Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. (41,700 imp gal. Subic Bay freeport inaugurated Pacific Pearl Airways.

Titanic watches Some of the metal from the hull of the Titanic was salvaged by divers. This metal has been blended with modern shipbuilding steel at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where the Titanic was built.

This blend is being used to make the casing of fancy timepieces by Swiss jeweler Romain Jerome. Coal which was to have been burned in the Titanic's furnaces and which was also recovered from the seabed has been mixed with ceramics to create black dials for the watches. The watches have been criticized as being in bad taste by Titanic enthusiasts. The limited-edition watches range in price from about $9,000 to $150,000.

(Source: teve Myall, Daily Mail, 8/4/07) • 2007-08-07 02:20:38 • Category: 0. Melting polar ice cap makes more work for the US Coast Guard The US Coast Guard is responsible for policing maritime traffic, chasing off foreign fishermen that cross into US waters, pursuing drug traffickers, rescuing seamen in distress, protecting indigenous people and responding to oil spills and other environmental accidents.

Ice in the Arctic sea has decreased by nearly 20% over the past two decades, and the resulting increased maritime traffic has made the Arctic a more significant focus for the Coast Guard in the past six months. In addition to opening up a potential sea route, the reduction in ice has sparked competing claims among the eight nations that border the Arctic. These factors could create more word for the Coast Guard. (Source: Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY) • 2007-08-03 03:52:49 • Category: 0.

US Coast Guard saves 1 million lives The US Coast Guard was founded on August 4, 1790. On that day, the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of the federal revenue. Responsibilities were added over the years, including the task many associate with the service today: that of aiding mariners in distress. During this year's ceremony, the Coast Guard will announce that it has rescued more than one million persons since it was established. (Source: US Coast Guard) • 2007-08-03 03:52:12 • Category: 0. UN support sought off the coast of Somalia to combat pirates The International Maritime Bureau has identified the coast of Somalia as having the highest piracy risk in the world. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) wants the UN Security Council to provide assistance to make the area safer.

UN action would include consenting to naval ships operating in the Indian Ocean, entering the country's territorial waters when engaging in operations against pirates or suspected pirates and armed robbers endangering the safety of life at sea. Of particular concern is the safety of crews on board ships carrying World Food Programme humanitarian aid to Somalia, or leaving Somali ports after having discharged their cargo. The Council has authorized the secretary general to take action on the proposal.

(Source: Abdulsamad Ali, allAfrica.com) • 2007-08-03 03:51:29 • Category: 0. Daewoo up for sale Creditors are scheduled to start selling their 50% stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, the world's largest shipbuilder, before the end of the year. But it's almost certain the winner will be Korean. There are increasing concerns about losing technology to China, which has said it wants to surpass Korea as the world's leading shipbuilder by 2015. Although a formal decision hasn't been made it seems likely that all foreign investors could be banned from bidding. Potential South Korean bidders include Posco, GS Engineering and Construction and STX Pan Ocean.

The deal could be worth as much as US $8.7 billion. (Source: Anna Fifield, The Australian) • 2007-07-31 02:04:43 • Category: 0. The Coast Guard will establish a Maritime Force Protection Unit (MFPU) in Bangor, Wash., Thursday. The MFPU will be a team of vigilant guardians who provide fleet security to the U. Navy through: deterrence by presence; protection by escort; defense by force; and terrorism prevention through strategic partnerships. The newly created MFPU will provide a dedicated force of active duty and reserve personnel that possess specialized skills, capabilities, and expertise to perform a broad range of port security and harbor defense missions.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-30 02:33:39 • Category: 0. Ferry service between South San Francisco and Oakland just moved one step closer to reality. The Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA) approved construction phasing plans for the South Francisco Ferry Terminal at Oyster Point, contingent upon successful lease negotiations with the property owner (the San Mateo County Harbor District). If all goes according to plan, construction could start as early as this Fall.

To expedite construction and maximize contractor participation, the WTA would build the terminal in two construction packages: One covering the float and gangway and another for the terminal. Award of the float construction contract is scheduled for this November. It will be built off-site and delivered to Oyster Point in September 2008. The second package covering the terminal construction will start in May 2008. While the Board authorized staff to start the bidding phase, funding plans still need to be confirmed before contracts are awarded.

Construction cost estimates for South San Francisco ferry service, including 2 new vessels, is $46 million, of which $16.3 million covers the construction of the terminal, gangway and float. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-30 02:33:00 • Category: 0. Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded funding by the U.S. Navy for research and development of advanced technologies for current and future submarines. Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector is the prime contractor for the work, which is valued at approximately $16.9m. An additional $5m funding option could also be awarded in the next 12 months. The contract supports the assessment and development of future submarine technologies such as external torpedo launchers, electric ship systems to replace current hydraulic systems and other potential improvements.

Design work may also be performed on the Large Scale Vehicle, Cutthroat (LSV2), a scaled-down submarine test vehicle used to evaluate new concepts. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-30 02:32:17 • Category: 0. Oil spill in Prince William Sound The fishing service vessel Nordic Viking grounded 25 miles south of Valdez, Alaska, and about 20 miles southeast of the reef where the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989. It isn't clear why the vessel grounded on Saturday night.

All four crew members were unhurt, but the ship spilled about 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel. Although much smaller than the Valdez spill, it is still among the 20 largest of the hundreds that have occurred in Prince William Sound in the last decade. (Source: Associated Press at MSNBC.com) • 2007-07-30 02:29:08 • Category: 0.

MOD gives go-ahead for aircraft carriers Britain gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for plans to spend 3.9 billion pounds to build two aircraft carriers, triggering a deal that will merge operations at the UK's two largest shipbuilders. The carriers are to be called Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales and are due to enter service in 2014 and 2016. That is later than the 2012 and 2014 targets cited in original plans, which date back to 1998. They will be the largest ships ever to sail with the Royal Navy. Britain's two largest shipbuilders, BAE Systems and VT Group, responded to the news by announcing they had inked a deal on a shipbuilding merger: BAE will hold 55 percent of the joint venture and VT the remainder.

(Source: Roland Jackson, AFP at Yahoo! News) • 2007-07-30 02:28:17 • Category: 0. Ship engine falls off truck at California shipyard A 200-ton engine, destined for a US Navy ship under construction at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, slid off a trailer, landed on one car, crushed the front end of another, and also hit a third. The engine landed with enough force to break the concrete, put a small crater in the street, and break a water line. The shipyard had to cancel its first shift, and the road was closed for several hours. (Source: Karen Kucher and Greg Gross, SignOnSanDiego.com) • 2007-07-30 02:27:00 • Category: 0. Russian Navy denies nuclear sub blast The Russian Navy denied Friday media reports of an explosion aboard a nuclear submarine under repair in Severodvinsk, on the White Sea, Thursday.

Igor Dygalo, an aide to the Russian Navy commander, said one of the submarine's main ballast tanks at a dockyard was damaged due to a surge in air pressure, which dockyard officials are treating as a routine occurrence. Dygalo said no one was injured in the incident, adding that the damaged tank would be repaired. An environmental official in Norway, near the port of Severodvinsk, told Reuters there was no sign of increased radioactivity as a result of the accident.

(Source: BBC News) • 2007-07-30 02:25:02 • Category: 0. The Northrop Grumman Corporation-built Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) arrived at her homeport here at Naval Station San Diego on July 19.

The ship is named in honor of Rear Adm. Isaac Campbell Kidd (1884-1941) who died directing defenses against the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941. The ship, commissioned last month in Galveston, Texas, is the 24th Aegis guided missile destroyer built by the company's Ship Systems sector in Pascagoula, Miss. She is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina and has received many accolades from industry and Navy officials since her return from a damaged hull during the nation's worst natural disaster.

During Hurricane Katrina, Northrop Grumman employees fought bravely to defend DDG 100 against the onslaught of water to keep her afloat. The ship was saved, but flooding made a complete refurbishment of the affected compartments necessary. The ship was restored, and following her super trials in the Gulf of Mexico last fall, the U.S. Navy offered great reviews and acknowledged the ship performed well. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-24 02:50:17 • Category: 0. EU seeks cuts at Poland's shipyard The European Commission gave Poland's Gdansk shipyard a month from Friday to either cut capacity or return subsidy money, a move which threatens to push the yard into bankruptcy. Under EU rules, governments can give financial help to ailing companies only if the cash is accompanied by plans that would make the firms viable in the long term.

The Commission said it accepted capacity cuts at two other Polish shipyards, Gdynia and Szczecin, in return for clearing past state aid. The three yards have had a total of 1.3 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in subsidies since Poland joined the European Union in May 2004. The EU is aware of the symbolic importance of the Gdansk yard, but believes measures are necessary to ensure free competition in the sector. (Source: Jan Cienski and George Parker, Financial Times at MSNBC.com) • 2007-07-24 02:36:58 • Category: 0. Ransom demanded for Danica White A ransom of US $1.5 million dollars has been demanded for the release of five Danish seamen abducted by pirates off Somalia early June. The Danica White was en route from Dubai to Mombasa in Kenya when armed pirates ordered the vessel to head to the coast of Somalia.

The ship owner H Folmer og Co has no means to pay the ransom and has large debts. The Danish foreign ministry is also opposed to paying a ransom for fears it would generate more kidnappings. (Source: The Australian) • 2007-07-24 02:33:49 • Category: 0. As part of its Horizon 2010 strategy plan Bourbon has announced the intention of Grupo Boluda Corporacion Maritima to purchase the harbour towage activity of Les Abeilles.

The acquisition plan is an opportunity for Les Abeilles to grow and expand its harbour towage operations. The size and international presence of harbour towage operators have become decisive factors for success in a market in which many cases of consolidation have been observed in recent months. The acquisition plan would therefore be totally relevant in view of the companies' complementary geographical fields of operation, added to the reputation of the buyer, who has clearly demonstrated his intention to invest and become a major player in harbour towage.

The sale of stock in the companies concerned would not have any impact on employees who would retain their status, seniority and benefits. It should be emphasized that the plan concerns harbour towage only, and does not include protection of the French coastline by vessels chartered by the French navy and carried out by Les Abeilles International which will still be part of Bourbon. The project is currently under instruction and consultation by the staff representative bodies of the companies concerned. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-23 03:17:15 • Category: 0.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) took one step closer to breaking ground for the expansion of the Panama Canal Tuesday, when it officially awarded the first expansion construction project contract to Constructora Urbana S.A. The selection process began May 7, when the ACP released its request for proposals to begin the first of five dry excavation projects to create the new Pacific Locks access channel. This new channel will link a new, third set of locks on the Pacific end of the Canal with the existing Gaillard Cut (the narrowest stretch in the Panama Canal).

This project represents approximately 16 percent of the total excavation for the new Pacific Locks access channel. At a special ceremony on July 6, the ACP reviewed the bid submissions for the first dry excavation of the new Pacific Locks access channel. The chart below shows the companies that submitted bids and their corresponding bid price.

The ACP selected the lowest priced proposal that met all of the project’s requirements. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-23 03:16:09 • Category: 0.

Maritime Administration Environment Director Honored Michael Carter, Director of the Office of Environment at the Maritime Administration, recently received a Team Bronze Medal from the Environmental Protection Agency for his work with the Vessels-to-Reefs Guidance Development Team. Other team members, who were also awarded the medal, included participants from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Navy, and the Office of Management and Budget. The Artificial Reefing Best Management Practices were developed to provide the first consistent set of guidelines for use by EPA regions, states, the Maritime Administration and the Navy to prepare ships for artificial reefing in an environmentally sound manner. The guidelines now provide a baseline for the states to estimate the costs associated with preparing the ships. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-23 03:15:19 • Category: 0. After caring for more than 55,000 patients in Belize, Guatemala and Panama, hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in Corinto on July 18, continuing its four-month humanitarian assistance deployment.

Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health Service, Canadian Forces, and Operation Smile and Project Hope personnel will continue providing the people of Latin America and the Caribbean with no-cost health care services, including adult and pediatric primary care, dental care, optometry and other services while in Nicaragua. More than 30 'Operation Smile' personnel will board the ship here to conduct cleft lip and cleft palate operations aboard Comfort. Comfort will remain in Corinto for nearly a week conducting operations at various locations, including Corinto Hospital Jose Shendell, Centro de Salud, el Realejo and Villa de Julio Centro de Salud. Comfort is on a 120-day humanitarian assistance deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical assistance to patients in more than a dozen countries. While deployed, Comfort is under the operational control of U.S.

Naval Forces Southern Command and tactical control of Destroyer Squadron 24. (Source: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly E. Barnes, USNS Comfort Public Affairs) • 2007-07-19 16:15:51 • Category: 0. Salvors are still trying to break up the Napoli A third round of explosives may be used on the container ship MSC Napoli, after the grounded ship has failed yet again to split in half. On Tuesday, The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) used precision charges in a bid to separate the deck plates on the ship, which is grounded off Sidmouth, Devon.

At high tide, tug boats tried to pull the vessel apart but without success. The blast had cut six of the eight longitudinal girders holding the vessel together. Tugs will once again attempt to pull the ship apart on the rising tide, but if that is unsuccessful, more explosive charges could be used on Thursday. (Source: Tom Clarke, Channel 4) • 2007-07-19 16:12:53 • Category: 0. Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer goes on sea trials The first of Britain's new Type 45 destroyers is starting 18 months of sea trials. The Type 45s will replace the Navy's fleet of Type 42 destroyers.

HMS Daring is the biggest warship ever to launch at the Scotstoun shipyard in Glasgow, and is the first of the Royal Navy's D-class of ships. It is also the first Royal Navy front-line warship to be propelled by electricity.

The HMS Daring is expected to go into service in 2009. (Source: BBC News) • 2007-07-19 16:11:23 • Category: 0. Africans missing after boat capsize The Spanish coastguard is searching for about 50 Africans whose wooden boat capsized as the would-be illegal migrants neared the end of a dangerous voyage to the Canary Islands. Coastguard boats picked up 48 survivors after their narrow boat overturned about 100 miles southwest of the resort island of Tenerife in bad weather.

Authorities believe thousands of Africans died last year attempting to reach the Canaries, hundreds of miles from the African coast. Most disappeared at sea without trace, bodies sometimes washing up days later on African shores. (Source: AFP at Yahoo! News) • 2007-07-19 16:10:35 • Category: 0.

Panama-Flagged Freighter Disappears Independent Online reported that a Panama-flagged cargo vessel has gone missing in Somalia's pirate-infested waters, a Kenyan maritime official said. The MV Infinity Marine 1 disappeared some 37 nautical miles off the northeastern village of Ras Hafun in late June, said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Program.

The vessel, sailing from the United Arab Emirates, was carrying general cargo including food stuffs, iron sheet, generators, batteries, white wood and light vehicles. Four vessels - one from Taiwan, another from Denmark and two from South Korea - are already currently in the hands of pirates off the coast of war-torn Somalia. (Source: Independent Online) • 2007-07-18 14:18:02 • Category: 0. Hall relieved Royal Navy Commodore Nick Lambert as commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 158 and Capt. Paul Severs relieved Royal Navy Capt.

Bob Sanguinetti as commander of Combined Task Group (CTG) 158.1 on July 17 aboard Ocean 6, an afloat forward operating barge in the north Persian Gulf. Command of CTF 158 typically rotates among coalition partners Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States. CTF 158 is comprised of coalition ships and its primary mission in the Gulf is maintaining security in and around both the Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminals -- ABOT and KAAOT, respectively -- in support of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1723. This resolution charges the multinational force with the responsibility and authority to maintain security and stability in the Iraqi territorial waters and also supports the Iraqi government's request for security support. “I am looking forward to [continuing] the hard work the Royal Navy and the coalition has done in the [Gulf],” said Hall, who is also commander of Task Forces 51 and 59. “It is a very important mission to assist the Iraqi nation for self-determination.” The primary mission of CTG 158.1 is to provide 24-hour protection to Iraq’s oil terminals, KAAOT and ABOT.

The task group operates from Ocean 6, which is a command and control platform in support of personnel assigned to protect the oil platforms. “My staff is ready and prepared to take on this coalition mission,” said Severs who is also the commodore for Destroyer Squadron 50. “We will play a vital role in maritime operations.” Maritime operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the NAG and protect Iraq's sea-based infrastructure, which provides the Iraqi people the opportunity for self-determination. Iraq's oil platforms account for about 90 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-18 13:50:42 • Category: 0. Electric Boat Awarded Sub Funds Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $116,369,994 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-2103) for lead yard services, and for development studies and design efforts, related to Virginia-Class submarines. The Lead Yard Services will maintain, update, and support the design and related drawings and data for each submarine, including technology insertion, throughout its construction and Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) period. The contractor will also provide all engineering and related Lead Yard Services necessary for direct maintenance and support of Virginia Class Ship Specifications.In addition, the contract provides Development Studies and Design efforts related to the submarine design and design improvements, preliminary and detail component and system design, integration of system engineering, design engineering, test engineering, logistics engineering, and production engineering. The contractor will continue development studies and design efforts related to components and systems to accomplish research and development tasks and prototypes and engineering development models required to fully evaluate new technologies to be inserted in succeeding Virginia Class Submarines.

Work will be performed in Groton, Conn. (97 percent); Newport, R.I. (2 percent); and Quonset, R.I.

(1 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2007.Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: Marinelink.com) • 2007-07-17 15:16:40 • Category: 0. Ten people were rescued and 12 people remain missing as Coast Guard, Navy and Good Samaritan rescue crews search the Pacific Ocean about 375 miles northwest of Guam.

An emergency beacon registered to the motor vessel Hai Tong #7 began broadcasting a distress signal at about 11 a.m. About 20 minutes later the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) signal ceased broadcasting. The Coast Guard issued an urgent marine broadcast asking mariners in the area to assist. The masters of the motor vessel Ikan Bilis and the Horizon Falcon diverted to the scene. The Horizon Falcon arrived on scene shortly before noon July 11.

The master reported an oil slick and debris in position last broadcast by the emergency beacon. 'The EPRIB signal saved the lives of those people rescued,' said Lt. Kevin Floyd, a rescue coordinator for the Coast Guard in Honolulu. 'We wouldn't have know any one was in trouble or where to send help if the EPIRB signal hadn't alerted us to the distress. A properly registered, 406 MHz EPRIB is often the Coast Guard's first signal that someone needs help.' A Navy P-3 airplane and crew from Kadina Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan; a Navy P-3 airplane and crew from Misawa Naval Air Station in Misawa, Japan; two Coast Guard C-130 airplanes and crews from Barbers Point; and the Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia from Guam were sent to respond to the distress. The Navy P-3 crew arrived on scene at the emergency beacon's location and began searching for survivors.

The crew spotted several persons wearing orange life jackets or survival suits floating among debris in the water and directed the two Good Samaritan vessels to their position. The Ikan Bilis recovered eight people, including two injured persons; and the Horizon Falcon rescue two persons from the water. The Ikan Bilis and crew, along with the eight survivors, are en route Guam. The Horizon Falcon and crew, along with the two survivors, are en route China. The Good Samaritan vessels Konmax, Clipper Lagoon, Coral Emerald, and R.J. Pfierffer continue to search for the remaining crewmembers, along with the Navy and Coast Guard aircrews. 'The immediate response by so many mariners is impressive,' said Cmdr.

Frank Genco, chief of the Coast Guard's search and rescue branch in Honolulu. 'Mariners truly understand the importance of helping out their fellow sailors. The Coast Guard may be farther way and mariners have to rely on each other to help out times like these.' The Hai Tong #7 is a 420-foot Chinese-flagged, bulk log-carrier, owned by Fuzhou Haijing Shipping, en route China from Papua-New Guinea. Survivors reported that the cargo began shifting as the vessel made way through 70-mph winds and 24-foot seas. Rescue crews report seeing an oil sheen, but mainly logs and other debris in the area.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-07-17 15:16:01 • Category: 0. Piracy attacks have increased The International Maritime Bureau says pirate attacks have increased sharply worldwide in the past three months, especially in Nigeria and Somalia.

The bureau said Thursday 85 piracy attacks have been reported throughout the world between April and June. That is double the number of incidents reported in the preceding three months. Forty-one attacks were reported from January through March. Despite the recent surge in piracy, the overall number of attacks in the first six months of 2007 is in line with the number of attacks in the same period last year (126 in 2007, versus 127 in 2006.) The maritime bureau says Nigeria and Somalia remain high risk areas for ships. Nineteen piracy incidents have been reported off the Nigerian coast, and 17 other attacks occurred off the Somali coast. (Source: The Associated Press at International Herald Tribune) • 2007-07-17 14:59:45 • Category: 0. Northrop Grumman gets funds to repair three US shipyards Northrop Grumman has estimated that Hurricane Katrina caused over $1 billion in damage to the company's Mississippi and Louisiana shipyards.

The company also warned about production delays on future defense contracts. On Thursday, the US Navy awarded two contracts worth up to $98.7 million for infrastructure upgrades at the company's shipyards. The deal is the first of seven contracts expected to be awarded to Gulf Coast shipbuilders under the Defense Department's emergency supplemental funding for the global war on terror and hurricane recovery. (Source: The Clarion-Ledger) • 2007-07-17 14:56:04 • Category: 0. Explosives have been detonated in an attempt to break the MSC Napoli in two. Damaged in storms, the vessel was deliberately grounded in January, refloated last week, and grounded again when divers found severe damage to the hull.

The first explosion separated the deck plates. Tugs positioned at the bow and stern will try to pull the boat apart at high tide, although further detonations may be needed to accomplish this. Prior to the operation, a 1000 meter exclusion zone was placed around the Napoli and navigational warnings issued. This exclusion zone will remain in place until further notice. (Source: BBC News) • 2007-07-17 14:54:37 • Category: 0. Canada presses ownership of the Northwest Passage Canada is pushing ahead with several initiatives designed to assert sovereignty over the Northwest Passage.

First on the list is a visit from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. There may also be a trip planned to Hans Island, which Denmark claims. Several countries, including the United States, the European Union and Japan, challenge Canada's ownership claim to the waters of the Arctic archipelago. These disputes could blow up if climate change opens the region to sea traffic and spurs oil exploration in the area. Harper is expected to make several stops and provide details on military projects that include ice-capable ships, a northern naval station, and a training center for winter combat. (Source: Alexander Panetta, CP, CNEWS at CANOE) • 2007-06-27 02:49:09 • Category: 0. Hijacked ship is running out of supplies The MV Danica White and its five Danish crew members were hijacked earlier this month.

