Off Arromanches, a Drone over the Mulberry

Posted on by December 11, 2016

Here is a lovely drone video by François Monier of what is left of Mulberry B just offshore near the French village of Arromanches.

One of the reasons that the Germans were skeptical of an Allied invasion of Normandy was the lack of a nearby harbor through which to unload men and supplies. The Allies addressed the problem by building Mulberry harbors, two massive portable harbors which were fabricated in Britain in modules, towed across the Channel and then reassembled off the coast of Normandy shortly after D-Day, in 1944.  Mulberry A was assembled off Omaha Beach, while Mulberry B was installed off Gold Beach near the French village of Arromanches. During the eight months that it operated, the Mulberry off Arromanches was used to disembark two and a half million men, a half million vehicles, and four million tons of supplies.  To learn more, see our post from June 2016, The Mulberries Battle the Storm — June 19, 1944.

Au ras des caissons !

The Water Worlds of Kepler-62

Posted on by December 10, 2016

Kepler-62e

I have always thought that our planet was misnamed. Earth is a synonym for dirt, even though 72% is covered by water. Now, it appears that scientists may have discovered two distant water worlds even wetter than our own misnamed watery planet.

Astronomers have discovered a solar system of five planets orbiting Kepler-62, a red dwarf star about 1,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. Two of the five planets are in what is considered the “habitable zone”— the area at which the planets receive enough light and warmth that liquid water could theoretically exist on their surfaces. Now, researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have concluded that both planets may be water worlds, their surfaces completely covered by a global ocean with no dry land to speak of. 

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Pristine Wrecks in Great Lakes, Baltic & Black Sea While Bacteria Devours the Titanic

Posted on by December 10, 2016

Stern of the Ottoman-era ship showing coils of rope and a tiller with elaborate carvings. Photo: Expedition and Education Foundation/Black Sea MAP

Recently, the New York Times featured an article on 40 recently discovered wooden shipwrecks located deep in the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast. In age, the wrecks span a millennium, from the ninth to the 19th centuries. What is so amazing about these wrecks is how well they are preserved.  Intricate carving in the wood and even coils of rope have survived for many centuries underwater. The cold, dark, and a lack of oxygen has protected the wrecks from the organisms that would normally eat away at the wood and other natural materials on the ancient ships.

The Black Sea is not alone in its ability to preserve wooden vessels. In North America, the dark and oxygen free waters of the deeper sections of the Great Lakes has also effectively protected shipwrecks. Recently, Smithsonian described the newly discovered 1884 wreck of J.S. Seaverns, which is said to be perfectly preserved.  Likewise the Baltic is known for its well preserved shipwrecks.

Somewhat bizarrely, while the wooden ships in the Baltic and the Great Lakes have remained relatively pristine, an iconic steel ship, the RMS Titanic is literally being devoured by a recently identified species of rust-eating bacteria. The iron-oxide-munching bacterium, discovered by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia,  has fittingly been named Halomonas titanicae. Recent estimates predict that by the year 2030 the ship may be completely consumed by the bacteria. 

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The Fateful Collision of USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma, October 22, 1941

Posted on by December 8, 2016

I learned yesterday that USS Arizona was not supposed to be in Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. This is one of those minor facts that invariably seem to pop up to remind us that history is just as often a string of random events as someone’s grand plan. But the old battleship was indeed in Pearl Harbor, where she was hit by Japanese armor-piercing bombs. 1,177 sailors and marines died on the USS Arizona, representing almost half the casualties of the entire attack.

On October 22, 1941, the battleships from Pearl Harbor were on maneuvers. The battleships had been sailing in line, making 90 degree starboard turns in unison. The battleship USS Oklahoma missed a turn and rammed the USS Arizona. Both ships were damaged but the Arizona took the worst of it, ending up with a hole in her side 30 feet wide by 18 to 20 feet wide. The resulting flooding caused the ship to list 10 degrees until counter-flooding on the other side of the ship brought her upright. The Arizona limped back into Pearl Harbor and was put straight into the drydock. The repairs were done quickly but the casualty delayed her departure for the West Coast so that on the fateful Sunday morning in early December 1941, US Arizona was still in Pearl Harbor. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

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Pearl Harbor 75th : Remembering Dorie Miller, Messman with a 50 Caliber

Posted on by December 7, 2016

On the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, it is a good time to remember Dorie Miller.  Miller was a Navy messman on the battleship USS West Virginia, who showed incredible courage under fire during the attack. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor awarded by the U.S. Navy at the time.

Doris “Dorie” Miller was a Mess Attendant Second Class when the Japanese attacked on December 7th, 1941. Under enemy fire, he helped carry wounded shipmates, including the mortally wounded ship’s captain, to shelter. He then took control of an 50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun and began firing at Japanese planes. Because at the time African Americans were allowed only to serve in the mess, Miller had no combat training and had never fired a machine gun before. Nevertheless, he kept up firing until he ran out of ammunition.

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Captain Radhika Menon, India’s First Female Merchant Captain Wins Bravery Award

Posted on by December 6, 2016

captmenonOur belated congratulations to Captain Radhika Menon, who was awarded the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea at a ceremony at the end of last month. Captain Menon is both the first Indian female merchant marine captain and the first woman to win the award for bravery, which recognizes those who risk their own lives to save others at sea.

Captain Menon was in command of the product tanker Sampurna Swarajya when she lead the extremely difficult rescue of seven fisherman, who had been adrift in heavy seas for a week in the Bay of Bengal.

