Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Santa Maria, currently deployed to Operation Atalanta, has arrived in the Seychelles for a port visit. During the port visit ESPS Santa Maria sailors took the opportunity to conduct maritime training exercises with the Seychelles Coastguard and Maritime Police Unit. The tra
Work on upgrades to the Royal Navy’s Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, HMS Westminster, have been completed at Portsmouth Naval Base, UK. The multi-million pound refit on the 24-year-old Duke Class frigate has followed several busy years of deployments across the globe and includes upgrades to weapo
Irish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel LÉ Samuel Beckett rescued 128 migrants during two search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea on October 3. Following a request from the Italian Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre, the LÉ Samuel Beckett first located and rescued 19 migrants, 42 nautica
French frigate La Fayette joined the EU Naval Forces’ counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean on September 28. Two days later, Italian frigate, ITS Euro said goodbye to the mission after 190 days of operations. In addition to carrying out a number of counter-piracy patrols in the
Royal Navy’s unmanned and autonomous systems display exercise Unmanned Warrior 2016 has gotten underway as the teams headed north to Scotland for six weeks of exercises. Over 50 unmanned vehicles from more than 40 suppliers, major international companies and smaller bespoke contractors, academic ins
Navy ships currently deployed to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 passed through the fjord of Sogne (Sognefjorden) in Norway yesterday and the group’s photographer took the opportunity to make a couple of amazing photos. The Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway and the second longest in the wor
Britain’s second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, welcomed its first affiliates on September 21. The Senior Naval Officer of HMS Prince of Wales, Captain Ian Groom MBE, who is responsible for leading the men and women who will operate the 65,000 tonne ship said: “I am del
The Italian Navy has commissioned its fifth FREMM frigate Alpino during a ceremony held at Fincantieri’s Muggiano, La Spezia shipyard on September 30. FREMM frigates are built within the international Italian-French program, coordinated by OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). Ori
Navy ships and personnel from eight European countries are set to begin the second European amphibious exercise Emerald Move 2016 (ERMO) off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia on Monday, October 3. The ERMO 16 is an undertaking of the European Amphibious Initiative (EAI), an organization wh
An unexploded German 500kg bomb (WWII) was found on the seabed in Portsmouth Harbor on September 29, the Royal Navy has informed. Bomb disposal experts towed the device into open waters 1.5 miles east of the Isle of Wight during the night to dispose of it in a controlled explosion. The device was lo
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded QinetiQ an 11-year, £109 million contract extension to continue to develop and de-risk Royal Navy mission systems and infrastructure through integration and testing at Portsdown Technology Park, Portsmouth, UK. The renewal of the naval combat system integration
French shipbuilder DCNS has informed that the fourth French Navy FREMM frigate, FS Auvergne, started sea trials on September 26. Auvergne left the shipyard just days after DCNS launched the fifth of overall eight frigates the French Navy is to acquire. In its first out at sea, the new frigate will s
German Navy minehunter FGS Datteln is set return to the navy base in Kiel on September 30 after a three-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. Datteln is currently on its way back from the European Naval Force’s operation Sophia which is aimed at fighting against human smugglers and traffickers
UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced that Britain would be sending a Type 45 destroyer to Bulgarian shores in the Black Sea next year. The Royal Navy deployment is part of a broader goal to deepen the defense relationship between the two countries to help tackle security threats in South Ea
