Warships

Naval Vessel Damaged in Palau

The Navy on March 22 dispatched a Lafayette-class frigate and two tugboats to escort s warship back to Kaohsiung, after it was damaged in Palau when carrying out a naval friendship tour. According to Taipei Times, no one was hurt in the accident. Another Cheng Kung-class frigate was also ordered to go to sea to replace the damaged warship and continue the mission. The damaged ship was currently around 93km from Palau, escorted by Palauan vessels. The damaged warship, accompanied by a supply ship, left for Palau on March 16. The warship had planned to stay in Palau for two days, and then sail to other diplomatic allies in Oceania. The warship may have hit a coral reef, as these are abundant in Palau. The navy has not decided whether to ask Palau to compensate the navy for the damage caused by the incident, as it occurred in a Palauan harbor while the ship was under the control of Palauan pilots. (Source: Taipei Times)

Navy Tanker, Not Warship, near Syria Says Moscow

Russia denies media reports of warship off Syria Coast As tensions around Syria escalate, media reports said a Russian warship with marines onboard had arrived off the Syrian coast, although Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad, denied the reports, but a senior member of the European parliament demanded an inquiry into the allegations. The Russian Defense Ministry said one of its tankers, Iman, had arrived off the Syrian coast for technical reasons and its civilian crew was

U.S., Norway and Spain to Train Warships Together

According to the Ventura County Star, Naval Base Ventura County threw a party Saturday for visiting warships from Norway, Spain and a newly built U.S. destroyer. Over the next two weeks, the ships and their newly installed weapons systems will be put to the test during a series of at-sea exercises. This is the first time a Norwegian warship has docked at the Port of Hueneme, and the first combined Norwegian Navy, Spanish Navy and U.S. Navy Combat System Ship Qualification Trials.

UK Warships at Recent Doha Expo

HMS Daring stars in Middle East naval showcase Daring, Britain's most advanced warship, is on her maiden deployment. She was joined by minehunter HMS Quorn in Qatar recently at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX). DIMDEX is the only exhibition focused on naval forces and coastguards in the Middle East and North African region. It attracts warships not only from those regions

Piracy – Two More Warships Join Task Force

Counter-piracy task force off Horn of Africa joined by warships from Netherlands, Spain The counter-piracy taks force sent by the European Uniion to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa, has been joined by two additional warships. The Dutch multi-purpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel has arrived in the area, as well as the Spanish frigate ESPS Reina Sofia. Both ships have helicopters embarked that are capable of searching large areas of sea to look for suspect pirates

Pirating of MV Izumi in the Somali Basin

On the afternoon of 10 October, the owners of the Panama-flagged MV Izumi reported that they had received an automatically released distress signal indicating that the vessel was likely to be under pirate attack. The Danish warship HDMS Esbern Snare of the NATO counter piracy force was dispatched to intercept and investigate. In the early hours of 11 October the captain of the vessel made contact with the Danish warship, stating that pirates were in charge of the MV Izumi.

Pirates Attack EU NAVFOR Warship

During the night of November 6, the EU NAVFOR warship SPS Infanta Cristina was attacked off the East coast of Somalia by a vessel identified as the MV IZUMI, a ship that had itself been pirated on 10 October. The EU NAVFOR warship had been escorting the MV Petra 1, which had been chartered by the African Union Military Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), at the time. This is the first ever attack on an EU warship conducting an AMISOM escort.

EU NAVFOR Warship Stops Suspected Pirates

On Sept. 7 the EU NAVFOR German warship Brandenburg investigated a suspected pirate skiff with a crew of five in the Gulf of Aden just south of Al Mukalla. The EU NAVFOR warship launched a helicopter that observed, and filmed, the skiffs crew throwing ladders and weapons overboard. The skiff was ordered to stop but continued on at speed. The EU NAVFOR warship, through an interpreter, exhorted the skiff to stop but the skiff continued

Vosper Profits Up, Order Book Filling

UK shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft Holdings Plc, reporting a three percent rise in annual profits, said it would soon have an order book in excess $1.5 billion. Pre-tax profits before goodwill climbed to $53.7 million for the year to March 31, up from $52.6 million the year before, on turnover of $419.2 million. The results reflected a successful diversification strategy, Vosper said, in reference to its expansion into new markets and reduced dependence on large - but infrequent - warship

Pirates Attack EU NAVFOR Warship

Early the morning of March 17, two small skiffs made a fast approach on the EU NAVFOR Dutch HNLMS Tromp with what appeared to be a pirate attack. The Tromp fired warning shots as they approached and it was this action that alerted the “would be” pirates to the fact that they were trying to attack a well armed Naval warship.  The warship, HNLMS Tromp of the Royal Netherlands Navy, was patrolling the region as part of the ongoing EU counter-piracy mission