NAVY NEWS WEEK 9-3 27 February 2018 No Chinese warship movement detected near crisis-hit Maldives: Indian Navy According to sources, the Chinese naval movement, which was routine in nature, and through Sunda strait and to the north-west of Australia was approximately 2500 nautical miles away from Maldives. By: Express Web Desk | Updated: February 20, 2018 6:55 pm The latest development comes amid reports of Chinese naval movement in the Indian Ocean. (Source: AP) No Chinese warship movement has been detected near the crisis-ridden Maldives, Indian Navy sources have said amid reports of Chinese naval movement in the Indian Ocean. “We have a very robust surveillance system in Indian Ocean region, which is supported by mission-based deployment in place since July 2017,” a Navy spokesperson stated. According to sources, the Chinese naval movement was routine in nature and was through Sunda strait to the north-west of Australia. Sources said the Chinese naval movement took place approximately 2500 nautical miles away from the Maldives. Indian Navy has two detachments of Advanced Light Helicopters (SAR variant) while the Indian Coast Guard has a Dornier aircraft positioned in the Maldives. This means that more than three dozen Indian Navy personnel are present in the country at any given time, sources added. According to sources, the Chinese naval movement was routine in nature and was through Sunda strait to the north-west of Australia. Sources said the Chinese naval movement took place approximately 2500 nautical miles away from the Maldives Meanwhile, the Navy is also conducting the month-long Exercise Pashchim Lehar in the Arabian Sea which is witnessing participation of more than 40 ships. Response from the Navy came after reports emerged that eleven Chinese warships have sailed into the East Indian Ocean this month amid a constitutional crisis in the Maldives, which was under a state of emergency. According to Chinese news portal sina.com.cn, a fleet of destroyers and at least one frigate, a 30,000-tone amphibious transport dock and three support tankers entered the Indian Ocean. However, the report did not link the deployment to the crisis in the Maldives or giving a reason. “If you look at warships and other equipment, the gap between the Indian and Chinese navy is not large,” the news portal further said. The rivalry between India and China for influence in the Maldives intensified after President Abdulla Yameen agreed to Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative to build trade and transport links across Asia and beyond. India, which has had longstanding political and security ties to the island, has sought to push back against China’s expanding presence in the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 400,000 people. In the wake of the Maldives crisis, China had advised its citizens to avoid visiting the Maldives, famous its luxury hotels, scuba-diving resorts and limpid tropical seas, until political tensions subside. Source: http://indianexpress.com Duterte aide Bong Go faces Senate probe on Navy ship deal President Rodrigo Duterte's long-time aide, Christopher "Bong" Go, appeared before a Senate investigation on Monday on the military's purchase of Navy ships from South Korea. Go, who serves as Special Assistant to the President, allegedly intervened in the selection of combat management systems that act as the brains of the 2 frigates. He has denied the charge. "Ang dadalhin po ni SAP Bong Go doon ay katotohanan lang. Isisiwalat niya ang lahat, wala kaming itinatago," Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told DZMM. (The only thing that SAP Bong Go will bring there is the truth. He will divulge everything. We have nothing to hide.) Roque said Go had nothing to do with the frigate acquisition project, which started during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III. The purchase of the 2 missile-capable ships had continued under the Duterte administration, which signed the notice of award to winning bidder, South Korean firm Hyundai Heavy Industries, in August 2016. Rappler and Philippine Daily Inquirer had reported that Go supposedly gave Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in January 2017 a white paper endorsing another South Korean company, Hanwha, to provide the CMS. The white paper supposedly criticized the Navy’s choice of CMS provider, Dutch firm Thales Tacticos, as it praised the capabilities of the Korean firm. Lorenzana reportedly gave the white paper to then Navy Chief, Ronald Joseph Mercado, with a note saying the document came from Go and that a rebuttal or report must be submitted to the President addressing the concerns raised. The Rappler report said that a week after Go gave Lorenzana the letter, the presidential aide's office sent a letter to then Frigate Project Technical Working Group chairman Commodore Robert Empedrad, inviting him to Malacañang to discuss the CMS selection. Go, however, said he did not know about the invitation supposedly signed by his