Pirate Alley
Even with a multi-national flotilla of warships, armed security guards on merchant ships, and phalanxes of lawyers making policy and negotiating ransoms, seemingly unsophisticated Somalis and their small, simple skiffs still attack ships on the high seas and hold seafarers, ships and cargos for ever-growing sums of money. Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, a retired naval officer, had a front row seat in the effort to deter and defend against piracy on the high seas. McKnight, who with Michael Hirsh wrote Pirate Alley – Commanding Task Force 151 Off Somalia…
RFA Fort Victoria Arrives for Repair
Aided by four tugs the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Victoria arrived at Falmouth Docks on Tuesday, April 6, morning’s tide, to begin a multi-million pound refit that will last until mid August. Looking somewhat tired after a busy operational year, first supporting HMS Ark Royal in the Gulf War and then a period in the north of Scotland, the ship is having an extensive refit. A&P Falmouth Commercial Director David Daniel said that the refit would involve approximately three hundred men per day working on the ship. “This is a major MoD contract for Falmouth and one that we are delighted to have won, and is the biggest contract for the docks in its recent history.” This is the second multi-million pound refit won by the yard in a month.
Carter Hall Conducts Coalition Operations in the Gulf of Aden
USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Austin (A 386) and its embarked helicopter detachment 857th Royal Naval Air Squadron, and Federal German Ship Köln (F 211) are conducting maritime operations as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150. CTF 150 is responsible for maritime operations in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, North Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Through cooperation, these units drastically increase their individual capabilities. Flying two ASAC-7 Sea King helicopters, each equipped with the Searchwater 2000 radar, the aviators of the 857th are capable of locating and classifying contacts several hundred miles away. Between Carter Hall’s air assets and those of the 857th, the coalition partners have the ability to cover a much larger area with fewer ships.
