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TEHRAN, July 30 (UPI) -- Iran has deployed a flotilla of warships and support vessels into the Gulf of Aden, the second in recent weeks, and says it also plans to establish a new naval base in the Gulf of Oman, at the southern end of the chokepoint Strait of Hormuz. This expanding naval activity by the Iranians may be intended to counter a recent increase in Israeli naval deployments. It also takes place against a backdrop of widening political turmoil in Tehran following the disputed re-election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on June 12 that has caused international unease...

Two Israeli navy ships made a rare crossing of Egypt's Suez Canal Tuesday, headed from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea in the latest of "unusual" navy drills spotted in Suez over the past month, a port source told AFP. One of the ships, the Hanit, already crossed the canal both ways in June, in what the source said was the first case of a large Israeli warship using the strategic waterway, although this was not possible to confirm officially.

ABOARD USS RONALD REAGAN AT SEA, July 6, 2009 – The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group relieved the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group today in command of Task Force 50 and launched its first sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 22 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, July 6, 2009. Ronald Reagan relieved USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in command of Task Force 50 and launched its first sorties into Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Apprentice Oliver Cole  (Click...

A North Korean ship being tracked by the United States Navy on suspicion of transporting weapons to Burma has turned around, US officials have said. They said they did not know where the ship was now heading, but South Korean media said it was going home. The UN passed a tough sanctions resolution, Number 1874, allowing for inspections of air, ship and land shipments in and out of North Korea. The resolution followed North Korea's nuclear and missile tests in May. The Kang Nam 1 ship set sail from North Korea on 17 June and appeared to be bound for...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official says a North Korean ship has turned around and is headed back the way it came, after being tracked for days by American vessels on suspicion it was carrying illicit weapons. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, says it is unclear whether the Kang Nam is going back to its home port in North Korea or diverting elsewhere.

Seoul: A North Korean ship being tracked by the US is believed to be sailing toward Myanmar, South Korea's television network YTN has quoted an unidentified South Korean intelligence source as saying. In what would be the first test case for new UN Security Council agreed sanctions, US officials said on Thursday the American Navy had begun tracking a North Korean-flagged ship which may be carrying illicit weapons. The officials said the ship left a port in North Korea on Wednesday and was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China on Thursday. Seoul's Defence Ministry and Unification Ministry...

Pictured: The massive floating destroyer the Americans are sending to keep North Korean missiles at bay By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 19th June 2009 USS John McCain: The destroyer has been deployed to intercept a North Korean vessel suspected of carrying illicit weapons The U.S. military is planning to intercept a North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit nuclear materials and missiles. Navy destroyer the USS John McCain has been deployed to intercept the Kang Nam as it leaves the coast of China, according to a senior US defence official. The ship, which left a port in North Korea on Wednesday,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy is monitoring a North Korean ship at sea under new U.N. sanctions that bar Pyongyang from exporting weapons including missile parts and nuclear materials, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

<p>A ship named Kang Nam left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying missile parts or nuclear materials in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.</p> <p>Thursday, June 18, 2009 The U.S. military is tracking the North Korean ship shown here, called the Kang Nam.</p>

U.S.Military Tracking North Korean Ship Suspected of Proliferating Missiles, Nukes A ship named Kang Nam left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying missile parts or nuclear materials in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. FOXNews.com Thursday, June 18, 2009 The U.S. military is tracking a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. The ship, Kang Nam, left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials. The U.S. military has been...

Iran has sent six warships into international waters in a move security experts are calling a "muscle flexing" show of defiance following missile tests last week."Iran has dispatched six ... warships to international waters and the Gulf of Aden region in a historically unprecedented move by the Iranian Navy," Iranian Adm. Habibollah Sayyari told a gathering of armed forces officials, Reuters reported. Sayyari said the ships were moved to preserve Iran's territorial integrity in its southern waters, but foreign policy experts are calling it an aggressive move targeted at a Western audience as much as for regional powers like...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has sent six warships to international waters, including the Gulf of Aden, to show its ability to confront any foreign threats, its naval commander said on Monday. Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, quoted by the ISNA news agency, made the announcement five days after Iran said it test-fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,200 miles), putting Israel and U.S. bases in the area within reach. Iran said on May 14 it had sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect oil tankers from the world's fifth-largest crude exporter against attacks by pirates...

