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Oman Corvette Heads to Sea for the First Time (Source: BAE Systems; issued December 20, 2010) PORTSMOUTH, United Kingdom --- Al Shamikh, the first of three ships being built by BAE Systems for the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO), has embarked on her first sea trials in the Solent. Departing from the Company’s Portsmouth facility, a combined BAE Systems and RNO crew is putting the ship through her paces, undertaking extensive platform testing for speed, propulsion and manoeuvrability in the first demonstration of the ship’s capability at sea. Scott Jamieson, International Programmes Director at BAE Systems’ Surface Ships division, said:...

An Iranian newspaper reports that a delegation from Oman will visit Iran to pursue the release of two American men imprisoned for more than a year.

On Aug. 6, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, DSCA, informed Congress of the sale to Israel of 60 million gallons of unleaded gasoline, 284 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel and 100 million gallons of diesel fuel at an estimated cost of two billion dollars. The date is significant, intelligence sources find. Ten days earlier, the Japanese tanker M.Star was attacked in Omani waters of the Strait of Hormuz with 200,000 tons of oil. Although American experts who examined the vessel, they never attributed the damage to sabotage by Iran or al Qaeda, despite the latter's claim of...

In fresh blow to Eurofighter, US touts possible F-16 sale to Oman By Stephen Trimble US defence officials have confirmed that Oman has asked for a potential sale of 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50/52 fighters for $3.5 billion in a move that dampens the UK government's hopes to offload a batch of new Eurofighter Typhoons. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) informed Congress on 3 August that the Royal Air Force of Oman is seeking a "possible" F-16 purchase, which is most likely aimed at replacing its remaining Sepecat Jaguars. Fifteeen are still in operation, as listed in...

MUSCAT/TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese oil tanker damaged in an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, was being diverted to a port in the UAE on Wednesday. One of the 31 crew aboard was injured but no oil leaked from the M Star very large crude carrier (VLCC), according to the Japanese transport ministry. It said an explosion occurred onboard at around 00:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Tuesday), but the cause was unclear. "A crew member saw light on the horizon just before the explosion, so (ship owner Mitsui O.S.K.) believes...

(MENAFN - Times of Oman) His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has issued Royal Orders to plant 100,000 coconut trees in Dhofar. This was sited by Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, minister of the Diwan of Royal Court. He said that the Royal Orders to plant 100,000 coconut trees in the Governorate of Dhofar come within the framework of the Royal attention of His Majesty the Sultan to the agricultural sector in the Sultanate and care for it all over the country. On the occasion of having the honour to declare this happy event for the people in the...

Chinese warships participating in anti-piracy operations off Somalia have been giving their ships five day breaks at three ports (in Oman, Djibouti and Yemen). The ships take on fuel and provisions, and the crews get some time ashore. Other foreign warships off Somalia are also doing this, even though some of them have support ships that can reprovision and refuel warships while underway. The Chinese government is content with these arrangements, but many Chinese admirals are not. For nearly a year now, Chinese admirals have been pushing their government to help them establish a support base near the Persian Gulf....

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress June 30 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Oman of logistics support and training for two C-130J-30 aircraft, including associated equipment and parts for an estimated cost of $54 million. The Government of Oman has requested a possible sale of logistics support and training for two (2) C-130J-30 aircraft being procured through a Direct Commercial Sale, 2 AN/AAR-47 Missile Approach Warning Systems, 2 AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser Sets, 2 AN/ALR-56M Radar Warning Receivers, communication equipment, software support, repair and return, installation, aircraft ferry and refueling support, spare and repair parts, support and test...

WASHINGTON – A U.S. military official says the Navy had a close encounter with an Iranian surveillance jet last week in the Gulf of Oman. The official says the jet buzzed a Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Eisenhower, coming within about 1,000 yards of the ship. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the April 21 incident occurred in international waters.The jet was described as a maritime patrol aircraft generally used for surveillance. The official says "there was nothing threatening about the aircraft itself or how it...

London could yet order at least a handful of Tranche 3B Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, if a deal to sell the aircraft to Oman is in place by early 2011. Oman and the U.K. have been discussing Typhoon purchases for more than two years. Industry officials suggest that if the timescale for Oman’s delivery aspirations are to be met, the fighters will likely be drawn from Tranche 2 aircraft now in production for the Royal Air Force. Were Typhoons to be diverted to Oman—officials say an order would probably be for 12 aircraft and potentially include an option for a further...

Oman is reported to be planning to buy up to 24 Eurofighter Typhoon strike jets worth an estimated $2.24 billion from Britain. Officials at British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office at No. 10 Downing Street did not give details of the deal. But defense industry sources have been saying that BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor, would sell 24 aircraft to the Gulf sultanate. The deal, once confirmed, will give the Typhoon project a major boost after years of uncertainty that Britain and its partners in Europe would buy enough of the aircraft to maintain production. Oman would be the...