Undersecretary Christopher Lao. Empedrad submitted a report to Malacañang on January 2017 vouching for the efficiency of the Thales Tacticos CMS, Rappler reported. The discussion over the selection of the CMS supposedly dragged and delayed the frigate project, culminating in the firing of then Navy chief Mercado, who preferred the Dutch system. source: ABS-CBN News Nevsky Shipyard prepares the Akademik Pashin to test underway replenishment capabilities Nevsky Shipbuilding and Shiprepair Yard (Nevsky Shipyard) is preparing the tanker Akademik Pashin which is undergoing dock-side trials for commissioning of a unique system of underway ship-to-ship transfer of cargo, the shipbuilding company said. The tanker is built under the state contract for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The vessel was designed by naval architecture and marine engineering firm SpetsSudoProekt. General characteristics: length overall: 130 m, beam overall: about 21 m, draft overall: about 7.0 m, 7.0 m draft DWT - about 9000 tonnes, maximum speed - 16 knots, endurance - 60 days, crew - 24. The vessel was de intended for receiving, storing, transport and transfer of liquid bulk cargo, including diesel fuel, fuel oil, aviation kerosene, motor oil, potable water; and of dry cargo, including food, skipper and technical equipment. Cruising range is unlimited in accordance with the class of RS (Russian Maritime Register of Shipping). Shlisselburg, St. Petersburg based Nevsky Shipbuilding and Shiprepair Yard on the left bank of the Neva River. The shipyard is an oldest waterborne transport enterprises in the North-West of Russia engaged in shipbuilding since 1952. The enterprise specializes in the construction of different types of sea-going and inland vessels and ship repair and conversion. NSS Shipyards’s is capable of launching and drydocking of 150-meter-long ships with dock weight of up to 3800 tonnes. source : portnews Spanish frigate to lead Mediterranean operation Sea Guardian Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Navarra will be leading a three-ship NATO group during the Mediterranean Sea operation Sea Guardian, the Spanish defense ministry announced. Photo : Michael Cassar © In addition to the Spanish Santa Maria-class frigate, the group will include Belgian frigate BNS Louise Marie and an Italian Navy ship. The three ships are set to meet up in the Port of Cartagena during a port visit which will take place between February 9 and 13. After they get underway, the ships will spend some three weeks conducting focused security patrols in the Mediterranean Sea. Operation Sea Guardian in general focuses on maritime situational awareness, counter-terrorism and regional capacity building. ESPS Navarra (F-85) is the fifth unit of the six Santa María-class frigates built in Ferrol and delivered to the Spanish Navy in 1993. She has a complement of 200 people and is equipped with the necessary sensors and weapons to operate as a blue water escort. Source: Maasmond Maritime HII wins $1.43bn contract to build US Navy’s 13th San Antonio-class ship Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division has secured a $1.43bn contract to build the San Antonio-class ship LPD 29 for the US Navy. The company will be responsible for carrying out the detail design and construction of the 13th amphibious transport dock of the San Antonio (LPD 17) class under the fixed-price incentive contract. "This contract is further recognition of the confidence the navy / Marine Corps team has in the great work our shipbuilders are doing in the LPD programme." Ingalls Shipbuilding president Brian Cuccias said: “This contract is further recognition of the confidence the navy / Marine Corps team has in the great work our shipbuilders are doing in the LPD programme. “This efficient work is proven through our hot production line keeping the work going in the shipyard, and through our nationwide network of suppliers. “We are excited to build this additional ship and in providing our sailors and marines with the best amphibious ships in the world.”The San Antonio-class serves as the US Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. It comprises 684ft-long, 105ft-wide vessels that are able to carry marines, their equipment and supplies ashore using air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles. The vessels primarily support the Marine Air Ground Task Force, which helps perform amphibious and expeditionary missions relating to sea control and power projection, in addition to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. Ingalls Shipbuilding has already begun preliminary work on LPD 29, while fabrication is slated to commence later this year. The company has constructed and delivered 11 San Antonio-class vessels to the US Navy to date. Ingalls Shipbuilding previously secured a $218m, cost-plus-fixed-fee advance procurement contract from the US Navy in June last year, which covered he delivery of long-lead-time material and advance construction activities for LPD 29.