Andrew Mwangura, director of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, reports that the ship has run out of food, and doesn't have access to fresh water since the vessel's generator has broken down. The Danica is one of three ships currently being held by Somali pirates. The hijackers killed one Taiwanese sailor this month after his vessel's owners refused ransom demands. (Source: George Obulutsa, Reuters) • 2007-06-27 02:41:29 • Category: 0.

Taharoa Express still listing The Taharoa Express got into trouble on Friday after its cargo shifted in rough seas off the Taranaki coast. It managed to make it into Tasman Bay, but was listing by 20 degrees. Salvagers have been pumping seawater into the ship's internal tanks, and the list was reduced to 18 degrees. But the operation is still under way. The bulk ironsand carrier won't be moved until the weather improves, and Maritime New Zealand is satisfied the ship is safe. (Source: SZPA at The New Zealand Herald) • 2007-06-27 02:40:40 • Category: 0.

USS Trenton Finds New Home in Indian Navy The USS Trenton has a new name now that it has become part of the Indian navy, according to a report on www.hindu.com. (174-m) Austin-class amphibious tranport dock became the INS Jalashwa during a ceremony at the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia. Navy launched the USS Trenton 1968, and commissioned it in 1971. The latest in a line of ships named after the New Jersey capital, the USS Trenton aided with evacuations of civilians from Somalia in 1991, Liberia in 1996 and Lebanon last year. (Source: www.hindu.com) • 2007-06-26 03:03:05 • Category: 0. Sea Diamond is still leaking oil The Sea Diamond ran aground off the Greek island of Santorini in April and sank a day later. There is a considerable amount of trapped fuel oil in the ship, which is leaking onto the surface.

Ship owner Louis Cruise Lines initially said it would submit a plan by June 6 for removing the oil, but it has missed that deadline, and hasn't given a new date for the plan. Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry levied a maximum fine against the company and the captain on Monday for causing environmental pollution around Santorini. The Santorini Port Authority is also fining the company for every day it does not pump out the oil. The company said it had appointed a company to conduct a feasibility study of pumping the fuel and was awaiting its expert opinion. (Source: Karolos Grohmann, Reuters) • 2007-06-26 03:02:00 • Category: 0.

Australia to buy Spanish warships Australia is to buy three Spanish designed warships and two large Spanish landing ships, Prime Minister John Howard announced today. Three new destroyers will be based on the Navantia F100, now in service with the Spanish Navy. The two landing ships will be versions of Navantia's 27,000 ton strategic projection ship.

It's believed the Australian navy favored a larger, US-designed destroyer, but the Spanish design is cheaper and is already in service, so it can be delivered two years earlier than the US ship. Spain's shipbuilding industry will construct the hulls of the two landing ships and parts of the air warfare destroyers. Most of the destroyers will be constructed in module form at shipyards around Australia, then assembled at the ASC plant at Osborne in South Australia. The new ships will be significantly more expensive than originally estimated — $11 billion rather than $8 billion. (Source: Max Blenkin, AAP at The Canberra Times) • 2007-06-26 03:01:11 • Category: 0.

Montana fish may stop work on Canadian mine The Montana Wildlife Department recently funded a study aimed at gathering evidence of possible downstream damage from an open-pit coal mine proposed by Cline Mining Corp. In the Canadian Flathead. A half-dozen cutthroat trout captured on the Flathead River south of the B.C.-Montana border and fitted with radio transmitters were tracked by researchers as they swam to spawning beds in Canada. This suggests tangible evidence that fish would be harmed by the proposed mining site, and gives hope to both American and Canadian critics of the project. (Source: Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service, The Windsor Star, Canada.com) • 2007-06-26 03:00:26 • Category: 0. Owner won't raise the Sea Diamond Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines, which owns the cruise ship Sea Diamond, has said it will not salvage the sunken ship. The company had initially intended to submit a plan on removing the crude oil still trapped in the vessel, but advisers have since said that any attempt to pump oil out would be dangerous to divers and possibly the environment.

Additionally, an attempt to raise the ship could also trigger a spill. But environmentalists say the ship is vulnerable to even a small earthquake, which could create a bad spill — and residents of the island are worried about damage to the tourism industry.

Representatives of the Santorini Port Authority say they will raise the wreck if Louis does not comply. The company and the ship's captain have been fined for causing environmental pollution. (Source: Michele Kambas, Reuters) • 2007-06-26 02:59:47 • Category: 0. Ferries gets duty refund for ferry B.C. Ferries will get a refund in duty and taxes it had to pay to bring the MV Sonia from Greece into Canada. Renamed Northern Adventure, the ferry was a replacement for the sunken Queen of the North. The duty was originally established to discourage the purchase of ships from foreign countries, and to support Canada's own shipbuilding industry.

But Canada's Finance Minister said it was refunding the tax in this case to help reestablish the vital transportation link to coastal communities in the area. Ferries purchased the Greek ship to serve as an immediate replacement for the sunken ship. The refund is $13 million, less than the $17.1 million the company paid in duty and taxes for the new ferry.

(Source: Cindy Harnett, Times Colonist at Canada.com) • 2007-06-26 02:57:02 • Category: 0. Somali pirates release Indian ship An Indian merchant ship has been released after being held by Somali pirates for one month. The MV Nimatullah, a dhow with 14 Indian crew members, was seized close to Mogadishu on May 24. East African Seafarers Assistance Programme Director Andrew Mwangura said the dhow was now free and its crew safe. Mwangura believes the gunmen reached a deal with the Somali owner of the cargo, but could not confirm if a ransom demanded by the pirates had been paid. Four other boats, seized at different times, are still being held.

These are a fishing boat from Taiwan, two from Tanzania and a Danish cargo ship. (Source: Wangui Kanina, Reuters) • 2007-06-26 02:55:27 • Category: 0. General Dynamics Electric Boat has received a $3.2m contract to continue development of the next phase of external electric actuators that can be used for submarine steering and diving planes. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.

The development includes key innovative design features for external high- torque electric actuators that can be used to replace conventional hydraulic systems for the planes. Studies have shown that if hydraulics are replaced by electric actuators, there is the potential for significant savings in installation and maintenance costs. In addition, the actuators would provide a cleaner and safer on-board environment. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center awarded the Phase 2 contract to Electric Boat under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/Navy Tango Bravo Program. Electric Boat also is working on a concept for shaftless propulsion under Tango Bravo. The Tango Bravo program is focused on developing advanced technologies that would meet stringent submarine performance requirements while reducing ship-acquisition and life-cycle costs and improving the warfighting capabilities and mission adaptability of future submarines. Under the terms of the latest contract, Electric Boat will develop and build a controller for the electric actuators; develop an energy storage system that provides the same level of system backup for electric actuators as stored oil pressure provides for the existing hydraulic system; and conduct endurance testing of the actuator built in Phase 1.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-06-06 02:55:53 • Category: 0. Northrop Grumman Gets $191M for DDG1000 Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $191,119,037 cost-reimbursement type modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-2304) for DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer long lead material, production planning labor, integrated logistics support, and systems integration engineering to support detail design and construction.Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss.

(47 percent), Pittsburgh, Pa. (30 percent), Parsippany, N.J. (12 percent), Indianapolis, Ind. (5 percent), Erie, Pa. (4 percent), and Iron Mountain, Mich.

(2 percent), and is expected to be completed by November 2007.Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-06-06 02:55:00 • Category: 0. French navy finds 21 bodies floating off Malta A French naval frigate has discovered the bodies of 21 people floating in the Mediterranean in recent days, maritime officials said. Crew members of La Motte Picquet did not find any signs of boat wreckage as the bodies were pulled out of the water.

The corpses were found about 200 nautical miles south of Malta, between the Mediterranean island and the coast of Libya. The search was coordinated between France and Malta. Diplomatic efforts are under way to arrange for the bodies to be taken to Tripoli, Libya. (Source: Reuters at News24) • 2007-06-06 02:53:39 • Category: 0. Danish ship and crew captured Somali hijackers have seized the Danish cargo ship Donica White in heavy seas over 200 miles off the coast.

Five crew members were taken. Andrew Mwangura, director of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, expects a ransom to be demanded in the next few days, and because all the crew were Danish, he expects the amount to be high. Because the ship was taken so far off shore, experts are guessing that a 'mother ship' was involved in the hijacking. Although this mysterious ship has never been seen, it would explain how the small ships used by Somali pirates could hijack a ship so far from shore. (Source: Jeremy Clarke, Reuters) • 2007-06-06 02:52:58 • Category: 0. Somali pirates execute hostage Somali pirates who have been holding a Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel since mid-May killed one of the 16 crew members. Andrew Mwangura, director of the Kenyan-based East African Seafarers Assistance Program, said the captive was killed because the ship's owners have not paid a ransom.

The pirates threatened to kill other crew members if their demands are not met. The ship Ching Fong Hwa 168 had two Taiwanese and 12 Chinese crew members on board when it was hijacked off the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The nationality of the victim is not known. (Source: Reuters at The Sydney Morning Herald) • 2007-06-06 02:52:21 • Category: 0. Prosecutors seek damages for Erika oil spill Four months into the court procedure regarding the shipwreck of the tanker Erika, the prosecutor has listed demands of Total, the rescue services, the owner of the tanker, the leasing company, the captain and the classification society which certified the ship as seaworthy. The tanker split in two and sank in rough seas in 1999, spilling nearly 22,000 tons of oil off the coast of France. In the trial, prosecutor Laurent Michel sought conviction and the maximum one-year prison term for the Italian owner and manager of the tanker, as well as $100,500 in fines. He sought a $502,500 fine for Total, and a $13,400 fine for the ship's captain. A second prosecutor asked the court to consider the damage and interests demanded by some 100 civil parties in the case.

The accused were to begin pleading their cases before a verdict is reached. (Source: Verena Von Derschau, The Associated Press at Houston Chronicle) • 2007-06-06 02:50:38 • Category: 0.

US is concerned about China's military buildup A new annual Pentagon assessment of China's military describes a country that is increasing its military capacity. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, 'Some of the capabilities that are being developed are of concern.' He has called on China to be more open about its intentions. The expansion of China's navy includes a growing submarine fleet and new ships suitable for the open seas, fueling fears in the United States that its military could alter the balance of power in Asia. (Source: Reuters) • 2007-05-30 08:16:59 • Category: 0. Britannic to be turned into a diving attraction Britannic was the third largest Olympic-class liner of the legendary White Star line, and sister ship of the Titanic and Olympic. By then a wartime hospital ship, the Britannic sank after hitting a German mine in 1916 with the loss of 30 lives.

Later this year, a joint team of British and Greek divers will explore the wreck in the Aegean Sea. This will start off a plan to make the liner the focus of a tourist attraction. The ship will be made available to select teams of divers, and a museum, a diving school and a hotel will support the ship. The Britannic Foundation has just revealed details of its first dive, due to start on September 10. (Source: John McGurk, Belfast Telegraph) • 2007-05-30 08:16:00 • Category: 0.

Family of submariner killed on the Tireless is suing Two British sailors were killed in March in an accident on the nuclear submarine HMS Tireless. The boat was on a joint UK-US operation under the Arctic ice off Alaska when the tragedy occurred.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is investigating why the oxygen-making machine blew up on Tireless, a T-class type sub which have a history of safety problems. The family of one of the sailors killed, Anthony Huntrod, is suing the MoD and the manufacturer, alleging the equipment was 'not fit for purpose (Source: Jeremy Armstrong, Mirror.co.uk) • 2007-05-15 03:07:38 • Category: 0. Report suggests that South Koreans are hunting whales Whale meat can be sold legally in South Korea if the mammals are accidentally caught in fishing nets — these deaths must be reported. A new report in Britain's New Scientist magazine suggests that South Korean fishermen are deliberately trying to snare whales, and underreporting the catches. Intentional catches are punishable with a jail term of up to three years or a fine of $21,000, but some fishermen take the risk, since a minke whale can be sold for $100,000. The researchers bought whale meat in South Korean markets and used DNA fingerprinting to calculate how many individual whales had been caught.

Kim Zang-Geun, head of South Korea's state-financed Cetacean Research Institute, said the estimate might have been overblown. (Source: AFP at Yahoo!

News) • 2007-05-15 03:06:56 • Category: 0. Naval dockyard bought for £350m British defense and engineering group Babcock International will buy Plymouth's Devonport naval dockyard in a £350m deal. Devonport maintains, upgrades and fuels the Royal Navy's submarines. The deal will make Babcock the UK's leading naval maintenance firm. Babcock is buying Devonport Management Limited (DML) from a consortium which includes Kellogg Brown & Root, Balfour Beatty and Weir Group.

Babcock already maintains the Rosyth and Faslane submarine bases in Scotland. DML supports nuclear submarines and surface vessels for the Royal Navy and has controlled the Plymouth dockyard since 1997. Babcock is understood to have beaten a rival bid from US private equity firm Carlyle to buy DML, after earlier interest from defense rivals Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.

(Source: TimesOnline) • 2007-05-15 03:05:48 • Category: 0. 2 ships collide off China; 16 missing Chinese maritime authorities sent two helicopters and more than 20 boats to try to find 16 missing crew members of a South Korean cargo vessel that sank on Sunday, but no survivors or bodies have been found. The Golden Rose sank around 4 a.m. On Saturday after it collided with the Chinese freighter JinSheng. Heavy fog was blamed for the collision.

South Korea's coast guard sent a telegram to Chinese maritime authorities demanding a thorough investigation into why there was a delay of about seven hours in reporting the accident. Chinese authorities said they dispatched a rescue team to the site immediately after learning of the accident. (Source: Kwang-Tai Kim, Associated Press at Kentucky.com) • 2007-05-15 03:04:49 • Category: 0.

Alaska cruise ship evacuated, all safe The cruise ship Empress of the North with 281 passengers on board hit a reef off Alaska and started taking on water early on Monday, but all passengers were evacuated safely. A ferry, several fishing boats, and a Coast Guard cutter were used to evacuate the passengers after the accident, which occurred south of Juneau on Alaska's eastern leg in an area called Icy Straits. The crew remained on the cruise ship to take it back to Juneau. The vessel is operated by Majestic America Line of Seattle.

The Empress of the North has had other problems since it began operating in mid-2003, including running aground at least twice before (Source: nne Sutton, Associated Press at SFGate.com) • 2007-05-15 03:03:57 • Category: 0. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Legare home ported in Portsmouth will return here Friday following a 108-day deployment to the Gulf of Guinea region of West Africa. The Legare crew deployed to Africa in support of U.S.

Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Sixth Fleet's long-term strategy to improve maritime security and safety throughout the west coast of Africa.

The crew of the Legare conducted professional training on law enforcement and search and rescue, participated in local community service projects, hosted receptions for foreign and U.S. Dignitaries and even played soccer games with local military personnel and school children. While deployed the Legare's mission primarily focused on engaging enduring and emerging allies at every opportunity in order to further security and cooperation throughout the region. While visiting several nations in West Africa, crewmembers met with the militaries, port authorities and customs law enforcement officials from each country. Common concerns were the enforcement of fisheries regulations, illicit drug trafficking, illegal immigration, search and rescue and environmental protection-all part of the U.S. Coast Guard's portfolio of missions.

Legare became the first U.S. Military ship to moor in Monrovia in more than 17 years, following the end of Liberia's lengthy civil war, and the first ever U.S. Vessel to visit (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-05-04 02:49:37 • Category: 0.

BAE lands submarine export order BAE Systems has landed its first export order for submarines in 20 years. Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia has placed a multi-million pound order for parts for four diesel-electric subs.

Under the deal, BAE will make eight pressure domes at its base in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and deliver them to Navantia by the end of 2007. The deal marks the company's first foray into the 'new build' export market since 1987. BAE said its priority is its Astute nuclear submarine building program for the Royal Navy, which is under way, but the contract marks a welcome return to the export market.

BAE is due to launch its first Astute submarine in June. (Source: Karen Attwood, Independent Online) • 2007-05-04 02:44:46 • Category: 0. US wants fishing subsidies banned Fishing subsidies should be banned to make global trade more equitable and prevent overfishing of already depleted high-sea stocks, the United States told World Trade Organization members on Tuesday. Some 2.6 billion people around the world depend on fish for their food, and millions of livelihoods in the fishing industry are under threat if no action is taken. The US proposal would prohibit all trade-distorting subsidies but make exceptions for poorer countries and research purposes. Environmental groups have backed the proposal, saying it provides an opportunity to save global fish stocks from collapsing. But Korea and Taiwan opposed a blanket ban on fisheries subsidies, while Japan and the EU expressed reservations about certain aspects of the proposal.

(Source: John Zarocostas, International Herald Tribune) • 2007-05-03 03:32:14 • Category: 0. Ban on ship scrapping in Virginia's waters is lifted The US Maritime Administration (MarAd) put a temporary freeze on the disposal of ships in the James River Reserve Fleet last month, while several state agencies discussed how the ship hulls are cleaned.

Since last year, the US Coast Guard has required that ship's hulls have accumulated marine growth removed before they're towed into foreign waters. Some worried the process could remove lead paint or other toxic materials into the water. California, Texas and Virginia officials questioned the practice, but now the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has said that no permits are needed in the commonwealth. This move promoted MarAd to lift the moratorium in Virginia. But whenever practical, ships should first be cleaned off at a dry dock so that hull debris doesn't fall into the water.

(Source: Scott Harper, the Virginian-Pilot at HamptonRoads.com) • 2007-05-02 02:41:20 • Category: 0. Ferries' Northern Adventure is laid up again Just 39 days after $18 million in refits, B.C. Ferries' Northern Adventure is back for repairs. Formerly the MV Sonia, the Greek-built ship underwent a $9 million refit in Greece to prepare it for voyage and another $9 million at Victoria Shipyards (with finishing touches in Richmond) before the job was completed March 31. The vessel was first built in 2004, was purchased last year for $51 million, and with repairs, upgrades, transportation and taxes, the total has reached about $100 million. Ferries didn't have a cost estimate for the current refit, which will tackle a faulty electrical panel, a malfunctioning alarm system, non-functioning elevators and escalators, and toilets that are not flowing as effectively as possible, among other things.

While some point out the additional repairs include 'serious safety concerns,' others say it's 'amazing' that B.C. Ferries has replaced the Queen of the North so quickly. (Source: Cindy E. Harnett, Times Colonist at Canada.com) • 2007-05-02 02:38:47 • Category: 0. A surplus of people have filed for Guimaras oil spill compensation The Solar 1 sank last August off Guimaras Island, spilling over 2 million liters of bunker fuel. The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (OIPC) has revealed that some 80% of the residents of the central Philippines island have filed for damages, and claims keep being filed.

Even residents below 18 years of age have applied for damages. This violates the 1992 conventions that regulate payment of damages for oils spills, which limit payment to heads of families. Jose Nichols, deputy director and technical adviser of the OIPC, says this will delay payments (Source: Barbara Mae Dacanay, Gulfnews.com) • 2007-05-02 02:38:10 • Category: 0. Coast Guard cutter and helicopter plucked more than a dozen fishermen from the Atlantic after their boat capsized, but at least 15 others were missing. The 52-foot Abra Cadabra, carrying at least 34 fishermen, was sailing to a popular fishing bank off the Dominican Republic's north coast when it capsized, according to the U.S.

Another boat rescued two of the fishermen some 20 miles north of the Dominican town of Montecristi on Tuesday and reported the sinking to the Dominican navy, which asked the U.S. Coast Guard for help. The Coast Guard said it sent an HU-25 Falcon jet and two cutters to the scene, along with helicopters and planes based in Borinquen, Puerto Rico; Clearwater, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama.

A Dominican Republic naval vessel also searched for survivors. Coast Guard cutters found 16 fishermen bobbing in the water, and a helicopter rescued another survivor, spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said. The survivors have been taken to hospitals for treatment of dehydration, said Capt. Carlos Rodriguez, a Dominican navy spokesman. He said 34 fishermen had been aboard the boat, but the Coast Guard put the number at 39.

Rescue crews will search an increasingly large area through the night, as currents carry survivors away from each other and some try to swim to safety, Castrodad said. (Source: AP) • 2007-04-27 03:53:55 • Category: 0. A ban is proposed on oceangoing boats in the Great Lakes In March, the conservation group Great Lakes United proposed banning oceangoing vessels from the Great Lakes until they are equipped with sterilization systems for their ballast tanks — this would keep non-native species out of the waters. Invasive species are damaging fisheries, beaches, and water-dependent industries. The concept brings up several legal issues, and the US would have to coordinate the decision with Canada, co-owner of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

But the idea is gaining momentum. Evidence suggests that the costs of the biological pollution from ballast tanks far outweigh the benefits of maintaining the world's largest freshwater system as a nautical highway for saltwater traffic. Oceangoing ships account for less than 7% of the total cargo moved on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Recreational boating is the most important maritime industry on the Lakes.

(Source: Dan Egan, Journal Sentinel Online) • 2007-04-27 03:51:39 • Category: 0. Rescuers search for missing yacht crew Rescuers in helicopters and boats scanned the seas Saturday for the missing crew of a catamaran found deserted off the Great Barrier Reef with the sails up, engine running and food on the table. The three-member crew was last seen Sunday leaving Airlie Beach. On Wednesday, a coastal patrol plane spotted the Kaz II drifting about 95 miles offshore. Rescue workers who reached the boat early Friday confirmed no one was aboard. Besides a shredded headsail, there was no indication of damage, and no distress call had been made.

The weather was rough when the men first set off, but there is little reason to believe bad weather was involved. (Source: Barbara McMahon, The Guardian) • 2007-04-27 03:50:41 • Category: 0. France proposes sharing construction of aircraft carriers with Britain French defense company Thales has proposed that Britain and France should share the construction of the next generation of aircraft carriers.

The approach, sanctioned by the French naval industry, would make the vessels more affordable. But the British government has never built warships abroad before, and Britain's BAE Systems opposes the plan. Britain plans to build two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, and France wants to build one carrier.

