Pella Shipyards’s special purpose tugboat “Belukha” (Building No 629, project 16609), built for the Russian Ministry of Defense, has successfully passed its sea trials. In the current year the tugboat will be delivered to the State Customer and put into operation within the Baltic Fleet Navy. The
An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter lifts off from the guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) for a torpedo training exercise during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2014. In its 20th year, CARAT is a bilateral exercise series between the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps
NATO’s Counter-Piracy Mission, Operation Ocean Shield, has bid farewell to the Italian destroyer ITS MIMBELLI. The ITS MIMBELLI left Task Force 508 on Wednesday, 6 August 2014, after a job very well done as part of Operation Ocean Shield. The continuous, main effort of Task Force 508 is keeping co
Lithuania is now in command of Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE. German Navy Commander Gunther Brassel handed over command of SNMCMG1 to Lithuanian Navy Commander Giedrius Premeneckas during a brief ceremony on Thursday, 7 August, 2014. The ceremony was conducted by NATO Allied Mariti
More than 50 senior officers from U.S. 7th Fleet and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N)) North Sea Fleet met Aug. 6 to discuss increasing cooperation, future exercise opportunities and improved communication between the fleets. North Sea Fleet Commander Rear Adm. Yuan Yubai hosted 7th Fleet
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Adm. Mark Ferguson and senior leaders of the command welcomed Rear Adm. Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro, Chief of the Naval Staff for the Ghana Armed Forces, Aug. 5. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen bi-lateral ties between the two navies and discuss inc
Indian Navy’s guided missile destroyer, INS Ranvijay, commanded by Captain MG Raju, NM entered Sepanggar port, Malaysia on a three day goodwill visit on August 6, 2014. This is the first ever visit of an Indian Naval warship to this port and is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing i
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) has entered the Black Sea, Aug. 6, to promote peace and stability in the region. Vella Gulf’s mission is to improve interoperability and work toward mutual goals, demonstrating the United States’ commitment to strengthening the co
The U.S. Navy and the Republic of Singapore navy conducted a surface action group exercise (SAGEX) during the 2014 Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise, Aug. 4. Two multinational teams faced off as part of the exercise, with the goal of finding the other team first using vari
The guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63), foreground, participates in a photo exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Ashigara (DDG 178), the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), an unidentified naval vessel and the guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG
On Wednesday 6 August 2014 Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen (German Navy) handed over Force Command of the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta to Rear Admiral Guido Rando (Italian Navy). Brigadier General Dick Swijgman, who recently assumed the role of Deputy Operation Commander of the EU Naval F
U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) arrived in Qingdao, China, Aug. 5 to promote maritime cooperation and reinforce a positive navy-to-navy relationship with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N)) North Sea Fleet. “We greatly appreciate the warm welcome our North Sea Fleet counterp
Indian Navy’s INS Shivalik, a guided missile stealth frigate, under the Command of Captain Puruvir Das NM, has arrived at Hai Phong, Vietnam, on a three day goodwill visit. The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing interoperability between navies of the two nations. During
Eight Navy Reserves Officer Training Corps (NROTC) midshipmen joined the crew of amphibious platform dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) to learn and to experience firsthand shipboard life July 16 – Aug. 14. The annual summer training program is held between academic school years and is applicable to