In March of this year, we posted about the repeated blackouts suffered on the USS Freedom as it made its way to a deployment in Singapore. Recently the ship was delayed due to failures in its water jet controls. In October it was sidelined by failures in the hydraulic systems. In July, the ship had generator and coolant system problems. In addition to the problems with the mechanical and control systems, the ship has suffered repeated hull cracking, which have limited speeds.
USS Freedom is the first of one of two designs of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships. A recent GAO report has also questioned whether the LCS ships’ communications systems are adequate for the networked missions intended. A report from earlier this year suggested that the LCS may nor be survivable in combat.
Royal Caribbean’s 
The Indian Navy has finally taken delivery of a modified the Kiev class aircraft carrier, which it purchased from the Russians in 2002. The ship was actually given to the Indian Navy with the stipulation that the estimated $800 million in modifications and repairs would be done in a Russian shipyard. Now, 11 years later and after spending approximately $2.3 billion dollars, the Indian Navy has finally commissioned the carrier, 
This is not supposed to happen. Two sailors on the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser 
I recently came across a video of the Viking longship replica 
Great news. The captain and chief engineer of the 222′ supply boat C-Retriever, who were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria on October 23th, have been released following the payment of ransom. The two Americans are reported to be in good health and en-route to the United States. The supply boat is owned Edison Chouest Offshore, based in Louisiana.
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