On Monday, 1 April 2014, the NATO counter-piracy task force (CTF-508) frigates ESPS CRISTOBAL COLON and ITS FRANCESCO MIMBELLI conducted an Air Defence Exercise (ADEX) with USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH and USS PHILIPPINE SEA, testing their surface warfare and anti-air warfare skills. Before commencing the
The Spanish OPV ‘Tornado’ has arrived in Las Palmas Military Arsenal after a four-month deployment participating in operation ‘Atalanta’ fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean. The welcoming ceremony on April 2 was presided over by the Chief of the Canary Islands Naval Command, Rear-admiral Manuel de
Refugees from a war-torn country have been processed and safely evacuated by the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship HMS Bulwark as part of a large multinational exercise scenario. More than 60 naval personnel from the Plymouth-based amphibious assault ship and around 30 Royal Marines of 539 Assault Squad
On Wednesday 2 April, German Navy frigate, FGS Hessen departed the waters of the Gulf of Aden and headed for home after completing four months of counter piracy patrols with the EU Naval Force. After a short port stop in Malaga, Spain, FGS Hessen will arrive in her home port in Wilhelmshaven on Th
Guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) arrived in Civitavecciha, Italy for a scheduled port visit, March 31. The port visit is designed to continue Naval Forces Europe-Africa’s efforts to strengthen maritime partnerships with European nations to improve maritime safety and security in the
Portsmouth-based minehunter HMS Cattistock has just completed operations off Scotland to help protect busy shipping lanes. The ship and her 42 crew carried out route survey operations for two weeks in the approaches to the Clyde Estuary. It was part of ongoing work by the Royal Navy to survey the
The U.S. Defense Department is deploying additional Marines to enlarge a rotational crisis response force based in Spain, and is also dispatching a naval vessel to the Black Sea to conduct exercises with U.S. allies in the region, a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday. Army Col. Steve Warren told re
The Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Dame Mary Fagan DCVO JP, has visited the Royal Navy’s brand new aircraft carrier. Currently under construction at Rosyth Dockyard, in Scotland, once HMS Queen Elizabeth is operational she will be based at Portsmouth Naval Base, in Hampshire, where Dame Mary is Her
Guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) arrived in Palermo, Italy for a scheduled port visit, on March 31. The port visit is designed to continue Naval Forces Europe-Africa’s efforts to strengthen maritime partnerships with European nations in order to improve maritime safety and security in t
The frigate ‘Cristóbal Colón’ and the OPV ‘Relámpago’ visited Doha (Qatar) during the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2014) Both warships made the most of their scheduled port calls in support of the national defense industry in what is considered the most imp
The Spanish frigate ‘Álvaro de Bazán’ (F-101) has arrived in Ferrol after 179 days out of her home port, integrated into the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2). During this deployment the F-101 participated in operation ‘Active Endeavour’ fighting terrorism in the Mediterranean Sea and the coun
On 16th March the Force Commander of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean visited the Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel, ESPS Relampago for the first time since the ship arrived in the piracy high risk area. ESPS Relampago joined Operation Atalanta, the EU
After two and a half years protecting the World Food Programme (WFP) ship, MV Caroline Scan, from pirate attack off the coast of Somalia, the EU Naval Force has bid the vessel and her hard-working crew a fond farewell. In April 2014, MV Caroline Scan will be entering a period of maintenance, so th
It’s not every day that passengers on board a civilian cruise liner would get so close to a warship on operations that they could wave to each other, but this is just what happened last week when the German cruise liner, AIDAdiva, with over 2,000 passengers on board, met German frigate FGS Hessen at
