Royal Navy makes Pitcairn Island safe during explosive visit

A team of Royal Navy divers safely detonated more than 3½ tonnes of explosives during a visit by HMS Tamar to the remote Pitcairn Islands. Pitcairn is a tiny British Overseas Territory in the southwest Pacific with only 38 residents Read More …

US military strikes 4 boats in the Pacific, killing 14, in ramp-up of campaign against alleged drug trafficking

The US military conducted strikes against four more boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing 14 people on board the vessels, with one survivor, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. It marked the first time multiple strikes Read More …

Deadly threat of unexploded bombs in the Pacific persists 80 years on

This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, but in some countries, the trail of death and destruction continues. Bombs, nearly a century old, are still exploding, killing and maiming people and contaminating land. Read More …

Japanese WWII destroyer torpedoed by U.S. boats discovered on Pacific seafloor – still armed with munitions

A famed Japanese destroyer sunk by U.S. torpedoes during a pivotal battle in World War II has been discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean more than 80 years after it sank, an exploration team has revealed. The warship Read More …

Solomon Islands: Explosion kills British and Australian bomb disposal experts

Two bomb disposal workers – one from the UK and one from Australia – have died after an explosion in the Solomon Islands. Stephen “Luke” Atkinson and his Australian colleague Trent Lee worked for Norwegian People’s Aid, which helps remove Read More …

Left of bang: Marine EOD unit trains on WWII ordnance in Pacific

For two months in 1944, Marines from the 1st Marine Division alongside soldiers from the Army’s 81st Infantry Division fought a bloody battle for the small coral island of Peleliu, Palau. Roughly 27,000 American troops dropped large amounts of explosives Read More …

Task Force Koa Moana 20 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Marines make history on Peleliu

The island of Peleliu, Republic of Palau, is a tropical paradise with dense jungles, coral rock beaches, stretching reefs and sandbars just below the surface of the clear turquoise waves. However, encounters with unexploded ordnance from World War II are Read More …