The two countries are already using a largely common design for the ships, and BAE would welcome cooperation on procuring parts and materials. But Thales has suggested that one third of the hull for each ship would be built in France, and the rest in England — BAE feels they lack capacity to manage a three ship program. A senior British industry executive said BAE may also have concerns about ceding influence to Thales in British shipbuilding. Thales has a large role in the British carrier program. (Source: James Boxell and Peggy Hollinger, Financial Times at MSNBC.com) • 2007-04-27 03:49:34 • Category: 0.

Australia ferry disaster might have been avoided Minutes leaked to News Limited newspapers from a February meeting with Sydney Ferries, the Royal Australian Navy, NSW Maritime and Sydney Ports reveal that there had been a plan to ban private boats from around the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But there was confusion over which agency had the power to impose such safety restrictions. Unfortunately, four people were killed on March 28 when a private cruiser collided with a Sydney Ferries HarbourCat under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The accident was one of at least 14 safety incidents involving the state-owned Sydney Ferries since 2004. The minutes also reveal that the Sydney Harbour master was unaware it was his responsibility to impose the restrictions under the Ports and Maritime Administration Act 1995. (Source: AAP at The Sydney Morning Herald) • 2007-04-27 03:48:55 • Category: 0. The first of BC Ferries’ three new Super C-class vessels, Coastal Renaissance, was officially launched at a special ceremony in Germany.

Representatives from BC Ferries and the shipyard were on hand to witness this major event as the ship was launched into the water for the first time. The Coastal Renaissance is scheduled to leave Germany for Canada in late October and is expected to be in service in early 2008. The second and third vessels will be arriving in B.C. In early and mid 2008. All vessels will be in service by mid summer of 2008. The new Super C-class vessels will be the largest double-ended ferries in the world.

They will carry 1650 passengers and 370 vehicles and will provide both British Columbians and tourists alike with a whole new west coast travel experience. The new vessels will have a service speed of 21 knots and they will be amongst the fastest and most fuel efficient vessels in the BC Ferries’ fleet. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-25 03:32:34 • Category: 0. The Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (BHRESG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) April 23, while enroute to the Persian Gulf in support of the global war on terrorism. BHRESG is a rapid response strike group available for humanitarian or non-combatant evacuation operations.

While operating in the 7th Fleet AOR, the BHRESG will conduct drills and exercises to prepare for operations in the Persian Gulf. The strike group proved their many capabilities prior to deployment by successfully completing their Composite Training Unit and Joint Task Force exercises. “Throughout our strike group integration, Composite Training Unit and Joint Task Force exercises, the Sailors and Marines of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group have been training to support fleet requirements,” said Capt. Martin, commander of BHRESG and Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 7. “Today we are a joint, seamless strike group properly trained, capable and ready to flex to the fleet commander’s mission tasking.” BHRESG is comprised of USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), USS Denver (LPD 9), USS Rushmore (LSD 47), USS Milius (DDG 69), USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93), and USS Chosin (CG 65). The strike group also includes PHIBRON 7 and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The BHRESG serves under the Expeditionary Strike Group 7/Task Force 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force.

Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan. Operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, the U.S. 7th Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. Fleets, with approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines assigned at any given time.

(Source: USS Bonhomme Richard Public Affairs) • 2007-04-25 03:31:34 • Category: 0. Coast Guard Investigates Vessel Collision Two miles of Mississippi River are closed as Coast Guard investigators from Marine Safety Unit Baton Rouge respond to a vessel collision near Geismer, La.

The tank ship Stolt Creativity and the Norb Whitlock collided, while crossing near Geismer. The collision resulted in one of the Whitlock's 16 barges, which was loaded with salt, sinking approximately 800 feet from the right descending bank. The river is closed for a two mile stretch between mile markers 182 and 184, and will remain closed until the Coast Guard is able to determine the location of the salt barge and if navigation through the area is safe. Both vessels were traveling up river at the time of the collision, which occurred just after 1:00 P.M. No pollution or injuries resulted from the collision. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-25 03:30:33 • Category: 0.

Program to help Africans countries export fish to Europe The government of Iceland and the United Nations University have developed a fisheries program to help experts from developing countries tackle sanitary, management and trade issues with hands-on learning. The courses take place in Iceland; about 20 students attend per year, and about 45% of those come from Africa, particularly from countries surrounding Lake Victoria. The European Union temporarily banned exports of fish from Lake Victoria during the 1990s because of health and safety standards. But that kind of trade barrier can hamper economic development in African countries, where fisheries are often important products. The course projects have benefited both trade and the local economic situations of students' homes. (Source: Lowana Veal, Mail & Guardian Online) • 2007-04-25 03:23:53 • Category: 0. Decommissioning Ends USS Saipan’s 29 Years of Service The Navy bid farewell to the amphibious assault ship USS Saipan (LHA 2), April 20 in a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk.

During its 29 year career, the ship’s primary mission was to transport Marine Corps forces. However, Saipan was also involved in providing evacuation and disaster relief when needed.

“We are here today to honor the history and legacy of this fine ship, but more importantly the people who served on it,” said Saipan Commanding Officer Capt. Richard Fitzpatrick.

“The decommissioning signals the end of an era. We honor the men and women who gave their time, service and in some cases, their lives.” Saipan was commissioned Oct. 15, 1977, and made the first Mediterranean deployment by an amphibious assault ship in 1980. The ship deployed eight more times to the Mediterranean and deployed to the Persian Gulf multiple times in support of operations Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In 1990, Saipan participated in the evacuation of approximately 1,600 civilians from Liberia in support of Operation Sharp Edge.

Saipan provided a presence in the Adriatic Sea during the 2000 federal elections in Yugoslavia, and gave support to the first ever U.S.-Croatian exercise. In 2005, it deployed to Haiti where it offloaded Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) One, and nearly 1,200 tons of equipment used to rebuild schools and wells in the hurricane-ravaged country. In December 2006, Saipan returned from its final deployment. “As the world continues to evolve so too must the Navy,” said Rear Adm.

Michael Nowakowski, former Saipan commanding officer and current President, Board of Inspection and Survey. “This evolution of continual change drives the process of commissions and decommissions.” Saipan was the second U.S. Ship to bear the name. Its predecessor, the carrier Saipan (CVL 48), served from July 1946 to January 1970. The name Saipan was taken from an integral WWII battle on the island of Saipan.

Saipan and its Sailors received numerous awards during its 29 years of service, including six Battle “E” awards, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals and the Humanitarian Service Medal. “Without its crew it is just 40,000 tons of welded steel,” said Fitzpatrick. “Saipan’s legacy is going to live on through these fine professionals.” Saipan will be used for weapons effect testing, providing vital information on structural integrity and survivability which will assist in the designing and planning of future ships. After the tests have been conducted it will be transferred to the inactive fleet. “You have served your nation and the Navy well,” Nowakowski said during his closing remarks. “The Sailors from your 19 crews will keep alive your legacy; Fair Winds and Following Seas.” (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-24 03:19:27 • Category: 0.

Coast Guard Responds to Bomb Threat Aboard Cruise Ship Coast Guard Los Angeles joined Long Beach Police Department, Long Beach Harbor Patrol, and Customs and Border Protection in responding to a bomb threat made against the Carnival cruise ship Paradise Friday afternoon. The threat was phoned into the Carnival cruise line reservation center and reported to the Coast Guard by company security officials. Cruise ship Carnival Paradise is following its comprehensive security plan to include security sweeps of the ship and reinspection of all cargo and passenger luggage. The Coast Guard is working closely with partner agencies and the cruise line to ensure the safety of the ship's passengers and crew.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-24 03:18:35 • Category: 0. When Holland America Line's ms Zaandam sets sail from Vancouver, B.C., on Earth Day, April 22, it will be unlike any other cruise ship at sea, featuring new cutting edge emission reduction technology recently installed during a two-week drydock. In cooperation with several United States and Canadian government and regulatory agencies, Holland America Line has launched a technology demonstration project, designed to demonstrate the feasibility of using sea water to 'scrub,' or reduce, engine emissions on oceangoing vessels.

The sea water scrubber system, developed by Krystallon, a subsidiary of BP, uses the natural chemistry of seawater to remove virtually all sulfur oxide (SOx) as well as significantly reduce particulate matter emissions. The sea water is then treated to remove harmful components while the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in seawater renders the sulfur oxides harmless by conversions to sulfates and neutral salts. The price tag tops more than $1.5 million and includes assistance of $300,000 from an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/West Coast Collaborative grant and a $100,000 contribution from Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Additional support for the project comes from the Port of Seattle, the Port of Vancouver, Environment Canada, British Columbia Ministry of the Environment and the B. Clean Air Research Fund, as well as Krystallon. Each government agency has representatives serving on a technical advisory committee that oversees the development of this project. Holland America Line demonstrates its commitment to responsible environmental practices through a comprehensive fleetwide program that emphasizes compliance with all international environmental guidelines, waste reduction and recycling, and a history of embracing new environmental technologies such as state-of-the-art water treatment systems, shore power while ships are in port, and an internationally-recognized whale strike avoidance program. In June 2006, Holland America Line's Environmental Management System received the international ISO 14001 certification, demonstrating that the company conforms to higher standards than what is just required by the letter of the law. Holland America Line's ships currently meet or exceed all provisions of the international regulations governing the environmental management of marine operations. An environmental officer serves on each ship to oversee shipboard compliance and procedures.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-24 03:18:04 • Category: 0. Canadian sealing boats trapped in ice Around 100 small boats carrying seal hunters were trapped by thick ice off Canada's Atlantic coast on Wednesday, and at least one crew had to abandon ship. The boats were caught in the ice, and face damage or even sinking, as crews hunted the young seals off the northeast coast of Newfoundland, where most of the annual hunt takes place. Ice may not be such a big problem in coming years as the federal government has announced that two heavy icebreakers will move from Halifax to the Newfoundland region in the next two years. (Source: Alisha Morrissey, CanWest News Service at Canada.com) • 2007-04-24 03:16:50 • Category: 0.

UK Coastguards stop work over insurance issues Seventeen Coastguard rescue teams across the UK were refusing to respond to emergency calls on Thursday in a row over compensation. Around 17 teams have joined the strike action, with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency saying it was deeply concerned about the withdrawal of services. Volunteers from Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, are at the center of the fight.

The dispute revolves around a rescue team member who, it is claimed, lost his job after being injured during a rescue four years ago and has not been adequately compensated. (Source: Evening News at Scotsman.com) • 2007-04-24 03:16:04 • Category: 0. The Navy’s newest attack submarine, North Carolina, will be christened Saturday, April 21, during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard, Newport News, Va. The fourth submarine of the Virginia class, SSN 777 will bear the name North Carolina to honor the Tar Heel State.

The submarine will be the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name North Carolina. The first was a 74-gun ship-of-the-line that served from 1820 to 1836. The second North Carolina was a Tennessee-class armored cruiser that was also built at the Newport News shipyard and served from 1908 to 1921. The third North Carolina was the first of the Navy's modern battleships, serving from 1940 to 1947, earning 12 battle stars for service during World War II. The battleship now serves in Wilmington, N.C., as a memorial for all North Carolinians killed in World War II.

Donnelly, commander, Submarine Force, commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic, commander, Allied Submarine Command, will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Linda Bowman, wife of retired Adm. Frank 'Skip' Bowman, former director, Naval Nuclear Reactors, will serve as sponsor of North Carolina. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when Mrs. Bowman christens the ship by breaking a bottle of champagne over the submarine.

This next-generation attack submarine, the Virginia class, will provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. North Carolina will have improved stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable it to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements. Virginia class submarines are able to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces.

Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; special forces delivery and support; and mine delivery and minefield mapping. With enhanced communications connectivity, the submarine also will provide important battle group and joint task force support, with full integration into carrier battle group operations. Davis, a native of upstate New York, will become the ship’s first commanding officer and will lead a crew of approximately 134 officers and enlisted personnel. The 7,800-ton North Carolina is being built by Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard, and is 337 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged.

North Carolina is also designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship-reducing lifecycle costs while increasing operational availability. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-23 03:23:08 • Category: 0. Navy Seeks Berthing Permission at Indian Ports The US Navy has again sought berthing and access facilities at Indian ports, a top US commander said yesterday.

US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael G. Mullen also expressed happiness over the very supportive response to his concept of a thousand ship navy collaboration between seafaring nations. At a press conference he pointed to the threat posed by the naval wing of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers and expressed concern at the growing clout of the Chinese navy. (Source: GulfNews) • 2007-04-23 03:22:25 • Category: 0.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG 59) returned home to Naval Station Pearl Harbor on April 7 after a three-month deployment with Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG). Brad Cooper, commanding officer of Russell, said he is very proud of the command’s flexibility and motivation to support its tasking. “We deployed in early February with the Ronald Reagan Strike Group as part of a surge deployment [of] forces moving to the Central Command region. The Reagan was the backbone of Western Pacific, engaging allies, participating in bi-lateral and multi-lateral exercises, and engaged in the U.S. Seventh Fleet maritime influence strategy,” Cooper said.

“We deployed on 10 days’ notice which is a pretty short time frame since our return from our six-month deployment.” Russell, which deployed Feb. 3, participated in several multinational exercises, and, along the way, had opportunities to experience foreign cultures during port visits. Community relations projects were a staple in every port visit. In Shimizu, Japan, Russell’s first port, Sailors participated in four community relations projects. They continued offering helping hands during visits to Hong Kong and Chinhae, South Korea. Russell participated in Exercise Foal Eagle 07, a multinational and multiservice annual exercise which provided opportunities for the ship to hone her skills in an international, simulated combat environment. During the exercises, Russell Sailors were able to communicate with Japanese and South Korean navies, coordinate complicated combat missions, and train for multiple potential conflicts.

A milestone Russell achieved while deployed was to earn the Battle Efficiency “E” award. Cooper lauded his crew's efforts during this deployment, also noting that more than 50 Sailors received recognition while underway. Successful completion of Foal Eagle marked the finish line for the Ronald Reagan Strike Group deployment, and after 1,648,992 gallons of fuel, 14 underway replenishments, 19,000 pounds of Navy chow and 24 enlisted surface warfare qualifications, the Russell pulled into the pier to greet families and friends. Cooper expressed his thanks for the support and understanding of the ‘unsung heroes’ the crew left back at home. “I would like to thank my wife and children, all the families of the crew and their children, particularly their children,” said Cooper.

“You can never really make up for the amount of time that [the crew] are separated from their families.' 'What we do is important and the crew will tell you the same,” he stressed. For the crew, what they felt coming home to friends and loved ones was hard to put into words. “It’s been three months, not nearly as exciting as a six-month deployment. There are no words about how good I feel - they haven’t invented them yet,” said Chief Fire Controlman (SW) Jason Lawrence about Russell’s homecoming. “I’m very excited.

Just look at the family that I have to come home to.” (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-23 03:21:45 • Category: 0. Russia launches new nuclear submarine Russia has launched its first new generation nuclear submarine since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The launch of the new submarine is part of a plan, approved by President Vladimir Putin, to upgrade the core of Russia's undersea nuclear attack forces. The Yuri Dolgoruky, the first Borei class nuclear submarine, can descend to a depth of 1,500 feet, and can carry 107 sailors for 100 days without rising to the surface. Russia will build eight of the new generation submarines by 2018. (Source: Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters) • 2007-04-19 02:23:13 • Category: 0.

US Coast Guard takes the lead on the Deepwater program In removing Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman as managers of a troubled $24 billion fleet modernization program, the US Coast Guard on Tuesday signaled its intention to be the key player in managing the rest of the 25-year plan. Under the revised plan, the Coast Guard will take over the management, or 'lead systems integrator,' role for the entire Deepwater program. Lawmakers have pushed the Coast Guard to take the helm of the Deepwater contract, awarded in June 2002 to Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The deal has been the subject of internal and external investigations, and been criticized for skyrocketing costs, design flaws and lax contract oversight. Both Lockheed Martin Corp.

And Northrop Grumman Corp. Will be able to bid for future contracts. The current round of Deepwater pacts expire in June. (Source: Renae Merle and Spencer Hsu, The Washington Post) • 2007-04-19 02:22:27 • Category: 0.

Local members of the U.S. Navy Submarine Veterans (SubVets) Association hosted a “Tolling of the Boats” ceremony at Naval Submarine Base Point Loma on April 6. The ceremony is held annually to remember those Sailors lost at sea during World War II. During the ceremony, a short description of what happened to each submarine is read followed by the number of Sailors lost on the boat. A ceremonial bell then is rung in memory of each submarine.

Among the attendees at the ceremony were retired Cmdr. Joe McGrievy and retired Torpedoman’s Mate 2nd Class (SS) C.J. Glassford, who served as the masters of ceremony. “Tolling of the boats is our way of remembering those who are still lying on the bottom of the ocean in their steel tombs,” McGrievy said.

Not only did the members of the SubVets Association attend, but also Sailors of today’s submarine community were there to pay respects to shipmates lost in the call of duty. “I am here because it’s part of our history and heritage,' said Culinary Specialist 2nd Class (SS) Matthew Jasnik of the Naval Base Point Loma galley. 'I don’t know of many receptions that you can get to sit and talk with Sailors that have served before you during rougher times.” “Being in the submarine community is almost like a second family,' added Jasnik. 'If you ever have a problem they’re always there for you. Even being on a shore command you still get to experience the bond and tightness within the submarine community.” McGrievy closed the ceremony in prayer. “Lord, these departed shipmates with dolphins on their chest are part of an outfit known as the best. Make them welcome and take them by hand.

You’ll find without a doubt they’re the best in all the land. So, Heavenly Father, add their names to the rolls of our departed shipmates still on patrol. Let them know that we who survived, will always keep their memories alive. Sailor, rest your oar,” he said. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-17 07:11:33 • Category: 0. The Coast Guard has closed the Upper Mississippi River on Sunday from mile marker 130 to 144, to all vessel traffic due to a towboat accident which resulted in one sunken barge and 6 others damaged.

The towboat John Paul Eckstein, lost power and ran its 25 barge tow into a dock near mile marker 144, approximately 20 miles above St. Genevieve, MO. As a result of the accident, the tow broke apart and all 25 barges were set adrift. All of the barges, except one were recovered. The Coast Guard will reopen vessel traffic in the affected area upon location of the sunken barge and once the channel is cleared and safe for vessel traffic transit. Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River is working with the vessel owner, Marquette Transportation, and the US Army Corps of Engineers to locate the sunken barge. Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River is investigating the cause of the accident.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-17 07:10:40 • Category: 0. Bourbon Dolphin Sinks Following the accident of the Bourbon Dolphin Shetland Islands, claiming 8 lives, the ship sunk and is lying at 3,600 feet. SMIT Salvage started the salvage operations on April 15th after a complete survey of the situation. The Salvage Team was composed of 2 tugs with crew and material, 4 specialized divers and one Salvage Master in charge of the operations.

The ship was first disconnected from the rig, and as the weather conditions became bad (25 knot south-westerly wind and 4 meter high waves), it became destabilized and then sunk before towage was possible. For the time being, most of the SMIT Salvage teams have left the zone, except for one tug that remains for the moment on the zone to monitor the current situation.

Right from the start Bourbon’s teams have done all they could to help, support and Yesterday, to give support to the seamen’s families, religious services were held on the Shetland Islands and in Norway. In Norway the representative of the King of Norway, the mayor of the commune of Heroy and Jacques de Chateauvieux spoke at the service alongside church ministers. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-17 07:09:59 • Category: 0. 'Asbestos widow' wins court award Vaughn Oney, a former worker at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, was sometimes in contact with asbestos daily during the decades he worked there. Although he was in good health even at retirement in 1994, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2004. The disease is a form of cancer triggered by breathing asbestos fibers, and can remain latent in the body for 40 years. On Wednesday, jurors determined that Kay Oney, Mr.

Oney's widow, should receive damages from two suppliers to the shipbuilding industry for their role in his death. Garlock Sealing Technologies settled with Oney for an undisclosed amount before the case went to trial. John Crane Inc. Was ordered to pay $5.55 million.

The company is expected to appeal the jury verdict. (Source: Associated Press at TimesDispatch.com) • 2007-04-17 07:09:10 • Category: 0.

Oil rig support boat capsized, five missing The Norwegian anchor-handling vessel Bourbon Dolphin capsized in the North Sea. Five crewmen are missing. The vessel was handling an anchor from the drilling rig Transocean Rather when the incident occurred, 75 miles north west of Shetland.

Ten of the 15 people on board were saved. The five missing crew are thought to be trapped in the hull of the upturned boat. A rescue operation is under way. (Source: Press Association at Guardian Unlimited) • 2007-04-17 07:08:27 • Category: 0. Bourbon Offshore Norway, a subsidiary of BOURBON, has been informed by Shetland Coastguards that the Anchor Handling Tug Supply Bourbon Dolphin has capsized. Bourbon Dolphin was on operation 75 nautical miles North, West Shetland Islands with 15 people on board. According to Neville Davis, Rescue Coordination Center Manager, Shetland coastguards: “So far, 10 persons have been recovered.

We will continue working with the assets available to try and locate the missing crew”. The company emergency response team in Norway, supported by BOURBON emergency management team in Marseilles is, according to plans, assessing the different available information. (Source: MarineLink) • 2007-04-16 02:32:27 • Category: 0. Canada to Get 6 CG Vessels for $324m The Canadian government will reportedly spend $324 million to purchase six new vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard, according to a report on www.cbc.ca.

The vessels will reportedly include four midshore patrol vessels, one offshore science vessel and one hovercraft. Three of the vessels are bound for British Columbia, two are destined for Nova Scotia and one will go to Quebec.

All six will be built in Canada, which should boost the country's shipbuilding industry. In addition to the six new vessels, Hearn said the coast guard will spend $17 million to buy a high-speed air cushion vehicle that will be used in search and rescue services in Quebec. Including this latest $324-million announcement, the federal government has now spent $750 million on the coast guard since February 2006, purchasing a total of 16 new vessels. (Source: www.cbc.ca) • 2007-04-16 02:30:35 • Category: 0.