Navy warships dispatched as Spain invades seas around Gibraltar Royal Navy warships have forced heavily armed Spanish ships to retreat from British waters around Gibraltar. Relations between the 30,000 residents of the British outpost and mainland Spain have become strained following what the Foreign Office described as 'a violation of British sovereignty'. The warships were dispatched after Spanish ships sent boarding parties to inspect fishing boats in British waters, despite having no authority to do so. DISPUTE: Inhabitants are concerned the Spanish authorities want to control the British outpost of GibraltarThe Rock's inhabitants fear Spain could damage their economy by...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy is moving a huge amphibious ship closer to the scene of the pirate hostage standoff off Somalia. Defense officials say the USS Boxer will be nearby soon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive ship movements. The Boxer is the flag ship for a multination anti-piracy task force. The Boxer resembles a small aircraft carrier. It has a crew of more than 1,000, a mobile hospital, missile launchers and about two dozen helicopters and attack planes. Two other Navy ships are expected to remain much closer to...

NAIROBI, Kenya – Escalating a dramatic Indian Ocean standoff, more U.S. warships — as well as pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages — rushed Friday toward the spot where four Somali bandits are holding a U.S. sea captain aboard a drifting lifeboat.

US warship reaches Somali coast Pirates are believed to be holding Capt Richard Phillips hostage An American warship, the USS Bainbridge, has reached the area off the coast of Somalia where a cargo ship was seized by pirates a day earlier. US crew members have recaptured their ship but the captain is still being held hostage by the attackers. The pirates' boat is floating near the Maersk Alabama, its owners told the Associated Press. Officials are waiting for sunrise to see what happens. The ship was taken about 500km (311 miles) off Somalia's coast. Other US vessels are speeding towards...

The U.S. is closing in on pirates that hijacked a U.S.-flagged ship off the coast of Somalia. According to a spokesman for the owner of the Maersk Alabama, which had been hijacked by pirates before American crew members were able to regain control of the vessel Wednesday, a U.S. Navy warship arrived at the scene Wednesday night. The ship's captain still is being held hostage on a smaller boat. Family members said Capt. Richard Phillips surrendered himself to the pirates to secure the safety of the crew. "What I understand is that he offered himself as the hostage," said Gina...

The U.S. deployed two missile-interceptor ships from South Korea on Monday, days ahead of a North Korean rocket launch seen by many as a test of its longest-range missile.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Navy ships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles are being moved to the Sea of Japan, a Navy spokesman said. The USS Chaffee is one of two destroyers headed to South Korea for an upcoming ceremony. The USS Chaffee is one of two destroyers headed to South Korea for an upcoming ceremony. The move came as North Korea was preparing for an expected rocket launch next month. Later Thursday, Japan announced it was ready to fire on the rocket if any part of it enters Japanese airspace.

A U.S. Navy commander will lead a new international force to battle pirates off the coast of Somalia. More than 20 nations are expected to take part in the mission once it is fully underway later this month. The announcement Thursday by U.S. Navy officials in Bahrain did not list the countries participating, but said the new force will be headed by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Terence McKnight. Merchant fleets have been calling for a stronger military response to pirates after a sharp escalation in attacks last year. At least 111 ships were attacked and more than 40 of them...

My former son in law was aboard the ENTERPRISE. It is so tough on families to be separated for so long a period. My daughter was devasted that it would be even longer this time. 11 September 2001: Enterprise was beginning her voyage home from the Persian Gulf. Watching a U.S. morning news show live (although locally in the early evening) the crew saw the U.S. report that the Al Qaeda terrorist network has launched attacks on New York's World Trade Center and Washington D.C.'s Pentagon. The Enterprise was ordered to turn around and headed back to the waters off...

