Gulf of Aden: Japan Maritime Self Defense Force convoy schedule for May and June 2014. Merchant vessels that wish to apply for JMSDF escort operation should visit http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/maritime/maritime_fr2_000000.html, please contact directly the Anti-Piracy Contact and Coordination Office, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT), Japan: Tel: +81-3-5253-8932 Fax: +81-3-5253-1643 Email: INFO-PIRACY@mlit.go.jp
Tag Archives: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
JMSDF anti-piracy convoy schedule for Gulf of Aden, November 2013
Japanese anti-piracy convoy schedule for Gulf of Aden, November 2013:
GULF OF ADEN: Government of Japan convoy schedule for October and November 2013. Merchant vessels that wish to apply for JMSDF escort operation should visit http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/maritime/maritime_fr2_000000.html, please contact directly the Anti-Piracy Contact and Coordination Office, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT), Japan: Tel: +81-3-5253-8932 Fax: +81-3-5253-1643 Email: INFO-PIRACY@mlit.go.jp (MSCHOA).
Source: US Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence
Japan inists Izumo is not an aircraft carrier, China insists that it is
Japan’s new “flat top destroyer” is not an aircraft carrier… or, at least, that’s what the Japanese government insists.
China, however, sees things differently.
New warship draws fire (China Daily, 7 Aug 2013)
China Warns Asia Over New Japanese Ship (China Digital Times, 7 Aug 2013)
China-Japan views toward each other hit 9-year low (Global Post, 8 Aug 2013)
China warns of Japanese ‘remilitarization’ following the incorporation of a ‘quasi-aircraft carrier’ (Merco Press, 8 Aug 2013)
And naming the vessel “Izumo” seems to have touched a raw historic nerve.
Japan should never forget fate of previous Izumo in war of aggression (CCTV, 8 Aug 2013)
Japan launches aircraft carrier… oh, sorry… “flat top destroyer”
It’s not an aircraft carrier. It’s a “flat top destroyer.” Just so as we’re all clear on that. Wouldn’t want anyone to think they were going to operate the F-35B from it.
Japan Unveils Largest Warship Since WWII
Amid increasing tensions with China over some disputed islands, Japan unveils a warship that could double as an aircraft carrier.
The ship is the largest surface combatant of the Japanese navy
The ship has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.
The Izumo, which has a flight deck that is nearly 250 metres (820ft feet) long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters.
Japanese officials say it will be used in national defence – particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions – and to bolster the nation’s ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
The ship can carry up to 14 helicopters
Although the Izumo has been in the works since 2009, its unveiling comes as Japan and China are locked in a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan.
For months, ships from both countries have been conducting patrols around the isles, calChiled the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in China.
The tensions over the islands, along with China’s heavy spending on defence and military modernisation, have heightened calls in Japan for improved naval and air forces.
A sailor looks on with a smile at the launch of the warship
China recently began operating an aircraft carrier that it refurbished after buying it from Russia and is reportedly planning to build another one itself.
Japan, China and Taiwan all claim the islands.
Though technically a destroyer, some experts believe the new Japanese ship could potentially be used in the future to launch fighter jets or other aircraft that have the ability to take off vertically.
The warship seen before the launching ceremony in Yokohama, south of Tokyo
That would be a departure for Japan, which has one of the best equipped and best trained naval forces in the Pacific, but which has not sought to build aircraft carriers of its own because of constitutional restrictions that limit its military forces to a defensive role.
Japan says it has no plans to use the ship in that manner.
The Izumo does not have catapults for launching fighters, nor does it have a “ski-jump” ramp on its flight deck for launching fixed-wing aircraft that have a short take-off capability.
http://news.sky.com/story/1125173/japan-unveils-largest-warship-since-wwii
PHOTEX: HMAS Sydney, JS Murasame, USS Chung-Hoon underway
130626-N-TX154-016 PACIFIC OCEAN (June 26, 2013) The Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Sydney (FFG 03), front, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Murasame (DD 101) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) are underway during Pacific Bond 2013. Pacific Bond is a U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force maritime exercise designed to improve interoperability and further relations between nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul Kelly/Released)
Japan extends maritime security operations off Somalia for another year
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force (a Navy by any other name) will continue its presence in the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa for at least another year.
Japanese naval vessels currently provide escorts to merchant shipping off the coast of Somalia.
MSDF to take on bigger antipiracy burden
The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s antipiracy escort operation off Somalia has been extended by one more year, with one destroyer set to join a combined naval task force with the United States and other nations late this year. Currently, two MSDF destroyers have been deployed in the area along with P-3C maritime patrol aircraft.
