New Directions in the War on Piracy – EU Airstrike in Somalia and a Private Navy in the Gulf of Aden

Posted on by May 16, 2012

In March, the European Union Naval Force was authorized to attack Somali pirates in coastal waters and ashore. On Tuesday, EU naval forces and attack helicopters launched their first onshore raid on a suspected pirate supply center in Handulle village, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of Haradheere town, a key pirate lair.

In related news, a private fleet of 18 armed patrol boats is being outfitted to protect ships transiting the Gulf of Aden from from pirate attack.  The fleet will be operated by the Convoy Escort Programme (CEP), a British company launched by the international shipping insurers Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) and the Lloyds of London underwriters Ascot.  This “private navy” cost around US$ 70 million to set up and will be based in Djibouti. The patrol boats will convoy ships along the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC).
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Update: Supermoon & the Blame Game

Posted on by May 16, 2012

We recently posted “Beware the Supermoon! Wonder What They Will Blame on it This Time?”   We noted that previous perigean full moons, when the moon is closest in its orbit to the earth, have been blamed for ship groundings and even the sinking of the Titanic.  Both claims are more than a bit silly.

In the previous post, we wondered what would be blamed on this “supermoon.”  We now have the answer.  In a column in the Chicago Tribune, Liz Smith, gossip columnist and apparently an astrology buff writes: “World astrologists took plenty of notice recently when the “Super Moon” was close to Earth. Europeans gave it credit for the fact that the very next day the governments of France and Greece imploded!”   Really?  And we thought sailors were the superstitious ones.

Did the ‘Super Moon’ topple Greece and France?

 

Barque Picton Castle Arrives in New York Harbor

Posted on by May 15, 2012

On an overcast Tuesday morning, the Barque Picton Castle sailed into New York harbor and tied up at Pier 25 just before the rain set in.  under the watchful eye of Captain Daniel Moreland, the crew of mostly young men and women brought the 179′ steel barque gracefully alongside.  A short video from this morning:

Bark Picton Castle Arriving in New York Harbor 5/15/2012

[iframe: width=”580″ height=”423″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/AYPIhDu7bKA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]
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Republican Convention Security to Train on the SS American Victory in Tampa

Posted on by May 14, 2012

The museum ship SS American Victory will host the FBI, Transportation Security Administration and a half-dozen other law enforcement agencies in bomb detection and disposal training exercises later this month in preparation for the Republican National Convention to be held in Tampa the week of August 27, 2012.

The convention itself will be held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Despite using the ship for training and reports that the RNC will focus on “The Greatest Generation” among its patriotic themes, the Republican Committee on Arrangements has no plans to include the SS American Victory in its schedule of events and participants.

RNC security to train on American Victory ship

See also our recent post:  Re-Living History on the SS American Victory

Remembering Robert Smalls – Slave, Captain of the Planter, First Black Captain in the US Navy & Congressman

Posted on by May 16, 2014

One hundred and fifty years ago today, Robert Smalls, a 23 year old mulatto slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter,  led eight fellow slaves in an audacious flight to freedom.  They seized the CSS Planter, steamed it out past the batteries and forts of Charleston harbor and turned it over to the Union naval blockade.  Smalls would go on to become the first black Captain of a U.S. Navy vessel, a South Carolina State Legislator, a Major General in the South Carolina Militia, a five-term U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Collector of Customs.  This weekend Robert Small’s descendants are gathering in Charleston to mark the 150th anniversary of Smalls’ daring escape.

Harper’s Weekly of June 14, 1862 recounts the escape:
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Holey Hull Plates! Newly Delivered USCGC Stratton Docking for Repairs

Posted on by May 12, 2012

Photo: Reuters / Molly Riley

The USCGC Stratton is the Coast Guard’s newest cutter.  Built at  Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss., she was acquired by the Coast Guard on September 2, 2011 and officially commissioned on  March 31, 2012.  Roughly a month after the 418′ foot long cutter went into service, however, the ship’s engineers discovered what is described as a “golf-ball sized” hole and four pin-hole leaks in its hull plating.  The ship is scheduled to enter a drydock for repairs and to determine the cause of the hull pitting.  The Coast Guard says that no similar problems have been found in the two other ships of the class.

