Pirated ship catches fire off Somalia, crew rescued

Somali pirates rescued nineteen crew members of the MV ORNA after their hijacked ship caught fire off the Horn of Africa country's coast, pirates and residents said yesterday.

The Panama-flagged bulk cargo vessel seized last December is owned by the United Arab Emirates, and was hijacked by the pirates on December 20 some 400 miles northeast of the Seychelles.

It was not clear how the ship caught fire, or the type of cargo the vessel was carrying when it was seized. The pirates said the cargo and the ship's engines were not damaged by the fire, but the crew's living quarters were destroyed.

Israel to stop Gaza flotilla regardless of cargo

Israel will do everything necessary to prevent a planned international flotilla from reaching Gaza, despite the fact the ships will probably not be carrying weapons, a senior military source said.

The source, who declined to be named, said Israel's maritime blockade would only be deemed legal if it imposed a total exclusion zone around the small Palestinian enclave and urged the flotilla organisers not to challenge the navy."No ship will get into Gaza," the source said, adding that the military had drawn up new tactics in an effort to avoid last year's bloodshed, when Israeli marines killed nine activists after intercepting their group of six ships in international waters.


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New Australian Naval Combat Helicopters

Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that the Australian Government had approved the acquisition of 24 MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopters at a cost of over $3 billion.

The 2009 Defence White Paper committed the Government to equipping naval warships with a new combat helicopter capable of conducting a range of maritime misions with advanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities and the ability to fire air-to-surface missiles.

Royal Navy takes part in largest submarine rescue exercise

Royal Navy personnel have joined 2,000 sailors from 13 nations for the world's largest submarine rescue exercise, off the south-eastern tip of Spain.

The ten days of NATO Exercise Bold Monarch witnessed an international effort to bring trapped submariners from four boats to the surface.

The exercise is run every three years to test the ability of allied teams - including the UK-based NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) - to react to the two most terrifying words in a submariner's vocabulary: submiss and subsunk.

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Indian Navy Chief visiting Moscow next month

NEW DELHI (PTI): In the backdrop of the Russian Navy backing out of a joint exercise with the Indian Navy at the last minute, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma will travel to Moscow next month for discussions with the country's top military leadership.

The Navy chief will meet the top military leadership of Russia and discuss ongoing military projects such as the retrofit of Admiral Gorshkov and construction of the three Talwar class frigates there, officials said here.

Pak Navy launches fourth F22P frigate

KARACHI (BNS): Pakistan Navy has launched its fourth F22P frigate at the Karachi Shipyard on Thursday.

The frigate, the last of the series of warships being built with Chinese assistance, was launched during a ceremony at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW), the official APP news agency reported.

Pakistani Navy Chief Admiral Noman Bashir, who was present on the occasion, said that launching of the warship was an important milestone and “yet another example of unparallel Pak-China relations.”

NEW NAVAL COMBAT HELICOPTERS ANNOUNCED

Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that the Australian Government had approved the acquisition of 24 MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopters at a cost of over $3 billion.

The 2009 Defence White Paper committed the Government to equipping naval warships with a new combat helicopter capable of conducting a range of maritime misions with advanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities and the ability to fire air-to-surface missiles.

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MORE WOMEN AT SEA IN SUBMARINES

Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon has cleared the way for more women to serve in Navy submarines by formally approving shared female and male accommodation on board every boat.

Mr Snowdon said the move, which was a recommendation of the previous Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Russ Crane, is a major step forward for women in the Australian Defence Force and has the full support of new Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs and his leadership team.

“This move will ensure that our female submariners access the same training and career-progression opportunities as their male crewmates.

Falklands landing craft crew honoured by HMS Bulwark

ON A fine late spring evening a Royal Marines Commando casts a wreath into the English Channel as his shipmates stand rigidly to attention on HMS Bulwark in memory of past sacrifices.

Twenty-nine years to the day earlier, forebears from Bulwark’s predecessor HMS Fearless were killed in the later stages of the Falklands conflict.

Six men were lost when landing craft Foxtrot 4 from Fearless’ Royal Marines unit 4 Assault Squadron was attacked by Argentine aircraft in Choiseul Sound on June 8 1982.

Sutherland pays tribute to the fallen of Crete and Greece

UNDER the piercing eastern Mediterranean sun, sailors from HMS Sutherland salute the fallen of the short – but brutal – struggle for Crete at 70th anniversary commemorations of ‘the lost battle’.

The ten-day struggle for the island was among the most ferocious fought in World War 2 – and claimed a particularly heavy toll of the Royal Navy.

The Mediterranean Fleet was stretched to breaking point in its efforts trying to stop the Germans reinforce their paratroopers landed on Crete using the sea lanes from Greek mainland.

Those efforts by the Royal Navy were largely successful – but the Luftwaffe sank or badly damaged 30 warships at a cost of more than 2,200 lives.

Fire Scout UAV Supports Operations in Afghanistan

The Navy’s Fire Scout is proving its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability during its first land-based deployment in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

The Fire Scout, managed by Navy and Marine Corps Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Air Systems program office (PMA-266), deployed in late April to CENTCOM in response to a DoD ISR Task Force request to provide ISR services in northern Afghanistan.

In nine months, PMA-266, in conjunction with ISR task force leadership and Northrop Grumman, conducted site surveys of various basing locations, interfaced with key leadership personnel in the CENTCOM chain of command, planned and executed deployment preparations and sustainment for joint and allied military operations in Regional Command North, Afghanistan.

Navy contracts for new frigate optical radar trackers

The South African Navy has awarded Reutech Radar Systems a R8.417 million contract to research and development a replacement optical radar tracker (ORT) for the sea service's Valour-class frigates. Each of the four in commission is fitted with one ORT and one electro-optical tracker (EOT). The contract follows a R1.995 million contract awarded in January. 

The company declined to comment on the nature of the work, but defence analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman says the deal is probably “partly an upgrade and partly a replacement of the laser range-finders, which I gather did not perform as well as hoped. That is an issue of which frequency is best in the most likely conditions.”
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SADC defence chiefs to talk maritime security next week

The chiefs of the armed forces of the Southern African Development Community will be meeting next week in South Africa to discuss a maritime safety strategy for the regional bloc in light of the increased probability of piracy and other crime at sea in its territorial and adjacent waters. 

“The South African government will work with all SADC countries to fight piracy, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu said yesterday at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on piracy and trans-border crime. “ This is our obligation to ensure smooth movement of goods in the SADC waters. We continue to work with all SADC countries and institutions to address piracy,” Sisulu said in Pretoria. 

 

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Rescue operations in Japan affected Indo-Russian war games

NEW DELHI (PTI): The annual naval exercise between India and Russia took a hit last month after the Russian side cited engagement of their ships in rescue operations in the Tsunami-hit Japan.

"Russian Navy had deployed some of its warships for rescue efforts in Japan. They had already informed us that they will not able to pledge any warship for the exercise due to their engagement in Japan," Navy spokesperson Commander P V S Satish said.

General Dynamics NASSCO gets $744 million contract

SAN DIEGO (BNS): General Dynamics NASSCO has received from the US Navy a $744 million modification to its Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) contract to fully fund construction of the first two ships of the new ship class. 

Construction of the first ship will begin immediately, with delivery to occur by the spring of 2013. The contract includes an option for the construction of a third MLP which, if exercised, will increase the total contract value to approximately $1.3 billion, a company statement said.