IMO reports: Captain Menon was nominated for the award by the Government of India, for her great determination and courage in leading the difficult rescue operation to save all seven fishermen from the fishing boat Durgamma. The boat was adrift following engine failure and loss of anchor in severe weather. Food and water had been washed away and they were surviving on ice from the cold storage. Continue reading →

LCS — the Program that Broke the Navy

Posted on by December 5, 2016

lcs2“The experience of LCS, it broke the Navy,” said Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition.

The Navy’s ambitious Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program promised low cost, highly flexible, reliable, multi-mission ships. So far they have delivered none of these. Last Thursday, a panel of Navy and government oversight officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee about billions in cost overruns, delayed deliveries, repeated breakdowns, reduced mission capabilities and the questionable survivability of the new LCS.

LCS costs have risen from an estimated $220 million per ship to an average of $478 million. In a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued on Thursday which reviewed the $29 billion LCS program, the GAO says that Congress must decide “whether a ship that costs twice as much yet delivers less capability than planned warrants an additional investment.”  Continue reading →

Statsraad Lehmkuhl — Norway’s Oldest, Largest, and Very Fast Sailing Ship

Posted on by June 2, 2017

statsraad-lehmkuhlThe three masted barque Statsraad Lehmkuhl is many things. Based in Bergen, Norway, at 102 years old, she is Norway’s largest and oldest square-rigged sailing ship. She is also very beautiful and very fast.

In this year’s Tall Ship Races, she placed first overall among Class A sailing ships in the races between Antwerp, Lisbon, Cadiz, and A Coruña. On her way back to Bergen, the captain reported that they sailed a measured distance of 1556 nautical miles within a 124 hour period, for an average speed of 12.5 knots. The News in English.No boasts “Never before has a sailing ship sailed so far in such a short time as Statsraad Lehmkuhl did on Sunday.” Whether that is entirely accurate may be the topic of some discussion, but it is an impressive speed run regardless. In 2013, Statsraad Lehmkuhl sailed 1,469 nautical miles between Cape Verde and the United States in 124 hours, which has also been represented as a world record speed on a sailing ship for that route.

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Vendee Globe — Hugo Boss & Banque Populaire VIII Shot from French Navy Helicopter

Posted on by December 3, 2016

Here is some remarkable video footage of the two leaders of the Vendee Globe single-handed around the world race, shot from a French Navy helicopter from the frigate Nivôse. The helicopter videoed Armel le Cleac’h, sailing Banque Populaire VIII, and Alex Thomson, sailing Hugo Boss, as they passed the Kerguelen Islands deep in the southern Indian Ocean. Le Cleac’h and Thomson are now in first and second places, respectively. Thomson, the only Briton in the race, has been sailing at or near the front of the pack, despite having broken one of his foiling dagger boards.

Vendee Globe – Southern Ocean Match Racing – from the French Navy

Princess Cruises Hit by Record Fine for ‘Deliberate Pollution & Cover-up’

Posted on by May 8, 2017
Caribbean Princess Photo: Yankeesman312

Caribbean Princess Photo: Yankeesman312

The Justice Department has announced that Princess Cruise Lines will pay a record $40 million fine for “deliberate pollution of the seas and intentional acts to cover it up” in what it called “the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution.” 

Princess will plead guilty to charges related to the pollution discharged from five ships dating back, in at least one case, to 2005. On one cruise ship, the Caribbean Princess, oily waste was discharged using unauthorized values and various “magic pipes” for almost a decade.

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Update: Fighting Fishing Piracy with Satellites and in Ports

Posted on by November 30, 2016

trawlerpiratesOverfishing is a huge problem in the world’s oceans. Exacerbating the problem is fishing piracy. A year ago, we posted “Can Big Data Stop Overfishing? Will Google’s Global Fishing Watch Succeed?”  The post described how Oceana, SkyTruth and Google were launching Global Fishing Watch, a big-data technology platform that uses satellite data to create a tool for monitoring commercial fishing from a global perspective. The most recent version of this platform was launched in September. A similar project is a UK-funded initiative, Eyes on the Seas, developed by Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC) and the Pew Charitable Trusts.  The idea is to give port officials the information that they need to identify pirate fishing vessels. 

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HMHS Britannic, Only Slightly Luckier Sister of the Titanic

Posted on by November 29, 2016
britannic1

HMHS Britannic

Titanic had two sisters — the Olympic and the Britannic. While the Olympic had a productive 24 year operating life, the Britannic was only slightly more lucky than her ill-fated sister, Titanic. Just over 100 years ago, on November 21, 1916, His Majesty’s Hospital Ship (HMHS) Britannic sank after hitting a German mine on the morning of November 21, 1916, off the Greek island of Kea in the Adriatic. Unlike the Titanic, which sank with the loss of more than 1500 in 1911, only 30 on the Britannic perished. Of the 1,065 people on board; 1,035 survivors were rescued from the water and lifeboats.

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Historic Ferryboat Binghamton to be Broken Up

Posted on by November 28, 2016

When the New York Times features your obituary on the front page, it probably means that you are dead. Sadly, that is the case of with historic ferryboat Binghamton. Yesterday, the New York Times featured an article “Final Departure for 111-Year-Old Hudson Ferryboat” which describes how the flooded and collapsing ferry will be broken up and removed from its berth on the Hudson River in Edgewater, NJ starting next month. The demolition and removal is expected to cost about $500,000 and to take three months. 

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