Grounded Barge Capsized The barge ITB-260 loaded with 3,324 tons of gravel capsized north of Gig Harbor, Wash., when the tide came in, causing the load of gravel to shift and eventually spill into the water. The tug Island Breeze was towing the barge when it reported to the Coast Guard that the barge was taking on water. Over three hours later the crew of the tug reported they had pushed the barge against the shore to prevent it from sinking. The Coast Guard is working with the owner of the barge to ensure the damage to the barge can safely be evaluated before being allowed to proceed.

This incident did not result in the release of any petroleum products. The barge was transporting the gravel from Dupont, Wash., to Kenmore, Wash. The Island Breeze is owned by the Seattle-based company Island Tug and Barge. The Coast Guard has assigned an investigator to this incident and notified the Washington State Department of Ecology of the event. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-16 02:30:02 • Category: 0. US Navy terminates Lockheed's contract for a second LCS The US Navy has terminated Lockheed Martin's contract for construction of the second of two new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The Navy announced the action to terminate the contract following the expiration of a 90-day stop work order imposed on the second ship in January, to allow the Navy to review costs associated with construction of the first ship.

On March 15, Navy Secretary Donald Winter said that the stop work order would be lifted only if Lockheed Martin agreed to accept a fixed-price incentive contract for the second ship. Lockheed and the Navy tried to negotiate such a contract, but were unable to agree on the terms. Lockheed's team will still be able to compete for future contracts under the program. The Navy plans to purchase 55 LCS ships. (Source: Renae Merle, The Washington Post) • 2007-04-16 02:28:33 • Category: 0.

Human error behind Greek ship wreck A Greek minister has said that human error almost certainly contributed to the sinking of the cruise ship Sea Diamond last Friday. But efforts are still focused on trying to find the two missing French tourists, and on protecting the environment from the oil spilling from the sunken ship. Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis didn't elaborate on the cause of the accident, but he did praise the rescue efforts. Santorini is a volcanic island with steep cliffs that is one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, and residents worry that people might be wary of visiting. Kefaloyiannis said the oil spill 'is under control.' (Source: Thanassis Stavrakis, Associated Press at Las Vegas Sun) • 2007-04-12 02:02:13 • Category: 0. Russia to Launch Nuclear Submarine A fourth-generation strategic nuclear submarine will be launched during a special ceremony at a shipbuilding yard in northern Russia, according to Novosti.

The Yury Dolgoruky, a Borey-class nuclear missile submarine, was built at the Sevmash plant in the northern Arkhangelsk Region. It will be equipped with the Bulava ballistic missile, which is adapted from the Topol-M (SS-27). The submarine is 580 feet, a body diameter around 42 feet, and a submerged speed of about 29 knots. It can carry up to 16 ballistic missiles. Two other Borey-class nuclear submarines, the Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh, are currently under construction at the Sevmash plant, with a fourth submarine on the future production schedule list. (Source: Novosti) • 2007-04-11 02:56:20 • Category: 0. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Northland turned over approximately 2,400 pounds of cocaine to federal agents in Mayport Monday following an at sea interdiction with the help of the Jacksonville-Based Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron near Guajira, Colombia, March 10.

The transfer comes after Northland's third go-fast interdiction in as many weeks, yielding a total of 55 bales of cocaine and four bales of heroin with a total estimated street value of $50 million. Additionally, 11 suspected smugglers, and five persons suspected of supporting drug trafficking, have been transferred to federal agents as a result of Northland's law-enforcement actions.

The March 10 interdiction began when the aircrew from HITRON in Jacksonville deployed with the cutter Northland and patrolling the waters near the Guajira Peninsula, noticed a suspicious vessel sitting idle. The vessel began to flee and ignored orders from the aircrew to stop.

The helicopter crew brought the vessel to a halt after they employed warning shots and then disabling fire directed at the engine compartment. The aircrew observed the vessel taking on water and deployed a life raft to the people on board. Once Northland arrived on scene, crews launched a small boat to rescue the five men and then recover 41 bales of cocaine. Recently, the Coast Guard set a record for the most cocaine removed for the first quarter of a fiscal year. 1, 2006, until Jan.1, 2007, the Coast Guard removed 97,635 pounds of the drug, eclipsing the previous high of 76,925 pounds set during the first quarter of last year.

The cocaine seized to date in fiscal year 2007 exceeds the yearly totals of all but three of the last 15 fiscal years. The Northland is a 270-foot cutter from Portsmouth, Va., that routinely deploys to the Caribbean Sea more than six months a year to conduct law enforcement, search and rescue, humanitarian, and national defense missions. The HITRON is based at Cecil Field in Jacksonville conducting routine training along the St. Johns River and off the coast of Jacksonville's beaches.

HITRON crews deploy on cutters patrolling known drug transit zones in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean to stop go fast smuggling boats. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-11 02:55:45 • Category: 0. Greek rescuers will deploy a robot submarine to search for the bodies of two French tourists believed to have drowned when a cruise ship sank off a resort island in the Aegean Sea last week, reported the Houston Chronicle.

The ship's captain blamed the accident on sea currents that swept the Sea Diamond onto a charted reef off the island of Santorini, tearing a hole in the ship's hull. According to reports, more than 50 tons of the ship's fuel leaked after the sinking, some of which has washed ashore. An oceanographic vessel is expected to arrive on the island to deploy the unmanned sub in an attempt to locate the missing passengers and the ship's voyage data recorder, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. Most of the hull is 320 feet below the water's surface inside a sea-filled crater caused by a volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago. But officials fear the ship's position is not yet stable. The rest of the passengers reached safety after scrambling onto lifeboats, crossing narrow gangways and climbing down rope ladders.

The Sea Diamond sunk some 15 hours later, causing an oil slick that experts tried to contain Monday. Plans were also made to seal off or remove the remaining 400 tons from the wreckage. (Source: Houston Chronicle) • 2007-04-11 02:54:59 • Category: 0.

Greek Captain Says Currents Caused Shipwreck The captain of a cruise ship that slammed into a volcanic reef before sinking off the Aegean island of Santorini blamed strong currents for the accident, Greece's state-run television said Sunday. The 1,156 passengers, most of them Americans, and the 391 crew members were forced to evacuate the listing liner, which sank 15 hours after the accident on Thursday. A pair of French tourists have been missing since then. On Saturday, the captain and five other officers of the 489-ft. Sea Diamond were indicted on charges of causing a shipwreck through negligence, breaching international shipping safety regulations, and polluting the environment. All were released pending further investigation, but judicial officials said their indictments would eventually encompass charges relating to the disappearance of the two French passengers, a 45-year-old father and his teenage daughter, who are presumed dead. If convicted, the officers each face a maximum five-year sentence.

The Greek-flagged cruise ship rammed a well-marked and charted reef in fair weather on Thursday, inside Santorini's sea-filled crater. Louis Cruise Lines, the Cypriot firm that runs the ship, insisted that the Sea Diamond was equipped with all the latest navigation technology. While all other passengers were retrieved safely, several tourists complained of insufficient supplies of life vests, little guidance from crew members, and a delayed, four-hour evacuation process that forced some passengers to climb down rope ladders. Greek authorities have vowed to come down hard on those found accountable. (Source: Times Argus, New York Times) • 2007-04-11 02:52:38 • Category: 0.

Mississippi shipyard workers end walkout Striking workers at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, ended a month long walkout by approving the company's new contract proposal, which calls for a $2.78 hourly raise over the next three years. That is less than the $4 raise workers originally sought, but 18 cents more than the company's previous proposal. In the new contract, first-year workers at Mississippi's largest private employer will see their average pay rise from $18.32 an hour to $20. (Source: Associated Press at The Clarion-Ledger) • 2007-04-11 02:50:54 • Category: 0.

Britain examines capture of its sailors and marines by Iran A Ministry of Defence inquiry into the capture of 15 British Marines and sailors by Iranian forces has already identified several issues. For one, the boarding party had inadequate protection and backup, and was traveling in two rigid inflatable boats which were no match for the Iranian vessels that surrounded them. There are also concerns that the commanders had inadequate intelligence. The incident also raises doubts about whether Britain has the right ships to conduct the operations required in the shallow waters of the northern Gulf. HMS Cornwall is too large to operate in the confined waters of the northern Gulf coast.

As a result, the vessel was several miles from the boarding party when they were ambushed, and so was powerless to help. (Source: Richard Beeston, The Times) • 2007-04-11 02:49:52 • Category: 0.

Two missing as cruise ship skipper faces court hearing A cruise ship captain and senior officers have appeared before a Greek court, after their vessel sank and two passengers were posted missing. A full alert was also declared as an oil spill began to slowly surface from the sunken liner Sea Diamond, causing fears of an ecological disaster.

The vessel was on a week-long cruise of the Greek islands when it crashed against a well-charted rocky reef just one nautical mile off the port of Thira on Santorini. It listed and was evacuated within hours. A French passenger and his 16-year-old daughter are missing. The ship's captain, first engineer and two other senior officers have appeared before the island's investigating magistrate to face possible charges of criminal negligence.

(Source: Reuters at The Sydney Morning Herald) • 2007-04-11 02:49:11 • Category: 0. Three bidders on the table for Britain's submarine industry BAE Systems, Babcock International, and Carlyle have each made it through the second round of bidding for Devonport Management Limited (DML). The company that acquires DML — which runs a maintenance and support base for Britain's nuclear submarine fleet — will likely win a large part of the proposed program to build a new fleet of submarines. Estimates of the price for DML vary from £200 million and £450 million. BAE is in negotiations with VT to create a joint venture for surface ships, although confirmation has been delayed by final negotiations with the government about the construction of two carriers for the Royal Navy. This negotiation, which is expected to be announced at the same time as the carrier program, seems to be delaying the sale of DML.

(Source: The Sunday Times, 4/8/07) • 2007-04-11 02:48:27 • Category: 0. 20 people missing after ships collide in East China Sea Two cargo ships collided Sunday off China's eastern coast, leaving 20 crew members missing, an official said. Nineteen of the missing sailors are Chinese while the remaining one is Indian. The accident occurred just before sunrise on Sunday morning in the Taizhou strait off the coast of Zhejiang province. The steel-laden cargo ship Harvest sank after colliding with the Chinese vessel Jinhaikun. Search vessels are in the area looking for survivors, and the cause of the collision is under investigation. (Source: Sapa-AFP at IOL) • 2007-04-11 02:47:51 • Category: 0.

Pirates free UN cargo ship and Indian vessel A UN-chartered cargo ship and an Indian vessel have been released off the coast of Somalia. Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the hijackers freed the MV Rozen on Friday, more than a month after it was seized after delivering relief food shipped by the UN World Food Programme. The hijackers also freed the MV Nimatullah, an Indian cargo vessel snatched on April 1 as it anchored at Mogadishu port. The hijackers forced the Nimatullah to sail to waters off northeastern Somalia where it had been held since the weekend.

Both ships were released late Friday, and all crewmembers have been reported well. The Nimatullah docked safely in Migadishu on Sunday, and the Rozen is due back in its home port of Mombasa later this week. (Source: Reuters at MSNBC.com) • 2007-04-11 02:47:18 • Category: 0.

Investigators probe evacuation of Greek cruise ship Investigators are questioning people on the Greek island of Santorini to try to determine whether the crew of the cruise ship Sea Diamond that sank in the Aegean Sea delayed evacuation efforts. Six crew members of the ship were charged with negligence but not taken into custody, pending further testimony. The ship's captain has blamed the accident on sea currents that swept the vessel onto a reef, tearing a hole in its hull. A research vessel will deploy an unmanned submarine to search for two missing passengers, take footage of the wreck, and look for the ship's voyage data recorder. Crews are working to contain spilled oil; as many as 100 tons may have leaked. The ship is not yet stable, and the remaining oil can't be removed until it is.

(Source: Associated Press at CNN.com) • 2007-04-11 02:44:57 • Category: 0. Cruise ship evacuated off Greece An operation to evacuate up to 1,600 people from a stricken cruise ship is under way off the coast of the Greek island of Santorini. The Greek-flagged Sea Diamond issued a distress signal after apparently running aground and starting to take on water. A flotilla of commercial ships plus six navy helicopters and various navy vessels are assisting the rescue. The evacuation is proceeding calmly, and about 650 people have been evacuated so far. The ship was about one nautical mile off the coast of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea. The Sea Diamond is operated by Louis Cruise Lines, a Cyprus-based tourism group.

(Source: Associated Press at CNN.com) • 2007-04-06 02:58:57 • Category: 0. Through the auspices of Marcon International, Inc. Of Coupeville, WA, two Dominican Republic based tug and barge operators ordered one newbuild Ulupinar series sister-tug each from Turkish shipyard and tug owners, Sanmar Denizcilik Ltd. The first of the two tugs will be delivered from the shipyard in November 2007 and the second in January 2009.

The ASD type tugs were designed by Robert Allan, Ltd. And are classed RINA C + Hull & Machinery, Unrestricted Navigation. Principal dimensions are 90' length overall by 30' beam x 13.25' depth with an operating draft of 14.5'. Power is provided by two CAT 3515BTAs developing a total of 3,300BHP to Rolls Royce US 155 propulsion units with fixed pitch props in high efficiency nozzles. One each Rolls Royce hydraulic tow winch with 23 tons line pull at 8m/min is mounted fore and aft in addition to 8' hydraulic tow pins and tow hook aft. The forward winch spools 120m Amstel Blue rope and the aft winch 650m 40mm wire. Firefighting is provided by a 650m3/h fire pump and Skum fire monitor.

The tugs have a speed of abt. 12.5kn free running and expected bollard pull of 40mt. This is the fourth or fifth tug or barge Marcon has sold these Caribbean Buyers over the years.

Another newbuilding brokered was the delivery of a 1,200 bhp inland river push boat. The vessel was built in 2006 at Serodino Shipyard, Inc.

In Chattanooga, TN and was sold on completion to private interests in the U.S. The design is known as the 'Tiger Class', and is 52' x 22.5' x 7.5' depth of hull.

She is a typical inland river 3 deck boat design with twin Cummins KTA19M's providing a total of 1200BHP @ 1800 rpm. The vessel has a height of eye of roughly 24' and is fitted with quarters for 4 crew on the second deck with a small galley, head and shower on the main deck. Her plate thicknesses are 3/8' plate hull with ½' plate over wheels & bilge knuckles. Twin Disc MG-5202DC 4.06:1 reduction gears drive twin fixed pitch 52' x 40' 4-blade Nibral propellers.

The vessel has two steering rudders and four flanking rudders. She is fitted with push knees forward and electric barge winches. Two 40kW / Cummins 4B3.9 diesel generator sets provide auxiliary power and light. Vessel has capacities for 6,000g fuel, 1,500g fresh water and about 165g lube oil. Marcon acted as sole broker in all three newbuildings. Marcon has concluded a total of 21 sales and one charter to-date this year - and we are only four months into 2007. We expects to conclude on several additional sales within the next thirty days including three tugs over 4,000BHP and one anchor handling tug supplier.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-05 02:51:59 • Category: 0. Russia's shipbuilding industry has launched a sweeping modernization program. President Vladimir Putin has signed decrees setting up a United Shipbuilding Corporation (known by its Russian initials, OSK) to consolidate large federal companies engaged in shipbuilding. Within the next few months, three regional subholdings will be formed.

One of them - the Western Center - will unite shipbuilding companies in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. The Northern Center will take care of all Severodvinsk plants in the Arkhangelsk Region, and the Far Eastern Center will bring together companies located in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Vladivostok and Nakhodka. 100% of shares in the holdings will be federally owned, and by January 1, 2009, they will be contributed to the authorized capital of the OSK, which will be headed by Colonel General Alexander Burutin, a presidential adviser on military industrial affairs.

Over the past fifteen years the Russian fleet, and especially its navy, has suffered considerable losses. Its number of warships, for example, has dropped from 428 to 273, a fall of 37.5%, and that of active vessels at sea from 210 to 28, a drop of 86.7%. Sometimes even that number of ships is not maintained.

Naval personnel have been cut by 60%, from 424,000 men to 169,000. The Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific squadrons have been abolished. Russian naval aviation has stopped flying over the oceans, having lost its air bases in Cuba, the Middle East and Africa. The navy has turned from an ocean-going to a coastal one. If this trend continues, experts forecast that by 2015 the navy will consist of not more than 60 warships (22 nuclear-powered and nine diesel-engined submarines and not more than 29 surface ships). Recently, however, things with the Russian navy have been looking up. The state armaments program for the period until 2015 describes the development of the navy, as well as strategic nuclear forces of deterrence, as one of its main priorities.

According to First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, the former defense minister, of the 4.9 trillion rubles ($188.53 billion) set aside for re-armament, 25% will be used to renew the navy. By 2010, Russia plans to increase its construction of warships by 50%, including building a series of 40 frigates, not fewer than ten each for the Northern and Baltic fleets. Submarines are under construction: strategic nuclear-powered submarine cruisers such as the Yury Dolgoruky, Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh, which will be armed with new Bulava-30 strategic missiles (NATO reporting name SS-NX-30), as well as many other multi-purpose nuclear and diesel submarines. In addition, India, China and Algeria have placed orders for Russian warships.

(Source:RIA Novosti) • 2007-04-05 02:50:54 • Category: 0. Canada's Navy plans a new fleet Canada's Navy hopes to start work soon on replacing its Iroquois-class destroyers and its Halifax-class frigates — essentially the main vessels of the service. The replacement fleet could cost more than $20 billion. The vessels would all have the same common hull and propulsion system, but different equipment could be installed in batches of ships, depending on the role they would play.

The Navy also wants to change the way the ships are constructed, building one every 12 to 18 months so that shipyards wouldn't have to lay off workers during lulls between contracts. The first of the new ships would come on line around 2020, but since it takes 10 to 15 years for the government approvals and the actual design and construction of warships, the Navy is hoping to start ramping up the building project later this year. The project hasn't received government approvals yet. (Source: David Pugliese, CanWest News Service, The Windsor Star at Canada.com) • 2007-04-05 02:49:39 • Category: 0. Passenger boat sinks off the coast of Guinea, at least 46 dead Nearly fifty people are believed to have died when the boat they were in capsized off the coast of Guinea.

The vessel ran into strong winds as it was approaching a Conakry dock and started to take on water. A nearby fishing boat refused to risk approaching the sinking vessel at first, but then pulled people out of the water. The boat was a regular transport vessel, and not carrying illegal migrants trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands. But it isn't clear how many passengers were on board — reports claim between 80 and 100.

Thirty-four people were rescued. (Source: Kounkou Mara, Associated Press at CNEWS) • 2007-04-05 02:49:08 • Category: 0. Bias alleged in Canadian sub repair deal 15-year $1.5 billion contract to maintain Canada's submarines has resulted in a lawsuit over alleged bias. The contract was given to Canadian Submarine Management Group of British Columbia. But one of the consortium partners, Weir Canada, has an existing contract with the federal government, and had knowledge of contract criteria that other bidders didn't.

Irving Shipbuilding and Fleetway Inc., which were potential sub-contractors for a bid put forward by BAE Systems, filed legal documents on February 9, suggesting that the contract award was biased and unfair because of the conflict on interest. If the East Coast bidders had the same information, they would have structured their proposal differently, the companies say in the documents. The government filed documents on March 14 suggesting the matter be dropped, since Irving and Fleetway were just subcontractors for bidding company BAE systems. The matter is still before the courts. (Source: Sandra McCulloch, Times Colonist at Canada.com) • 2007-04-05 02:48:32 • Category: 0. Southeast Asia is seeing more submarines A report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank looks at the growing number of submarines being built in Southeast Asia.

It warns that the prevalence of these boats could lead to a serious international incident. Andrew Davies, the author of The Enemy Below, said that with so many submarines under water, the 'potential for miscalculation is significant, leading to accidents or escalation of response.' Indonesia wants to build 12 submarines by 2024. Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Bangladesh and Pakistan are all buying submarines.

And China and India are now planning a new generation of nuclear-powered boats. Analysts point out that submarines are difficult to detect or destroy, and capable of nuclear power projection. (Source: Tim Shipman and Chad Bouchard, The Standard) • 2007-04-05 02:47:47 • Category: 0. Korea's STX is building a shipyard in China South Korea's STX Shipbuilding Corp plans to build a shipyard in China. STX held a ground-breaking ceremony Friday for a shipyard in Dalian, which the company plans to complete by 2009.

The facility will be capable of every step of the shipbuilding process, from processing parts to testing vessels. Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering have built or are currently building facilities in China — but these yards are only capable of producing ship's blocks.

STX will complete the shipyard and block factories by the first half of next year, and should be working on vessels in the second half of 2008, with completed ships delivered in the second half of 2009. The Korean manufacturer plans to build cheaper ships at the Dalian shipyard, where labor costs are much cheaper.

It will continue to build high-value ships, such as liquid natural gas carriers, in Korea. Some worry that the move will allow China to learn Korean shipbuilding technology. But Kang Duck-soo, the chairman of STX Group, said he is more worried that Korean technicians are being recruited by Chinese firms.

(Source: Digital Chosunilbo) • 2007-04-05 02:46:57 • Category: 0. Oil from sunken Solar 1 has been recovered Oil recovery operations from the MT Solar 1, which sunk last August off Guimaras Island, has been completed. The oil recovery vessel Allied Shield returned to dock with about 5,000 liters of bunker oil on Monday. At the time it sank the Solar 1 was carrying 2.1 million liters of oil, suggesting that 2.09 million liters was spilled into the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait.

Carlos Tan, Petron Health, Safety and Environment manager, said clean-up operations in Guimaras and Iloilo villages affected by the oil spill have also been completed, and ground water and seawater in the affected areas are being monitored. (Source: Panay News at The Manila Times) • 2007-04-05 02:46:24 • Category: 0.

Somali pirates seize Indian ship Heavily armed pirates have seized an Indian cargo vessel off the coast of Somalia's capital. Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan-based Seafarers Assistance Programme said 14 crew members have been taken captive. No demands have been made so far. The vessel, MV Nimatullah, was to deliver 800 tons of cargo to Mogadishu but was barred by fighting. This is the second ship to be seized in the region in five weeks.

In February, pirates hijacked a UN-chartered cargo vessel, MV Rozen, and are still holding 12 of its crew members. Since the overthrow of Union of Islamic Courts in December, insecurity in Mogadishu has deteriorated and aid workers say the current fighting is the worst the city has seen for 15 years. (Source: Reuters at CNN.com) • 2007-04-05 02:45:05 • Category: 0.

