During the past week the NATO Shipping Centre received reports on two incidents involving fishing vessels in the High Risk Area. The first is a report of a pirated fishing vessel, while the second incident appears to be a SOLAS related accident. The first report confirms that pirates continue to dis
Back in 2011, a total of 16 warships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels supported humanitarian, embargo and combat operations off the coast of Libya, either under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector or the UK’s Operation Ellamy. These included elements of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Ta
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) has a new German Commander. Captain Marco Von Koelln (German Navy) handed over command of SNMCMG2 to Commander Mathias Seipel (German Navy) on Monday, 24 June 2013. The ceremony took place at the Hellenic Naval Base in Souda Bay, Crete, and was pr
On Saturday afternoon (22 June), EU Naval Force Italian warship, ITS Zeffiro and Chinese Navy warship CNS Mianyang, which are both conducting counter piracy operations, met at sea in the choppy waters of the Gulf of Aden. The aim of the meeting was to enable CNS Mianyang to take over escort duties o
About 220 personnel comprising men and women from Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) gathered at the mnb parade square to celebrate its 48th year anniversary on 14 June 2013. The event was organised at a later date to give way to the ASEAN Humanitarian and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise. The ce
The Royal Australian Navy has joined forces with the United States Navy (USN) and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) to participate in a tri-lateral exercise, Pacific bond 2013, June 22-26. Pacific Bond is a multi-national naval exercise designed to advance participating nations’ military-to-
Maritime forces from four countries began participation in the multinational naval exercise FRUKUS, in port Brest, France, June 25. FRUKUS, which is led this year by the French navy, is focused on improving maritime security through open dialogue and increased training of the participating nations,
Medical staff onboard HMAS Choules have been honing their skills in a number of areas during Exercise Sea Lion 2013. A big part of the training being conducted by the MR2 (embarked medical team) and the ship’s medics involves Aeronautical Medical Evacuations. As the name suggests this involves a pat
HMAS Perth is a little way from her home port of Fleet Base West as she works hard in the East Australian Exercise Area, near Jervis Bay to prepare for a Unit Readiness Evaluation where she will be tested on Warfare, Seamanship, Emergency Procedures and much more in preparation for a busy six months
Following the recent departure of HMS Penzance from Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard after a successful upkeep period, Babcock has now started work on Sandown class mine hunter HMS Pembroke, in dock at Rosyth for a similar six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)) under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (
HMS Penzance is in the throes of demanding training after completing a six-month revamp in Rosyth. The Faslane-based warship is now Britain’s most up-to-date minehunter following the refit, which prepared her for impending duties with a NATO task group. After six months in refit – four of those out
Survey ship HMS Echo has spent 12 days in Malta on the first stage of her 18-month mission to the Mediterranean and Middle East. The Devonport-based hydrographic vessel will be updating charts used by seafarers the world over, courtesy of her hi-tech sonar suites. It’s just under a year since the De
On June 24, members of the Somali Federal Government flew on board the EU Naval Force Portuguese flagship, NRP Alvares Cabral, at sea off Mogadishu. They held talks with the EU Special Envoy to Somalia, the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force Atalanta, and the Head of Mission for EUCAP NESTOR,
As part of its embed with the US Navy’s 7th Fleet George Washington Carrier Strike Group, the Royal Australian guided missile frigate HMAS Sydney has exchanged officers with the American Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Preble as a means to increase understanding, and ultimately interoperability, b
