The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) commissioned its first 25DD destroyer JS Asahi in a ceremony on March 7. The 5,100-ton destroyer was handed over to JMSDF by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard in Nagasaki on March 7 and the destroyer reached its permanent homeport in Sasebo a
The US Coast Guard commissioned its second Hawaii-based Sentinel-class cutter in a March 9 ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu. The commissioning ceremony for USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) was presided over Vice Adm. Fred M. Midgette, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area. The cutter’s sponsor Ste
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command-operated hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived in the US 7th Fleet area of operations on March 10 to serve as a platform for exercise Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18). PP18 is scheduled to have more than 800 US military personnel stationed worldwide, workin
HMAS Toowoomba has strengthened the Royal Australian Navy’s ties to international navies after hosting personnel from the United Kingdom and New Zealand during Exercise Ocean Explorer 2018. A junior officer from each country worked onboard the frigate during navy’s premier fleet warfighting activity
On 5 March 2018, the French Marine Nationale destroyer Jean de Vienne seized over four tons of hashish during an operation in the international waters of the Arabian Sea, Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) said. Jean de Vienne’s seizure is the third for CTF150 in recent days. Together with Her Majesty’s
A “sudden turn” by the US Navy destroyer USS John S McCain, which put it in the path of the merchant ship Alnic MC, caused the collision between the two vessels in the Singapore Strait on August 21, 2017. The USS John S McCain’s sudden turn was due to a series of missteps that took […]
Shipbuilding company Navantia has selected Adelaide-based Navantia SAGE Automation Group (NSAG) to supply the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) for its Future Frigates bid. The selection follows the transfer of IPMS technology to Australia in support of the Navantia Australia designed Can
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has evacuated an ill government staff member from the Antipodes Islands in its second medical evacuation in three weeks. Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington, which was on a resupply mission in the Auckland Islands, was retasked on March 3 to evacuate a Depart
The waters around Norway’s capital are considerably safer after a two-week hunt by the crew of Royal Navy’s HMS Cattistock. Experts from the Portsmouth-based minehunter found more than ten WW2 mines and torpedoes during a concerted search for unexploded wartime bombs with a NATO task group, the navy
US Navy’s Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) arrived off the coast of Israel on March 6 to take part in exercise Juniper Cobra 2018. Although Iwo Jima and the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) will not participate directly in the ballistic missile defense portion of
UK’s defense procurement minister Guto Bebb on March 6 informed MPs that the UK defense ministry received the treasury approval to award a construction contract for the Royal Navy’s seventh Astute-class submarine. Negotiations are still ongoing, it was noted, and the new contingent liabilities assoc
US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) entered a dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton on March 1, officially starting a 15-month overhaul. The carrier shifted from its homeport pier at Naval Base Kitsap to start the docking planned incre
US Navy ships from the USS Essex (LHD 2) amphibious ready group (ARG) got underway from Naval Base San Diego on March 5 to start the first Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise conducted by an ARG. The exercise is focused on advanced tactical training at sea to improve warfight
Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha has arrived in Canada where she will undergo combat management system upgrades at Seaspan’s shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia. The 25-day passage to British Columbia was marked by a brief port visit in Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor where Te Kaha and her crew
