Defense Force News

SAFE Boats International (SBI) reports it signed a contract with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF), adding another four 41-foot Interceptors to its current fleet of existing SAFE Boat vessels.This latest contract, signed January 11, is the result of collaborating efforts over the past three years between RBDF and SBI, the Pacific Northwest boatbuilder said. This contract is a fully funded, direct purchase by the RBDF to supply four vessels, trailers and support vehicles.Signing the contract for the Bahamian government was the Honorable Wayne Munroe…

AUKUS defense ministers have reaffirmed their resolve to bolster security and stability and ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a region free from coercion and aggression.A statement was released after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia, and Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom, at the Defense Innovation Unit Headquarters in California on December 1.AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia…

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has invited the USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139) to join their lead in maritime operations to combat illegal fishing and safeguard maritime resources during August 2023.This marks the first time a joint patrol effort will be executed at sea since the signing and ratification of the recent bilateral defense agreement between PNG and the US, which allows the US to embark shipriders from PNG agencies aboard the ship to conduct at sea boardings on other vessels operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).The move emphasizes PNG’s commitment to maritime domain awareness…

The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a U.S. Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China's expanding regional reach.The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS-30)—named after a Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the U.S. Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942—was commissioned at a ceremony at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbour, officially joining the U.S.

Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) have yet again selected BMT and Singapore’s homegrown shipbuilder Penguin Shipyard International to design and build the next generation of fire and rescue boats called “MFV-R”. The vessels will offer emergency response capabilities, including extensive search and rescue, and firefighting capabilities.The two new 38-meter MFV-R monohull aluminum vessels, scheduled for delivery from the summer of 2025, feature an extended hull to hold a larger load…

A PSA Marine harbor pilot died after falling from a vessel off Singapore's Southern Islands, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.MPA said its Marine Safety Control Center received notification at about 2:50 a.m. on February 11 that a pilot had fallen overboard while disembarking from a tugboat to board a PSA Marine launch boat. The pilot was said to be wearing a lifejacket at the time of the incident.Search and rescue operations commenced immediately, with MPA…

Explosive charges aboard the ship enabled battle damage assessment (BDA) teams to respond to actual damageThe former Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Denver (LPD 9) was sunk in a blaze of glory as a target ship during the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022. The 9,600-ton, 561-foot Denver, which was commissioned in 1968 and served until being retired in 2014, had been stored with other inactive ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before being sunk about 50 miles north of Kauai in about 15…

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark is building a welded aluminum monohull patrol vessel for the Guyana Defense Force (GDF).Construction of the 115ft x 27ft (35m x 8m) vessel is underway at Metal Shark’s Franklin, Louisiana shipyard on the new 115 Defiant multi-mission vessel designed in-house by Metal Shark’s engineering team and being acquired by the GDF via direct purchase. Once complete, the new vessel will join the eight other Metal Shark interdiction and patrol vessels currently in service with the GDF.“Due to increasing maritime security concerns…

The 2022 biennial, multi-national Rim of the Pacific's (RIMPAC) exercise has come to a close.This year’s exercise with the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” featured 26 participating nations and 38 surface ships, three submarines, more than 30 uncrewed systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.RIMPAC 2022 featured a wide range of capabilities--projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, and took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug.

Adm. Linda L. Fagan has been confirmed as the 27th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, clearing way for her to be the first woman top officer in one of the military services. The Senate on Wednesday approved Fagan’s promotion, along with those of five other senior Coast Guard officers, by unanimous consent.Nominated for the role by President Joe Biden in April, Fagan will succeed Adm. Karl Schultz as head of the Coast Guard. Schultz, who has been Coast Guard Commandant since 2018, will retire at the end of this month.

Japan located on Friday the hull of a tour boat off its northern coast, media said, six days after the vessel disappeared in an accident that killed at least 14 people on a sightseeing trip.The hull of the "Kazu I" was identified in waters about 100 meters (328 ft) deep off the Shiretoko peninsula on the northern island of Hokkaido in footage from an underwater camera of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, broadcaster NHK said.A coast guard official was not immediately able to confirm the reports that the vessel had been found…

The USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is operating in waters off the Korean peninsula, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday, amid tensions over North Korea's missile launches and concerns that it could soon resume testing nuclear weapons."The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is conducting bilateral operations with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sea of Japan," Commander Hayley Sims, a spokesperson for the Japan-based U.S. Seventh Fleet, said in a statement.This is the first time since 2017 that a carrier group has deployed to the waters between South Korea and Japan, and comes as U.S.

