http://www.janes.com/article/59555/analysis-uae-likely-be-building-naval-facility-in-eritrea
Analysis: UAE likely be building naval facility in Eritrea
Jeremy Binnie, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
15 April 2016
Satellite imagery (right) showing the new military camp and the construction of a new port facility at Assab airport in Eritrea on 4 March. Al Khatem, a dredger operated by the UAE's National Marine Dredging Company, can be seen operating at the site. The image on the left shows the same area in 2013, before the development began. (2016 CNES/Astrium/GoogleEarth/IHS)
ANALYSIS
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) appears to be constructing a new port next to Assab International Airport in Eritrea, which could become its first permanent military base in a foreign country.
Satellite imagery shows rapid progress has been made since work began sometime after September 2015. A square of coastline measuring about 250x250 m has already been excavated and dredged, while a pier and/or breakwater is being constructed and already extends over 700 m from the original coastline.
IHS Maritime & Trade data show that two vessels are currently working at the site. While neither have IMO numbers, one that has been at the site since 16 February is using the MMSI number 470331100 and the name Al Khatem .
--------
UAE naval vessels using Eritrea's Assab port
Jeremy Binnie, Cape Town - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
http://www.janes.com/images/assets/194/58194/1569186_-_main.jpg
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy is using the port of Assab in Eritrea, Airbus Defence and Space satellite imagery confirms.
Landing ships that can be identified as UAE naval assets can be seen at the port in three separate satellite images.
Taken on 5 February, the most recent image shows a landing ship that is approximately 80 m long and has a helicopter pad on its stern. This or a sister ship can also be seen at Assab in imagery taken on 21 September 2015.
Although a ship matching this description has not previously been identified in open sources as being in service with any navy, the same vessel or a sister ship can be seen in Google Earth satellite imagery of the UAE's new naval base in Dubai on two different dates.
Another three landing ships can be seen at Assab in the 5 February imagery. One is approximately 60 m [check with Sean] in length and does not match any known to be operated by the UAE Navy, suggesting a second navy may also be using Assab.
The other two are identical to the 64 m landing ships operated by the UAE. It is possible these are Kuwaiti naval vessels as Abu Dhabi Ship Building delivered two to Kuwait as well as three to the UAE.
However, imagery taken on 7 November 2015 show three of the 64 m landing ships at Assab, meaning at least one must be operated by the UAE Navy. One of these landing ships can be seen in the 21 September image.
The 7 November image also shows that the high-speed roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) catamaran Swift 1 (IMO: 9283928) was also present. This vessel operated by the US Military Sealift Command between 2003-2013. The website of its manufacturer, Incat, said in 2015 that it was being operated by the UAE's National Marine Dredging Company.
Want to read more? For analysis on this article and access to all our insight content, please enquire about our subscription options ihs.com/contact
Received on Fri Apr 15 2016 - 12:53:29 EDT