Oman 'wants to buy' Eurofighter planes from the UK The government of Oman wants to buy a number of fighter jets from the UK, according to Downing Street. Number 10 said at this stage it was unable to confirm the number of Eurofighter planes - known in the UK as Typhoons - being bought. The prime minister's spokesman said the sale will help secure British jobs and "further enhance the strong strategic relationship between the UK and Oman". The aircraft are partly being built by BAE systems. The company, which makes the aircraft with European partners, said: "Oman is a...

U.S. intelligence officials appear to have obtained access to what could turn out to be a significant trove of phone numbers, photographs and documents detailing the links between Al Qaeda's leaders in northwest Pakistan and the terror group's increasingly menacing affiliate in Yemen, two counter-terrorism sources tell Declassified. In late January, an Al Qaeda operative headed from Pakistan on his way to Yemen was arrested in the Persian Gulf country of Oman, a U.S. counter-terrorism official confirmed. There has been no public announcement of the arrest. But in a possible indication of the operative's importance, just a few days later,...

The Dutch navy has arrested 13 Somali pirates who attempted to hijack a cargo ship south of Oman. The EU anti-piracy task force Navfor says the cargo ship - called MV BBC Togo - had barbed wire defences and held off an attack by two fast skiffs. The Dutch warship Evertsen later found a dhow with two skiffs fitting the description in the area. A boarding team arrested the pirates, seizing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, ladders and grappling hooks. The pirates may be handed over to Kenya or the Seychelles for prosecution, says the Dutch defence ministry. The attack on...

Foreign Ministry director-general Yossi Gal has held secret state-level meetings in Oman's capital Muscat, a senior official in Jerusalem told Haaretz. Diplomatic relations between Israel and Oman were cut off in 2000 at the start of the second intifada. The official said that Gal had left for Muscat with the ministry's deputy director for Middle East affairs, Yaakov Hadas, and other high-ranking officials. The Israeli delegation left on Sunday and will return Tuesday. The formal reason for the visit was participation in the annual conference of the Middle East Desalination Research Center, in which Israel is a member. However, Gal...

KHASAB, Oman — The mountains here are solid rock, flint-colored jagged peaks slicing through the haze and dust of intensely hot days. The old Dhori family home is at the top of one unforgiving peak, a single room made of stone. No electricity, no water, a doorway as small as a window, one narrow dark room and a dirt floor. That was what the Dhoris knew for generations. Then the present ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, staged a coup against his father, and the Dhori family came down to the valley. Sultan Qaboos provided water and electricity, and...

MUSCAT, Oman — As Iran finds itself locked in an escalating cold war-style conflict with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations, the quietly influential Sultanate of Oman has accelerated its cooperation with Tehran, nurturing an alliance that helps empower Iran while highlighting the deep divisions among Arab capitals. Oman, a strategically vital, insistently pragmatic country, has refused overtures of its larger neighbors to pull away from Iran. Instead, it defied Egypt and Saudi Arabia by declining to join them in boycotting a summit meeting in Qatar in January that was held to support Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group. The...

SALALA, Oman - At a mausoleum in a south Omani town overlooking the Indian ocean, Muslims venerate a local pre-Islamic prophet known as Amran. Worshippers offer prayers over what are said to be remains of a figure not attested to in mainstream Islamic tradition as a prophet, but whose grave enjoys air-conditioned protection by the local authorities all the same. It’s typical of the separate cultural identity that the Gulf Arab state of Oman jealously protects from its neighbour Saudi Arabia, whose puritanical Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam frowns upon such practices. It also goes some way to explain why...

Reigniting international interest in Oman’s long maritime heritage and emulating the fabled feats of one of the country’s most renowned mariners, the legendary Sinbad, an Omani sailor has become the first Arab ever to sail non-stop around the world. Sailing as a crewman onboard the 75-foot trimaran 'Musandam', 33-year-old Mohsin Al Busaidi was welcomed home by thousands of his countrymen waiting dockside when his yacht anchored in the historic trading port of Muscat on Friday for the first time in 76 days. Setting out on 08 January, Al Busaidi sailed over 24,000 nautical miles crossing the Southern Ocean and passing...

Clinton for sale By posting this am I saying that Bill Clinton is different from any other powerful politician, in taking money from foreign donors who obviously hope to influence the political process? No, in this Bill Clinton is not singular. But look at this list: $10 million to $25 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Between $1 million and $5 million each from Saudi businessman Nasser Al-Rashid, Friends of Saudi Arabia, the Dubai Foundation, and the governments of Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Oman. And the New York Post here is worried about money from India keeping Hillary from...