British Embassy News

Britain said on Tuesday it would permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters after its Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and escort ships sail to Japan in September through seas where China is vying for influence with the United States and Japan.Plans for the high-profile visit by the carrier strike group come as London deepens security ties with Tokyo, which has expressed growing alarm in recent months over China's territorial ambitions in the region, including Taiwan."Following on from the strike group's inaugural deployment…

Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will lead a flotilla of Royal Navy ships through Asian waters on port visits to Japan and South Korea on its maiden deployment, the British embassy in Tokyo said on Monday.The high-profile visits, aimed at bolstering security ties in East Asia, come amid tensions in the region as concern grows in Japan over any threat posed to neighboring Taiwan by China.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden issued a…

United Kingdom Ambassador to Greece Ms. Katherine Smith visited Energean offshore drilling facilities at Prinos.The Delegation of the British Embassy toured by boat the Prinos Oil Field Platforms and “Energean Force”, the Energean owned drilling rig, which is currently drilling an extended reach well into the Epsilon Oil Field. The Delegation circumnavigated the jack-up rig “GSP Jupiter”, which is currently drilling the first of the three vertical development wells in the Epsilon Oil Field.After concluding her visit to Prinos, British Ambassador Katherine Smith stated: “I would like to thank Energean team for the opportunity of the visit; exciting and informative.

The charity behind a campaign to build a Battle of the Atlantic memorial on Liverpool’s waterfront has urged the government to support the project with money from the LIBOR bank fines fund. The Battle of the Atlantic Memorial (BOAM) campaign began fundraising in January. It hopes to secure $2.9millon to create a monument on Liverpool’s Pier Head, dedicated to the estimated 100,000 people who lost their lives during the World War Two battle, as well as those who served and survived.

Diplomats flee Libyan chaos; Politicians appeal for international intervention. Clashes in Tripoli, Benghazi kill around 160 over two weeks, while Libyan capital face fuel, power shortages. A rocket hit a fuel storage tank in a chaotic battle for Tripoli airport that has all but closed off international flights to Libya, leaving fire-fighters struggling to extinguish a giant conflagration. Foreign governments have looked on powerless as anarchy sweeps across the North African oil producer, three years after NATO bombardment helped topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi. They have urged nationals to leave Libya and have pulled diplomats out after two weeks of clashes among rival factions killed nearly 160 people in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.

The British Government has once again thrust its weight behind London International Shipping Week with an official visit to the LISW2015 stand at Posidonia in Greece by the British Ambassador in Athens followed by public shows of support at additional events by the head of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Sir Alan Massey, and U.K. Shipping Minister Stephen Hammond MP. More than 70 guests gathered for an informal British drinks reception at Posidonia 2014 to mark the beginning of the countdown to London International Shipping Week (LISW) which is set to take place September 7-12, 2015.

Greek members of the ‘A’ rated, 100 million GT North of England P&I club bid farewell yesterday  to managing director Rodney Eccleston during a reception at the British Embassy in Athens. It was Eccleston’s last official event in Greece before he hands over to deputies Paul Jennings and Alan Wilson when he retires in September this year. Addressing around 300 members and their guests, Jennings reciprocated the welcome by British Ambassador Dr David Landsman and paid tribute to Eccleston’s successful tenure as managing director. ‘North has expanded and grown in strength significantly over the past ten years, and we will continue to base all of our operations on high-quality membership, excellent service and prudent finances.