After a six month search, Royal Caribbean International today named travel agent Donnalea Madaley godmother of the cruise line’s newest ship, Liberty of the Seas, at Cruise Lines International Association’s Cruise3Sixty conference. Donnalea, of Ontario-based Marlin Travel, was selected from among nearly 2,500 nominations of exemplary women travel agents who have demonstrated dedication to philanthropy and service in their communities. In the spirit of maritime tradition, Donnalea will participate in the naming ceremony of Liberty on May 18, 2007, and help launch the cruise ship, a prestigious role often performed by dignitaries and celebrities. In addition to being chosen as Liberty’s godmother, Donnalea also will receive a $25,000 check from Royal Caribbean for Hands Across the Nations (HATN), a service organization created and led by Donnalea and her husband. In addition to maintaining full-time jobs and raising a family of three children, the Madaleys have helped raise funds, provided training, and constructed essential facilities in remote communities in such places as Mali, Bolivia and countries in Western Africa since the mid-1980s. Current Hands Across the Nations (www.hatncanada.org) projects include erecting, furnishing and staffing homes for children of incarcerated parents; school dorms for women; and medical and community centers. At 160,000 GRT and holding 3,634 guests, double-occupancy, Liberty will share the title of the world’s largest cruise ship with sister ship, Freedom of the Seas.

She will feature the same popular innovations already found on Freedom, including the FlowRider surf simulator, the H20 Zone aqua park, cantilevered whirlpools suspended 112 feet above the ocean, an ice-skating rink, a boxing ring and the 1,215-square-foot Presidential Family Suite, which sleeps up to 14. In addition, the arrival of Liberty will introduce new innovative onboard programs to the cruise line’s fleet such as the Vitality wellness program, Explorer Weddings, the Crown & Anchor Society Youth loyalty program, as well as enhancements to the cruise line’s award-winning Adventure Ocean youth programming.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-04-02 03:05:29 • Category: 0. Over fishing of Atlantic sharks upsets ecosystem balance Humans, mainly in countries with a yen for shark-fin soup, have devoured so many of the oceans' top predators that it has rattled the length of the marine food chain, according to a study to be published in the journal Science. While many researchers have documented sharp declines in recent decades, this report concludes that the 11 largest sharks along the US Atlantic Coast have all but vanished from over fishing.

Equally important, researchers directly connect their disappearance to a boom-and-bust cycle for other sea life, resulting in the near wipe-out of a US scallop fishery. Researchers and conservationists say the study, funded by the Pew Institute for Ocean Science at the University of Miami, bolsters arguments to shut down the shark fishery. Commercial fishing interests are skeptical of the findings. (Source: Catherine Brahic, NewScientist.com) • 2007-04-02 03:02:31 • Category: 0. Three people were killed, eight injured and a 14-year-old girl was still missing on Thursday after a collision between the HarbourCat ferry Pam Burridge and a private motor cruiser beneath Sydney Harbour Bridge late on Wednesday night.

It was the second fatal accident in two months involving ferries, in what is one of the busiest parts of the harbor. A number of helicopters, police divers and several boats including two other ferries helped with the search and rescue operation.

Police divers have been searching for the missing teenage girl, who is from Queensland. The cruiser rolled over and later sank after the collision; the ferry has been moored nearby. Both boats will be inspected by police; the crew of the ferry have been tested for alcohol and drugs. (Source: ABC News Online) • 2007-04-02 03:00:56 • Category: 0. Canada's Coast Guard, Navy resources are wasted A new report says Canada's government is under funding the Coast Guard, and thus wasting a potential resource. The report is part of a series of updates from the Senate committee on national security and defence, and warns there are gaps in the surveillance of Canada's waters.

The Coast Guard is ideally placed to defend the country's coasts, but a lack of equipment and funding hinders that goal. The committee wants the Coast Guard to be given constabulary powers, and suggests the agency be transferred from the department of fisheries and oceans to public safety and emergency preparedness. The committee also recommends a coastal warning network, and better coordination between Canada and the United States for policing the Great Lakes. (Source: Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest News Service, The Windsor Star at Canada.com) • 2007-03-30 03:01:18 • Category: 0. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) conducts operations in the Arabian Sea. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is on regularly scheduled deployments in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO).

MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to regional nations. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ronald Reeves From USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) entered the Persian Gulf on March 27, escorted by the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54). While in the Gulf, the flagship of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group (JCSSG) and its air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, will conduct a dual-carrier exercise with the USS Dwight D.

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG). This marks the first time the Stennis and Eisenhower strike groups have operated together in a joint exercise while deployed to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility. This exercise demonstrates the importance of both strike groups’ ability to plan and conduct dual task force operations as part of the U.

Long-standing commitment to maintaining maritime security and stability in this region. Two air wings from the aircraft carriers will conduct air warfare exercises while the surface components will conduct exercises in three general disciplines: anti-submarine, anti-surface and mine warfare. Stennis left its homeport of Bremerton, Wash., Jan.

16 for deployment and began operating alongside coalition maritime forces in the region Feb. After arriving, JCSSG began conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) and providing direct support to coalition ground forces participating in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. During the 33 days of operations over Afghanistan, CVW 9 provided close-air support and reconnaissance to International Security Assistance Force troops on the ground. MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material. The CVW 9 squadrons include the “Black Knights” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154, “Blue Diamonds” of VFA 146, “Argonauts” of VFA 147, “Death Rattlers” of Marine Strike Fighter Squadron 323, “Yellowjackets” of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 138, “Golden Hawks” of Carrier Early Warning Squadron 112, “Topcats” of Sea Control Squadron 31, “Eightballers” of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 8 and “Providers” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30. JCSSG includes John C.

Stennis, CVW 9, Destroyer Squadron 21, USS Antietam (CG 54), the guided-missile destroyers USS O’Kane (DDG-77) and USS Preble (DDG 88) and the fast combat-support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10). More than 6,500 Sailors and Marines are assigned to JCSSG. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-29 03:27:40 • Category: 0. Maryland Coast Guard Station Wins Award The crew of Coast Guard Station Oxford, Md., recieved the Sumner I.

Kimball Award for superior readiness Tuesday. Coast Guard Captains Neil Buschman, Fifth District chief of staff, and Brian D. Kelley, commander of Sector Baltimore, presided over the ceremony. The Sumner I.

Kimball Award recognizes excellence in crew proficiency, boat and personal protective equipment condition and compliance with established training documentation requirements, and is awarded to the top 10 percent of units throughout the Coast Guard. The Kimball Award selection is the result of many hours of hard work and attention to detail by the crew. 'It's an honor for the crew of a small Coast Guard station to receive such a difficult-to-achieve national award. The hard work and dedication that it takes to reach this level is amazing,' said Chief Petty Officer John N. Gallagher, Station Oxford's officer-in-charge. The award is named for Sumner I. Kimball, a general superintendent of the U.S.

Life Saving Service, a predecessor agency of the Coast Guard. It reflects the Coast Guard's continued commitment to Kimball's high standards. (Source:Marinelink) • 2007-03-29 03:24:03 • Category: 0. Rolls-Royce will supply the U.S. Navy’s surface combatant ship with the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine. Four MT30 gas turbine generator sets will be supplied for two DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyers, with deliveries of the 36MW MT30 sets to begin in 2009. An MT30 generator set currently provides power to the U.S.

Navy’s DDG-1000 Land Based Test Site in Philadelphia and the MT30 has also been selected to power the first two Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ships. The MT30 is a proven member of the Rolls-Royce Trent aero engine family, which has accumulated over 20 million operating hours powering passenger aircraft in service with more than 60 airlines and operators. The ships are scheduled to be built at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Mississippi and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The first ship delivery is planned for 2012. The ships feature technological advances in combat and ship propulsion systems and are designed for a variety of missions, including land attack and battle space dominance. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-29 03:14:40 • Category: 0. Fishermen go without boat insurance after Katrina Even before Hurricane Katrina hit, the US fishing industry struggled from falling shrimp prices and rising fuel costs.

But the hurricane made life harder, by raising insurance costs for boats along a wide swath of the Gulf Coast. The Louisiana Shrimp Association estimates that only about 20% to 25% of fishermen in that state now have boat insurance, compared with double that number before the storm. Fishermen in Mississippi and Alabama are also underinsured. No industry wide numbers are available on price increases for insurance, but at Travelers, a large insurer for commercial fishermen, boat insurance rates have jumped about 25%.

Some people report that prices for boat insurance have jumped as much as 50% since the hurricane. (Source: Kathy Chu, USA Today, 3/26/07) • 2007-03-29 03:13:45 • Category: 0. Japan's whaling program continues to bring controversy The head of Japan's latest whale hunt called for legal action on Tuesday against anti-whaling activists. Shigetoshi Nishiwaki, expedition leader and a staff member at the Institute for Cetacean Research, pointed out that the recent Antarctic hunt was marked by clashes with anti-whaling groups.

Members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society even poured acid on the deck of the main whaling ship. Free Software Antivirus. But neither the Japanese government nor the Fisheries Agency said they were considering taking any legal steps. However, Greenpeace's anti-whaling ship Esperanza has been 'effectively banned' from docking in Tokyo. It seems that the All Japan's Seamen's Union had pressured the ship's agent to withdraw services, meaning it would be unable to put into port.

(Source: Linda Sieg, Reuters) • 2007-03-29 03:12:19 • Category: 0. Container accident shuts down shipping in the Rhine The German cargo ship Excelsior lost 31 of its 103 containers on the Rhine River on Sunday afternoon.

The river is one of Germany's busiest commercial shipping routes. One container was retrieved by Tuesday, but the accident has closed a 12-mile stretch of the river around Cologne. German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said he hoped traffic could resume by Friday. A crack in the cargo ship's hull is suspected to have led to Sunday's accident. (Source: Associated Press at WashingtonPost.com) • 2007-03-29 03:10:29 • Category: 0.

Murky border complicates issue of British service members held by Iran Fifteen British sailors and marines are being held by Iran because no one can answer whether British sailors were in Iraqi or Iranian waters when they were seized. Complicating the dissenting stories is that fact that the maritime boundary in the Shatt al-Arab waterway is unclear. While the countries generally accept that the border runs down the middle of the main channel, that channel has been shifting due to silting — and officials haven't agreed on updated charts. And if the seizure occurred near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, the issue becomes even more complicated because Iraq and Iran have never agreed on each others' claim to Gulf waters near the mouth of the waterway.

(Source: Robert H. Reid, Associated Press at Las Vegas Sun) • 2007-03-29 03:08:32 • Category: 0.

Holland America Holds Keel Laying Ceremony for Eurodam Construction of Holland America Line’s new Signature-class premium cruise ship ms Eurodam reached a milestone with the recent keel-laying ceremony at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Italy. The 2044-passenger ship is scheduled for delivery in June 2008. The ceremonial keel laying involves lowering the first modular section of the ship onto the construction dock.

Subsequently, other modules are put into place, much like fitting together a giant, multi-layered jigsaw puzzle. The $450-million Eurodam, with 11 passenger decks, features a new class of staterooms with floor-to-ceiling windows on the top two decks, as well as many traditional Holland America Line amenities.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-28 03:07:12 • Category: 0. Captain fined in sunken NY tour boat that killed 20 The captain of a New York tour boat that capsized in October 2005 and killed 20 elderly passengers pleaded guilty on Monday to a maritime offense. Captain Richard Paris was fined $250 and ordered to perform more than 200 hours of community service for failing to have a second crew member on board the Ethan Allen tour boat. The vessel's owner, Shoreline Cruises Inc., also pleaded guilty and was fined $250. District Attorney Kate Hogan had said a more serious charge of criminal negligence was not supportable because there was not enough evidence to show the operators knew the boat would capsize. At least nine civil lawsuits are pending. The Ethan Allen was carrying 47 passengers on a fall foliage cruise on Lake George when it capsized and sank.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation said a factor in the accident was excess weight on board. (Source: Michael Virtanen, Associated Press at Newsday.com) • 2007-03-28 03:05:53 • Category: 0. Distinguished visitors and guests attend the historical decommissioning ceremony of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). Kennedy served its country with more than 38 years of service and 18 official deployments.

Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Susan Cornell The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) was decommissioned in Mayport, Fla., March 23. After a 17 gun salute, USS John F. Kennedy Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Zecchin addressed the more than 5,000 guests, former commanding officers, city officials and distinguished visitors. In his speech, he described his feelings for the ship and the legacy of its crew.

“While preparing for today, I realized that serving on this ship is akin to having a relationship with a tried and true friend,' Zecchin said. 'Saying goodbye is a sublime melancholy.” Zecchin described the level of dedication the crew revealed. He illustrated their pride in professionalism in terms of a recent port visit to Boston, when 21 degree below zero windchills made working conditions at night unforgiving. “None of the watchstanders complained. In fact, I had to order them back inside the skin of the ship because they were so intent on getting the job done.” The ship’s commanding officer took time not just to remember the crew’s efforts, but of those backing each of them. “Nobility of purpose, service to people, devotion to a cause and a deep belief in each other is what sustains us. We could not have done it without the support of family and friends,' he said.

Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command Admiral John B. Nathman talked about the ship’s history and the deployments to the Middle East that made headlines in the 1980s, 1990s and the present decade.

“You have served with honor and distinction,” Nathman said, addressing the crew. “I commend you for facing challenges head-on and for welcoming your responsibility. Feel privileged to bear your responsibility. Wear it as a mantle on your shoulders with the pride it deserves.” To recognize some of the former commanding officers of USS John F.

Kennedy, Zecchin asked all who had once commanded the warship to stand. A hearty applause erupted from all of the seated guests, young and old, military personnel and civilians.

The 80,000 ton warship, namesake of the 35th President of the United States, saw 18 deployments and 30 commanding officers in its 38 years of service. (Source: NavNews) • 2007-03-27 04:11:08 • Category: 0. The Department of Navy announced March 23 that the Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), honoring the late Cpl. Dunham, the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C.

Winter, made the announcement in Dunham’s hometown of Scio, N.Y. 'Jason Dunham, the friendly, kind-hearted, gifted athlete who followed his star in the United States Marine Corps went on to become one of the most courageous, heroic, and admired Marines this great country has ever known,' said Winter. 'His name will be forever associated with DDG 109. May those who serve in her always be inspired by the heroic deeds of Jason Dunham, and may all of us strive to be worthy of his sacrifice.' Dunham was born in Scio on Nov., 10, 1981, sharing the same birthday as the United States Marine Corps. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 2000, and completed recruit training 13 weeks later at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

Following his first duty assignment with Marine Corps Security Forces, Kings Bay, Ga., Dunham transferred to the infantry and was later assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Before deploying to Iraq in spring of 2004, Dunham was selected to lead a rifle squad -- a position that ultimately placed him on the front line in the war with the Iraqi insurgency. On April 14, 2004, Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in Karabilah, Iraq, when his battalion commander’s convoy was ambushed. When Dunham’s squad approached to provide fire support, an Iraqi insurgent leapt out of a vehicle and attacked Dunham.

As Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground, he noticed that the enemy fighter had a grenade in his hand. Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines, and when the enemy dropped the live grenade, Dunham took off his Kevlar helmet, covered the grenade, and threw himself on top to smother the blast. Bingo Bugle San Diego Edition. In an ultimately selfless act of courage, in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of two fellow Marines. In November 2006, at the dedication of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., President Bush announced that the Medal of Honor would be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham. During his speech, Bush said, “As long as we have Marines like Cpl.

Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty.' President Bush presented Cpl.

Dunham's family with the Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Jan. In the spirit of this Marine, USS Jason Dunham will continue protecting America’s liberty by providing a dynamic multimission platform to lead the Navy into the future. Utilizing a gas-turbine propulsion system, the ship can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups. The ship’s combat systems center on the Aegis combat system and the SPY-Ld (V) multifunction phased array radar. With the combination of Aegis, the vertical launching system, an advanced anti-submarine warfare system, advanced anti-aircraft missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Arleigh Burke-class continues the revolution at sea. (Source: NavNews) • 2007-03-27 04:10:24 • Category: 0. Coast Guard Commemorates Women’s History Month Members of the original Coast Guard Women's Reserve are scheduled to make a presentation Wednesday morning during a Women's History Month celebration at the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay facility here.

The establishment of the Coast Guard Women's Reserve in 1942 represented the first time women were accepted into the enlisted ranks of the Coast Guard. Women were allowed to fill shore positions while their male counterparts were deployed overseas. The Women's Reserve, more commonly known as the SPARS - an acronym taken from the Coast Guard's motto, Semper Paratus - Always Ready - provided the opportunity for women to directly participate as members of the armed services.

Ann Wikowski, Charlotte Bart and Dorothy Dempsey enlisted in the Women's Reserve in 1943. Their presentation will uncover the hardships and joys they endured while serving in the Coast Guard. David Scott, commander of Sector Delaware Bay and captain-of-the-port of Philadelphia, will preside over the program.

(SOurce: Marinelink) • 2007-03-27 04:08:58 • Category: 0. Gilbride, a former chairman and chief executive of the Todd Shipyards Corporation, once the largest independent shipbuilding company in the country, died on March 17 at his home in Stamford, Conn. The cause was lung disease, his son Frank said, as reported in the New York Times. Gilbride, who started as a pipe fitter’s helper at the Todd shipyard in Brooklyn when he was 14, was president of the company from 1958 to 1975, and its chairman and chief executive until his retirement in 1986.

Founded by William H. Todd in 1916, the company built destroyers, cargo carriers and troop ships during both world wars. In World War II, it had 150,000 workers, most at its yard in Brooklyn. Well into the 1980s, more than 80 percent of the company’s business was with the Navy.

It also built and repaired commercial vessels: oil tankers, barges, container ships and ferries. By the time Mr.

Gilbride retired, the company had six additional shipyards, in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston and Galveston, Tex. It had revenue of $507 million in 1985.

A scarcity of government contracts soon began taking its toll. The company, now called the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, has one yard, in Seattle, and had sales of $202 million last year. (Source: NY Times) • 2007-03-27 04:08:19 • Category: 0. New York tries to limit damages for Andrew J. Barberi case New York will appeal a ruling by a federal judge that allowed unlimited damages in lawsuits filed regarding the tragedy of the Andrew J.

The Staten Island ferry crashed into the pier on October 15, 2003, killing 11 people and injuring many more. The city had tried to invoke an old federal maritime statute that would have capped its liability for damages at about $14.4 million. But a February federal decision refused to cap the damages. News of the city's appeal, announced Friday, have garnered criticism from those who say the city is trying to delay payment, when it was found negligent in the case.

Remaining claims are easily running into the tens of millions of dollars. (Source: Anthony M. DeStefano, Newsday.com) • 2007-03-27 04:05:15 • Category: 0. Coast Guard rescues cruise ship passengers The US Coast Guard rescued two cruise ship passengers in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday after the pair accidentally went overboard. The man and woman, both in their early 20s, reportedly had fallen 50 to 60 feet to the sea from a cabin balcony hours after the ship had left port and were in the water about four hours before being rescued. Princess Cruises' Grand Princess was in the Gulf of Mexico 150 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas when the rescue occurred. Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, said it appeared to have been an accident.

But the cruise line is investigating how the passengers had fallen. (Source: Associated Press at ABC News) • 2007-03-27 04:04:12 • Category: 0. US Navy sued over sonar use The California state Coastal Commission and a national environmental group sued the US Navy on Thursday over its refusal to take certain precautions to protect marine mammals during military training exercises off the coast of San Diego. While the commission's legal action is a rarity, the Natural Resources Defense Council already had sued the Navy four times over its use of high-intensity sonar. In separate lawsuits filed Thursday, the commission and the council want the Navy to adopt more stringent safeguards for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals, which can be injured or killed by sonar. The sound waves, which travel hundreds of miles across water, are used to track submarines and surface ships.

Navy officials could not be reached for comment on the lawsuits. In the past, they said the requested measures would compromise military training.

(Source: Alicia Chang, Associated Press at Las Vegas SUN) • 2007-03-26 03:08:01 • Category: 0. Japanese whaling ship returns with 500 whales The Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru that triggered a high-seas showdown with environmental groups and suffered a deadly fire returned to port Friday with a catch of 508 whales, despite having to cut its annual hunt short after the accident.

The homecoming was dogged with questions, as authorities prepared to investigate the below-deck blaze that killed a sailor and crippled the ship. Greenpeace also issued a fresh condemnation of Japan's whaling program on Friday, calling for the damaged ship to be retired. This was the first time in 20 years that Japan had to abort its whaling mission. A Fisheries Agency official said they don't know if the ship will return to service for next season's hunt. (Source: Reuters) • 2007-03-26 03:07:20 • Category: 0. The Coast Guard is monitoring a jack-up rig that was run aground this morning to prevent it from sinking approximately one mile offshore and six miles south of the Port Aransas jetties.

The crew of the tug Vinton Crosby radioed watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi around 3 a.m. This morning reporting the jack-up rig Dolphin III, which they were towing, was listing to one side and in danger of sinking or tipping over.

The crew also told the Coast Guard that they were heading towards shore to run the rig aground to stabilize it. The tug crew was able to get the rig into shallow water. A Coast Guard rescue boat crew was dispatched from Station Port Aransas to investigate but were forced to return due to high wind and waves. A Coast Guard helicopter crew was sent after sunrise and they were able to monitor the rig to ensure all personnel were safe. The rig crew reported that a generator powering the de-watering pumps had run out of fuel and the pumps had stopped running.

Rig officials plan to send more personnel with additional fuel to the rig in an effort to re-float it. Coast Guard officials will continue to monitor the situation. No injuries have been reported. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-23 03:30:44 • Category: 0.

