The international maritime exercise Phoenix Express 2016 was kicked off May 17, in the Mediterranean. Navies from Europe, North Africa, and the United States gathered to begin the 10th iteration of the exercise. Phoenix Express is sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and facilitated by U.S. Na
Maintenance works on the Royal Navy Hunt-class minesweeper HMS Brocklesby have begun in BAE Systems’ new Small Ships Centre of Specialisation at Portsmouth Naval Base. BAE said the work is part of a £600 million Maritime Services Delivery Framework (MSDF) contract to support half of the Royal Navy’s
Irish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel LÉ Róisín has taken part in the first rescue operation in the Mediterranean since it joined the life saving efforts in May 2016. Following a request from the Italian Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre on May 16, the LÉ Róisín successfully located and rescued a t
Two ships assigned to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 made a port call in the Lithuanian Port of Klaipeda. Spanish frigate ESPS Alvaro de Bazan and Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke came alongside May 16 and will stay until May 18. The two ships have recently completed participation in the
A total of 14 warships from ten nations took part in this year’s iteration of NATO’s ‘Baltic Fortress’ exercise. The drill was hosted by Lithuania and took place between May 6 and 13. Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG-1), with Spanish F-100 frigate Álvaro de Bazán at the helm, also took part in
One Spanish and one Royal Morocco Navy frigate met in the Gulf of Cadiz to conduct the bilateral exercise MAES-16 from May 4 – 12. Spanish Santa Maria-class frigate Canarias and Moroccan Sigma-class frigate Allal Ben Abdellah carried out a series of training activities in the Gulf of Cadiz under the
First ship of the German Navy’s newest K130 Braunschweig-class corvettes, FGS Braunschweig, will set sail for a one-year deployment to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon. The ocean-going corvette will leave her homeport in Warnemünde, Germany Monday, May 16. Braunschweig’s crew of 54 soldiers, commanded
EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta has welcomed back the Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria. The ship was previously deployed on Op Atalanta in 2011 and will be conducting counter-piracy patrols over the coming five months. ESPS Santa Maria has an embarked Seahawk helicopter on board, allowing her to
Sailors aboard the U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) departed their Norfolk homeport May 14 for a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations. Stout recently completed a training cycle in preparation for deployment while simultaneously assisting two o
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Meteoro recently helped technicians from the PLOCAN (Canary Islands Oceanic Platform) recover a damaged glider travelling from Madeira to the Canary Islands conducting several oceanographic surveys. The AUV, also known as Glider, was recovered 40 miles north of
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Kent will visit London May 14 and 15 on her way to take part in the Battle of Jutland centenary commemorations. This year marks 100 years since the Battle of Jutland, a naval battle fought between Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Flee
Spanish Navy’s Segura-class minesweeper ESPS Turia will join NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2 which operates in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Crewed by 44 sailors and commanded by Captain Enrique Miguel García Morera, the ship set sail from Naval Base Cartagena, Spain on May 12 and i
German Navy’s Bremen-class frigate is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony on May 13, 2016. Due to construction works at the navy yard in Wilhelmshaven the ceremony will take place at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The 4th Frigate Squadron Commander, Captain at Sea, Thorste
BAE Systems, the company responsible for UK’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship program, has awarded an equipment contract to Rolls-Royce to manufacture diesel generators for the first three Type 26 anti-submarine warfare ships. This marks the first Type 26 manufacturing contract to be agreed since the UK