Under the MSDF’s mission, which was extended for a fourth time Wednesday, one of the ships will also join the so-called CTF151 international naval task force to respond to piracy in shipping lanes near Somalia. Although piracy-related damage has been reduced, the MSDF’s burden has become heavier as the area covered by the operation is set to be expanded.
At this time of year, strong monsoons from the African continent blow into the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, where MSDF vessels and aircraft operate.
“Visibility is poor due to dust clouds, so we are fully attentive in monitoring suspicious vessels,” Tsutomu Iwasawa, commander of the MSDF’s sixth fleet escort division, told The Yomiuri Shimbun in a phone interview on Saturday.
Cap. Iwasawa, who commands the destroyers Hamagiri and Akebono, said the two ships escorted commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden under rough conditions on Saturday, with strong winds blowing at over 15 meters per second. He said it took about two days to pass through dangerous waters stretching about 900 kilometers, during which the ship’s crew used binoculars and radar to monitor the situation.
In the latest mission, the crew intercepted several emergency reports on international radio of other commercial vessels being chased by small pirate ships.
As the reports came from vessels sailing a few hundred kilometers away, naval ships from other nations handled the cases.
However, Iwasawa said, “If it [a commercial vessel being chased by pirates] was within easy reach, we’d have to fly a chopper into the area to confirm the situation there, making us tense.”
Key traffic zone
Sandwiched between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf of Aden is a strategic zone for maritime traffic linking Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal.
Of vessels directly connected with Japan, about 2,000 ships sail through the gulf, transporting about 1.5 million cars, or about 20 percent of Japan’s auto exports.
As damage from Somalia-based pirates became more noticeable, countries concerned dispatched naval vessels to the Gulf of Aden and neighboring waters in response to a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in June 2008.
The Japanese government sent two MSDF destroyers in March 2009 in accordance with its order for maritime policing operations. In June that same year, the Diet enacted an antipiracy law authorizing Self-Defense Forces to protect any commercial ship from pirates, regardless of whether the ship has any connection with Japan.
The Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties opposed the law’s enactment, saying, “Pirates should be dealt with by the Japan Coast Guard.”
Thanks to such international dispatches, piracy-related damage has been on the decline, falling to 75 cases in 2012 from over 200 in 2009.
The MSDF has sent a combined total of 30 destroyers, 26 P-3C aircraft and about 8,000 personnel so far. The number of commercial escort operations totaled 471 as of the end of last month.
According to a government source, there were 45 cases in which a destroyer or P-3C aircraft spotted and intercepted a suspicious ship. A spokesperson of the Japanese Shipowners’ Association said, “We are thankful for the MSDF’s work.”
However, pirates are now targeting commercial vessels off the Arabian Peninsula instead of the Gulf of Aden, which has stricter antipiracy patrols. In response, the United States and Britain have teamed up with other countries to form the CTF151 to patrol a much wider area.
At the request of U.S. military forces, the MSDF will dispatch one destroyer operating there to the multilateral task force later this year.
As a result, the MSDF will only have one destroyer available to escort commercial vessels, thereby increasing their burden.
“The SDF’s international cooperation activities have so far been mainly in the rear-area logistic support, such as building roads. By joining the CTF, through which we can directly contribute to establishing safety, we can make a greater appeal to the international community about our contributions,” said a senior Defense Ministry official.
Royal Navy Shows Japanese Cadets the Ropes, July 2013
Major icebreakers of the world
Only the “majors.” Smaller vessels (less than 10,000 HP), such as the Royal Navy’s HMS Protector, and “ice-strengthened” vessels such as the British Antarctic Survey’s RRS Ernest Shackleton, are not included.
U.S. Coast Guard’s 2013 Reivew of Major Ice Breakers of the World
The Coast Guard Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy (CG-WWM) began producing the chart of major icebreakers of the world in July 2010. Since then, we have gathered icebreaker information and recommendations from a variety of sources and experts, including icebreaker subject-matter experts, internet posts, news updates, Arctic experts and Coast Guard offices with icebreaker equities. We validate our information within the public forum and update the chart at least semi-annually based on new information and feedback. This chart represents the Coast Guard’s current factual understanding of the major icebreaker fleet. This chart is not intended for icebreaker fleet comparisons and no inference should be drawn regarding a country’s icebreaker “ranking” against another.
The following is the July 18, 2013 review by the U.S. Coast Guard of Major Icebreakers of the World.
