On Tuesday, 26th of July 2016, the Spanish Orion Air Contingent XXV, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Saiz Quevedo, completed a successful four month deployment with Operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia. Detachment XXVI will be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Ferrero. The handover
Operation Atalanta’s warships are deployed off the coast of Somalia to ensure that the pirate attacks that terrorized seafarers in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden for a number of years are not allowed to resurge. In order to ensure that the EU NAVFOR warships are able to maintain their counter-pir
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) pulled into Odessa, Ukraine, July 23 for a scheduled port call as part of Sea Breeze 2016. While in port, Ross plans on hosting a reception as part of Sea Breeze 2016 and conducting a community relations project. “We are looking forward
Military leaders and maritime forces from participating nations attended the Sea Breeze 2016 opening ceremony in Odessa, Ukraine, July 24. Sea Breeze, now in its 15th iteration, is an air, land and maritime exercise designed to improve maritime safety, security and stability in the Black Sea. “The t
Commander Tim Berry has assumed command of the Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset based at Plymouth Navy Base. Tim was born and raised in South Somerset and joined the Royal Navy as a Warfare Officer in 1997. He has seen active service in a number of global hot-spots in the last 19 years. He said: [&he
More than 250 multinational military service members participated in the Sea Breeze 2016 land component demonstration at the Shyrokyi Lan training facility in Shyrokyl Lan, Ukraine, July 21. The land component of the exercise is designed to showcase the land-based capabilities of NATO allies and par
HMS Ambush, a nuclear-powered Astute-class submarine, collided with a merchant vessel off Gibraltar on July 20, the Royal Navy confirmed in a statement. According to the Navy, the submarine suffered some external damage but there is “absolutely no damage” to her nuclear plant and no member of the sh
LNS Skalvis (M53), a Lithuanian Navy minehunter arrived in Kiel, Germany, last weekend to join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1). The Lithuanian ship will take part in SNMCMG1 activities and exercises in the Baltic and the North Seas until December. Eight ships from Belgium,
Spanish frigate ESPS Reina Sofia and British survey vessel HMS Ocean saved 719 lives on July 19, thereby bringing the number of migrants saved by operation Sophia vessels in the Mediterranean Sea to over 20,000 since the mission started in June 2015. The latest rescue operations started after severa
After taking over the Atlantic patrol tasking (North) from from the Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Mersey, RFA Wave Knight has begun her duties of reassuring the overseas territories and if required, providing humanitarian and disaster relief during the hurricane season. Wave Knight’s first port of ca
FGS Baden-Württemberg, the first of four German Navy F 125 frigates, was transferred from the Hamburg shipyard to her new port in the Wilhelmshaven navy base on July 18. Eight ships had streamers flying topmast high to welcome the latest “family member” entering the base with manned rails and ship h
Royal Marines joined their U.S. counterparts aboard the USS Whidbey Island assault ship as it entered European waters to begin a deployment with the USS Wasp battle group. The USS Whidbey Island is an assault ship – a slightly smaller version of Britain’s Albion and Bulwark which uses hovercraft rat
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Charlottetown, joined NATO’s standing maritime group 2 (SNMG2) on July 18 and will work and train in the Black Sea with vessels from several allied and partner nations until August 2, 2016. While operating in the Black Sea, the Halifax-class frigate will participat
Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria recently enjoyed a break from her counter-piracy patrolling under Operation Atalanta and had five days alongside in Port Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles, on Mahe Island. Whilst there, the crew of ESPS Santa Maria took the opportunity to conduct training
