MarineLink News Search
Search term • NATO
Create an email alert for NATO
Ukrainian Ambassador Calls on Greece to Shut Ports to Russia
Ukraine urges Greece to shut its ports to Russian vessels and stop doing business with Russian companies to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war, Ukraine's ambassador to Greece said on Wednesday."We ask Greece in particular to close the ports to Russian vessels... stop doing business with them and stop sending your ships to Russia," Sergii Shutenko told reporters.New talk of compromise from both…
As Ukraine Evacuates Trapped Seafarers, Foreign Mariners Count Cost of War
Bangladeshi seafarer Asiful Islam recalls the moment when a missile struck his cargo ship last week off the Ukrainian port of Olvia, killing his crew mate."I was just 15 feet away when it hit our ship. Our third engineer, Hadisur Rahman, who was killed, was standing just two feet away," Islam told Reuters from Romania after the remaining crew members were evacuated over the weekend."All we could do was pray out loud. It was the worst night of my life.
Poland Selects Babcock's Arrowhead 140 Design for New Frigate Program
Babcock International said Friday it had been selected as the platform design provider and technology partner for Poland’s MIECZNIK (Swordfish) new frigate program.The company on Friday also concluded a set of strategic cooperation agreements with the PGZ-MIECZNIK Consortium, which is responsible for the delivery of the project from the Polish side.The Polish Armaments Agency selected Babcock’s Arrowhead…
Ukraine Invasion: What Can Be Done at Sea?
The closure of the Turkish straits to all warships has drawn attention to the maritime dimension of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.From a tactical and operational perspective, Russian naval forces have already contributed, albeit in a limited way, to the current invasion of Ukraine, notably with missile strikes and amphibious assaults. But from a strategic and political perspective, there are other important maritime elements to the conflict…
Two Cargo Ships Hit by Blasts around Ukraine, One Seafarer Killed
An Estonian-owned cargo ship sank on Thursday off Ukraine's major Black Sea port of Odessa, hours after a Bangladeshi vessel was hit by a missile or bomb at a port east of Odessa…
Russian Troops Enter Strategic Ukrainian Port of Kherson
Russian troops were in the center of the Ukrainian port of Kherson on Thursday after a day of conflicting claims over whether Moscow had captured a major urban center for the first time in its eight-day invasion.Russia's defense ministry said it had captured Kherson on Wednesday but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded that Ukrainian forces continued to defend the Black Sea port of about 250…
From Mines to AIS Spoofing, Assessing the Risks to Shipping in the Black Sea
Commercial ships are being advised of the high risk operating in the Black Sea following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, with various reports of missile attacks on commercial ship, plus warning of the waters containing mines.According to a press release from the NATO Shipping Center (NSC), there is a high risk of collateral damage on civilian shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, citing…
Turkey Urges Respect for Black Sea Straits Pact After Closing Access
Turkey is calling on all sides in the Ukraine crisis to respect an international pact on passage through the Turkish straits to the Black Sea, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar was cited as saying on Tuesday after Ankara closed access.NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Ankara has the right to limit transit through…
Invoking Montreux Convention, Turkey Closes Access to the Black Sea
Turkey is calling on all sides in the Ukraine crisis to respect an international pact on passage through the Turkish straits to the Black Sea, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was cited as saying on Tuesday after Ankara closed access.NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Ankara has the right to limit transit through its straits during wartime.This allows it to curb Russian warships going to the Black Sea.
Russian Warships Curb Tilts Turkey to West, Risks Russia's Ire
Turkey’s pledge to block some Russian warships from passing through its waters to the Black Sea during the Ukraine crisis could help repair its ties with NATO, even as it risks reprisals from Moscow.But a buildup of Russian ships waiting to make the journey will test Ankara’s resolve over the next few days and show how far it is willing to go in tilting its uniquely delicate diplomatic balance between…
Turkey Can't Stop Russian Warships Accessing Black Sea, Says Foreign Minister
Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to block Russian warships from passing through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits which lead to the Black Sea, after Moscow on Thursday launched a full-blown assault on Ukraine from land, air, and sea.
NATO Leaves Black Sea Exposed as Russia Invades Ukraine
When Russia attacked Ukraine, the nearest naval vessel of a major NATO ally was in the Mediterranean. The last such ship from a major naval member of the Western military alliance left the Black Sea – an area roughly the size of California bordering Russia, Ukraine and NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania – over a month ago.A French warship completed a tour in early January and no major NATO naval ally has patrolled its waters since…
Marine Insurers Add Russian, Ukrainian Waters to High Risk List
London’s marine insurance market on Tuesday added the Ukrainian and Russian waters around the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to its list of areas deemed high risk as tensions persist in the region, a senior official said.Guidance from the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched…
More than 30 Russian Ships Conduct Drills Near Crimea
More than 30 ships from the Russian Black Sea fleet have started training exercises near the Crimea peninsula as part of wider navy drills, RIA news agency reported on Saturday citing the fleet, as Western nations warned that a war in Ukraine could ignite at any moment.Russia's military moves are being closely scrutinized as its massing of troops near Ukraine and a volley of hawkish rhetoric have rattled the West and sparked concern it plans to invade Ukraine.
Six Russian Warships Transiting to Black Sea for Drills
Six Russian warships are heading to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean for naval drills, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's Defence Ministry as saying on Tuesday, in what it said was a pre-planned movement of military resources.Russia announced last month its navy would stage a sweeping set of exercises involving all its fleets in January and February, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, in the…
Biden: Nord Stream 2 Will Be Halted if Russia Invades Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted if Russia invades Ukraine and stressed unity with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the West rallies to avert a war in Europe.At a White House press conference with the new German leader, Biden, a longtime opponent of the decade-old pipeline project to Germany from Russia, said Russian forces crossing into Ukraine would trigger a shutdown."If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the ...
Russian FSRU Back in Baltic Amid Tensions Over Ukraine, Gas Supplies
A huge Russian gas vessel, designed to safeguard supplies to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has returned to the Baltic Sea region, tracking data showed on Wednesday…
Getting to the Bottom of the Navies' Mine Warfare Challenges
To find the mine warfare challenge with the highest degree of difficulty, start at the bottom.Lurking unseen below the surface, naval mines pose a serious problem. They’re cheap, relatively easy to deploy and can inflict heavy damage against even the most sophisticated warships. They can be hard to detect and difficult to counter. What you can’t see can hurt you. And the most difficult mines to find and eliminate are bottom and buried mines.
Germany Signals it Could Halt Nord Stream 2 Pipeline if Russia Invades Ukraine
Germany signaled on Tuesday that it could halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia if Moscow invades Ukraine, and Western nations rallied behind Kyiv over a Russian troop buildup that has stoked fears of war.Stepping up diplomacy after talks with Russia ended in stalemate last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Kyiv on Wednesday before heading to Berlin to discuss "joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine" with German…
US Patrol Boats Sent to Beef Up Ukrainian Navy Near Black Sea
A ship carrying two refitted former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats designed to beef up the Ukrainian Navy transited the Dardanelles strait on Saturday days after Ukraine said it feared Russia might be preparing an attack on it.The ship carrying the two Island-class patrol boats departed Baltimore for the Ukrainian port of Odessa on November 8. Ukrainian sailors have already undergone extensive training on the vessels in the United States.