A US navy flagship has steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions once again in the tinderbox Caucasus region. A previous trip by American warships was cancelled at the last minute a week ago amid fears that an armed stand off could erupt in the Black Sea port of Poti.

A US Navy flagship carrying humanitarian aid yesterday steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions once again in the tinderbox Caucasus region. A previous trip by US warships was cancelled at the last minute a week ago amid fears that an armed stand-off could intensify in the Black Sea port of Poti. The arrival of the USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, came as Moscow accused Dick Cheney, the hawkish US Vice-President, of stoking tensions during a visit to Tbilisi this week. After meeting President Saakashvili, Mr Cheney vowed...

A US warship anchored at the disputed Georgian port of Poti as Russia declared it would not challenge Nato vessels bringing relief to the beleaguered democracy through the Black Sea. The USS Whitney, flagship of America's Mediterranean Sixth Fleet, arrived in the port which was bombed and occupied by Russian forces during the incursion into Georgia last month. A small Russian detachment remains dug in on the outskirts of the town. America had previously aborted an attempt to dock the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul at the port, fearing an accidental clash with the Russians. Russia said it would not authorise...

080828-N-2420K-001 SAN DIEGO (Aug. 28, 2008) The conventional-powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) departs San Diego Harbor as she makes the voyage to her new homeport of Bremerton, Wash. At 47 years old, Kitty Hawk is the Navy's second oldest active-duty warship and was replaced this summer by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) as the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier. Kitty Hawk is expected to arrive at Bremerton's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Sept. 2 for decommissioning in early 2009. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jonathan Kulp /Released) 080828-N-2757S-005...

Cold War tension rises as Putin talks of Black Sea confrontation Russia has criticised the US for using naval ships to deliver aid to Georgia Michael Evans, Defence Editor A new Cold War between Russia and the West grew steadily closer yesterday after the Kremlin gave a warning about “direct confrontation” between American and Russian warships in the Black Sea. Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, declared that Russia was taking “measures of precaution” against American and Nato naval ships. “Let’s hope we do not see any direct confrontation in that,” he said. Any attempt by...

TBILISI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - U.S. warships have scrapped a plan to deliver relief supplies to Georgia's flashpoint port of Poti on Wednesday, a source close to the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi said. "The ships will not dock in Poti tomorrow," the source told Reuters, referring to a planned mission by the USS McFaul and another vessel. Their presence would have been sure to enrage Russia, which has troops patrolling the port following a brief war with Georgia. "There was a possibility that the McFaul might go to Poti but no-one has given us a final decision. We're not sure...

Us warship arrives in Georgia

NAPLES, Italy, Aug. 21, 2008 – Two Navy ships and a Coast Guard cutter are transporting humanitarian relief supplies to Georgia. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Weaver and Petty Officer 2nd Class Gary Smith prepare humanitarian aid supplies for loading aboard USS McFaul at Souda Bay, Crete, Aug. 20, 2008. Nearly 55 tons of supplies were loaded as part of the humanitarian assistance for the Georgia following the conflict between Russian and Georgian forces in the former Soviet republic. U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Eddie Harrison   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. These deployments...

Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier heads for Mediterranean As the West awaits Moscow’s threatened reprisal for the treaty installing American missile interceptors at Redzikowo, on Poland’s Baltic coast – signed in Warsaw Wednesday - the Kremlin is striking back in the Middle East – hence Russian president Dimitry Medvedev’s honeyed words of reassurance to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in a call he made to Jerusalem Wednesday, Aug. 20. DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that a powerful Russian naval contingent, led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov , left Murmansk on the Barents Sea Aug. 18 to dock at the Syrian...

