Under cover of darkness the first landing craft stealthily departed HMS Bulwark marking the start of exercise Albanian Lion. Over the course of four days hundreds of Royal Marines, supported by Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels as well as elements of the Army, will enter a fictional natio
Two ships deployed on Cougar 13 have met up mid Mediterranean for a swap of supplies vital to the operation. With over 45,000 tonnes of steel between them; HMS Illustrious and Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship, RFA Fort Austin, held a straight course while the exchange took place over a distance of
EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta warship ESPS Meteoro recently evacuated a member of the ships crew who had a medical issue. The ship had been conducting counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. The ship broke from counter-piracy operations and clo
In the space of just 7 days Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon has hosted 4 different types of aircraft during her ongoing operations in the Gulf. One of the Royal Navy’s fleet of brand new air defence warships – Dragon was designed with a flight deck which can accommodate many different types of aircraft
A Royal Navy warship has played a game of cat-and-mouse as part of a high-tempo exercise in the Mediterranean with the Hellenic Navy. HMS Montrose and HS Kanaris took turns to hunt each other down in the dead of night using their respective passive detection systems, finding it equally difficult to
Sailors and staff at HMS Collingwood said goodbye to Commodore Mike Mansergh CBE and welcomed Captain Steve Dainton CBE as he officially took Command of HMS Collingwood and the Maritime Warfare School. Commodore Mansergh handed over the 200-acre Fareham establishment together with the wider aspects
On Thursday morning, 29 August 2013, three NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) arrived in Sevastopol for a scheduled visit to the Black Sea port. Under the command of Commander Matthias Seipel, German Navy, the Group includes the flagship FGS MOSEL and FGS
The Commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces at NATO (STRIKFORNATO), Vice Admiral Frank Pandolfe USN, has paid a visit to the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship HMS Bulwark. VAdm Pandolfe took the opportunity to visit the ship while she was alongside in Lisbon as part of a multi-national exercised ca
On Tuesday 27 August, Commodore Peter Lenselink, Force Commander of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta and a delegation of his staff visited the Italian warship ITS Zeffiro, conducting counter piracy operations as part of EU NAVFOR in the Gulf of Aden. During the visit, he met mem
Royal Navy warship HMS Chiddingfold will arrive in Dartmouth tomorrow (Thursday) as she proudly maintains the Royal Navy’s close ties with the town to undertake the privileged duty of Guardship for the Royal Regatta. The Portsmouth based ship will provide the backdrop for many of the events that tak
A large-scale exercise which will see nearly 1000 Royal Marines hone their skills alongside their Albanian counterparts is now under way. Exercise Albanian Lion is the first major outing for the Response Force Task Group (RFTG) – a Royal Naval force involving four warships and five support vessels w
Having arrived at Cape Verde (19th August), the crew of HMS Richmond did not waste any time in putting the theory learnt from the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) (MAOC(N)) briefings (received previously in Lisbon, Portugal), into practice with an intensive training programme. A s
Royal Navy warship, HMS Montrose could be used to launch a military strike against Syria, if needed, according to The Herald. HMS Montrose could be joined by an unnamed nuclear submarine. Nevertheless, the specific positions of the military assets have not been disclosed due to security reasons. Bri
On 20th of August 2013, the ships of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) joined in Exercise OPEN SPIRIT 2013, the largest Historical Ordnance Disposal exercise in the Baltic this year. OPEN SPIRIT is a Lithuanian-led annual multinational Partnership for Peace naval mine clearance