President Joe Biden nominated Adm. Linda L. Fagan to serve as the 27th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Upon confirmation, Adm. Fagan will be the first woman to serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard.Adm. Fagan currently serves as the 32nd Vice Commandant, having assumed the duties on June 18, 2021. The Vice Commandant is the Vice Service Chief and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for executing the Commandant’s Strategic Intent, managing internal organizational governance, and serving as the Component Acquisition Executive.Previously, Adm.

The military force for the Kingdom of Bahrain purchased the self-propelled WorkFloat, a 12 x 6m WorkFloat platform which has the unique ability to fold up -- including all equipment -- and fit into a standard 40-ft. shipping container.The WorlkFloat platform is designed for a range of support tasks, with the version for Bahrain equipped with a 10-tm crane that can lift just under half a ton at 13m, a deck load capacity of over 10t, a 2t deck winch that can be used for mooring work…

Japan's military said on Thursday that it had spotted four large Russian amphibious warfare ships sailing close to its islands as they traveled west, possibly towards Europe.Pictures of the amphibious transports, typically used for landing expeditionary forces ashore, published by Japan's defense ministry showed what appeared to be military trucks loaded onto the deck of one of the vessels."We don't know where they are heading, but their heading suggest it is possible," a Japanese defense ministry spokesman said.

Shipbuilder Austal Australia announced it has launched the second of six Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).The 58-metre aluminum monohull patrol boat was launched following 18 months of construction at the company’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said it was very fitting that  Assistant Minister for Defense Andrew Hastie MP officially launched the vessel, which is one…

Japan's defense ministry said on Sunday that a submarine believed to be from China was spotted in waters near its southern islands, as maritime tensions persist in the Pacific.Japan's navy on Friday morning identified a submerged vessel sailing northwest just outside territorial waters near Amami Oshima island, part of Kagoshima prefecture, the ministry said in a statement. A Chinese destroyer was also spotted in the vicinity.Tokyo has complained of numerous intrusions by Chinese vessels into its territorial waters and near disputed islands in recent years.

What are the implications of the conflict in Cabo Delgado for maritime security in East Africa and the Mozambique Channel?Following the recent attacks on the coastal town of Palma in March-April by Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamamah (ASWJ) insurgents in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado region, it is pertinent to assess the future trajectory of the conflict in the commercial maritime domain and the challenges it may pose to trade within the region. During the battle for Mocimboa da Praia…

Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan has been nominated by the White House to be the next Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. She would become the first Coast Guard female four-star admiral and the third woman to serve as Vice Commandant.Pending confirmation, Fagan is expected to relieve current Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Charles W. Ray on June 18.“Vice Adm. Fagan is an outstanding leader with 36 years of Coast Guard operations, policy-making, joint service, and interagency experience,” said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Shipbuilding group Austal announced it has has delivered the ninth Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, the future HMPNGS Rochus Lokinap, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defense Force at a ceremony held at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard.The vessel is the second of four Guardian-class Patrol Boats to be delivered to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, part of the Australian Government’s Pacific Maritime Security Program…

A Japanese submarine and a commercial vessel were involved in a crash off the Pacific coast on Monday and three of the submarine’s crew suffered minor injuries and it was slightly damaged but still able to sail, government officials said.The submarine, operated by the Maritime Self-Defense Force, as Japan’s navy is known, and the ship crashed off Kochi prefecture in southern Japan, chief cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news conference.Kato, quoting the Coast Guard, said that there was no damage to the private ship.Authorities were looking into details, such as the type of the ship and in which country it was registered, Kato said.The Maritime Self-Defense Force said three crew members on the submarine suffered minor injuries and the vessel’s mast was damaged but not enough

Australian defense personnel are being deployed to Port Hedland, one of the world’s largest iron ore loading ports, to help contain a coronavirus outbreak on a bulk carrier that last changed crews in the major seafaring city of Manila.Seventeen of the 21 crew from the Patricia Oldendorff carrier have tested positive for the virus, ship owner Oldendorff Carriers said in a statement.Ten of the infected crew members have been moved to hotel quarantine, and seven remain on board as part of a nine-person crew, authorities said.Oldendorff said the crew change on September 5 in Manila complied with all protocols.“All crew members tested negative for the virus before leaving the Philippines…