Plastic pollution in the oceans was a focus of the recent UN Ocean Conference, which issued a statement in support of an earlier decision by the UN Environment Assembly to begin negotiations on a global plastics treaty. It is estimated that around half of the plastic pollution in the oceans is caused by some 4.5 million fishing vessels operating in national and international...
It's only a 50-second video, but it gives an insight into winter in the southern hemisphere - in Chile. To be more precise, it is the protective pier of the Valparaíso naval base about 70 kilometres west of the capital Santiago de Chile. Very nice to see on Google Maps with five frigates...
As is well known, Iran does not have long-range large combat ships, but it knows how to help itself in one way or another. It demonstrated this to high-ranking military leaders in mid-July and reported on it in the state media. This coincided with the American warning that Russia was planning to use...
Albania has been a member of NATO since 2009 and is endeavouring to meet the associated obligations and standards in armed forces matters. Albania is also on the waiting list for EU membership and is not making any real progress. The defence budget is stagnating at 1.5% (by no means a reproach!), the country was the focus of the major exercise with Ukraine...
Another ship loss At the beginning of July, the Russian navy lost "D-106", one of the five small Ondatra-class landing craft (project 1176, 150 tonnes) stationed in the Black Sea. The boat ran aground off Mariupol on one of the mines laid by the Russian navy itself. Snake Island (Smijinyi) Just a few days later - on the other...
Update from 12.07.2022 At the beginning of July, Whitehall in London confirmed that RFA Argus will remain in service with the Royal Navy until after 2030 after all. Contrary to what was initially planned for financial reasons (and repeatedly brought up for discussion in difficult budget situations), RFA Argus is not yet to receive its Blue...
On Friday, 8 July 2022, the "Belgorod" (project 09852) was handed over to the Russian Navy. The ceremonial signing of the acceptance protocol and the handover, during which the St Andrew's flag is hoisted in accordance with Russian procedure, took place at the Sevmash shipyard (Severodvinsk/Arkhangelsk). A press release from the shipyard states that the management of the...
First things first: The Royal Australian Navy has a new Chief since the day before yesterday, 6 July 2022! Vice Admiral Mark Hammond succeeded the "outgoing" Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, who had led Australia's navy "down under" for the last four years. During his time, the unpredictable pandemic, the fiercest bushfires...
On the morning of 7 July 2022, the Russian frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" (Hull number 454) passed through the Fehmarnbelt. The ship, which belongs to the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation, is expected to take part in the Russian Navy's naval parade in Kronstadt/St. Petersburg. Remarkably, the 3D surveillance radar FURKE rotated. This appears to be unusual in that Russian units in the Russian...
An online article in the EU magazine euractiv takes a look at Ukraine's faltering grain exports and underpins it with very catchy graphics. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country exported 4 to 5 million tonnes of grain per month, mainly to countries in Africa and the Middle East. This trade was 90 %...
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