The Coast Guard seized a record 19.5 tons of U.S.-bound cocaine on a ship off the coast of Panama and arrested the 14 crew members, the Coast Guard said. The cocaine, seized Sunday in two containers, was headed for “streets all across America,” said Coast Guard head Admiral Thad Allen. It was the largest haul of cocaine intercepted at sea by US agents, the Coast Guard said. The Panama-flagged ship, with a crew of Mexicans and Panamanians, was sailing about 30 kilometres southwest of Isla de Coiba, Panama, when it was spotted by a US Coast Guard plane. Panamanian authorities allowed US agents to carry out the raid, using two California-based Coast Guard cutters. The arrested crew members were being transferred to the US and Panama for prosecution, a Coast Guard statement said.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-23 03:19:26 • Category: 0. US shipbuilders want federal funds for upgrades US lawmakers, some on the sea-power subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, have long pressed US shipyards to upgrade their facilities. The lawmakers argue that if American yards could gain a share of the commercial shipbuilding contracts now going overseas, they could achieve efficiencies that would lower the Navy's shipbuilding costs. But shipyard executives say they are constrained from investing too much in facilities because the US Navy isn't building many ships, and ship acquisition budgets have fluctuated from year to year.

So the shipbuilding industry has asked Congress for a $100 million aid package. The assistance would be tied to the builders' ability to show that federally-financed upgrades would produce less expensive ships.

(Source: Dale Eisman, HamptonRoads.com at PilotOnline.com) • 2007-03-23 03:15:06 • Category: 0. Cause of explosion on British sub is disclosed Two men were killed and one injured on the submarine HMS Tireless during a joint UK-US operation under the Arctic ice off Alaska on Wednesday morning.

US authorities said air purification equipment, known as a self-contained oxygen generation candle, was the source of the blast. This is an emergency device that creates oxygen through a chemical reaction. There have been no previous problems with the equipment, but their use on other vessels has been restricted as a precaution until safety checks are carried out. Oxygen candles are fitted to all Trafalgar-class submarines.

A Board of Inquiry investigation has begun into the accident, to see what lessons can be learned, and prevent a similar tragedy in the future. (Source: BBC News) • 2007-03-23 03:07:58 • Category: 0.

USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) is scheduled to leave dry dock in May for a pierside location after spending nearly two years in Dry Dock 11 at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard. Chris Majors, Carl Vinson damage control assistant said placing 90,000 tons of metal in water and expecting it to float is no small feat, but the crew of Carl Vinson is teaming up with Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard employees to ensure proper preparations are made for the ship's transition to a pierside location.

“Getting water on the hull again is going to take a lot of preparation and hard work from our crew,” said Majors. Much of that hard work and expertise by the ship's force will come from the Sailors of Carl Vinson's engineering department. “There are a lot of areas on the ship that need to be checked and proven safe before the flood process takes place,” said Lt.

Philip Engle, Carl Vinson auxiliaries officer. Since Carl Vinson entered Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard in 2005, the ship's vital systems have been disengaged.

The flooding of dry dock will be the first step in bringing the ship back to life, according to Majors. 'Watertight integrity is one of the most important concerns,' said Majors. 'Before any other evolutions are conducted, we need to be sure the ship can float.'

But there are other important preparations for an aircraft carrier going afloat for the first time after an extensive dry dock period. “List control tanks help to ensure afloat stability by controlling the ship’s balance, and we're preparing more than 120 of these tanks to keep the ship stable,” Engle said. Damage control is also a concern. Once Carl Vinson transitions to a pierside location, the ship's damage control systems must be operational. “We are concentrating on the ship’s firemain systems, which are almost ready for our transition pierside,' said Majors. “The ventilation and drainage systems need to be operable as well in case of flooding.” As Carl Vinson’s dry dock flooding draws near, the ship's engineering department along with employees from Northrop Grumman Newport News are working diligently to ensure the aircraft carrier is ready for the next phase of Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH).

Carl Vinson is currently undergoing its scheduled RCOH at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard. The RCOH is an extensive yard period that all Nimitz-class aircraft carriers go through near the mid-point of their 50-year life cycle. During RCOH Carl Vinson’s nuclear fuel will be replenished and the ship’s services and infrastructure will be upgraded to make her the most state-of-the-art aircraft carrier in the fleet and prepare for another 25 years or more of service. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-22 03:38:19 • Category: 0. Death Toll Rises in China Sea Ship Collision According to Xinhua, the death toll from an accident in the East China Sea rose to nine on when rescuers retrieved another body from a cargo ship that sank after colliding with another ship late on Saturday night. Twelve sailors have been rescued but eight others are still missing, sources with the maritime safety administration of Zhejiang Province revealed on Monday.

The collision occurred at around 11 pm on Saturday near the Langgang islands, northeast of Zhoushan Island, Zhejiang Province, when a cargo ship belonging to a transport company in Shenzhen crashed into another one registered in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong ship, 'Huirong', sank immediately and all its 29 sailors on board were marooned out at sea. A panel dispatched by the Ministry of Communications, headed by Wang Jinfu, vice director of China's Maritime Safety Administration, arrived in Zhoushan on Monday morning to conduct investigations into the accident. The Zhejiang provincial maritime safety administration decided to expand its search area on Monday in the hope of finding the missing sailors. (Source: Xinhua) • 2007-03-22 03:31:34 • Category: 0. Bartlett Urges Naval Shipbuilding Reform A leading Republican in Congress called Tuesday for sweeping reforms in the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding programs.

There are several key elements necessary to achieve cost reductions, including commonality of designs at the component and system level, stability in the shipbuilding program, sufficient volume to optimize workloads, and shipyard facility modernization, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of representatives, said in a House hearing on naval shipbuilding costs and practices. Bartlett, said he had traveled around the world to visit Europe and Asia's most competitive and efficient yards and that he wanted to facilitate the transfer of best practices from these yards to U.S. I was struck not only by what I saw on these production lines, which was the sight of relatively few hand welders, but also by what I heard -- which was the relative quiet of advanced cutting processes such as laser and water jets. The contrast to our naval shipyards was stark.

I do not believe we are taking full advantage of these technologies and practices in the construction of U.S. Warships, Hunter said. (Source: UPI) • 2007-03-22 03:30:43 • Category: 0. USS Safeguard (ARS 50) conducted a towing exercise March 15 in the Sea of Japan, working with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Ship JS Amakusa (AMS 4303).

The two ships conducted the operations to increase proficiency in towing, and build stronger ties with one another through joint training. “The Safeguard and Amakusa share towing as one of their primary missions, so the opportunity to go out and train [together] strengthens us both,” said Safeguard Commanding Officer, Lt.

While towing, the lead ship would conduct maneuvering exercises giving each ship the opportunity to learn about the challenges involved in towing and being towed. Universal communication methods were used to complete the evolutions. “This builds better communication, understanding, and procedures by working together,” said Hodges. Safeguard and Amakusa sent lines to each other until they were able to send a large enough line to sustain the weight of the other ship. The lines were then attached to the anchor chain of the ship being towed and used to pull the ship though the water. Towing a ship falls under one mission range of Safeguard, which is a rescue and salvage ship. “The primary goal in conducting (this) is to exercise the ship's [crews] and the ship handling and procedures involved in towing and being towed,” said Hodges.

Safeguard is a rescue and salvage ship of Amphibious Forces 7th Fleet, operating out of Sasebo, Japan; which serves under Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7/Task Force (CTF) 76, the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force. Task Force 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan. (Source: NavSource) • 2007-03-22 03:30:00 • Category: 0. Navy on Tuesday said it had asserted the 'state secrets' privilege in a lawsuit by environmental groups, a move to keep the military from being forced to disclose classified information about the use of sonar believed to injure whales and other animals. Navy Secretary Donald Winter, in a court filing submitted on Monday, said disclosure of the information requested by plaintiffs 'could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security.'

The state secrets privilege, if upheld, renders information unavailable for litigation. It can be challenged, although the federal government often succeeds in asserting the protection.

The Navy action is the latest in a string of Pentagon moves to derail the group's lawsuit. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups say sonar used in routine training and testing violates environmental laws. They also argue the Navy's sonar injures and kills marine mammals, including whales and dolphins.

Animal welfare organizations have documented cases of mass whale strandings and deaths around the world that they say are associated with sonar blasts thought to disorient marine mammals and sometimes cause bleeding from the eyes and ears. In January, the Pentagon exempted the Navy for two years from a law protecting whales so that it could continue using the sonar during training. That removed one legal avenue for environmental groups to challenge Navy sonar. The Navy said Tuesday's action should keep it from complying with requests from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit for specific information on all non-combat use of military sonar. Plaintiffs had requested information on the latitude, longitude, time and date, duration, and name of the exercise for every non-combat use of military sonar by the U.S. Navy anywhere in the world, according to the court filing.

A Navy official said the information would hurt both U.S. National security and relationships with countries that participate in naval exercises with the United States.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, however, said the Navy was trying to block access to all information relevant to the case, making it difficult to pursue. (Source: Reuters) • 2007-03-22 03:28:55 • Category: 0. Ferry Spills Fuel in U.S.

Virgin Islands A passenger ferry that ran aground on a coral reef near the U.S. Virgin Islands has spilled half its fuel into the water, the U.S. An estimated 350 gallons of diesel fuel escaped after the American Pride ferry hit Triangle Reef off St. Thomas on Saturday, said Ricardo Castrodad, a guard spokesman. The extent of any damage to Triangle Reef, which consists of three reefs popular among divers, was unknown because the 96-foot boat had yet to be removed, Castrodad said. The vessel was carrying 15 passengers to Tortola, in the nearby British Virgin Islands, when it ran aground. Nobody was injured.

Thomas authorities were investigating the cause of the accident. A call to the ferry's owner was not immediately returned. (Source: AP) • 2007-03-22 03:28:14 • Category: 0. BAE Systems may make a solo bid for Devonport t has emerged that BAE Systems has put in a solo bid for Devonport Management Limited, which runs a maintenance and support base for Britain's submarine fleet. The Ministry of Defence would apparently have preferred to have BAE and the US private equity group Carlyle make a joint offer.

BAE already owns the UK's only submarine-building facility in Cumbria, and Devonport refuels and refits all of the Navy's nuclear submarines. The MoD is believed to be concerned about becoming too reliant on BAE. The Financial Times reported that talks about a joint bid were continuing. (Source: BBC News) • 2007-03-22 03:27:32 • Category: 0. Two sailors die on UK nuclear sub Two sailors were killed Wednesday morning in an accident on nuclear submarine HMS Tireless, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. The submarine was submerged on a joint UK-US exercise in the Arctic when the incident occurred.

It did not involve the vessel's nuclear reactor and the MoD stressed HMS Tireless does not carry Trident nuclear missiles. Air purification equipment in the forward section of the submarine was thought to be responsible. The equipment is fitted to all seven Trafalgar class submarines; its use on the other boats was suspended until safety checks can be carried out. One other crew member was injured and is receiving medical attention. (Source: Guardian Unlimited) • 2007-03-22 03:26:42 • Category: 0. General Dynamics Awarded $144m Contract General Dynamics Land Systems, General Dynamics Amphibious Systems, Woodbridge, Va., was awarded a $144m modification to previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (M67854-01-C-0001) on Mar. 16, 2007, for design for reliability efforts for the continuation of Systems Development and Demonstration phase of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program.Work will be performed in Woodbridge, Va., (40 percent), Indianapolis, Ind., (24 percent), Sterling Heights, Mich., (10 percent), Friedrichshafen, Germany, (10 percent), and various other states (16 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2008.Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-21 04:07:05 • Category: 0. Plan for Port of Philadelphia to be Unveiled The Maritime Stakeholders Group from the Port of Philadelphia will hold a news conference Wednesday March 21 at 11:30 a.m. To announce plans for a major development in Philadelphia to build a containership facility that could bring an additional 100,000 jobs back to the city. The group includes representatives of maritime employers (Ports of the Delaware River Marine Trade Association), labor (the International Longshoremen's Association) and a multitude of trade and business associations who have come together to work towards the success of this venture. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-21 04:06:08 • Category: 0. BAE Systems to Overhaul Coast Guard Cutter Global defense contractor BAE Systems will overhaul the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro this summer in San Francisco for $1.7 million.

BAE will repair the 378-foot cutter in its San Francisco ship repair facility from June through August. Work will be done on the ship's hull, machinery and propulsion systems. BAE also did emergency dry dock repairs on the Coast Guard cutter Jarvis in December in San Francisco. (Source: San Francisco Business News) • 2007-03-21 04:05:19 • Category: 0. Hartley Bay still living with the wreck of the Queen of the North Residents of Hartley Bay worry about what might happen if diesel fuel trapped inside the sunken Queen of the North escapes.

The ocean-going ferry, carrying 101 passengers and crew, sank early on March 22, 2006. Despite a promise from B.C. Ferries that they would remove the fuel by the end of 2006, the company and the coast guard still aren't sure how to deal with the ship's fuel tanks. Only trace amounts of diesel are rising to the surface now, but the truth is no one knows how much fuel is still on the vessel. Coast guard spokesman Dan Bate said they hope to have a plan by mid-April, and want to be sure of doing the right thing. The Queen of the North isn't all there is to worry about.

A US army transport ship sank about 25 miles from Hartley Bay in 1946. Divers patched some cracks after the wreck began to leak oil in 2003, but abandoned the work after the hulk was found to be full of unexploded bombs. The Canadian and US governments are still trying to determine a fix for that. (Source: Jack Knox, CanWest News Service, The Vancouver Sun at Canada.com) • 2007-03-21 03:55:53 • Category: 0.

US lawmaker wants the entire Deepwater program rebid Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced a bill last week calling for the termination of existing Deepwater contracts, and for any incomplete projects to be rebid. The Deepwater contract expires in June. The proposed legislation would allow the US Coast Guard to continue working with the current companies on any incomplete systems if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that rebidding it would compromise national security or would cost more with a different contractor. Kerry's legislation, called the Deepwater Accountability Act, was introduced two days after the Coast Guard announced it would separately rebid a portion of the Deepwater contract for 12 fast-response cutter patrol boats.

Kerry considers this move a 'good first step,' but wants more reforms. His proposed legislation states that the Coast Guard may not use a lead systems integrator to procure the remaining assets of the program. (Source: Alice Lipowicz, WashingtonTechnology) • 2007-03-21 03:55:03 • Category: 0. Putin to sign ordinance on United Shipbuilding Corp President Vladimir Putin has said that he will sign a decree to establish the United Shipbuilding Corporation on Wednesday.

The move will combine all state financial assets in the shipbuilding sector, and will allow the use of military shipbuilding facilities for civilian purposes. Russia's civilian shipbuilding is in bad shape, unlike the military sector.

Although most of the country's exports are transported by sea, there aren't enough Russian ships available to ship the goods. (Source: RIA Novosti) • 2007-03-21 03:54:06 • Category: 0. Chinese steelmaker Baosteel in Shanghai shipbuilding venture China State Shipbuilding Corp. And Shanghai Baosteel Group will jointly run a civilian shipyard on the Yangtze River. The venture will operate two production lines at a facility already under construction on Changxing Island north of Shanghai. With more than 7 million tons worth of preorders, and orders fully booked through 2011, the facility is due to become China's biggest. Shanghai Baosteel Group is China's biggest steelmaker, and will hold a 35 percent stake in the venture; China State Shipbuilding is the second-largest shipbuilder in the world by orders, and will take a 65 percent stake.

(Source: The Associated Press at Houston Chronicle) • 2007-03-21 03:53:05 • Category: 0. Strong interest seen in potential bid for Devonport sub facility BAE, Babcock, Carlyle Group and General Dynamics are all preparing to bid for the British nuclear submarine maintenance facility at Devonport Royal Dockyard (DML).

KBR controls 51 percent of DML, but apparently relations between KBR and the Ministry of Defence have deteriorated to the point that KBR has effectively been forced into selling the yard. If BAE bought DML, it would be responsible for building the Trident submarines at Barrow-in-Furness, and then servicing them at Devonport. (Source: David Robertson, The TimesOnline) • 2007-03-20 04:00:11 • Category: 0. BAE and Carlyle may split for UK sub deal It has emerged that BAE Systems and Carlyle Group may put in rival bids for Devonport Management Limited (DML), which runs a maintenance and support base for Britain's submarine fleet. It had been expected the two companies would make a joint bid. The pair would then have been in a powerful position to win the bulk of work on Britain's planned new fleet of nuclear-missile submarines.

But BAE and Carlyle are understood to have been unable to agree on a valuation of BAE's yard at Barrow. Neither company has commented.

Babcock and General Dynamics are also expected to bid for DML. These changes in the UK submarine industry is not connected to the planned reorganization of naval surface-vessel yards. (Source: Dominic O'Connell, The Sunday TimesOnline) • 2007-03-20 03:29:50 • Category: 0. Eight die after ships collide in East China Sea Two cargo ships collided off east China, killing eight people and leaving nine missing, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The Hong Kong-registered ship Huirong with 29 crew sank after the collision off Zhejiang province late on Saturday, and eight bodies had been found. Twelve crew were rescued.

Local maritime authorities were searching for the missing nine with helicopters and more than 40 vessels. The other ship, the Pengyan, was from Shenzhen Ocean Shipping Co. The cause of accident was being investigated.

(Source: AFP at Yahoo! News) • 2007-03-20 03:28:35 • Category: 0. Electric Boat Awarded Contract Electric Boat Corporation, Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $9,990,000 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00024-96-C-2100) for execution of the USS Texas (SSN 775) post shakedown availability to accomplish the maintenance, repair, alterations, testing, and other work.Work will be performed in Groton, Conn., and is scheduledto be completed by February 2008.Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, USN, Groton, Conn., is the contracting activity.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-03-19 04:12:58 • Category: 0. Sudan found responsible for USS Cole bombing A federal judge Wednesday found that Sudan should be held accountable for the October 12, 2000, bombing of the destroyer USS Cole, and will determine how much the families of the 17 sailors who died in the attack should be paid. Payment is expected to come from Sudanese assets previously frozen by the US government because of the African nation's links to terrorism. The families of 17 victims of the attack on the Cole sued Sudan, claiming it helped provide training and logistics to the al-Qaida terrorists who pulled up next to the destroyer and detonated a small boat of explosives.

In his ruling, US District Judge Robert G. Doumar said, 'There is substantial evidence in this case presented by the expert testimony that the government of Sudan induced the particular bombing of the Cole by virtue of prior actions of the government of Sudan. (Source: Associated Press at International Herald Tribune) • 2007-03-19 04:10:44 • Category: 0. Paying for security in the Malacca Strait Shipping firms should pay a cent for each ton they transport through the Malacca Strait to help maintain one of the world's busiest sea lanes, a major provider of funding to the route has said. Based on the amount of cargo that moves through the Strait each year, that would raise about $40 million annually, said Yohei Sasakawa, the head of Japanese non-governmental group The Nippon Foundation. Snaking between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, the Malacca Strait links Asia with the Middle East and Europe and carries about 40 percent of the world's trade. The three countries that border the sea lane individually bear the bulk of upkeep costs for the strait, including anti-piracy patrols.

It is estimated that some US $300 million will be required to enhance safety on the waterways over the next decade. Any changes in funding will be scrutinized, as the coastal nations would not want their rights impinged upon. A foreign military presence will likely not be tolerated by any of the three neighboring countries.

(Source: Associated Press at International Herald Tribune) • 2007-03-19 04:09:59 • Category: 0. Illegal blast fishing is adding to fisheries crisis A ban on the use of dynamite in fishing came into affect in the mid-1990s, as it kills large numbers of fish indiscriminately and destroys coral reef. But many fishermen still use blast fishing to catch a maximum haul in a minimum period of time. Using the world's first blast detector, the WWF along with Teng Hoi, another conservation organization, has picked up eight explosions since late November either in Hong Kong waters or across the border in China. Eric Bohm, chief executive of WWF Hong Kong, says that poverty is the underlying cause of this activity. 'As people become more desperate, they take more desperate means to maintain themselves,' he said. Unfortunately, blast fishing only aggravates a marine crisis caused by overfishing, pollution and dredging.

The WWF plans to install more blast-detecting devices. (Source: Nao Nakanishi, Reuters) • 2007-03-19 04:09:17 • Category: 0. US Navy temporarily loses communication with a submarine The US Navy temporarily lost communication with a submarine off Florida's coast and sent ships and aircraft to search for the USS San Juan before the vessel was contacted early Wednesday. There were no problems with the Los Angeles class sub, and the Navy was investigating the incident.

Units of the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group saw a red flare in the area where the sub was operating on Tuesday night. The Navy immediately started a search and rescue, but the submarine established communications in the early morning hours, so it was called off. (Source: WAVY-TV at MSNBC.com) • 2007-03-19 04:06:41 • Category: 0.

US Coast Guard's FRC contractors are let go Deepwater is the US Coast Guard's program to modernize and greatly expand its aging fleet of ships, planes and helicopters. The $24 billion program has recently faced criticism from Congress, in part because the Coast Guard handed much of the control to the two major contractors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. In response to the criticism, the Coast Guard is strengthening its own internal acquisition capabilities. Rear Admiral Gary Blore, the executive officer of the Deepwater program, said, 'The Coast Guard has become a lot more self-sufficient' than when the program was first launched.

As a result, the service has canceled the contractors' contracts for the Fast Response Cutter program. By managing the work itself and rebidding the development work, Coast Guard officials estimate they will save enough money to buy an extra ship, and address a patrol boat shortage by getting ships built faster.

Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, said the service will review contractor involvement on other portions of the Deepwater program, on a business-case basis. (Source: Renae Merle, The Washington Post) • 2007-03-19 04:06:06 • Category: 0. BAE and VT closer to joint shipbuilding venture BAE Systems and VT Group have come to a provisional agreement on a joint shipbuilding venture.

The shipbuilding merger has been strongly encouraged by the Ministry of Defence, which believes that a single national champion will be better placed to win export orders, as Royal Navy orders are expected to slow down. Once the BAE and VT assets are merged, the new company will effectively be the UK's only major shipbuilder. The Times understands that the joint venture will be about 55 percent owned by BAE, with VT holding the remainder; however, voting rights will be evenly shared.

The two companies are now discussing management; Sir John Parker is thought to have been approached to become chairman. The new company will include VT’s Portsmouth facility, BAE's docks at Govan and Scotstoun on the Clyde and an existing maintenance joint venture called Fleet Services. (Source: David Robertson, TimesOnline) • 2007-03-19 04:05:17 • Category: 0. US ship scrapping program on hold In addition to temporarily halting its ship-scrapping program, this week the US Maritime Administration has ordered a review of its 2003 contract to have 13 ships from the James River Reserve Fleet to be dismantled in England. Both decisions were made for environmental reasons. The British deal brought on a storm of lawsuits from both sides, and although four ships were eventually towed to scrapping yard Able UK, they remain untouched. Local residents have repeatedly voted against the project, and the shipyard still lacks government permits to proceed.

