Four ships from NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) arrived in Batumi, Georgia on February 12. The fifth member of the Group, Italian Navy minehunter Gaeta, will arrive later in the visit. Under the command of Captain Ramazan Kesgin, Turkish Navy, the Group includes the fl
Two Royal Navy Type 23 frigates HMS Iron Duke and Monmouth on February 12 arrived in the Norwegian city of Bergen ahead of NATO war games around the fjords. Iron Duke is assigned to NATO’s Standing Group 1 – the first RN ship in more than a decade to attach to the formation, which patrols the [&hell
Pakistani Navy Chief, Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, paid a visit to EU NAVFOR’s operational headquarters in London, UK, February 11. He was welcomed by the Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral Jonas Wikstrӧm. During the visit both Admirals welcomed the good cooperation that exists at sea between Operation A
Dredging operations at the HMNB Portsmouth naval base have unearthed an iron canon whose age and identity are yet to be identified. The relic was recovered during a seabed clearance which is part of a £31 million programme to dredge Portsmouth Harbour to make it wide and deep enough for the 2 new Ro
Speaking at the NATO Defence Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced that UK would almost double its deployments to NATO at sea in 2016. For the first time since 2010 the UK will contribute to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), an enduring com
German corvette FGS Erfurt which has been deployed to EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta at the Horn of Africa since August 2015 recently welcomed a new crew. The corvette sailed 22.000 sea miles under the command of the outgoing Corvette Captain Robert Schmidt. Now, the crew of another corvette, the FGS
Operation Atalanta flagship ITS Carabiniere conducted a joint exercise with the French frigate FS Floreal in the waters off Seychelles’ main harbour on February 5, 2016. The exercise was coordinated by the ships’ commanding officers, Commander François Xavier Waroux and Commander Francesco Saladino.
As the Royal Navy’s previous Fleet Commander has moved up the ladder to become the First Sea Lord, the Navy has welcomed his successor at a handover ceremony in Portsmouth, UK. Vice Admiral Ben Key CBE is taking up the role from outgoing Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB who is to be
The Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (The Seven Provinces) left her homeport Willemstad, the Netherlands, for the Caribbean Sea. The first ship of the De Zeven Provincien class will be used as a station ship in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea. A Belgian Navy Alouette III h
Images: EUNAVFOR 2016 Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Victoria on February 6 left EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta after four months of counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. Led by Commander Fernando José Suarez Fonseca, the ship’s crew contributed to Operation Atalanta which deters and disrupts pir
Ships of the Standing NATO Maritime Group ONE (SNMG1) arrived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for a scheduled port visit February 5, during their deployment to the North and Baltic Seas to enhance maritime security and to contribute to international stability. SNMG1’s visit to Amsterdam precedes the
Russia’s re-emergence as a strategic challenge and how NATO is going to respond to it was the center-discussion at the Surface Warship Summit in Bucharest, Romania, held January 26-28. Speaking at the summit, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone CB CBE, Commander of Allied Maritime Command, said: “The combi
After spending six months at sea, German Navy’s Frankenthal-class mine hunter Weilheim returned to its homeport in Kiel, Germany on February 7. The German Navy 3rd Squadron ship was part of both the German contribution to NATO’s mine countermeasures group, the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Gro
German Navy’s combat support ship EGV Bonn, together with the Italian frigate ITS Libeccio and the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton, headed for the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish frigate TCG Barbaros joined them in Aksaz, Turkey. The group conducted a range of drills before and after their port cal