Scope. Vessels meeting the general definition of a polar icebreaker per the 2007 National Research Council report on Polar Icebreakers in a Changing World are included. These vessels “have sailed in significant sea ice in either the Arctic or the Antarctic,” have “ice strengthening sufficient for polar ice” and possess “installed power of at least 10,000 horsepower.” Minimally ice-strengthened ships (enough to survive in ice, rather than operate in it) and icebreakers of less than 10,000 horsepower are not included. With the exception of the Baltic icebreakers, this chart does not indicate where their owners may actually operate them. In addition, the chart does not specify whether a vessel’s crew is civilian or military.
Classification Methodology: The chart organizes the icebreakers first by country, then by installed power category, and finally in order of placement in service, youngest to oldest. The chart colors icebreakers by their relative capability estimated using brake horsepower as the most common basis. The most capable icebreakers are black, the next level sea-green and the lightest icebreakers are blue. Icebreakers in construction are colored yellow, and planned icebreakers are white. Planned icebreakers are placed on the chart if we can reliably state they are funded. The chart identifies government-owned or -operated icebreakers with the country’s flag next to the icebreaker. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are marked with an N. Baltic icebreakers designed to operate solely in seasonal, first-year Baltic Sea ice but meeting the ice-strengthening and horsepower criteria are marked on the chart with a B. Most Baltic icebreakers may not have operated in the Arctic due to concerns with open-ocean sea-keeping ability for open water transits.
Fleet numbers and Icebreaker Size in Context. The fleet numbers and icebreaker size tend to align along each county’s economic necessity for icebreaker resources. For example, the economies of Finland, Russia and Sweden have greater dependence on major icebreakers to pursue economic goals in the Arctic and Baltic winters than the economies of other nations. Also, ice in these countries’ shipping lanes, rivers and ports forms earlier, lasts longer, and requires more power to break, requiring more extensive icebreaking capabilities. Similarly, the Canadian icebreaker fleet supports summer access and supply to Canada’s Arctic communities. In contrast, in addition to the polar icebreakers already listed, the U.S has a number of icebreakers operating in the Great Lakes, New England and the mid-Atlantic to facilitate commerce and for exigent circumstances, but these are not listed in this chart because the icebreakers are not required to meet the threshold of at least 10,000 BHP.
An undated photo of USCGC Healy (WAGB – 20). US Coast Guard Photo
http://news.usni.org/2013/07/23/u-s-coast-guards-2013-reivew-of-major-ice-breakers-of-the-world
Chinese destroyers, frigates enter the Sea of Japan
A Chinese naval flotilla comprised of destroyers and frigates has entered the Sea of Japan after passing through the La Pérouse Strait separating the Russian island of Sakhalin from the Japanese island of Hokkaidō.
The Chinese Navy seems to be taking advantage of the straits “unique” status. Japan’s territorial waters extend to three nautical miles into La Pérouse Strait instead of the usual twelve, reportedly to allow nuclear-armed United States Navy warships and submarines to transit the strait without violating Japan’s prohibition against nuclear weapons in its territory. So clearly there is no, technical, violation of Japanese sovereignty.
China naval fleet seen off northern Japan
A Chinese maritime surveillance ship sails near a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea, October 25, 2012. A Chinese naval fleet has been spotted sailing for the first time through an international strait between northern Japan and Russia’s far east, according to the Japanese defence ministry.
AFP – A Chinese naval fleet was Sunday spotted sailing for the first time through an international strait between northern Japan and Russia’s far east, the Japanese defence ministry said.
The two missile destroyers, two frigates and a supply ship passed through the Soya Strait from the Sea of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk early Sunday, the ministry said.
The channel, also known as La Perouse, separates the Russian island of Sakhalin and the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The five ships took part in joint naval exercises with Russia from July 5-12 off Vladivostok.
Two other Chinese naval ships which also took part in the drills were seen moving into the East China Sea on Saturday.
The purpose of the Chinese fleet’s passage through the Soya Strait is not known, Kyodo news agency quoted a ministry official as saying.
On Saturday a fleet of 16 Russian naval ships was seen moving through the Soya Strait into the Sea of Okhotsk, the ministry said.
China and Russia held the joint naval exercises — their second such drill — amid regional concerns about China’s growing maritime power.
Tensions have been growing over China’s island disputes with Japan and other neighbours.
Chinese government surveillance ships have frequently approached the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by China as the Diaoyus, since Japan nationalised some of them last September.
Chinese army chief of general staff General Fang Fenghui earlier said the joint drills were “not targeting any third party”, according to the official Chinese Xinhua news agency.
www.france24.com/en/20130714-china-naval-fleet-seen-off-northern-japan
United States, Japan, Canada and New Zealand participate in Exercise Dawn Blitz 2013
USN All Hands Update June 27, 2013.
Naval Matters 