This week, Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton said, 'Obviously, it's a situation that has to be addressed as quickly as practicable.' Connaughton has stopped domestic ship scrapping activities while states decide if a federal rule recently being applied to ghost fleet ships should require state permits and pollution controls. The rule requires the hulls of junk ships to be scrubbed of marine growth before leaving for a salvage yard, but the cleaning may release pollutants into host waters.

(Source: Scott Harper, The Virginian-Pilot at HamptonRoads.com) • 2007-03-19 04:04:41 • Category: 0. Britain sets budget for new Royal Navy aircraft carriers The Times has learned that the British Treasury and the Ministry of Defence have agreed on a budget to build two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers. The top price for the two ships will be £3.9 billion. The budget includes incentives to lower the price — it is hoped to as low as £3.6 billion — with the shipbuilders taking a share of any cost reductions. This is seen as a key change in defense procurement, and is likely to set the standard in the future. A further incentive program will encourage the shipbuilders to share costs with France, which is also preparing to build a carrier.

This could save an additional £300 million. Although Lord Drayson, the Defence Procurement Minister, is expected to confirm the decision to go ahead with the carriers by Easter, a formal contract is unlikely to be signed before the autumn. (Source: David Robertson, The TimesOnline.com) • 2007-03-19 04:03:47 • Category: 0. Lockheed must take on more risk for LCS ships Two months ago, the US Navy ordered Lockheed Martin to stop work on their second Littoral Combat Ship after finding that the vessel would cost $350 to $375 million, instead of $260 million. The Navy has now decided that it will lift the stop-work order if the contractor takes on more of the financial risk for the ships. Lockheed must sign a new fixed-price contract by next month, and agree to pay for any future cost overruns.

If Lockheed doesn't agree, the Navy will terminate the contract for the second ship. Congress has recently begun scrutinizing cost overruns in weapons programs, and the LCS is one of the projects that have been reviewed.

A key part of the LCS program was to turn a commercial ship design into a relatively cheap combat vessel. But Navy Secretary Donald C.

Winter said the program suffered from 'excess optimism' and a contract structure that didn't encourage either Navy or Lockheed officials to determine the realistic cost of the ships. General Dynamics is also building two LCS ships; if cost growth for these ships is similar to Lockheed's, the Navy will engage similar cost-control measures. (Source: Renae Merle, The Washington Post) • 2007-03-19 04:02:57 • Category: 0. Royal Navy aircraft carriers could be delayed The restructuring of Britain's shipbuilding industry could delay the building of the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers.

This warning was issued by an all-party group of MPs concerned about consolidation in the UK and Europe's arms industry. The Ministry of Defence has called for the consolidation of the shipbuilding industry, to cope with a reduction in military orders and other demand once the multi-billion pound carriers are built. Since the industry has yet to reach an agreement on the new structure, it's possible construction on the carriers will be delayed. (Source: Press Association at Guardian Unlimited) • 2007-02-20 02:52:24 • Category: 0. Japanese whaling ship is still drifting The stricken Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru has been lashed between two other ships to avoid drifting into ice. It is unclear if the engines can be restarted.

Although the fire, fueled partly by whale oil, has lessened in intensity, it still seems to be burning; and one crewman is still missing. The crew has managed to pump off excess water and correct the list to the ship.

But the international community is on alert, for fear the ship could drift into the world's largest penguin breeding ground. Greenpeace has offered to help tow the ship to safety, although Japanese officials say they haven't been contacted.

Japan says the ship poses no environmental hazards, but the country may have to abandon this season's whale hunt. While there are other whaling ships nearby, the Nisshin Maru is the only ship in the fleet able to process whale carcasses. (Source: Rob Taylor, Reuters at Yahoo! News) • 2007-02-20 02:51:49 • Category: 0. Florida says cruise lines aren't responsible for doctor's mistakes The Florida Supreme Court has decided that cruise lines aren't responsible for the negligent acts of ship's physicians. The company is protected unless it knowingly hired an incompetent or unqualified doctor.

Now injured passengers can sue only the doctor — and since most doctors on cruise ships are foreign residents, often with no insurance, they are beyond the reach of US courts for all practical purposes. The major cruise lines are all based in Florida and abide by Florida's courts, so this decision will affect the majority of cruise ship passengers. It is possible the case will be brought before the US Supreme Court.

(Source: Tom Stieghorst, South Florida Sun-Sentinel) • 2007-02-20 02:50:33 • Category: 0. Danger lies in cleaning old ships New tests on obsolete ship in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet found that cleaning the old hulls causes copper, zinc, lead and other toxic metals to come off with organic materials, such as seaweed and barnacles. As a result, the US Maritime Administration has decided to initiate 'a complete and thorough review' of its ship disposal program. In June, the coast Guard ordered any ship being taken from the California Bay to Texas for disposal to have their hulls cleaned — regulators were hoping to stop the spread of invasive marine species. But after ships in the Virginia reserve fleet were cleaned, toxic metals were found in water at the Port of Richmond. On Friday, Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton announced that no more ships will be sent out of Suisun Bay until an agreement with California's water board is reached, and that the ship-disposal process will be reviewed.

No details were provided. (Source: Thomas Peele, ContraCostaTimes.com) • 2007-02-20 02:49:53 • Category: 0. According to reports, the U.S. Coast Guard may not renew its $24 b contract with Lockheed Martin Corp.

And Northrop Grumman Corp. To modernize the service's aging ships, the Coast Guard's top eofficial said. The service is considering a number of options as it negotiates with the two companies about renewing their contract to continue the Deepwater modernization program, Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen told reporters after a Senate subcommittee hearing.

The $3bcontract extension would start in June and continue for 43 months. Senators from both parties said the Coast Guard has done a poor job of managing a program which, since its 2002 inception, has experienced delays, cost overruns and design flaws. Deepwater, the Coast Guard's largest ever acquisition, was launched as a joint venture of Los Angeles-based Northrop, the Navy's top warship maker, and Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed, the nation's No. 1 defense contractor. The cost was originally projected at $17 billion over 25 years before the Coast Guard last year increased the price by $7 billion and extended the time frame to 30 years. Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, urged Allen to drop Lockheed and Northrop and put the contract out for competitive bids. The combined cost of the first two vessels under the program has risen to $775 million from $517 million, an audit by the service's inspector general said last month.

The first eight of 49 revamped cutters were retired after they were found to have cracked hulls. The inspector general released another report saying that the contractors installed cables on 123-ft. Patrol boats that could cause toxic smoke if they caught fire. The contractors also installed electronics equipment that was prone to breakdowns in the open sea, the report said. These boats have been suspended from operation. (Source: Bloomberg) • 2007-02-16 02:19:12 • Category: 0. Norway to encase sunken German WWII sub A German submarine that was sunk off Norway at the end of World War II will be buried in special sand to protect the coastline from its cargo of toxic mercury.

The U-864 submarine, which was found by the Royal Norwegian Navy in March 2003, is believed to have about 70 tons of mercury on board. Local residents had wanted the mercury removed, but Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Dag Terje Andersen said the government was following expert recommendations to instead bury the sub in sand and stone. Scientists fear that raising the sub would risk spreading the pollution to new areas.

The submarine and polluted sections nearby will be covered with a special absorbent sand, and then covered with heavier fill to prevent erosion. (Source: Associated Press at The Guarian Unlimited) • 2007-02-16 02:16:05 • Category: 0. Japan whaling ship catches fire A Japanese whaling ship has caught fire near Antarctica, leaving one crewmember missing and raising fears of environmental damage. The blaze on board the Nisshin Maru prompted the evacuation of most of its crew onto other ships.

The vessel was carrying heavy oil and furnace oil, and was starting to list from water pumped aboard to fight the fire. Although the fire has been brought under control, and the ship does not appear to be in immediate danger of sinking, it is drifting near one of the world's largest penguin breeding grounds on the Antarctic coast. One crewman, named as 27-year-old Kazutaka Makita, was still missing almost 12 hours after the ship sent out distress signal early Thursday. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but New Zealand authorities said it had nothing to do with whaling protesters. (Source: Carl Freire, The Associated Press at Examiner.com) • 2007-02-16 02:14:24 • Category: 0. It has been a troop carrier, a missile-tracking ship, and a starred in a Hollywood movie.

Now the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg will become an artificial reef off Key West, Fla.

Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton approved the transfer of the Vandenberg to the state of Florida, which plans to turn the 63-year old vessel into an artificial reef later this year.

“Reefing is an excellent way to dispose of our obsolete ships,” said Connaughton. 'It is good for the economy, good for the environment, and a great deal for U.S. Taxpayers.” The approval clears the way for the ship to be cleaned and sunk for a reef. The Vandenberg will join other ships of the Maritime Administration’s National Defense Reserve Fleet being used in the Maritime Administration's Artificial Reefing Program: the Texas Clipper I, soon to be sunk on the Texas Gulf Coast, and the Spiegel Grove, sunk off Florida in 2002. The Vandenberg is currently at the James River Reserve Fleet site. Within the next few weeks, it will be towed from the site to Colonna’s Shipyard in Norfolk, Va., where it will have all hazardous materials removed from it in preparation for reefing prior to its departure for sinking. The Maritime Administration is contributing $1.25m toward the cost of preparing the ship for reefing.

The Vandenberg was constructed in 1943, as the troop ship General Harry S. In 1963, it was refitted as a missile-tracking ship and given its unusual superstructure and present name. In 2000, the ship was featured in the Hollywood film Virus, and still carries the Russian lettering and ornate paint scheme given to it for that role. The Maritime Administration maintains the National Defense Reserve Fleet as a reserve of ships for defense and national emergencies. The James River Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis, Va., is one of three sites where ships are maintained.

When ships are no longer considered useful for defense or aid missions, the Maritime Administration arranges for their responsible disposal. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-15 02:28:52 • Category: 0. Navy Updates 30-year Fleet Plan The updated U.S. 30-year fleet construction plan require more surface combatants and fewer expeditionary warfare ships, but preserves the goal of a 313-ship fleet, Defense News reported. The plan, approved Feb.

2 by Navy Secretary Donald Winter, is updated every year and sent to Congress along with the U.S. President's annual budget, according to the report. While the numbers required for individual types of ships such as submarines and aircraft carriers haven't been altered, the 2008 plan improves the building rate for surface combatants in the far- term period -- those years from 2021 to 2037. Instead of building two ships per year, the revised plan requires building three ships in every year beginning in 2025.

Those ships will be the yet-to-be-designed DDG(X) destroyer, a follow-on to today's DDG 51 Arleigh Burke class of Aegis guided- missile destroyers. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-15 02:28:10 • Category: 0. Electric Boat Awarded Contract Electric Boat Corporation, Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $43,265,729 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-04-C-2100) for Consolidated Planning Yard, engineering and technical support for nuclear submarines. The contract modification provides support for submarine research, development, test, and evaluation. Work will be performed in Groton, Conn.

(90 percent); Newport, R.I. (5 percent); Quonset, R.I. (3 percent); Bangor, Wash. (1 percent); and Kings Bay, Ga. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by February 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-15 02:26:54 • Category: 0. US Navy may deploy anti-terrorism dolphins The US Navy wants to increase security at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, on the Puget Sound close to Seattle, Washington. The Navy feels the base is potentially vulnerable to attack by terrorist swimmers and scuba divers.

One option the Navy is considering is deploying sea lions and dolphins trained at the San Diego-based Marine Mammal Program. When one of these dolphins detects a person in the water, it drops a beacon; this tells the human interception team where to find the suspicious swimmer. If a trained sea lion finds a rogue swimmer, it can clamp a special cuff around the person's leg. Some are concerned that sea mammals won't provide a reliable defense system. The animals are also not used to the cooler water of Puget Sound. The Navy is seeking public comment for an Environmental Impact Statement it's preparing on the proposal.

The Navy is also considering using human interception teams, and remote-controlled machines. (Source: Thomas Watkins, Associated Press at SanLuisObispo.com) • 2007-02-15 02:24:59 • Category: 0. Oregon considers rules on shipbreaking Oregon has introduced a bill that would make it the first state in the US to require that shipbreaking be performed in a closed dry dock. This way, if any toxic materials spill out, it can be cleaned up without getting into the water. Old ships are often loaded with toxins, such as asbestos, PCBs, lead and chrome-based paints.

Most of the world's obsolete ships are dismantled in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, where environmental laws are less strict. But old US government-owned ships are still scrapped in the US, because of a law that prohibits the export of toxic materials. Oregon's proposed bill was created when a Virginia shipbreaking company tried to find a site on the West Coast to dispose of ships in California's Suisun Bay. There is a company in California that is qualified to bid on scrapping the old 'Ghost Fleet' ships, but because California's environmental regulations are so strict, they can't compete with companies on the East and Gulf coasts.

Oregon's proposed bill would help level the playing field in the US. (Source: Jeff Barnard, Associated Press at ContraCostaTimes.com) • 2007-02-15 02:23:23 • Category: 0. Canada's auditor general believes the country's Coast Guard is a chronically disorganized institution that wastes millions of dollars on botched repairs and fails to live up to its duties year after year. One of the Coast Guard's main duties is maritime security, with C$27 million (US $23 million, €17.66 million) invested in the agency since the September 11, 2001, attacks. But Auditor General Sheila Fraser's team was unable to say for certain whether all the money was actually going toward that purpose.

The Coast Guard also provides research vessels to the Fisheries Department to study fish stocks. And yet, for years the Department has been forced to live with incomplete surveys because of maintenance problems with the ships. Aging vessels have also become a major problem for the service.

Fraser's report to Parliament recommended the Coast Guard establish priorities, set clear achievable goals, allocate sufficient and appropriate resources, and hold managers accountable for results. (Source: Juliet O'Neill, CanWest News Service, The Windsor Star, Canada.com) • 2007-02-15 02:21:59 • Category: 0. Pirates may again be gathering off Somalia's coast Maritime officials in Kenya report that Somali pirates are beginning to gather in the town of Haradere. The area had seen several quiet months caused by turmoil surrounding an Islamist uprising and its crushing by Ethiopian-backed government troops.

But in the face of the current power vacuum in central Somalia, raiders appear to be getting ready to once again hijack ships passing by the Somali coast. There were some 40 attacks on vessels in the area between March 2005 and June of last year, prompting warnings from the International Maritime Bureau.

The Somali government has repeatedly appealed to east African countries to help in monitoring its territorial waters, but the response has been subdued. There are some US warships patrolling the area. (Source: AFP at Taipei Times) • 2007-02-15 02:18:14 • Category: 0. Royal Caribbean International's Majesty of the Seas returns home to South Florida after undergoing an extensive bow-to-stern renovation that includes several new dining and entertainment options.

The newly transformed ship resumes year-round three- and four-night cruises from Miami. Coming out a 28-day makeover, Majesty's onboard enhancements include a complete overhaul of the guest suites and staterooms, casual dining areas, the main dining rooms, the Majesty Day Spa and ShipShape Fitness Center, the Adventure Ocean youth area - adding the teen-focused Fuel Nightclub and Living Room lounge, conference rooms, the pool deck, the theater and Casino Royale.

(Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-13 02:45:02 • Category: 0. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Carrier Strike Group (RRSG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of responsibility (AOR) Feb. 9, as part of a surge deployment to promote peace, cooperation and stability in the region. Led by Rear Adm. Martoglio, the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group will be filling the role of USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), the Navy’s only permanently forward deployed aircraft carrier, which is undergoing scheduled maintenance in Yokuska, Japan. “Our friends and allies in the region can be assured of continued, robust interaction with our Navy in the form of mutual training opportunities, exchanges, and port visits,” said Martoglio, commander, Carrier Strike Group Seven (CCSG 7).

“We are committed to the maintenance of peace and stability in the Pacific region.” The RRSG completed its maiden combat deployment in July, 2006, following six months of supporting Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, as well as conducting maritime security operations. “Our mission during this surge deployment is to support our nation’s defense and our cooperative security commitments overseas,” said Capt. Kraft, Ronald Reagan’s commanding officer. “We are ready and able to rapidly respond to a range of situations on very short notice.” The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is comprised of CCSG 7, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), the guided-missile destroyers USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11, Det. More than 6,000 Sailors are currently assigned to RRSG.

The squadrons of CVW-14 include the “Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, the “Fist of the Fleet” of VFA-25, the “Stingers” of VFA-113, the “Eagles” of VFA-115, the “Black Eagles” of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the “Cougars” of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 139, the “Providers” of Carrier Logistics Support (VRC) 30, and the “Black Knights” of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4. Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet is permanently embarked aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), which is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. The 7th Fleet AOR includes more than 52 million square miles of the Pacific and Indian oceans -- stretching from the international date line to the east coast of Africa, and from the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south. More than half of the world's population lives within the 7th Fleet AOR.

In addition, more than 80 percent of that population lives within 500 miles of the oceans, which means this is an inherently maritime region. Ronald Reagan was commissioned in July 2003, making it the ninth and newest Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The ship is named after the 40th U.S. President, and carries the motto of “Peace through Strength,” a recurrent theme during the Reagan presidency. (Source: NavNews) • 2007-02-13 02:43:14 • Category: 0. Coast Guard decommissioned its oldest vessel, retiring the cutter Storis with eight rings of a bell and the playing of taps in a gymnasium at the Kodiak Coast Guard Base.

About 70 Storis crew members wearing dress blues stood at attention during the ceremony to retire the 64-year-old icebreaker. About 200 invited guests also attended.

Storis crews have boarded 7,500 vessels, saved 250 lives, kept 25 vessels from sinking, assisted 100,000 people and traveled 1.5 million miles. The Storis has been patrolling Alaska waters since the late 1950s.

McCauley, commander of the Storis, thanked Kodiak for the town's hospitality as homeport. McCauley's last outing with Storis was a 54-day patrol in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. All 54 days were completed without a single day out of service. Hallmarks of the Storis career include sailing the North Atlantic during World War II, when the ship was the command center for a fleet that prevented Nazi Germany form establishing a foothold on Greenland.

This was a critical part of the war effort, Brooks said, because weather stations in Greenland helped predict weather patterns in Europe. In the late 1940s, the ship supplied medical aid to Alaska villages while patrolling Southeast Alaska waters.

In 1957, Storis sailed the Northwest Passage in a historic trip to survey a deep water route. The route was needed to help protect North America's Arctic Coast during the Cold War. Storis' most recent patrols were in Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea conducting fisheries enforcement and search-and-rescue missions.

Storis is a pioneer in the arena. In 1967, the Storis crew was the ship involved in the arrest of a Soviet fishing vessel operating in Alaska waters. Since 1991, the Storis has been the oldest cutter in the Coast Guard, referred to as Queen of the Fleet. The hull number 38 is painted in gold on the ship's bow just forward of the distinctive red stripe signifying a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. With the decommissioning of the Storis, Coast Guard cutter Acushnet will become Queen of the Fleet. Acushnet is home ported in Ketchikan and patrols primarily in the Gulf of Alaska.

Acushnet celebrated its 63rd birthday on Feb. (Source: Kodiak Daily Mirror) • 2007-02-13 02:40:53 • Category: 0. Erika oil spill trial opens in France A trial into one of France's worst environmental disasters begins on Monday. The case follows the sinking of the Erika, a Maltese-registered tanker that broke in two and sank in heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay on December 12, 1999. Its 26 crew members were taken to safety by helicopter, but its fuel cargo started showing up on shore almost two weeks later, killing between 60,000 and 300,000 birds.

Fifteen organizations and individuals have been charged over the spill, which poured 20,000 tonnes of oil into the sea, polluted 250 miles of coastline and caused damage of more than $1.30 billion (1 billion euros). Besides oil giant Total and two of its subsidiaries, the ship's Indian captain, its management company, four French maritime officials and the Italian maritime certification company RINA, which classified the ship as safe, are also on trial. With the approach of France's presidential elections in April and May, the case has assumed political overtones amid an increased focus on environmental issues and climate change. (Source: James Mackenzie, Reuters) • 2007-02-13 02:10:48 • Category: 0. USCG – Salvage and Firefighting – Partial Suspension The US Coast Guard is suspending, until February 12, 2009, the requirement for vessel response plans (VRPs) to identify salvage and firefighting capability that can be deployed to a port nearest the vessel’s operating area within 24 hours of notification.

The original vague salvage and firefighting requirement was established in 1993. The 24-hour requirement was added in 1996, but was suspended before coming into effect. This action continues the suspension for another two years. (Source: HK Law) • 2007-02-12 03:08:00 • Category: 0.

MarineSafety International provided training to eight Greek Naval Officers in connection with Foreign Military Sale (FMS) transfer of two US Navy MHC-1, Osprey Class Minehunters. The eight officers spent three days using MSI Norfolk’s simulator learning how to handle these unique ships.

The Osprey Class MHCs are powered by Voith Schneider cycloidal drive units. The cycloidal drive gives these ships exceptional maneuverability, but operations in close quarters requires new vocabulary and new ship handling skills. Over the course of three days the crews practiced docking, undocking, and restricted waters transits in increasing ranges of environmental challenges. By the end of the training the Captains and crews of both ships felt confident that they could master the challenge. Over the next several months the crews will continue training and familiarization on board in the ships’ current homeport of Ingleside Texas.

Actual transfer and movement to Greece will take place in June 2007. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-12 03:07:14 • Category: 0. Type 23 frigate HMS Portland has been handed back to the Fleet following a nine-month upkeep period completed by Fleet Support Limited (FSL) in Portsmouth. The Devonport-based ship then sailed from Portsmouth on the same day to start a programme of crew training in the South West in preparation for deployment in early summer.

FSL has carried out an extensive enhancement and maintenance package on the 1999-built ship that has kept some 150 personnel busy. The work has included a complete upgrade of the ship’s aviation facilities that enable her to operate the Merlin helicopter, and the fitting of the Surface Ship Torpedo Defence suite, improving her employability around the world. This has been supplemented by work on her accommodation, which should see her safely through to her first refit in 2011.There has also been a major upgrade to her IT systems.

