Royal Marines News

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is deploying two Royal Navy ships and surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel and reinforce regional stability, his Downing Street office said on Thursday.The military package, which includes P8 surveillance planes, other surveillance assets, two auxiliary ships, three Merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines, will be on standby in the region to provide "practical support to Israel ...

Britain's Royal Navy said on Thursday it had seized Iranian weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles, last month from a smugglers vessel in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.Britain said the vessel was detected travelling south from Iran at high speed during the hours of darkness by an unmanned U.S.

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) announced that Mark Heward has joined its team as Director. Heward came aboard with MITAGS in October 2022, after retiring from a 22-year active service career in the Royal Navy.“We are thrilled to welcome Mark Heward aboard as the Director of MITAGS. Mark’s underway time, leadership, management and training experience together with being fully STCW qualified and his continuing education experience are a rare combination,” said Eric Friend, MITAGS Executive Director.

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) said Friday that Mark Heward had joined as Director of MITAGS.Heward came aboard with MITAGS in October 2022, after retiring from a 22-year active service career in the Royal Navy.Eric Friend, MITAGS Executive Director, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Heward Heward aboard as the Director of MITAGS. Mark’s underway time, leadership, management, and training experience, together with being fully STCW qualified…

Britain's navy has rejected a plan to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants to its shores when it takes over responsibility for trying to stop people crossing the English Channel in small dinghies.The government said last month that it will hand the navy responsibility for policing small boats crossing between France to England, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.Home Secretary Priti Patel approved plans last year for border officials, who have been dealing with the crossings, to be trained to force boats away from British waters using jet skis.So far, the controversial tactic has

Following the incident in the Gulf of Guinea on 24 November involving the Danish frigate Esben Snare and a suspected pirate vessel, BIMCO calls on all naval forces in the area to further increase the pressure on piracy groups and hopes a continued naval presence will act as a deterrent.According to the Danish Armed Forces, Danish frigate Esben Snare has been involved in an incident involving suspected pirates on 24 November in the waters south of Nigeria. The Danish navy further announced that the frigate was close enough to send a team to the suspected pirates with the aim to board…

Russia said on Wednesday it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of a British warship to chase it out of waters Moscow claims in the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimea peninsula.Britain rejected Russia’s account of the incident, saying it believed any shots fired were a pre-announced Russian “gunnery exercise”, and that no bombs had been dropped. But it confirmed that its destroyer, HMS Defender, had sailed through what it described as waters belonging to Ukraine.The…

The names of the British Royal Navy's five next-generation Type-31 frigates have been announced by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin. Approved by HM The Queen, the vessels will be named HMS Active, HMS Bulldog, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Formidable and HMS Venturer.Grouped together as the Inspiration Class, the names of the new vessels are drawn from former warships and submarines whose missions and history will inspire Royal Navy operations. The names also represent the Royal Navy’s future vision: HMS Active signifies the forward deployment of Royal Navy ships to protect U.K.

The British Royal Navy has taken delivery of a new autonomous vessel as the service examines the use of cutting-edge unmanned craft across a range of military operations including surveillance and force protection. The new vessel, named Madfox (short for maritime demonstrator for operational experimentation), was officially handed over to the Navy's experimentation innovator NavyX, who is working toward preparing the uncrewed surface vessel (USV) for a demanding year of testing at sea."With Madfox now directly in the hands of NavyX…

Royal Marines from the UK Navy's HMS Montrose Frigate have seized  £11 million (USD 15,3 million) worth of illegal drugs in two raids of suspect vessels in the Arabian Sea, the UK Ministry of Defence and the Navy said in statements on Wednesday.The Royal Marines seized 2.4 tonnes worth of illegal drugs from a suspect boat in the Northern Arabian Sea, on a counter-narcotics patrol. This was the second drug bust by the HMS Montrose crew in two days.According to the statement by the UK government…

The NEXT GEN Shock Mitigation Solutions Workshop has been rescheduled to October 6, 2020. The program and format will remain the same and the majority of attendees have confirmed their availability for the new date at the Grand Harbour hotel, Southampton UK.Workshop Lead, John Haynes said, “Whilst we are living in challenging times, we believe it is still important to make plans for the future. Our focus is on viable innovation and using people’s time effectively. There is no…

Operational trials of unmanned equipment in Norway offered a glimpse of the UK Royal Navy's autonomous future. Royal Marines small boat specialists 47 Commando have been working alongside HMS Albion, the Royal Navy’s autonomous accelerator NavyX and the Office for the Chief Technology Officer to see how the kit can be put to use in real world situations.Exercise Autonomous Advance Force put unmanned boat Mast 13, heavy lift drone from Malloy, remotely-piloted air system Puma and…

UPDATE [April 23]: This event has been rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be held October 6, 2020. More information is available here.Devices, apps and digital are coming fast at sea. As simple and cost effective technology solutions become available for boats, the NEXT GEN Shock Mitigation Workshop brings decision makers together to highlight the burning issues today and identify viable solutions for the future.Repetitive Shock and Whole Body Vibration (RS & WBV) has kept scientists busy in recent years.