Two U.S. Navy ships, including a guided missile destroyer USS McFaul, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter are getting underway to transport humanitarian assistance supplies to Georgia, U.S. European Command (EUCOM) said on August 21. It said USS McFaul (DDG 74) departed from Souda Bay, Crete, on Wednesday and the cutter Dallas (WHEC 716) will depart later this week. McFaul and Dallas are scheduled to transit into the Black Sea and arrive in Georgia within a week, according to the U.S. European Command. The announcement comes after it was reported that Turkey gave its go-ahead to sail through its straits...

Ships from Canada, US, Poland to Enter Black Sea Waters: Deputy Chief of Russian General Staff 19.08.08 16:39 Russia, Moscow, 19 August/ TrendNews, corr R. Agayev/ The ships from Canada, US and Poland are expected to enter the Black Sea waters by the end of August to carry out a peacekeeping mission, Noqovitsin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff said to in a briefing in Moscow. At the night of 8 August, large-scale military operations were launched in the self-declared South Ossetia republic. The Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali. Later the Russian troops entered the city and drove the Georgian...

Kuwait has activated its Emergency War Plan after an armada of US naval battle groups headed for the Persian Gulf, Middle East Times reports. The report comes after DEBKAfiles claimed on Monday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Iwo Jima are sailing toward the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US strike forces in the region. The US naval force is accompanied by a British Royal Navy carrier battle group and a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine. The deployment is believed to be the largest naval task force assembled by the United States and its allies...

Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Kuwait Times. Kuwait began finalizing its "emergency war plan" on being told the vessels were bound for the region. The US Navy would neither confirm nor deny that carriers were en route. US Fifth Fleet Combined Maritime Command located in Bahrain said it could not comment due to what a spokesman termed "force-protection policy." While the Kuwaiti daily did not name the ships it believed were heading for the Middle East, The Media Line's defense analyst said they could...

Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Kuwait Times. Kuwait began finalizing its "emergency war plan" on being told the vessels were bound for the region. The US Navy will neither confirm nor deny that carriers are currently en route. US Fifth Fleet Combined Maritime Command located in Bahrain said it could not comment because of what a spokesman termed "force-protection policy." While the Kuwaiti daily did not name the ships it believes are heading for the Middle East, The Media Line's defense analyst said they...

July 25, 2008 - At Sea, USS Bonhomme Richard The "Red Devils" of A Company, 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry gather in front of a CH-53 Delta helicopter for a group photo on the deck of USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise in the Hawaiian operating areas. The Red Devils were training alongside the U.S. Marines and are very proud to be referred to as Canadian Marines by the U.S. Marines. The Canadian Army sent a company of soldiers from Edmonton to RIMPAC to further their training for non-combatant evacuation...

USS Abraham Lincoln in Arabian Sea to support Afghan operations By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Wednesday, July 9, 2008 ARLINGTON, Va. — The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has moved from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea to support operations in Afghanistan. NBC News first reported Monday night that the carrier has been moved because of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, where a suicide bomber killed more than 40 people Monday outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul. A spokesman for 5th Fleet confirmed the move Tuesday. "Conditions are worsening on the ground in Afghanistan and commanders...

A top U.S. military commander says American navy ships off Myanmar's coast will leave the area after failing to get the junta's permission to help with cyclone relief efforts. Adm. Timothy Keating says that he wants the USS Essex and accompanying vessels to resume their previously scheduled duties on Thursday. The ships were in the region for international exercises. Keating made them available to help with relief efforts for last month's cyclone and they were deployed near Myanmar in case they obtained permission to enter the country's waters. But Myanmar allowed only limited U.S. military aid flights to the country,...

The oldest active ship in the U.S. Navy, the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, made its final departure from Japan on Wednesday to be decommissioned after nearly half a century of service. ***** The Kitty Hawk, the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the Navy, is to be replaced later this summer by the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier. The decommissioning date for the ship is set for Jan. 31.

