On 16 December, during her port visit to Antsiranana, the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Andrea Doria, conducted Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) training with personnel from the Madagascan Navy. Italian Marines from ITS Andrea Doria provided instruction in techniques for the safe detainment of
The US Navy’s Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) pulled into Naval Station Mayport after completing a six-month deployment in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. The vessel deployed on this mission from Naval Station Mayport on June 16. Upon arrival in the M
More than 16,000 people in Sierra Leone have food for a month thanks to a three-day mission by Britain’s Armed Forces to islands cut off from the rest of the country by the Ebola outbreak. Royal Navy helicopters and Royal Marines landing craft delivered 220 tonnes of food for the United Nations to r
On Monday 15 December, during her port visit to Djibouti, EU Naval Force warship ESPS Rayo conducted Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) training in support of and in coordination with, the EU maritime capacity building mission, EU CAP Nestor. The training began with a briefing on board ESPS Ray
Rear Admiral Pakorn Wanich, the Commander of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) visited senior leadership in Djibouti on 9 December 2014, building on existing relationships to cement and reinforce the bonds between the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and the north African country. During his visit to
The U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) and ships from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Navy) PLA(N) commenced a bilateral counter-piracy exercise, U.S.-China Counter-Piracy Exercise 15, in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, Dec 11. Aiming to promote partnership, st
Representatives from international counter-piracy organisations, as well as nations deploying warships independently, have gathered in Bahrain to discuss how they can best work together to combat the threat posed to shipping by criminal gangs from Somalia. NATO chaired the 34th Shared Awareness and
On 10 December 2014 Spanish Navy warship ESPS Navarra headed for home after completing a deployment with the EU Naval Force in the Indian Ocean. ESPS Navarra joined Operation Atalanta, the EU’s counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, on 23rd July. Since then she has completed a range of dut
On Monday 8 December Spanish warship ESPS Rayo joined the EU Naval Force. The ship will be deployed at sea in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden for the next 6 months. Following an intense period of operational sea training, ESPS Rayo departed her home port of Las Palmas on 17 November, with an [&hel
On Friday 5 December EU Naval Force Spanish frigate, ESPS Navarra, rendezvoused at sea with the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Andrea Doria, off the coast of Somalia. After sailing near to each other, the Commanding Officer of ESPS Navarra, Commander Alejandro Cuerda Lorenzo, and two Spanish journalis
On Sunday 7 December Djiboutian Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed awarded Commander Bernard Baron (French Navy) the rank and dignity of Officer of the National Order of 27th of June. Commander Baron was presented with the award for his ‘outstanding service and assistance given to the Djibouti
HMS Queen Elizabeth Progress on Track UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon visited Scotland to see the progress being made in building the UK’s Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. UK Navy’s New Strike Fighter Flies Fully Bombed-Up This is UK Navy’s next-generation strike fighter fully bomb
Rear Admiral Rando visited Brigadier-General Philippe Montocchio, the Commander of French Forces in Djibouti. They both discussed the current piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden. During the meeting Rear Admiral Rando said: A lot has been done, but we have to maintain focus as piracy is not yet erad
Over the past few weeks, the EU Naval Force warship, ESPS Navarra, has carried out several friendly approaches to fishing dhows off the northern coast of Somalia. After sighting several fishing dhows, the Spanish frigate established communications with the masters. After a short conversation, the Ma