South African Navy frigate SAS Amatola and two German Navy ships returned to the port of Warnemünde on March 10, thereby concluding the bilateral exercise Good Hope. The 2017 edition of Good Hope started on February 24 and marked the first time the drill took place in the Baltic Sea. This was also t
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke is scheduled to visit Hull on Thursday for a four-day visit as part of the city’s year as UK capital of culture. The City of Culture award is given every four years to a city that demonstrates the belief in the transformational power of culture. The city of
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth made a port call in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar on the first mission stop of her nine-month deployment to the Middle East. Accompanied by HMS Sabre and Scimitar from the RN Gibraltar Squadron, and with her Wildcat airborne to scour the skies,
Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland returned home to Plymouth on Friday concluding her nine-month deployment. HMS Portland was welcomed to HM Naval Base Devonport by a crowd of family and friends while 42 lucky family members got an insight into life at sea by sailing as special guests on board from Por
South African defense contractor Denel has teamed up with German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for joint work on South African Navy frigates and submarines. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on board the SAS Amatola, in Rostock, Germany, during the frigate’s deployment to European
French shipbuilder DCNS opened a new office in Bogota, Colombia, hoping to bolster its chances in securing work on the Colombian Navy’s Plataforma Estratégica de Superficie (PES) frigate acquisition programme. Under the programme, Colombia plans to acquire four frigates to replace the existing Almir
Royal Navy frigate HMS St Albans arrived in London on March 7 for a four-day visit to the capital. The visit of the Portsmouth-based warship coincided with International Women’s Day, the 100th anniversary of women in the Royal Naval Service, and National Apprenticeship Week. Those on board took part
Dynamic Manta 2017, NATO’s annual anti-submarine warfare exercise, is set to start on Monday next week, off the coast of Sicily, Italy. The two-week drill will gather ships and sailors from ten allied countries for ASW training in the central Mediterranean. Submarines from France, Greece, Italy, Spa
Warships from NATO’s standing mine countermeasure group 2 (SNMCMG2) joined the underway portion of the Romanian-hosted exercise Poseidon that is taking place between March 5 and 13. The exercise as a whole is hosted by Romania this year and will include more than 1,500 sailors and 17 warships from s
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has deployed a 12-man strong vessel boarding team to the European Union-led operation Sophia aimed at curbing human and arms smuggling activity in the Mediterranean Sea. The team embarked the German Navy tender FGS Rhein on March 6 during a ceremony at Lithuanian N
Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth departed Plymouth on Monday to start a nine-month deployment in the Persian Gulf. The frigate set sail after spending 18 months undergoing assessment and training, preparing to fight smugglers, terrorists, drug and people traffickers. Preparations for the extended sti
U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) stopped in Souda Bay, Greece, for the first port visit during its 2017 deployment with the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG). USS Philippine Sea was in Greece from March 1 to March 5 conducting a community relations project, w
Royal Navy frigate HMS Iron Duke set sail for the first time this year having spent the winter in her home port undergoing a sustained period of maintenance. The Type 23 frigate, which spent the first half of 2016 on NATO duties in the Baltic and waters of northern Europe, is now headed for operatio
Polish Navy minehunter ORP Wigry joined German Navy mine countermeasure ships from the Kiel-based 3rd Minesweeping Squadron for mine countermeasure drills in the Baltic Sea. German units taking part in the exercise included minehunters Datteln and Sulzbach-Rosenberg, minesweeper Pegnitz and tender D
