Villagers carry the body of a dead gunmen that was killed on Saturday for removal at Simunul village in Sabah’s Semporna district. Reuters Photo
The standoff between the Malaysian armed forces and followers of the Sultanate of Sulu, who three weeks prior invaded the Malaysian province of Sabah, Borneo, escalated Tuesday. Read More
USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in February. US Navy Photo
Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) will depart for a Middle East and the Mediterranean deployment on Friday, U.S. Fleet Forces told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
Sean Stackley at a June 15, 2012 ceremony at the Pentagon. U.S. Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy’s chief shipbuilder is defending Monday’s $1.4 billion awards for the next four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in the midst of the current congressional battle over military funding, the service told USNI News on Monday. Read More
An Aegis interceptor is launched from the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) during a Missile Defense Agency and Navy test in the mid-Pacific. US Navy Photo
Lockheed Martin beat Boeing and Raytheon to win a $100.7 million contract to for five years worth of upgrades to the Aegis combat system, Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More
U.S. Coast Guardsmen unload 3,500 pounds of cocaine in Miami March 16, 2012. The crew seized the cocaine from a 35-foot vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Martillo. US Coast Guard Photo
U.S. Navy frigates will stop patrolling for drug runners by April because of forced sequestration budget cuts, a Navy spokesman told USNI News on Monday.
On Saturday, U.S. 4th Fleet was informed by Navy leadership it would suspend deployments of two ships—part of the Joint Interagency Task Force South’s Operation Martillo—by April because of the 1 March sequestration cuts, said the 4th Fleet’s Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker. Read More
Type 056 Jiangdao class frigate under construction. Xinhua News Agency.
The first 056 class No. 582 was officially handed over to PLAN on Feb. 25 as Wu Shengli, Commander of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) personally came to inspect the ship. While it is referred to as light frigate by Chinese news, the ship should be classified as a corvette or offshore patrol vessel (OPV) based on its size and displacements. This class is expected to be the next mass produced PLAN shipping class. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus at Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan on February, 21 2013. US Navy Photo
DTG 022300Z Mar 13
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Cameroon navy Lt. j.g. Yves Itondo during Exercise Obangame Expressin February. The exercise is an at-sea maritime exercise designed to improve cooperation among participating nations to promote maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. US Navy Photo
Portions of this article were first published with OCEANUS Live
Pity the Somali pirates, who after an abysmal year in 2012, have only managed to (unsuccessfully) attack two vessels thus far in 2013. Piracy is now much more lucrative in West Africa, where there have been at least 10 reported attacks in the past month alone. In the waters of Nigeria, a dozen mariners from three separate vessels were kidnapped by pirates during a single 10-day period. Côte d’Ivoire had never witnessed the hijacking and large-scale robbery of an oil tanker before October 2012, but already has had two such vessels pilfered from its waters this year. Read More
A Malaysian sailor stands guard on the beach near Lahad Datu on Feb .19 . Reuters Photo
A dramatic three-week standoff on the island of Borneo claimed its first lives Friday, as Malaysian security forces exchanged gunfire—possibly using mortars—with the so-called Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu.Early reports indicate that 10 to 12 sultanate forces, two Malaysian police commandos, and the owner of a house taken by the sultan’s followers were killed in the battle, with further injuries on both sides. Read More
ima Black, widow of the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy , Delbert Black, visits the grave of her late husband on Sept. 27. US Navy Photo
The ten percent sequestration cuts across the Department of Defense budget will increase wait times at Arlington National Cemetery, a cemetery spokesperson told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