Coast Guard’s newest ship filled with holes
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Stepping the Masts on the Boston Tea Party Ship Beaver

Posted on by May 10, 2012

We recently posted on “Pouring the Ballast on the Boston Tea Party Ship Beaver.” A follow up video on stepping the masts:

Stepping the Masts in Boston

[iframe: width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/Tokg1YDEVYg” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]

Thanks to Tom Russell of the  Traditional Sail Professionals Linked-in Group for pointing out the video.

Update: $17 Million Settlement in Duck Boat Tragedy Lawsuit

Posted on by May 10, 2012

A settlement has been reached in the civil lawsuit over the deaths of two Hungarian tourists and other passenger injuries when  a barge pushed by a K-Sea tug, Caribbean Sea, struck the disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia on July 7, 2010.   Szabolcs Prem, 20, and Dora Schwendtner, 16, who were visiting Philadelphia, died in the crash on the Delaware River.   The families of the two tourists who died when the duck boat was run down will split $15 million paid for by Ride the Ducks, the firm which operates the amphibious touring vehicles, and K-Sea Transportation Partners, which owned the tug.  An additional $2 million will also be divided among 18 other survivors of the accident.

Victims of Philly duck boat crash settle suit for $17M

In a criminal case, last November, Matthew Devlin, the mate on watch on the tug Caribbean Sea, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his role in the casualty.

South China Sea – Is the Cold War Between China and its Neighbors Heating Up?

Posted on by May 10, 2012

Last month we posted about a stand-off between Chinese fishing vessels and Philippine Coast Guard ships at Scarborough Shoal in the South China  Sea.  Both nations claim sovereignty over the area. Even the island name is in contention. The Philipines refers to Scarborough Shoal as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc, whereas the Chinese call it Huangyan Island and Minzhu Jiao.  This week 32 Chinese vessels blockaded the shoal, barring local Philippine fishermen access to the fishing grounds.  The the shoal is 472 nautical miles from the Chinese coast and 124 nautical miles from the Philippines province of Zambales.

In another move to assert sovereignty over disputed waters in the South China Sea, China’s first deep-water drilling rig began operations near islands in the South China Sea.  Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil producer, said its semi-submersible CNOOC 981 began drilling yesterday 199 miles southeast of Hong Kong at a depth of 1,500 meters in an area north of the Paracel islands claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.
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The Irony of the SS John Harvey – Deadly Mustard Gas and Lifesaving Chemotherapy

Posted on by May 10, 2012

WWII Liberty ship like the John Harvey

Yesterday, we posted the obituary of Claude Holloway, a British Motor Torpedo Boat commander, who heroically saved  dozens of sailors in the German attack on Bari, Italy in 1943.  Holloway was nearly killed by mustard gas bombs secretly carried aboard the American Liberty ship, SS John Harvey.  Ironically, the explosion of this secret mustard gas and its terrible aftermath, may have helped save countless lives.
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Nominate An Unsung Hero in the Sailing Community for Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award

Posted on by May 9, 2012

Sailing and sipping single malt scotch are among two of my favorite activities, (though not necessarily at the same time.)   It does seem fitting that Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky and US Sailing have partnered to introduce the inaugural Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award.  From their press release:

Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky and US Sailing Introduce the Maritime Heroes Award: Calling Nominations for an Unsung Hero in the Sailing Community
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Claude Holloway – WWII Motor Torpedo Boat Commander, Hero of Bari Harbor Disaster

