Maritime Press Clippings 2012 - Hydrex Underwater Technology

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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2012 – 209Western Fleets May Head To Syria ToEvacuate Civilians - Or For Something Else?The U.S., France and the United Kingdom look set to increase their naval presence in the Middle East as the chaos inSyria continues. Late last week, Britain's Telegraph reported that the country's Ministry of Defence was in the processof preparing contingency plans for evacuating British nationals from the Middle East, should the ongoing conflict inSyria further spill across borders into neighboring Lebanon and Jordan.The British would likely send theHMS Illustrious, a helicoptercarrier, along with the HMSBulwark, an amphibious ship, aswell as an advanced destroyer toprovide defenses for the task force.On board will be several hundredRoyal Marine commandos, as wellas a complement of AH-64 attackhelicopters (the same ones used inLibya last year).A fleet of French ships, includingthe Charles De Gaulle aircraftcarrier, carrying a complement ofRafale fighter aircraft, are expectedto join them. Those forces areexpected stay offshore and could escort specially chartered civilian ships meant to pick up foreign nationals fleeingSyria and surrounding countries.The United Nations says that as many as 30,000 Syrian refugees entered Lebanon within just two days last week.Turkey now hosts some 42,000 Sryian refugees (Western media report that camps are well stocked, serviced andsafe), Iraq some 8,000, Jordan some 36,000. The total number of Syrians that have already fled the country amountsto some 120,000 people. But the heavily armed nature of the European task force is raising eyebrows.There is concern that Syrian or terrorist forces in the area would attack fleeing civilians or attempt to hinder anyrescue operations. Still, the sheer power of the Western forces involved -- the Charles De Gaulle alone is a nuclearpoweredaircraft carrier with an entire squadron of jets more advanced than anything the Syrians have -- is sparkingspeculation that those forces could become involved in a NATO operation against Syrian forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad. It certainly lends credence to the idea that Western expectations of the Syrian conflict to degenerate andexpand, perhaps into neighboring countries, are increasing. Sources in the British Ministry of Defense denied anyDistribution : daily to 22500+ active addresses 27-07-2012 Page 6
DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2012 – 209intention of a combat role for British forces. The HMS Illustrious, which is currently sitting on the Thames in centralLondon, will likely only be sent to the region after the end of the Olympics.But the French and British ships may be arriving in the region at around the same time as two other powerful navies.The Russian military announced in mid-July that it would be sending a flotilla of 11 ships into the EasternMediterranean for exercises, including large landing ships that could potentially be sent to the port of Tartus in Syria.Last Monday, the Pentagon also confirmed that it would be redeploying the USS John C. Stennis, a nuclear-poweredsupercarrier capable of carrying 90 aircraft, to the Middle East on an earlier schedule than planned. The Stenniswould be arriving in the region with an advanced missile-launching cruiser, the USS Mobile Bay. The carrier USSEisenhower is already expected to be in the Middle East by that time (two carriers currently in the region are to berelieved and sent back to the U.S.).The Stennis was originally expected to be sent to the Pacific by the end of the year, and only recently returned fromthe Middle East in March; it will now be back in the region by an unspecified date in the late summer. The DefenseDepartment said that the early deployment had come from a request made by Marine Corps General James N. Mattis,the commander for Central Command (the U.S. military authority area that covers the Middle East), partly out ofconcern that there would be a short period where only one carrier would be located in the region.Amid unpredictable situations in both Syria and Iran, that would have left U.S. forces stretched and overly burdened ifa firm military response were needed in either circumstance. A Pentagon spokesman said on July 16 that thedeployment shift was "not a decision based solely on the challenges posed by Iran." Source : ibtimesRussian tall ship Mir (L) followed by Poland's Dar Mlodziezy sail on parade on the Tagus river in front of Lisbonharbour before their departure for the second stage of the Tall Ships Races 2012, July 22, 2012Photo : m4rs75 ©Distribution : daily to 22500+ active addresses 27-07-2012 Page 7
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Maritime Press Clippings 2012 - Hydrex Underwater Technology

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