Long Delayed Refurbished Russian Aircraft Carrier Finally Commissioned by India as INS Vikramaditya

Posted on by November 18, 2013

INS_Vikramaditya_during_trialsThe 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, INS Vikramaditya.

The Russians built a total of  four Kiev class aircraft carriers. One was scrapped. Two were turned into Chinese military theme parks exhibits and/or hotels.  It is still unclear whether the Chinese or the Indians got the better deal.

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USS Chancellorsville Hit By its Own Drone, Two Sailors Injured

Posted on by November 17, 2013

USSChansThis is not supposed to happen.  Two sailors on the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville were injured when the ship was struck by its own drone, during training exercises off Southern California on Saturday. The sailors were treated for minor burns. There was also some damage reported to the ship which returned to San Diego for assessment.

Malfunctioning Drone Hits Navy Ship While Training

USS Chancellorsville is named after a US Army defeat in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia during the American Civil War.   Thanks to Phil Leon for passing the news along.

Statia, the First Salute, the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War & Admiral Rodney

Posted on by November 16, 2013
Ile_de_Saint_Eustache_en_1781

St. Eustatius 1781

On this day in 1776, Governor Johannes de Graaff of St. Eustatius returned the salute fired by the American brig Andrew Doria, which is considered to be the first international acknowledgment of the independence of the new republic of the United States. There is some disagreement over whether this was the “first salute.”  An American schooner flying the Grand Union flag received a salute a month earlier in St. Croix. Nevertheless, St. Eustatius, or Statia, as it is commonly known, usually is given the credit by historians. Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Barbara Tuchman wrote, The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution in 1988.

Whether the salute was indeed intended as recognition of the young republic is open to question.  The Andrew Doria fired an eleven gun salute on her arrival at Statia and received a nine gun salute in return.  Technically, the Andrew Doria was a warship and should have received an eleven gun salute.  A nine gun salute was appropriate for a merchant vessel.  Governor de Graaff would later say that he was unaware of the newly adopted American colors and had ordered the Andrea Doria‘s salute returned out of normal courtesy.

If Statia received the credit for the first salute, it also suffered the consequences. Continue reading →

BBC News – What is Making the Philippines Relief Effort So Difficult?

Posted on by November 15, 2013

The size of the typhoon Haiyan was staggering, and so too is the aftermath. Eleven million people were impacted by the storm, more than 600,000 were made homeless, and the death toll continues to rise. The BBC takes a look at why, a week after the storm hit, that getting help to those who need it, has been so difficult.

BBC News – What is making the Philippines relief effort so difficult?

Drifting Antarctic Ice Island Could Be Peril to Shipping

Posted on by November 15, 2013

Most of the media is referring to the massive slab of ice that has broken off the Western Antarctic Pine Island glacier as an “iceberg.”  At 277 square miles of solid ice, I think an ice island is a more accurate designation.  British scientists from Sheffield and Southampton universities have been awarded a £50,000 grant for a six-month study to track the iceberg as it drifts northward. They will track it and try to predict its path using satellite data. There is real concern that the the ice island could be hazardous to shipping in the Southern Ocean.

Huge iceberg adrift in Southern Ocean after calving from Pine Island Glacier

Glacier in Antarctica Breaks into Large Iceberg 

Sailing the Viking Longship Saga Oseberg

Posted on by November 14, 2013

VikingshipkilsI recently came across a video of the Viking longship replica Saga Oseberg tacking across the wind.  Before seeing the video I would have thought that the only way to tack a longship, to bring the wind from one side of the bow to the other, would be to drop the sail and pull out the oars. Obviously, I was wrong. The long slender ship, with a single square sail and off-center rudder, can indeed tack. What is even more remarkable is that she is sailing at all.

The original Oseberg ship is a well preserved Viking longship which was found in a burial mound on the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg, Norway in 1903.  The reconstructed ship, believed to date from just after the year 800, is now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. The Oseberg ship is different from other Viking ships excavated from burial mounds in that it has lower freeboard and less displacement.  Some suggested that it was built not as a sailing ship but as simply a burial ship.  This view was reinforced when a replica of the ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1988. The ship was refloated, only to sink again in 1992.

Nevertheless, some researchers believed that the original reconstruction of the ship was in error. Continue reading →

Scyphomedusa Deepstaria – Another Very Real Sea Monster

Posted on by November 13, 2013

There are indeed creatures in the oceans which could be called “sea monsters.”   At the end of last month we posted about two very real “sea serpents” – oar fish that washed up on the coast of Southern California. Here is an account of another very real, if rarely seen, “sea monster,” the scyphomedusa Deepstaria.  Recently a video from April 2012 has washed up onto the surface of cyberspace with the headline, “Massive Unidentified Sea Monster caught on Oil-Rig Cam.”

It is a fascinating video showing an undulating creature that almost looks like free-flowing fabric.  The video itself is approaching two years old, so in internet time, it is is not particularity new, even if recent posts have given it a second life. The video was taken by an ROV inspecting a drill rig off Britain.  The creature on the video is also not “unidentified.” It is apparently a jellyfish, a scyphomedusa Deepstaria,  Whether or not it is a “sea monster” is up to the viewer to decide.

Massive Unidentified Sea Monster Caught on Video Off Oil-Rig

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Update: Two Americans Kidnapped from Supply Boat C-Retriever Off Nigeria Released

Posted on by November 12, 2013

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.

