John Kirby

Red Sea is becoming a no go zone for shipping

Supply chain disruptions as a result of Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea are only likely to increase. A growing number of ship operators have themselves decided to suspend operations through the area and yesterday the Norwegian Maritime Authority effectively made the Red Sea pretty much a no go area for Norwegian ships.

“Today, the Norwegian Maritime Authority decided to raise the security level in the southern part of the Red Sea to the highest level, level 3,” it said. “This...

https://www.marinelog.com/legal/safety-and-security/red-sea-is-becoming-a-no-go-zone-for-shipping/

Ukraine Faces Hurdles Before Grain Exports Can Start Under New Deal with Russia, Expert Says

Wheat fields in midsummer in Ukraine, Oblast Lviv in 2012. Raimond Spekking Photo

Ukraine still faces hurdles in grain exportation despite an agreement with Russia, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow shipments of the food stuff to leave the country.

Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on Friday that would allow merchant ships to take grain out of three Ukrainian ports, including Odesa. But 12 hours later Russia bombed a port in Odesa, although it did not hit the grain...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/25/ukraine-faces-hurdles-before-grain-exports-can-start-under-new-deal-with-russia-expert-says

Navy to Begin Processing Separation for Sailors Refusing COVID-19 Vaccination

Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jackson Adkins, from Evans, Georgia, assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN-78) media department, receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the McCormick Gym onboard Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on April 8, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy can now begin to separate active-duty sailors who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Navy guidance released Wednesday.
Active-duty sailors who refused to get the vaccine were set to be separated if they continued to...

https://news.usni.org/2021/12/15/navy-to-begin-processing-separation-for-sailors-refusing-covid-19-vaccination

Pentagon Discussing Potential For COVID-19 Booster Mandate

Cmdr. Ronald Cappellini, Naval Air Station Sigonella executive officer, receives his COVID-19 vaccine booster from Lt. j.g. Aracely Duerkop, during a mass-immunization exercise on Naval Air Station Sigonella, Dec. 7, 2021. U.S. Navy Photo

The Pentagon is discussing the possibility of mandating a COVID-19 booster, although no decisions have been made, a department spokesman said today.

The booster is available at military health care facilities for eligible people, said Pentagon Press Secretary...

https://news.usni.org/2021/12/10/pentagon-discussing-potential-for-covid-19-booster-mandate

Destroyer USS Arleigh Burke Operating in Black Sea After Bulgaria Port Visit

USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) transits the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 25, 2021. US Navy Photo

A U.S. Navy destroyer is currently operating in the Black Sea after a port stop in Bulgaria, as tensions between the U.S. and Russia simmer.

USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) moved through the Bosphorus, arriving in the Black Sea on Thursday, U.S. 6th Fleet said in a news release last week.

The destroyer made a stop in Varna, Bulgaria, leaving the port on Sunday to continue operating in the waters, 6th Fleet said in a...

https://news.usni.org/2021/11/29/destroyer-uss-arleigh-burke-operating-in-black-sea-after-bulgaria-port-visit

Pentagon Says Iranian Helicopter Made ‘Unprofessional’ Pass Within 25 yards of USS Essex

ARABIAN GULF The amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) transits the Arabian Gulf during flight operations on Nov. 13. US Navy Photo

An Iranian Navy helicopter came within 25 feet of the USS Essex (LHD-2) while the ship was in the Gulf of Oman, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.

USS Essex is in the Persian Gulf after doing training with the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) in the Gulf of Oman on Nov. 8, according to USNI News’ Fleet and Marine Tracker.

The Iranian helicopter...

https://news.usni.org/2021/11/15/pentagon-says-iranian-helicopter-made-unprofessional-pass-within-25-yards-of-uss-essex

Federal Contractor Vaccine Deadline Postponed, DoD Civilians to be Vaccinated by Nov. 22

Capt. P. Scott Miller, left, commanding officer of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), receives the COVID-19 vaccine from Hospital Corpsman 3rd class Ang Li, a native of Newport, Ore., aboard the ship on Feb. 19, 2021. US Navy Photo

The deadline for federal contractors to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has been pushed back to Jan. 4 to line up with new requirements for health care workers and other employers, the White House announced on Thursday.

Federal contractors...

https://news.usni.org/2021/11/04/federal-contractor-vaccine-deadline-postponed-dod-civilians-to-be-vaccinated-by-nov-22

SECDEF Austin: U.S. Lacks ‘Capability’ in Kabul to Create Safe Passage for Americans, Afghans to Leave Afghanistan

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks with reporters on Afghanistan, at the Pentagon on Aug. 18, 2021. DoD Photo

The U.S. doesn’t have enough troops in Kabul to secure safe passage for tens of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies seeking to leave the country, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Now, there are a mix of 4,500 Marines, soldiers and airmen securing the Hamid Karzai International Airport to the north of the city and assisting in processing...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/18/secdef-austin-u-s-lacks-capability-in-kabul-to-create-safe-passage-for-americans-afghans-to-leave-afghanistan

Pentagon Declares Afghanistan Exodus a Non-Combatant Evacuation as U.S. Marines, Soldiers Mass in Kabul

Afghanistan civililans attempt on the airfield as a C-17 attempts to take off from the Kabul airport.

The mass exodus of U.S. citizens and American allies from Afghanistan is now a military-assisted non-combatant evacuation operation as the security situation in the capital of Kabul has continued to devolve, a Pentagon spokesman said on Monday.

Last week, officials resisted calling the publicly unnamed operation a NEO – the first from a combat zone since the 2014 evacuation from Libya.

“This is a...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/16/pentagon-declares-afghanistan-exodus-a-non-combatant-evacuation-as-u-s-marines-soldiers-mass-in-kabul

Pentagon Sending 3,000 Troops To Evacuate U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan

A U.S. Marine with Task Force Southwest (TFSW) provides security for Marine advisors during an advising mission with 1st Brigade, Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conduct Operation Maiwand 12 at Camp Shorserack, Afghanistan, March 12, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo

The Pentagon is sending 3,000 troops – including two Marine Corps battalions – to Afghanistan to support the evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Kabul and move Afghans seeking visas...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/12/pentagon-sending-3000-troops-to-evacuate-u-s-embassy-in-afghanistan

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