Japan pulls out of tri-nation naval war games

NEW DELHI (PTI): Japan has pulled out of the tri-nation Malabar series of war games in the wake of the devastating earthquake-tsunami and nuclear radiation leaks, even as the Indian and the US navies will be starting the exercise on April 2 in the western Pacific Ocean.

The visit by Indian warships to the Japanese port city of Okinawa has also been called off, Navy officials said here.

The navies of India and the US will now exercise in the western Pacific Ocean involving their destroyers, frigates and submarines.

Trusty Lynx makes its last appearance at sea

ORDINARILY we wouldn’t get too excited by the site of a Lynx and a warship.

But this is no ordinary Lynx. This is last Mk3 to ever touch the deck of one of Her Majesty’s warships – in this instance, HMS Ocean.

After more than 30 years’ service the trusty Mk3 has completed its final operational flight – an uneventful (which is how we like our flights) 35-minute hop from the helicopter carrier in the Channel to the home of the Lynx, RNAS Yeovilton.

S Korean Navy launches third Aegis destroyer

SEOUL (BNS): The South Korean Navy Thursday launched its third Aegis destroyer, the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, at a Hyundai Heavy Industries’ facility near Seoul.

The 7,600-ton warship, equipped with the US-made state-of-the-art Aegis air defence system, was handed over to the Navy by its builder the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. at its Ulsan facility near Seoul, the official Yonhap news agency said.

The Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is the third King Sejong the Great class of destroyers, which are also called KDX-III class of warships.

Sunken ships will be listed as potentially hazardous

Divers of EMERCOM Maritime Rescue Service will explore Kaliningrad Bay and waters off Kurshskaya Bar. According to them, such monitoring is needed because of huge number of hazardous underwater objects which are more than 80. 

Primarily, those are wrecked WW2 warships. German gun cruiser Dragon, destroyers, ammunition-carrying barges, and even submarines lay on the seabed near Baltiysk. Among them are two Soviet subs scuppered in battle. Detected ships will be entered into regional and all-Russian list of hazardous underwater objects. 

Republic of South Africa dispatched first ship to fight piracy

Republic of South Africa sent the first warship to counter piracy in the Mozambique Channel, reported broadcasting corporation SABC on Feb 13. 

Frigate Mendi will join other 5 frigates and 18 smaller warships in the anti-piracy campaign. 

In Dec 2010 Somali pirates failed to capture two vessels in the Mozambique Channel which was their southernmost assault. 

According to International Maritime Bureau, Somali pirates currently hold 31 vessels and 700 hostages.

Iran warns foreign warships in Persian Gulf

"The transit of ships via Persian Gulf is not illegal, but presence of foreign warships in the Persian Gulf on the pretext of thwarting threats is unacceptable," Firouzabadi said. 

He said that the Iranian navy fleet is in full control of the region investigating destination and cargo of any ship or vessel moving to pass through the area. 

"The Iranian navy warships are stationed in the Persian Gulf waters and they permit the transit of foreign ships after registering their name and other details," he added. 

He noted that the transit of American, British, French and Russian vessels to the Persian Gulf are taking place for many years and it shows their grudge for the region's oil resources. 

"The foreign countries have signed pacts with each other according to which each of them account for some the expenses of their presence in the region for plundering the region's oil resources," Major-General Firouzabadi said. 

France's decision to sell two warships to Russia has sparked controversy

France's decision to sell two warships to Russia has sparked controversy, with Russia's neighbors, mainly, suggesting that Paris may have forged the way for other Western countries to deal with the Kremlin in trade ranging from high-tech military equipment to oil rights.
The deal, negotiated for months, marks the first major defense sale between a NATO member state and Russia.

"I think this is a mistake," Lithuanian Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene told reporters as the Paris government trumpeted its success, writing "France wins" on the presidential palace Web site.
"This is a precedent, when a NATO and EU member sells offensive weaponry to a country whose democracy is not at a level that would make us feel calm."
Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia -- which were ruled by Moscow until 1991 -- have been the most vocal critics of the deal since talks began between France and Russia in 2009. Washington, at the time, also expressed reservations about the sale.