US Navy, JMSDF Participate in MultiSail 2018
Units and personnel from the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) are scheduled to participate in the annual bilateral training exercise MultiSail 2018, Mar. 8-14. MultiSail is an annual bilateral training exercise that improves interoperability between U.S. and Japanese forces. In 2018 the focus of the exercise will be on improving fundamental skills such as tracking and defeating submarines, combatting other surface forces, live fire training, and interoperability with U.S. and JMSDF units. "MultiSail is an opportunity for our ships to increase our combat proficiency at sea," said Capt. Jon Duffy, commander, Destroyer Squadron 15.
Persian Gulf Tanker Fire: US Navy Saves Crew
Navy, USCG rescue mariners after tanker blaze off Iran coast. The destroyer USS John Paul Jones has rescued 24 Filipino mariners who had been stranded after an explosion disabled their tanker in the Persian Gulf. The crew of the tanker Stolt Valor, which was carrying 13,000 metric tons of a volatile, flammable cargo, issued a distress call about 2 a.m. local time. The tanker was 48 nautical miles southeast of Farsi Island, Iran. When John Paul Jones arrived, the vessel’s master told the Navy that one crew member had died in the explosion.