21 to conduct a regularly-scheduled deployment in support of
Royal Navy’s Sandown-class minehunter HMS Shoreham has undergone an extensive refurbishment and maintenance programme carried out by Babcock in Rosyth. The shipbuilder improved the vessel’s operational capability and carried out restoration work on the glass reinforced plastic (GRP) hull. This work
The U.S. Military Sealift Command’s expeditionary fast transport ship, USNS Trenton (EPF 5) departed the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story on December 20 to begin its first operational deployment. The Spearhead-class vessel, built by Austal in Alabama, was launched in September 2014 a
The Royal and South African Navies will gather in February next year to commemorate the sinking of South African troopship SS Mendi. After it was rammed in fog off the Isle of Wight on February 21 1917, SS Mendi took 616 South Africans down with her. To mark the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, the
The Royal Canadian Navy has selected Halifax-class frigate HMCS St. John’s as the next RCN ship to deploy on NATO’s operation Reassurance in early 2017. The frigate will support the standing NATO maritime group 2 (SNMG 2) in the Mediterranean Sea contributing to regional security and stability. HMCS
FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, German Navy’s F123 frigate, is set to return from its Mediterranean Sea deployment on Friday, December 23. The frigate was part of the EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia which is aimed at curbing migrant and weapon smuggling activities in the Mediterranean Sea. Mecklenburg-Vor
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel ESPS Serviola returned to her home port in Ferrol, Spain, after taking part in different cooperation activities in West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea. The cooperative security activities with regional navies are organized by the Spanish Ministry of Defense and t
Home with just seven days to spare before Christmas Day are the sailors and Royal Marines on RFA Mounts Bay which has completed a marathon deployment in the Mediterranean. The amphibious support ship has been away from home for 349 days as one of the first vessels to deploy in 2016… and last to retu
Hundreds of happy families and friends welcomed home their loved ones on board HMS Bulwark on December 14th, as the ship returned home from a three-month deployment in time for Christmas. The crew of the Royal Navy’s amphibious flagship HMS Bulwark arrived to a warm welcome fit for heroes after the
This week the European Union is marking eight years since it launched its first ever maritime military operation, EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta, in response to a surge in armed pirate attacks on merchant ships and other vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Back in 2008, increasingl
French Navy aviso FS Commandant l’Herminier bid farewell to EUNAVFOR’s Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia last weekend. The ship contributed to the prevention of arms and migrant smuggling since she joined the mission on November 12. During her time with the operation, Commandant l’Herminier was inv
German Navy minesweeper FGS Fulda has concluded her deployment to NATO’s standing mine countermeasures group two and is currently on the way back home. Fulda and her crew are set to enter the Kiel navy base on December 16 after four months at sea. Commanded by Captain lieutenant Michael Montag, the
Royal Marines recently trained with their Bahraini counterparts during a three-week amphibious exercise in the Persian Gulf. The marines stormed the beaches under the cover of air power as Exercise Pearl Dagger 16 came to an explosive conclusion, played out before British and Bahraini VIPs. Rewind t
Spanish Navy’s replenishment oiler ESPS Cantabria has concluded its 71-day deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 and is now returning home. The ship is expected to arrive in the Spanish city of Ferrol on December 15. ESPS Cantabria has sailed more than 15,000 nautical miles, supplied more t
