The crew of U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) started their deployment departing Naval Station Norfolk on May 23. USS James E. Williams will be conducting a regularly-scheduled deployment to perform maritime operations in the Navy’s 5th and 6th F
Sailors from the Italian Navy’s Maestrale-class frigate ITS Espero carried out maritime training with a team from the Djiboutian Navy during their recent port visit in Djibouti. Currently part of the EUNAVFOR’s counter-piracy operation Atalanta, ITS Espero worked with EUCAP Somalia staff during the
Royal Australia Navy frigate HMAS Arunta seized some 250 kilograms of heroin from a vessel off the coast of Africa. The interdiction took place on May 10 in the waters of the Indian Ocean. This is also Arunta’s second narcotic interdiction since she joined counter-terrorism operations in December la
French frigate FS Surcouf collaborated with a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft to make her first cocaine interception as part of the Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150). Less than three weeks into its deployment, FS Surcouf made two narcotics seizures, with back to back
Two Royal Canadian Navy Kingston-class coastal defence vessels, HMCS Summerside and Moncton, returned to Halifax on May 2, following a two-month deployment to West Africa. The deployment was part of a mission called Neptune Trident 17-01 and saw the ships work with allies and partners to build relat
Warships and personnel from U.S., U.K. and France completed a two-week multilateral amphibious exercise in international waters off the coast of Djibouti and in the vicinity of Djibouti and Arta Beach. Named Alligator Dagger 17, the exercise is led by U.S. Naval Amphibious Forces, and joined by forc
Late on Saturday night during a European Union counter-piracy patrol close to the east coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR’s Spanish flagship, ESPS Galicia, received a SOS distress call from the master of merchant ship, MT Costina, to say that his vessel was being attacked by a number of armed pirates in a
Earlier this month USNS Kanawha replenished ESPS Galicia of EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta at sea (RAS). Having sailed into the counter-piracy sea areas in the Gulf of Aden, the flag ship of Operation Atalanta, ESPS Galicia went alongside USNS Kanawha to replenish fuel and stores in preparation for he
Somali pirates on Monday released the crew of an Indian-registered dhow which had been taken hostage on April 1 off the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea. After the Somali Security Forces freed MV Al Kausar from captivity, the Indian Navy dispatched a warship which received and escorted the dhow
Ships and personnel from U.S., UK and France have kicked off the two-week multilateral amphibious exercise Alligator Dagger 17. The drill is taking place in international waters off the coast of Djibouti and in the vicinity of Djibouti and Arta Beach, between April 5 and 20. Participating forces inc
Indian and Chinese Navy ships prevented pirates from hijacking a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden late on April 8. The captain of the Tuvalu-registered bulk carrier MV OS 35 sent a distress call after the pirates attacked and boarded the vessel. The vessel’s crew locked themselves in a strong roo
The Spanish Orion Air Contingent XXVII, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Arozamena Sanz, has completed a successful four month tour with Operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia. During a ceremony held at their current base in Djibouti, the contingent handed over their duties to Detachment
Following the pirating of an Indian registered cargo dhow off the coast of Somalia on Saturday 1 April 2017, EU NAVFOR once again reiterates the need for vigilance to all ships transiting the piracy high risk area. Vessels are strongly recommended to adhere to self-protection measures laid down in t
EU Naval Force can confirm that an Indian registered cargo dhow was seized by suspected pirates on 01 April and is now in the vicinity of Hobyo, Somalia. An EU Naval Force maritime patrol aircraft has confirmed the exact location of the dhow and has attempted to establish radio communications but wi
