Not a single ship was seized by pirates during the Royal Navy’s three-month spell in command of a task force patrolling the Indian Ocean for modern-day buccaneers. The ships of Combined Task Force 151 also succeeded in hunting down one pirate action group after the raiders’ two failed attempts to hi
Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaydachnyi, participating in the NATO Ocean Shield counter-piracy operation, completed its fourth patrolling in the Gulf of Aden and on December 4 the ship entered the Salalah port (Oman). On this occasion, some servicemen got awards for their decisive actions and professi
On Friday 6 December, Commodore Peter Lenselink (Royal Netherlands Navy) handed over the Force Command of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta to Contre Amiral Hervé Bléjean (French Navy) during a Change of Command ceremony held on board HNLMS Johan de Witt in the Port of Djibouti.
Last week, two ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2) passed through the Suez Canal en route to taking command of NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD. SNMG2 flagship ESPS ALVARO DE BAZAN and Turkish frigate TCG GELIBOLU will soon join the Ukraine frigate UPS HETMAN SAGAIDACHNY
Fire aboard Indian Navy Ship Indian Navy warship INS Konkan caught fire during repair in Vizag on Wednesday, as informed by the Indian Express. INS Konkan, a Pondicherry class minesweeper acquired from Russia, was undergoing a refit at naval base Vizag when the accident occurred. Australian Warships
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) will join ships from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea navy Dec. 8-9 for a trilateral naval exercise in waters to the south of the Korean Peninsula. The naval exercise is aimed at improving teamwork and interoperability betwe
On Tuesday 3 December, Spanish Ocean Patrol Vessel, ESPS Tornado joined the European Union’s counter piracy task force operating off the coast of Somalia. The warship will be part of the EU Naval Force for four months as Spain’s contribution to Operation Atalanta. Commissioned in 2012, ESPS Tornado
A biting wind whistled across Portsmouth Harbour as six Royal Naval Reservists plunged into the dark waters of the diving training lake at the Navy’s Horsea Island training site, swimming across the lake, completing a timed set of circuits and leaping several times from the highest platform (over 30
Portsmouth based HMS Lancaster has visited her final Caribbean port and started her long journey home for Christmas. The ship called into Bridgetown, Barbados, for a four day visit that also marked the island’s Independence Day. A squad of 15 sailors were sent along to participate in the 47th Indepe
During the medal ceremony which was held on the flight deck in the Gulf of Aden, the international staff and ship’s company were decorated by the Force Commander of Atalanta, commodore Peter Lenselink of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Commodore Lenselink praised the EU flag staff and ship’s company “Yo
On Saturday 1 December, an EU Naval Force Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) handover ceremony was held in Djibouti between Lithuanian and Serbian Forces in Djibouti. Members of the Lithuanian Forces have spent the past four months embarked in the World Food Programme (WFP) aid ship, MV
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Moss Point, Miss., Unmanned Systems Center started production of the first NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Block 40 Global Hawk aircraft, enhanced to meet NATO operational requirements. NATO representatives, state dignitaries, community leaders and Northrop Gru
Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) successfully joined 11 additional ships in the annual Turkish Mine Warfare Exercise NUSRET 13 in Saros Bay November 22-30. The SNMCMG2 units FGS MOSEL, FGS ROTTWEIL and TCG ERDEMLI were joined by the Hellenic Navy HS EVROPI. The Turkish Navy, u
On Sunday, 1 December 2013, the NATO counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD task group flagship HNoMS FRIDTJOF NANSEN rescued the crew of a Somalia-based dhow, which contained broken steering gear and two ill crew members. While patrolling the Gulf of Aden, NANSEN received a call from a Japanese Mari