Posted on by May 9, 2012

Claude Holloway died recently at the age of 93. He was one of the most successful motor torpedo boat commanders in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, earning a Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the Caorle Point action of April 1945, in which the 28th MTB Flotilla sank five enemy ships with six torpedoes. He also played a major role in rescuing dozens of sailors in the 1943 German air raid on Bari, Italy.  His heroism nearly cost him his life.

on December 2, 1943, 105 German Junkers Ju88 bombers of Luftflotte 2 attacked the harbor, crowded with Allied shipping, sinking 28 merchant ships and damaging 12 others. One of the ships destroyed was the American Liberty ship, the SS John Harvey, which was carrying a secret cargo of 2,000 M47A1 mustard gas bombs. The mustard gas in liquid form was sprayed across the harbor in the explosion which sank the John Harvey.   628 military victims were hospitalized with mustard gas symptoms, and 83 of them had died within a month. The number of civilian casualties is unknown.

Holloway’s command, MTB 242 of the 24th Flotilla, was moored at Bari during the attack. Holloway and his crew pulled dozens of sailors from the harbor waters and from burning ships. Holloway was covered in severe blisters and took three months to recover from his exposure to the chemical agents. The existence of the mustard gas on the John Harvey was covered up until after the war.

Claude Holloway: MTB commander who became a hero during the Bari harbour disaster
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Dubai Tries Again to Build an Underwater Hotel

Posted on by May 9, 2012

Bloomberg is reporting that “Dubai ship builder Dry Docks World and Swiss firm BIG InvestConsult unveiled plans to build a disc-shaped luxury hotel submerged under 10 meters of ocean off the coast of Dubai. Featuring 21 rooms, an underwater dive center and ‘wet’ bar, the Discus Hotel is Dubai’s second attempt at a submerged hotel after plans for the first, the Hydropolis, never became reality. A construction date has not been announced.” Thanks to “aquestion” for passing along the news.

Dubai’s $120M Underwater Hotel Dream

Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Sailing Team Poised to Sail from New York Tonight in Attempt to Break Record

Posted on by May 8, 2012

Maserati at North Cove

Giovanni Soldini and the Maserati Sailing Team have announced that they expect to set sail from the North Cove Marina in New York City between 10:00 p.m. this evening and 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning in their attempt to break the monohull sailing record from the Ambrose Lighthouse in New York to Lizard Point off the south west coast of England. From their press release: “They are challenging a record set in 2003 by Robert Miller’s monohull Mary Cha IV – 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. The 140-foot Mary Cha IV covered the 2,925 miles of the route at an average speed of 18.5 knots with 24 crew on board. Maserati, measuring 70-feet and with 8 crew on board is facing the daunting task of beating the record time of a racing yacht twice as large with three times the manpower. The extensive offshore experience on board Maserati might trump the larger yacht and team if the weather cooperates.”  The team has been waiting a month for suitable weather conditions.
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Archaeologists Claim Odyssey Marine “Plundering” HMS Victory

Posted on by May 8, 2012

Sinking of HMS Victory 1744

The attorneys for Odyssey Marine Exploration have been keeping busy. In February we posted about the end of a multi-year legal battle between Spain and Odyssey Marine Exploration over $500m in gold and silver coins and other artifacts from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.  Odyssey Marine lost the various court cases and had to return the coins to Spain.  To avoid this sort of problem in the future, Odyssey negotiated an agreement with Great Britain to salvage HMS Victory, which sank in 1744.  (This ship named Victory preceded Nelson’s ship of the same name, which is now a museum ship in Portsmouth, UK.)  Odyssey would receive a percentage of the valuables aboard HMS Victory, including gold coins which may now be worth £500 million.

By negotiating an agreement in advance, everything should go smoothly. Or may be not.  A group of archaeologists, including Lord Renfew of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, are now accusing the British Ministry of Defense of allowing Odyssey to “plunder” the shipwreck and are threatening legal action to stop the salvage.

Archaeologists accuse MoD of allowing US company to ‘plunder’ shipwreck
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