The Italian Navy ships, deployed on Operation Mare Nostrum during the past weekend, have rescued over 5,000 migrants. Frigate Grecale, with 566 people onboard, and corvette Chimera with 353, were scheduled to reach Pozzallo yesterday. On June 29, 30 bodies were found in the hold during the search
HMS Illustrious will sail into the River Forth on Wednesday (July 2) in support of the naming ceremony for the new carrier. HMS Queen Elizabeth will be named by Her Majesty The Queen on July 4 at Rosyth Dockyard where she is currently in build. Helicopter carrier Illustrious – or Lusty as she is [
Sailors assigned to USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 72 participated in a community relations (COMREL) project while the ship made a port visit to Riga, Latvia, June 29. Sailors assisted Latvia’s largest children’s hospital by cleaning out a warehouse and als
HMS Somerset has officially handed over her Operation Kipion duties to sister ship HMS Northumberland, after spending six months in the Indian Ocean and Gulf region. The two Devonport based Type 23 frigates met at sea to transfer essential stores and key information to enable HMS Northumberland to
The auxiliary oil replenishment ship (BAC in its Spanish initials) ‘Cantabria’ has just arrived at La Graña Naval Station after a ten-day deployment off the coast of Cádiz, training with other Spanish Navy units. On June 17th the ‘Cantabria’ set sail towards Rota for a threefold mission: to collab
The Spanish Navy frigate ‘Cristóbal Colón’ set sail from the Sarayburnu pier in Istanbul to participate in the counter-terrorist operation ‘Active Endeavour’ in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship is integrated into NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2) along with the Canadian frigate ‘Regin
Over a period of three days FGS Brandenburg has escorted a World Food Programme (WFP) voyage chartered vessel from Djibouti to Bosaso, which is the capital of Puntland. The WFP vessel had about 3,000 tonnes of food on board, which was destined for displaced people in Somalia. Protecting WFP vessel
The Type 23 Frigate has been practising emergency drills to deal with a fire at sea or a helicopter crash on the flight deck. Deployed to the South Atlantic, HMS Iron Duke carried out the drills shortly after leaving her home port of Portsmouth to ensure all of the ships company are prepared shoul
MV-22 Osprey Lands on LHD Juan Carlos I On June 18th a milestone for the LHD ‘Juan Carlos I’ took place off the coast of Cádiz; namely the landing, for the first time, of a US Marine Corps MV-22 ‘Osprey’ coming from Morón Air Base. GE to Propel UK Navy’s Type 26 Vessels Today’s frigates […]
Guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) arrived in Durres, Albania, for a port visit, June 26. This port visit serves to continue U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet’s efforts to strengthen maritime partnerships in order to enhance regional stability. While the ship is in port
Royal UK Navy helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious has just paid a routine visit to Lisbon, at the cruise terminal, Jardim do Tabaco, after completing Exercise Deep Blue. Exercise Deep Blue was an Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise involving surface, submarine and air participants from the UK, France a
Babcock has begun work on the first phase of the contract to design and supply the Air Weapons Handling System (AWHS) for the UK’s new Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) announced recently by BAE Systems. Under the full contract Babcock will design, manufacture, test and oversee the installation of
On Monday 16 June, the Force Commander of EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen, met the officers and ship’s company of HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën at sea for the first time since the Dutch frigate joined the EU Naval Force. The German and the Dutch frigates met whilst both were conducting
Today’s frigates operate in the most challenging of circumstances. Whether they are fending off enemy submarines, thwarting pirates or carrying out disaster relief and humanitarian missions, these ships need to be effective, efficient, safe and sustainable. The U.K. Ministry of Defence has engaged