FSL is also currently regenerating two further ex-RN Type 23s which have been sold to the Chilean Navy. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-12 03:05:55 • Category: 0. Less than a month after aging cruise ship Majesty of the Seas went off to drydock in the Bahamas to be refurbished, the new, improved Majesty sailed back to Miami on Feb. 8th to resume its schedule of three and four night cruises. When the 74,000 ton Majesty was put into service in 1992, the ship -- with its seven-story atrium -- was one of the largest, most modern cruise ships afloat. There are 68 cruise ships in service larger than Majesty, with Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas boasting more than twice the gross tonnage. And beyond the size, the newer ships -- with their specialty restaurants, rock-climbing walls, surfing pools, bowling alleys and boxing rings -- have made cruise ships like Majesty appear to belong to a generation past.

But many veteran cruise ship passengers continue to think smaller -- or at least a bit smaller -- is better, and even before its renovation, Majesty of the Seas had a number of loyal fans among cruisers. On February 10th, Majesty of the Seas will sail on a two-day preview cruise before departing on its maiden voyage to the Bahamas on February 12th. (Source: Cruise Ship Report) • 2007-02-12 03:02:59 • Category: 0. BP oil tankers have more problems Several problems, including structural ones, have been found in the fleet of double-hull tankers which started carrying North Slope crude oil to West Coast refineries in the summer of 2004.

In spring 2005, cracks were discovered in the rudders of two of the ships. And in December, 16-ton anchors broke off two of the ships as they crossed the Gulf of Alaska with loads of oil. Now, one of the stout metal posts used to secure mooring and tug ropes popped off a tanker, and tests found that dozens more on three of the four ships were defective.

The ships' operator is Alaska Tanker Co. Of Beaverton, Oregon; the ships carry oil exclusively for BP.

Anil Mathur, president of the tanker company, believes the ships are fundamentally safe. The problems may have originated in the shipyard that built the tankers, General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, California. (Source: The Associated Press at International Herald Tribune) • 2007-02-12 03:01:37 • Category: 0. New missiles from North Korea might be hidden in cargo ships A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says that North Korea has developed a submarine- or ship-mounted ballistic missile system with a range of about 1,500 to 2,500 miles. The CRS is a research unit of the US Congress. The report also said that North Korea has transformed ordinary cargo ships to launch the missiles.

The ballistic missiles must be launched vertically from a submarine, and North Korea's Romeo-level submarine is too small to launch the new 12-meter missile. But the new missiles can be carried in a launch pad that looks like an ordinary cargo container, and be fired by raising the container upright. A cargo ship would easily conceal a missile. It has not been confirmed if North Korea has developed a new, larger submarine to launch the missile.

(Source: Digital Chosun Ilbo) • 2007-02-12 03:00:27 • Category: 0. Whalers and protesters save a pair lost in the Antarctic Japanese whalers and a group of self-styled environmental 'pirates' called a truce to save the lives of two activists who spent seven hours adrift in the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean. A dinghy carrying the two campaigners for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society became lost in fog during a violent confrontation with the Nisshin Maru, a Japanese factory ship that is hunting 1,000 whales in the name of scientific research. It was the latest incident in an increasingly dangerous struggle that is being fought in the waters of the Antarctic. Sea Shepherd dinghies tried to bolt metal plates over outlets in the hull of the Japanese ship, to prevent the outflow of the blood of butchered whales. Two sailors were injured after being struck or splashed by canisters of butyric acid.

(Source: Barbara McMahon, Guardian Unlimited) • 2007-02-12 02:56:18 • Category: 0. While meeting at the Western Conference Exposition (West 2007) here Jan. 31 to discuss future shipbuilding options, senior Department of the Navy officials also took the opportunity to expound on Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Mullen's 1000-ship Navy concept.

Morgan, Jr., deputy chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans and Strategy and Rear Adm. Bachman, commander of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, explained that the 1,000-ship Navy is a network of international partner navies who will work together to create a force capable of standing watch over all the seas. “A new naval era is coming and we’re doing exciting things in preparation for it,” Morgan said.

“The Navy is being challenged by the CNO’s plan of a 1,000-ship Navy and we’ll find ways to move toward putting his plan into action. The Navy’s traveling around and getting the idea of a 1,000-ship Navy to patrol the seas, out to the world.” Morgan and Bachman sat down with discussion host Dr. Zakheim, former under secretary of defense (Comptroller) and chief financial officer for the Department of Defense, during the luncheon and also held a period of question and answer for the audience. “We fight in a joint environment and are embarked upon a journey to ensure that the war in Iraq isn’t just fought by our American troops, but also by our allies,” Bachman said.

“The war in Iraq embodies the new level of integration possible and is the beginning steps of a global network needed for a 1,000-ship Navy.” Also, according to Morgan, 90 percent of world’s commerce travels via the oceans, and a 1,000-ship Navy would help protect that aspect of international trade. “Despite how powerful we are and despite how big we are, we can’t do it on our own,” he said. For more than a year, the CNO has advocated the 1,000-ship Navy concept to many allied and international navies.

“This 1,000-ship Navy idea is all about a global maritime network, a huge network of sharing,” said Morgan. “That’s the biggest challenge we’re facing: a network of many integrated countries’ navies with one goal in mind of patrolling the world’s seas.” West 2007 brings government, military, and industrial leaders together to explore future strategies. “West 2007 is a great convention because it gives enlisted military members a chance to see cutting edge technology and also holds informative panel discussions,” said Fire Controlman 2nd class Matthew Somers, attached to USS Chancellorsville (CG-62). “I think the 1,000-ship Navy is a great step toward making our world a safer place, and it shows how much the United States really cares about the world.” (Source: NavNews) • 2007-02-09 02:01:16 • Category: 0. Coast Guard Concludes Public Hearing for Tug Valour The Coast Guard has concluded it final public hearing this afternoon regarding the sinking of the tug Valour, a 125-foot tug that sank approximately 40-miles east of Wilmington, N.C. Coast Guard investigators recalled the crew of the Valour to testify one last time before the investigators submit their findings to Coast Guard District Seven Command in Miami and Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington for review.

Facts collected at this final hearing will be developed into a conclusion to be presented in the Coast Guard's final investigative report. Investigators focused their questioning for the six crewmen in three major areas: training, survival equipment and the procedures regarding ballast tanks. The Coast Guard called this hearing to clarify certain issues in each of these areas. It was also released in the public hearing that the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center in Washington and engineers with Over Seas Shipholding Group, Inc., the owners of the tug Valour, believe that Valour couldn't have sank with out water being present in the engine room. The mood throughout the hearing was very emotional as the crewmen recalled the chaotic events that unfolded that January night.

The widows of Richard H. Smoot, 50, of Southpoint, Ohio, and Ronald L. Emory, 56, of Milford, Del., were in the hearing and wept as the crewmen testified about the deaths of their husbands. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-09 02:00:32 • Category: 0. French presidential hopeful backs aircraft carriers Last March, Britain and France signed a deal to construct three aircraft carriers, with France agreeing to pay for design work. Last month, the La Tribune business daily reported France could drop plans for a second carrier as part of sweeping cuts to defense spending. But French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has said he would stick to a plan to build a second aircraft carrier if he is elected in May.

Sarkozy is currently the interior minister, and is leading opinion polls for the presidential election. (Source: Reuters) • 2007-02-09 01:59:16 • Category: 0. Shipyard Begins Building Tugboats for Dutch Firm The Da Nang-based Song Thu Co laid the keels for four 5,000 hp tugboats at a ceremony on Saturday.

The 24-metre long, 11-metre wide vessels, known as ASD (Azimuth stern driver) 2411, will be built by the State-owned company for the Netherlands-based Damen group under a $18.75m contract signed last year. The Dutch group will supply the design, technologies, and equipment for building the vessels. Colonel Ha Son Hai, the company’s managing director, said the tugboats would be completed in 36 months. He said this year Song Thu would also build a 3,500 hp rescue vessel for the coast guard, vessels to respond to oil spills, and multi-purpose vessels for use in the oil and gas sector.

(Source: VNS) • 2007-02-08 02:10:57 • Category: 0. Raytheon Selects IBM for Navy Contract IBM Corp. Was selected by defense firm Raytheon Co. To assist in designing an upgraded software system for at least one U.S. Navy Zumwalt destroyer. Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon received a $3 billion contract from the Navy to design mission systems equipment for two destroyer ships.

The equipment acts as the brains of the ship, sensing incoming missiles, sending signals and controlling radar systems. Raytheon will later compete for a separate contract to build mission systems equipment. (Source: Business Portal) • 2007-02-08 02:09:51 • Category: 0. Aker Yards to Build Residential Cruise Ship Residential Cruise LineLtd.

(RCL), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) with Aker Yards to build the world's largest residential cruise ship, the Magellan. Designed by the internationally acclaimed Norwegian firm of Petter Yranand Bjorn Storbraaten Architects A.S., the Magellan offers fractional and full-ownership of luxuriously appointed residences and penthouses as well assuch unprecedented amenities as a full-service retractable marina, on-call private Bell 429 helicopters, a 450-seat satellite broadcast capable theater and 24-hour on-call concierge service to name just a few. Private residences on the Magellan range in price from $1.875m to $8m for penthouses and from $156,250 for fractional ownership residences. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-08 02:06:46 • Category: 0. Plans for construction of the Navy's next-generation destroyer at Bath Iron Works and a Mississippi shipyard remain on track, Pentagon officials said Monday as they sent next year's budget request to Congress. Unlike past years, when the destroyer program and other shipbuilding projects have been targeted for cuts, the fiscal year 2008 budget stays the course for the sleek new ships.

The budget requests $3.5 billion to complete construction of the two lead Elmo Zumwalt class destroyers, with one to be built at BIW and the other at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss. After the lead ships are built, the two shipyards are expected to compete for future contracts. The Navy plans to contract for one destroyer each in 2009, 2010 and 2011, for a total of five ships.

Each ship will cost the Navy more than $3 billion. The Navy has renamed the destroyer the DDG-1000. It was previously known as the DD(X).

The ship is the successor to the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers that are now being built by BIW and the Mississippi yard. The DDG-1000 is a multi-mission surface combatant that will be highly automated and equipped with sophisticated weaponry and radar devices. The crews will be about half the size of those on DDG-51 destroyers. The submission of the budget request to Congress is the first step in a long process of consideration by lawmakers, which will culminate with enactment of a final defense bill later this year. In recent years, the destroyer program has come under heavy attack by top Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee. The budget for the destroyers has been slashed, with funds later restored by the Senate. With Democrats now in charge, the Maine delegation is expecting much more favorable treatment during the upcoming budget cycle.

(Source: The Record) • 2007-02-08 02:04:56 • Category: 0. USCG – Exams for Certain Deck and Engine Licenses The US Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC) issued guidance regarding administration of examinations for certain deck and engine licenses. In order to accommodate provisions of the STCW Convention, various licensing examinations were changed effective 1 February 2002. Affected mariners already holding licenses, though, were allowed to utilize the old examination through 31 January 2007. That deadline has now been extended indefinitely. (Source: HK Law) • 2007-02-08 02:04:17 • Category: 0. Canadian coast guard's MIMS project has problems Canada's Auditor General will give a report to Parliament next week that describes serious problems with a computer project at the coast guard.

The project is held up as a key example of the agency's failure to manage large projects. The Maintenance Information Mangement System (MIMS) project was designed to link coast guard ships with shore facilities by computer, using proven off-the-shelf hardware and software.

Previously, the coast guard didn't even have a paper-based system. Like many technology projects, MIMS project managers often underestimated technical requirements, training costs, and resistance to new technology among personnel. MIMS was launched in 1997 with a budget of $7.9 million, and a completion date of 2000. But now, the system is expected to be almost 12 years behind schedule, with a total cost of $20 million. Coast guard spokesman Dave Faulkner said, 'We remain absolutely confident that once we roll it out that it will deliver significant benefits back to the coast guard.'

(Source: Dean Beeby, CP at Canoe Network) • 2007-02-08 02:03:29 • Category: 0. Soviet-era submarine sinks near Denmark A Soviet-era submarine being towed to a museum in Thailand has sunk near Denmark. The Whiskey class sub was being tugged from a Polish shipyard.

It began taking on water about 34 miles from the Danish coast, and the tugboat crew had to disconnect the towing cable as the boat sank. There were no people, arms or fuel on board, and the vessel does not pose an environmental hazard. However, because the submarine sank in a busy area, it represents a potential obstacle to navigation, and authorities have promised to salvage it. More than 200 diesel electric submarines of Project 613 (Whiskey class) were built in the Soviet Union between 1949 and 1957, based on German Type XXI submarines. (Source: Associated Press at Chicago Sun-Times) • 2007-02-08 02:01:10 • Category: 0. Migrant vessel remains stranded at sea Spain and Mauritania are still arguing about the fate of hundreds of African and Asian migrants currently floating in the ship Marine 1 off the West African coast.

The vessel broke down in international waters and was rescued by a Spanish ship, which tried to tow it to the nearest port, in line with maritime rules. But Mauritania denies responsibility.

Estimates on the number and nationalities of migrants vary as no one has boarded the ship. Spain estimates there are about 200 migrants, mostly from Pakistan. Mauritania's Red Crescent believes there are 400 people on board, mostly from the Indian region of Kashmir. The migrants are said to be healthy, and the Red Crescent has sent them food. (Source: Andrew Hay, Reuters) • 2007-02-08 01:58:49 • Category: 0. A historic nuclear-powered ship that probably attracted more barnacles than tourists while serving as a floating museum off Mount Pleasant has completed the first leg of its rehabilitation.

But the next phase of work won't take place in the Lowcountry, as federal officials had once considered. The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered cargo and passenger vessel, is being restored, possibly for its second stint as a floating museum, according to its owner, MarAd. Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk, Va., recently completed an initial $995,000 cleanup and renovation of the 596-foot ship, which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991, when it was still part of the naval museum at state-owned Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. Before it was towed to Colonna's last August, the vessel had been anchored for a dozen years near Newport News, Va., with other government rust buckets as part of the James River Reserve Fleet, a watery graveyard that's also known as the Ghost Fleet.

Now the Savannah has been towed back to Newport News, where it will go into drydock for an exterior paint job and the removal of its nuclear components. The contractors and project costs have not been announced. The Charleston region was one of the four sites MarAd considered last year for the final decommissioning of the vessel's nuclear reactor. The others were Baltimore, the Norfolk-Newport News area and Wilmington, N.C. MarAd has said all of the ship's nuclear fuel was removed more than 30 years ago and that the remaining parts show only low levels of radiation.

The ship was a pet project of President Dwight Eisenhower and his Atoms for Peace plan in the 1950s. It was supposed to haul freight but ended up as a government showpiece for nuclear propulsion. It was retired in 1971. This latest restoration is part of MarAd's plan to prepare the ship for a new mission, possibly as a floating museum. The Savannah didn't fare well in its first go-round as a tourist attraction. In the mid- to late 1970s the once-sleek white ship was tied up for several years at a remote Army pier in North Charleston. At the same time, the Patriots Point Development Authority and politicians scrambled to put the funds together to make the Savannah part of the lineup at Patriots Point.

The deal finally got done in 1981, but in 1994 local tugboats moved the ship to prepare it to join the Ghost Fleet. (Source: Charleston Post Courier) • 2007-02-07 02:19:03 • Category: 0.

The Coast Guard will hold the final public hearing for the investigation into the January 2006 sinking of the tug Valour, which claimed the lives of three crew members. Coast Guard marine investigators have recalled the crew of the Valour to obtain statements and finalize the timeline of events leading up to the sinking. Facts collected at this final hearing will be developed into a conclusion to be presented in the Coast Guard's final investigative report. Coast Guard marine investigators from Marine Safety Unit Savannah and Sector Charleston, S.C., have spent more than a year piecing together the events from the night Valour sank. The Coast Guard held its last public hearing regarding Valour March 1, 2006, in Tampa, Fla. Valour was towing a fully loaded cargo barge approximately 40-miles east of Wilmington, N.C., when the master of the vessel sounded the tug's general alarm due to a significant port list at about. The weather off the coast of Wilmington was extreme that night with 30- to-50 knot sustained winds and 70-knot gusts with seas approximately 15- to-20 feet.

One crewmember was swept overboard and rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. Six crewmembers were successfully recovered by the tug Justine Foss, one able-bodied seaman was unable to be retrieved and one passed away soon after being rescued. The Coast Guard launched an extensive search for the able-bodied seaman covering more than 1,700-square-nautical miles over a period of 16 hours using numerous surface and air assets. This search was not successful. One crewmember is believed to have sunk with the tug.

The Coast Guard's investigation is intended to determine the causes of the accident and obtain information that may prevent or reduce the occurrence of similar incidents. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-07 02:17:22 • Category: 0. Chinese research ship detected in Japan's economic zone A Japanese Coast Guard patrol vessel detected a Chinese research ship Sunday morning within Japan's exclusive economic zone. The civilian ship Dongfangfong No. 2 was seen operating off a group of islands claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing.

The ship ignored repeated warnings by the coast guard that it halt what appeared to be a maritime survey. Japan's Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded protest to China.

The vessel left the zone Sunday night heading west. (Source: Associated Press at The Star Online) • 2007-02-07 02:16:00 • Category: 0. Captain of the Ethan Allen is indicted The captain of a tour boat that capsized on Lake George, New York, killing 20 elderly tourists, was charged Monday along with a cruise company with not having enough crew members aboard. The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 15 days in jail and a $250 fine. Some survivors of the tragedy were disappointed by the outcome, but the prosecutor in the case said there was insufficient evidence to support more serious charges. Captain Richard Paris and Shoreline Cruises were indicted in connection with the capsizing of the Ethan Allen on Oct. The tourists aboard were spilled into the chilly water of Lake George during a cruise to see the autumn foliage.

Paris was the only crew member aboard. State law required at least two crew members for the 47 passengers. (Source: Ronald J.

Jansen, The Detroit News) • 2007-02-07 02:15:21 • Category: 0. Antarctic Cruise Hits Rocks The MS Nordkapp hit rocks near Deception Island, an ice-capped caldera off the Antarctic peninsula that is a popular stop for cruise ships.

It sustained an 80-ft. Gash in her bows. As the ship dropped anchor, the Royal Navy ice-patrol ship HMS Endurance responded to a call for assistance, dispatching a helicopter and diving teams to assess damage and supervising the transfer of passengers to the Nordkapp’s sister ship, MS Nordnorge. Speaking from the bridge of HMS Endurance, Captain Nick Lambert said that once passenger safety had been secured, his priority was to contain pollution. While nobody was hurt, the accident highlights the vulnerability of unspecialized ships sailing in remote and often uncharted Antarctic waters. Many marine-safety experts say a disaster — either human or environmental — among the icebergs of the South Atlantic is an accident waiting to happen, but Captain Lambert says Antarctic tourism shouldn’t be stopped. (Source: TimesOnline) • 2007-02-06 02:02:47 • Category: 0.

Shipbuilder to Invest $40m in Central Facilities Vinashin will invest $40m into building ten facilities to support the Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industrial Plant in central Vietnam. Construction of the factories is scheduled to begin this quarter in the Dung Quat Economic Zone of Quang Ngai Province. Under the plan, the new facilities will focus on manufacturing engines, pumping equipment, boilers and lifting equipment. Each plant will cost between $3.7m and $4.3m Vinashin has also recently opened a new subsidiary, Vinashin Offshore Industries in Hanoi.

The new entity will focus on manufacturing floating storage and off-loading (FSO) units, moorings, oil drilling vessels and other industrial equipment. Vinashin Offshore also uses resources from the parent company and other affiliates to sign manufacturing contracts and upgrade facilities for marine exploitation. Under a Vietnam government strategy, Vinashin will build a national shipping fleet for to meet domestic transport and 30 percent of the export transport demand for crude oil. It targeted to rack up revenues of $1 billion this year, up from $690 in 2005. Selling off shares in its 21 remaining affiliates will be a key target for Vinashin this year. The giant said it was in need of $2.5b to carry out projects under the strategy of $1-billion in ship exports to 2010.

To meet the export target, Vinashin plans to invest in upgrading 10 major shipyards capable of building 3,000-10,000 ton ships. It also plans to build seven shipyards, six shipbuilding industrial parks and seven shipbuilding industrial complexes throughout Vietnam. Vinashin has mobilized its investment and business capital through the Shipbuilding Industrial Finance Company. The group will set up a financial leasing company, a securities company, an insurance company, and shipbuilding industrial investment fund to attract domestic and foreign capital sources. Along with its 20 subsidiaries it has helped Vietnam become the world’s 11th largest shipbuilder.

(Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam) • 2007-02-06 02:01:50 • Category: 0. Coast Guard Investigates Wilmington Crane Incident The Coast Guard is investigating the collision between the Zhen Hua 16, carrying four new cranes, and the dredge Cherokee, in the Port of Wilmington. The incident occurred at about 5:15 p.m.

Saturday as the Zhen Hua 16, a 788-ft. Heavy lift vessel, was making final preparations to moor at the Port of Wilmington. As it passed the dredge Cherokee, the crane arms and the dredge collided; the cranes and dredge both sustained some damage.

There were no reports of pollution or injuries. (Source: Marinelink) • 2007-02-06 02:00:42 • Category: 0. Migrants' boat barred from Mauritania A boat carrying about 200 migrants, most believed to be from Pakistan, was rescued by a Spanish vessel on Saturday after it broke down off the coast of West Africa. The Spanish vessel originally planned to tow the migrant boat to the nearest safe port in Senegal, but the Senegalese government said it was not equipped to help the migrants. The boat is now waiting in international waters off the Mauritanian coast.

While Mauritania has agreed in theory to help in the repatriation of migrants, government spokesman Babah Sidi Abdallah suggested this group of migrants was coming from an untenable origin. He said that Mauritania 'is not involved with this boat or its occupants, and has refused to give permission for the boat to land.' The European Union has been patrolling waters along the African coast to try to stem illegal immigration. (Source: Associated Press at BostonHerald.com) • 2007-02-06 01:59:57 • Category: 0.