Training & Education
US destroyers continue Black Sea patrol after Bulgaria, Romania visits
US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Carney (DDG 64) and USS Ross (DDG 71) are underway in the Black Sea again after completing port calls in Varna, Bulgaria, and Constanta, Romania, respectively. The two destroyers entered the Black Sea transiting the Bosphorus two days apart on February 17
NATO mine counter measure group visits Bar, Montenegro
Ships deployed to NATO’s Mine Counter Measures Group Two (SNMCMG2) arrived in Bar, Montenegro, for a port call on February 23. Led by Royal Navy Commander Justin Hains, the group arrived in Montenegro after sailing from Marmaris, Turkey last week. The task group consists of the flagship HMS Enterpri
General Dynamics delivers expeditionary sea base Hershel “Woody” Williams to US Navy
The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command received its fourth expeditionary sea base, future USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams, from General Dynamics NASSCO on February 22. The delivery took place after the vessel completed sea trials which started January 17, 2018. Construction of the USNS Hershel “Woody”
NATO minehunters discover WWII mines in Oslo Fjord
Mine countermeasure ships deployed to NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) worked with the the Royal Norwegian Navy recently to locate WWII ordnance in the waters of Oslo Fjord. The group detected a total of 23 mines from and four torpedoes over the last two weeks. Conducting min
German Navy corvette deploying to SNMG1
German Navy’s Braunschweig-class corvette FGS Erfurt is scheduled to get underway from her Warnemünde homeport on February 26 to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). The corvette will spend most of her time in the North and Baltic Seas where SNMG1 regularly operates. Erfurt’s deployment
Australian oiler completes maintenance, set for South East Asia deployment
Royal Australian Navy oiler HMAS Success is underway after an extended maintenance period alongside Fleet Base East which included a scheduled docking. The 220 women and men of her ship’s company will be put through their paces by Sea Training Group over the next couple of weeks, to ensure that the
German minehunter FGS Bad Bevensen joining SNMCMG1
German Navy’s Frankenthal-class mine hunter FGS Bad Bevensen is scheduled to depart its Kiel homeport on February 25 to join the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 1 (SNMCMG1). The minehunter will spend the next five months operating in the North and Baltic Seas. FGS Bad Bevensen will be unde
Electrical issues force German tanker to withdraw from Norwegian drill
German Navy’s 40-year-old tanker FGS Spessart was forced to abort its participation in a Norwegian-hosted exercise in the North Sea after experiencing electrical issues. Spessart was part of a multi-ship group maneuvering off Bergen, Norway, during two linked exercises – the Norwegian fleet exercise
Cobra Gold hosts trilateral beach assault
Amphibious forces from the navies of Thailand, Republic of Korea and the US carried out a combined amphibious assault during the Thailand-hosted exercise Cobra Gold 2018. The assault featured a wave of US-Thai-Republic of Korea amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs) with coordinated air cover overhead f
HMS Sutherland to join major Australian Navy fleet exercise Ocean Explorer
A fleet of Royal Australian Navy ships departed Fleet Base East in Garden Island, Sydney, on Tuesday to start exercise Ocean Explorer. Ocean Explorer will see two submarines, ten ships and embarked aircraft take part in war games off the east coast of Australia. They will be joined briefly by Royal
Dutch submarine HNLMS Walrus concludes Portsmouth visit
Royal Dutch Navy submarine HNLMS Walrus paid a weekend visit to Portsmouth, UK, becoming the first submarine in two years to visit the Royal Navy base. Walrus is on the return leg of her operational sea training which she is undergoing after completing a dry-dock maintenance in 2017. Prior to enteri
Cobra Gold: Underwater construction teams hone skills
Underwater construction teams from the US, Republic of Korea and Royal Thai navies got together on the Thung Prong Bay Sattahip Navy Base in Thailand as part of the 37th annual exercise Cobra Gold, which ends February 23. “We are here to perform underwater inspection techniques and also to talk abou
US Navy sends two destroyers to the Black Sea
The US Navy now has two guided-missile destroyers in the Black Sea after USS Carney transited the Bosphorus on February 18. Carney is joining sister ship USS Ross which entered the Black Sea on February 17. Recognizing the fact that having two destroyers in the Black Sea is not something the navy do
Spanish minehunter ESPS Segura joins NATO SNMCMG2 in the Med
The lead ship of the Spanish Navy’s Segura-class minehunters got underway from her Cartagena homeport on February 15 to join NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). Segura is scheduled to spend the next three months deployed to the group as it did during a similar deployment last yea