Britain's Royal Navy said on Monday one of its warships had helped to seize a batch of crystal meth worth more than 3.3 million pounds ($4.3 million) from smugglers in the Gulf of Oman.HMS Defender, a destroyer based at Portsmouth, southern England, sent a party to search a suspicious dhow as it conducted reconnaissance in the northern Arabian Sea.Royal marines discovered on the dhow 11 mailbag-sized sacks carrying drugs weighing 131 kg (288 lb) in total, the Royal Navy said in…

BAE Systems has demonstrated for the first time how Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) can be fully integrated with operational Royal Navy warships to extend their reach beyond the horizon and reduce sailors’ exposure to danger.The unmanned Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boat (P24 RIB) is integrated with the combat system of HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate, in a series of waterborne demonstrations in London’s Docklands at DSEI 2019, the international defence and security event.At 7.8 metres long, the P24 RIB has a speed of 38 knots and can operate for up to 45 hours at patrol speed or 100 nautical miles in pursuit mode, while being controlled remotely or operating autonomously.Its integration with an active warship has potential applications across a range of missions…

Iran has sold the oil from a tanker released by Gibraltar after weeks in the custody of British Royal Marines and the vessel's owner will decide on its next destination, IRIB news agency quoted an Iranian government spokesman as saying on Monday.Separately, Tehran - embroiled in a spiralling confrontation with Washington over U.S. sanctions meant to strangle Iranian oil exports - announced that it had deployed a naval destroyer with cruise missiles to help secure Iranian ships.The Iranian government spokesman did not identify the recipient of the oil carried by the Adrian Darya tanker. After Gibraltar freed the vessel on Aug. 18, the United States said it would take every action it could to prevent it delivering oil to Syria in contravention of U.S.

An Iranian tanker sailed through the Mediterranean towards Greece on Monday after it was released from detention off Gibraltar, and Tehran said that any at U.S. move to seize the vessel again would have "heavy consequences".The Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1, left anchorage off Gibraltar about 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday. Refinitiv ship tracking data showed on Monday that the vessel was heading to Kalamata in Greece and was scheduled to arrive next Sunday at 0000 GMT.The seizure of the tanker by British Royal Marines near Gibraltar in July 4 on suspicion it was carrying oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions led to a weeks-long stand-off between Tehran and the West.

A highly placed Gibraltarian government source denied on Tuesday an Iranian news agency report which said the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 would be leaving the British overseas territory on Tuesday.British Royal Marines seized the tanker on July 4 off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria, which Tehran denies.Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted unidentified Gibraltar authorities as saying the tanker would bee freed on Tuesday evening.A senior Gibraltarian government source said that report was not correct. Earlier, Gibraltar said it was seeking to de-escalate the situation. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge

Iran on Friday denied President Donald Trump's assertion that the U.S. Navy has destroyed one of its drones, saying all of its unmanned planes were accounted for, amid growing international concern that both sides could blunder into a war in the Gulf.In the latest episode to test nerves around the strategic waterway, Trump said on Thursday the drone had flown to within 1,000 yards (914 metres) of the U.S. warship Boxer in a "provocative and hostile action" and had ignored several calls to stand down.Iran dismissed the report."All drones belonging to Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz ... returned safely to their bases after their mission of identification and control…

Somewhere on its journey from the waters off Iran, around Africa's southern tip and into the Mediterranean, the Grace 1 oil tanker lost the flag under which it sailed and ceased to be registered to Panama. Iran later claimed it as its own.The ship carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian crude was seized by British Royal Marines off Gibraltar, raising tensions in the Gulf where Iran detained a UK-flagged ship in retaliation.Grace 1 remains impounded, not because of its flag but because it was suspected of taking oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, an allegation that Iran denies.Yet Panama's move on May 29 to strike it from its register…

The United States wants all ships to keep their tracking transponders on to cut down on illicit activity and smuggling, and to increase transparency with movements of ships around the world, a senior State Department official told Reuters.Automatic identification systems trackers are the most accessible way of observing where ships are located.The practice of turning off AIS by some vessels from countries such as Iran has become common to evade closer scrutiny as the United States pushes to cut off Iranian oil exports.The official…

Britain will seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel in what London said was an act of "state piracy".Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the Stena Impero in the Strait on Friday. British Royal Marines seized an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar two weeks ago."Under international law Iran had no right to obstruct the ship's passage - let alone board her. It was therefore an act of state piracy," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told parliament."We will now seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to support safe passage of both crew and cargo in this vital region…

All crew members of a British-flagged tanker that Iran seized on Friday are safe and still on the vessel, the Iranian embassy in India said on Monday.The seizure of the Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most important waterway for the oil trade - has deepened a crisis between Tehran and the West that was triggered in May when Washington tightened sanctions, effectively barring all countries from buying Iranian oil."All the crew members including the Indian nationals are in good health, they are still on board the tanker," the embassy told Reuters.Eighteen of the Stena Impero's 23-strong crew are Indian nationals, Iranian authorities said previously.The family of one of them - 26-year-old mess worker Dijo Pappachen…