Two American sailors freed after being taken hostage off Nigeria coast

USS George Washington Battle Group Steaming Toward the Philippines

Posted on by November 12, 2013

GWSGThe USS George Washington battle group has been ordered to depart from Hong Kong, where it had been making a port call, and to steam for the Philippines to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan which stuck the archipelago last Friday. The battle group consists of the aircraft carrier, USS George Washington, the cruisers USS Antietam and USS Cowpens, and the destroyer USS Mustin. The supply ship USNS Charles Drew and the destroyer USS Lassen are also under-weigh and will rendezvous with the battle group on-route. The ships should arrive in the Philippines in between 48 and 72 hours.

USS George Washington is a Nimitz class nuclear-powered supercarrier, which carries 5,000 Sailors and more than 80 aircraft. Embarked on board USS George Washington, is Carrier Air Wing Five, which includes MH-60 Seahawk multimission naval helicopters, capable of performing disaster relief.  On their arrival these ships and aircraft will be able to provide humanitarian assistance, supplies, and medical care in support of the Philippine relief effort.

The Royal Navy has also dispatched the destroyer HMS Daring from Singapore to assist in relief efforts.

USS New York Calls in New York for Veterans Day – Are the San Antonio Class Problems Fixed?

Posted on by November 11, 2013

uss-new-yorkThe USS New York called in New York harbor over the weekend to help celebrate Veteran’s Week.  The ship is the fifth of the San Antonio class of amphibious transport dock ships.  The ship’s bow includes 7.5 tonnes of salvaged steel from the World Trade Center, which was attacked on 9/11/2001. The best news about the ship is that it appears that the she and her sister vessels may have, at long last, become fully operational.

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Over 10,000 Feared Dead in the Philippines in Aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan

Posted on by November 11, 2013
Typhoon Haiyan survivors on Sunday pass by two vessels that were washed ashore during the storm in Tacloban, a city in Leyte, a province in the central Philippines.

Typhoon Haiyan survivors on Sunday pass by two vessels that were washed ashore during the storm in Tacloban, a city in Leyte, a province in the central Philippines.

In the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines is beginning to attempt to cope with what has been described as the worst natural disaster in its history.  The typhoon hit the archipelago with winds approaching 200 mph and drove a storm surge which leveled cities and villages. More than 10,000 are fear to have been killed.  Damaged and obstructed roads have hampered the distribution of aid to hundreds of thousands who lack food, water and shelter.

Devastation in Typhoon’s Path Slows Relief in Philippines

The Ocean is Broken

Posted on by November 11, 2013
Photo: LA Times

Photo: LA Times

Roughly two hundred years ago, Lord Byron published Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, which contains a stanza that today seems sadly dated:

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean–roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin–his control
Stops with the shore;–upon the watery plain

Ten years ago Australian yachtsman Ivan Macfadyen sailed from Melbourne to the West Coast of the United States by way of Osaka, Japan.  A decade later, he repeated the voyage and was stunned and saddened by the effects of over-fishing and the vast debris fields that clutter the Pacific.   “The ocean is broken,” Macfadyen concluded, in shock, sadness and outrage.

The ocean is broken

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Fat Leonard, Prostitutes, & Lady Gaga Tickets — Third Officer Charged in Navy Bribery Scandal

Posted on by November 8, 2013
"Fat Leonard" Glen Francis

“Fat Leonard” Glen Francis

It all sounds like a bad novel.  Bribes, prostitutes, and Lady Gaga tickets were allegedly handed out to US Navy officers by a Malaysian businessman known as “Fat Leonard” in exchange for classified information and directing business toward the Singapore-based contractor, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA.) GMDA is accused of overcharging the Navy millions of dollars for port services.

On Thursday, Federal prosecutors arrested a third senior Navy officer, Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez, in the widening bribery scandal.  In September, the Department of Justice arrested Navy Commander and Captain-Select Michael Misiewicz and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Supervisory Special Agent John Beliveau II on bribery charges. GDMA CEO Leonard Glenn Francis was also arrested.  In October, Capt. Daniel Dusek was relieved of his command of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard.  Captain Dusek has not been charged with a crime, but is under investigation by the Justice Department in the bribery scandal.

Navy Bribery Scandal Leads To Third Officer Arrest

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Underwater Gliders Gather Data to Help Predict Hurricanes

Posted on by November 8, 2013

RUCOOLRobots are being increasingly being used to gather data at sea.  Here is a fascinating undersea glider design in use by the Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (COOL) at Rutgers University, which uses gravity and buoyancy for propulsion, allowing to it remain at sea for months at a time while it records water temperatures, depths, salinity and more, sending the data to shore by satellite phone each time the robot periodically surfaces. Changes in water temperature as a function of depth have proven to be highly useful in predicting hurricane intensity.

The 6-foot-long, 115-pound autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) operates as underwater gliders.  A small amount of water in pumped into the forward end of the glider when on the surface, making it slightly negatively buoyant.  As the robot sinks, lift off the glider wings gives it forward motion. As it approaches the bottom, the water is pumped out, making it slightly positively buoyant. Again, lift off the glider wings generates forward motion as it moves slowly toward the surface.  These gliders are the latest version of “Slocum gliders.”  In 2009, the Rugers’ Scarlet Knight glider successfully transited the Atlantic. 

Underwater Gliders Gather Data To Help Predict The Next Big Storm

Glider Flight Animation

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