A US warship, which was deployed off Lebanon in February amid concern over Beirut's political crisis, crossed Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday on its way to the Mediterranean, an official with the canal authority told AFP. “The USS Cole has crossed the Suez Canal and is headed to the Mediterranean,” the official said, adding he did not know its exact destination. The United States sent the guided-missile destroyer to waters off the coast of Lebanon on February 28, in what US officials said was “a show of support for regional stability” amid concerns over Lebanon's protracted political crisis. US Secretary...

080428-N-7883G-683 SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 28, 2008) The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) prepares to anchor in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. Hong Kong is Kitty Hawk's last scheduled overseas port visit before its return to the United States later this year. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kyle D. Gahlau (Released)

MEXICO CITY, April 30, 2008 – The movement of a second aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf this week doesn’t signal an escalation of the U.S. naval presence -- but could serve as a “reminder” of it to countries in the region, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here last night. Gates did not specifically name Iran when responding to a reporter’s question about the arrival this week of USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf. “The size of our naval presence in the Gulf rises and falls constantly,” he said. “This deployment has been planned for a long time. I...

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Tuesday the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf should be seen as a "reminder" of US military power in the region. But Gates flatly denied that the United States was preparing the ground for military strikes against Iran. "I don't think we'll have two carriers for a protracted period of time. So I don't see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder," Gates told reporters here during a visit with Mexican officials. The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf follows...

An American nuclear submarine has crossed the Suez Canal to join the US fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf, Egyptian sources say. Egyptian officials reported that the nuclear submarine crossed the canal along with a destroyer on Friday and Egyptian forces were put on high alert when the navy convoy was passing through the canal. An American destroyer recently left the Persian Gulf, heading towards the Mediterranean Sea; earlier Thursday, a US Navy rescue ship crossed the canal to enter the Red Sea. The deployment comes as recent reports allege that US Vice President Dick Cheney is seeking to rally...

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy has replaced two ships it sent off the coast of Lebanon last week amid political deadlock there to send a signal to Syria, officials said on Tuesday. The cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the destroyer USS Ross replaced the destroyer USS Cole and a refueling ship over the past day, U.S. Navy officials said. Another refueling ship remained in place, meaning the United States continued to have three warships in the area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The ships are not visible from the Lebanese coast but their presence...

The US Navy is sending at least three ships, including at least one amphibious assault ship, to the eastern Mediterranean Sea in a show of strength during a period of tensions with Syria and political uncertainty in Lebanon. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in the volatile region. "This is an area that is important to us, the eastern Med," he said when asked about news reports of the ship movements. "It's a group of...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy has moved the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and other ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon, Pentagon officials said Thursday. (snip) The destroyer and two support ships are close to Lebanon but out of visual range of the coast, Pentagon officials said. Another six vessels, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau, are close to Italy and steaming toward the other three, the officials said.

The US Navy is sending three warships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea in a show of strength during a period of tensions with Syria and political uncertainty in Lebanon...... Another military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because full details about the ship movements are not yet public, said the USS Cole is headed for patrol in the eastern Mediterranean and that the USS Nassau, an amphibious warship, would be joining it shortly. The officer said a third ship would go later, but he did not identify it by name.

Signaling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a "show of support" for regional stability, a senior US official said on Thursday. The senior official told Reuters the United States was very concerned about the political deadlock in Lebanon, which Washington blames on Syrian meddling. A US defense official said the Cole left Malta on Tuesday and was headed towards Lebanon, adding it would not be within visible range of Lebanon but "well over the horizon." (Reuters)

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), USS Denver (LPD 9), and USS Rushmore (LSD 47) returned home Nov. 19, after completing a seven and one-half month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. While deployed, ships from the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (BHRESG) conducted Maritime Security Operations alongside coalition partners to promote stability in the Persian Gulf. "The primary mission of BHRESG was to complete maritime operations with partner nations such as Australia, Singapore, Kuwait, and others," said Capt. Rod Clark, commander Amphibious Squadron 7. "The deployment overall was a complete success." The BHRESG...