Other Navies News

02.01.2010 Somali pirates seem to use Asian Glory as mother ship
Somali pirates took automobile carrier Asian Glory hijacked on Jan 2 to the ocean probably to use it as a mother ship; there are 10 Ukrainian crewmen on board. Asian Glory became the second ship captured by Somali pirates in 2010.

01.29.2010 S Korea to place radars on the border with DPRK
South Korean armed forces intend to deploy radars next to sea border with DPRK in the Yellow Sea; the radars are capable to detect positions of N Korean artillery systems. Radars of this type had been previously deployed at those regions due to tension progressed at Korean peninsula.

01.29.2010 EU applauded China's intention to lead international counter-piracy activities
Late 2009 official China declared its readiness to lead international anti-piracy efforts off Somalia where sail dozens of Chinese ships. Participation of Chinese Navy in international naval operation on securing navigation off Somalia will improve piracy situation near Horn of Africa.

01.29.2010 Somali pirates captured Cambodian ship off port Berbera
Somali pirates hijacked Cambodian cargo vessel Layla-S on Thursday. The capture occurred off the port of Berbera located north Somalia and controlled by unrecognized state Somaliland. Crew consists of Pakistani, Indians, Ceylonese, Syrians and Somalis.

01.27.2010 Storage battery to be loaded in Zaporizhzhia sub this week
Works on loading storage battery in Ukrainian submarine Zaporizhzhia will be completely finished till the end of the current week. Assembly of all battery service systems are in progress, as well as preparation of the sub for mooring trials.

01.27.2010 Artillery skirmish between Pyongyang and Seoul
DPRK and South Korea exchanged artillery fire Wednesday morning at the Yellow Sea; the incident happened near Northern Limit Line which is the subject of border dispute between Pyongyang and Seoul. N Korea does not recognize sea border as it was unilaterally set after Korean War of 1950-1953.

01.26.2010 US Navy wrote off oldest nuc sub
US Navy wrote off nuclear-powered submarine Los Angeles which was commissioned in 1976. In the nearest future the sub will sail its last cruise to Puget Sound Naval Ship Yard, Bremerton for further utilization. After decommission of USS Los Angeles, 44 submarines of the project remains at the US Navy roll.

01.25.2010 Turkmenia to establish Naval Force
Turkmenian President approved National Naval Force Development Program. Before transformation into Naval Force, Turkmenian Navy was subordinated to border service command. The main naval base is located at the port of Turkmenbashi; total manpower with coastal services is up to 2,000 men.

01.22.2010 SR helicopter crashed in the sea off Spain
Helicopter of Spanish maritime rescue service was wrecked over the Mediterranean, off southeast Spain. There were four men on board the helicopter. One of them was picked up from water with frigorism and head injury; other aircrew members of wrecked helicopter have not been found so far.

01.19.2010 French armed forces to get 60 Rafale in 2015
French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) tied a delivery contract with Dassault Aviation of 60 additional fighters Rafale. The contract cost is not reported. According to its terms, French Navy and Air Force will start to receive aircrafts since 2015.

01.19.2010 Somali pirates released Greek supertanker
Somali pirates released Greek supertanker Maran Centaurus. The supertanker with 275,000 tonnes of oil onboard was captured by pirates 800 km off Seychelles on Nov 29. The ship's crew is 28, including two Ukrainians, nine Greeks, sixteen Filipinos and one Romanian.

01.18.2010 Pakistan got first advanced patrol aircrafts
Lockheed Martin delivered first two advanced coast patrol aircrafts P-3C Orion to Pakistan. The contract on Orion upgrade was signed between Lockheed Martin and Pakistani Navy in 2006. According to the contract terms, Lockheed Martin will be involved in maintenance of Pakistani aircrafts.

01.15.2010 BAE Systems to test guided missile for next gen destroyers
US Navy tied up a $185.3 mln contract with BAE Systems on conducting qualification tests of ship-to-shore long-range land-attack projectile (LRLAP). Those projectiles are supposed to be on service of prospective American Zumwalt-class destroyers also known as DDG-1000.

01.14.2010 Yanukovich promised to settle BSF issue
Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine's presidential candidate and the leader of opposition Party of Regions declared that in case of election win he would settle the matter of Russian Black Sea Fleet deployment in Ukraine without backlash for relations between the two countries but with regard to national interests.

01.13.2010 Taiwan intends to buy secondhand US frigates
Taiwan intends to purchase eight secondhand Perry-class frigates from the U.S. The island state will upgrade them with Aegis multifunction tactical data system and new missile launchers. Consequently, Taiwanese Perry-class fleet will be increased up to 16 frigates.

01.12.2010 German Navy lacks munitions
German Navy's officials stated that the fleet had faced serious deficiency in munitions which allegedly could not be eliminated soon. One of the reasons for munitions shortage is increase in amount and intensity of Bundeswehr's overseas missions. Nevertheless, lack of munitions will not affect key overseas missions.

12.30.2009 Greek authorities recognized two vessels were captured by pirates
Somali pirates hijacked the second ship in a day which is a Greek dry cargo ship. Cargo vessel Navios Apollon with Philippine and Greek crewmen aboard was captured on Monday 240 miles northeast Seychelles. Dry cargo ship Navios Apollon sailed under Panama flag from Florida (USA) to India with the cargo of fertilizers.

12.25.2009 Swedish Navy obtained first stealth corvettes
Swedish shipbuilding company Kockums delivered two Visby-class stealth corvettes to national Navy. According to military officials, the corvettes are ready in full to conduct naval operations like minesweeping, antisubmarine defense, antisurface warfare and reconnaissance.

12.22.2009 Sailors of Dutch frigate will see Xmas together with pirates
The crew of Royal Netherlands Navy frigate got stuck in the Gulf of Aden with 13 Somali pirates on board few days before Christmas. No country wants to take care of the criminals. Italian vessel has come to shift the Dutch one, although RNN Evertsen will not return home while there are pirates aboard.

12.21.2009 India will call foreigners to build stealth corvettes
Indian Navy intends to issue a tender on construction stealth ASW corvettes under project 28 by the end of 2009. Foreign companies will participate in the tender which winner is to provide technology of composite hull to Indian shipbuilding company GRSE.