Category: Security policy

Senate confirms new commander of the US Coast Guard

The first woman to head the US Coast Guard (marineforum reported: https://marineforum.online). Vice Admiral Linda Fagan has now been confirmed as the new Commandant, officially making her the first woman in uniform to head a branch of the armed forces. The decision was made late Wednesday evening during the final session and was passed unanimously by the senators. During her hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee last month, lawmakers praised both her qualifications and the historic nature of her appointment. On Wednesday, Senator Maria Cantwell - chair of the committee - reiterated those themes again on the Senate floor before final confirmation. "We send...

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Indian Ocean Commission supports African island states in the fight against maritime crime

The "Baba Ali", a Seychellois fishing vessel, was transiting through the Seychelles Economic Zone when the authorities intercepted it with a drug cargo in May 2021. As part of an operation coordinated by the Seychelles Air Force, the Seychelles Coast Guard and the National Information Exchange and Coordination Centre, the authorities boarded the vessel and inspected it. The finds - heroin and hashish worth around 1.2 million dollars - show the extent of the threat posed by the regional drug trade. The seizure of the drugs and the arrest of three other Seychellois nationals and four Indonesian nationals show that the efforts of the Coordination Centre are...

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Autonomous warfare: joint exercise between Australia, the USA and the UK

Over the next 11 days, Australia, in co-operation with the United States and the United Kingdom, will conduct joint exercises at sea and test the latest autonomous warfare technologies at its naval school HMAS Creswell. The exercise, led by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), will test and evaluate unmanned, robotic and autonomous systems in Jervis Bay, the nearby Eastern Australian Training Area and in the sky. Exercise Autonomous Warrior 2022 (AW22) is the setting for a simulated next-generation naval battlefield. The exercise will involve around 300 personnel from 40 organisations from the three countries mentioned above, and will test cutting-edge technologies to...

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Chinese reconnaissance ship off Western Australia

People "down under" don't like it when a reconnaissance vessel approaches the continent - and then flies the Chinese flag on top of it! This is what happened at the beginning of the month when the AGI survey vessel "Haiwangxing" of the Dongdiao class (Type 815A) was observed travelling up and down the west coast. Not in territorial waters, but still in the Exclusive Economic Zone - and not far (50 nautical miles) from the Harold E. Holt communications station just north of Exmouth / North West Cape, which serves the submarines of the Australian, American and other allied navies in particular. "Non-bridging" Chinese ships have recently been increasingly seen north of...

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France's maritime solution for Ukraine refugees

While in Europe the refugees pushing northwards by sea from Africa tend to be handled with pointed fingers by the countries bordering the Mediterranean, France has found a lean, maritime solution for the women and children fleeing from Ukraine. On the initiative of the managing director of the ferry shipping company Corsica-Linea, a Mediterranean ferry that was laid up due to coronavirus restrictions and significantly reduced passenger volumes was offered to the state institutions very early on as accommodation for 800 people - until normal ferry business resumes in the summer. "Méditerranée" - the ship The "Méditerranée", which normally travels between France and Algeria with its ten passenger and two vehicle decks, has been...

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