You can find links to all the previous editions at the bottom of this post. You are encouraged to participate using the comment link/form at the bottom of the post. If you have photos or stories to tell, do email me at [email protected].
CONTEST: One lucky commenter to this week’s post will receive this merchant marine patch. (Designed by Disney during WWII. See history of the design here) Please keep your comments related to the stories I linked below. There are a number of stories that should be easy to comment about while adding value’ to the conversation. It is a little prize, so a little value is enough. Winner to be announced in next week’s post. Winner to be chosen by me.
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This Week’s Photos:
This week’s photos come from the homepage of the Canadian Navy’s HMCS VILLE de QUEBEC:
This ship is currently off the Coast of Somalia providing escort duty for food aid ships calling Mogadishu. (See related story linked below.)
Transit Suez Canal – The beginning of our new mission. Transit through the Suez canal – Credit: Cpl Veillette
VERTREP – Helo conducting transfer of personnel on the Focsle – Credit: Cpl Veillette
Boarding team and our second escort – Our boarding team in company with the Executive Officer embarking on our second ship to be escorted, the Zang Za San Chong Nyon Ho, from North Korea– Credit: Cpl Veillette
Swimming exercise – Swimming session in the middle of the Mediterranean, water temperature 27 degrees celcius. – Credit: PO2 McGraw
Loading of cargo – Our first escorted ship (Abdul Rahman) being loaded with food to be delivered in Somalia. 5000 tons of food loaded by hand. – Credit: Combat Camera
Sunset – Beautiful sunset, somewhere Between Suez canal and Somalia – Credit: PO2 McGraw
Has another maritime blogger run into trouble over his blog? blue water: news of my escapehas been wiped clean right to the title. Or maybe he is the victim of a web vandal?.As of this Sunday he has changed the title to “HAWSEPIPER: The Longest Climb” and explains some recent developments. It appears that there was a problem, but not with the home office, but instead with his fellow sailors.
So, when I was able to ask why it was that some folks were looking at me in that way a toddler looks when they’re soiling a diaper, I was a little taken aback at the amount of concern that my blog has generated.
gCaptain also has “gCaptain Contest – Win A Spot Satellite Messenger“. You enter by leaving a comment that adds value to the conversation of any gCaptain post, including this one which would get you entered into two contests. We all know that you are a smart and knowledgeable bunch of readers, so that should be easy. Read the post for the rules and about the prizes.
ISRAEL WITHOUT IFS OR BUTS has “USNS Pathfinder enters Sevastopol harbor” and anchors. To search for a sunken WWII hospital ship says the Ukraine. To spy on the Russian Navy says Russia.
Lou Minatti has video taken from a workboat that rode out the storm in “Hurricane Ike on Galveston Bay“. More video from the same crewman can be found here.
As it is, the fishing policy is neither science-based nor attuned to fisheries management. It is a political instrument designed to reconcile the competing demands for a resource to which all EU nations have access and for which no one bears any responsibility.
Houston Pilot and maritime photographer OneEighteen posts a photo of what is left of his house in “Hurricane Ike“. Best wishes for the rebuild or re-location.
Pinoy Maritime has “The Deadly Life of Stowaways” mentioning some dos and don’ts when encountering stowaways including to not throw them overboard into the sea. I am somewhat surprised that this still happens because it seems that word almost always gets that about the event. Probably because the captains and mates willing to do this are also little loved by the crew as it is.
The U.S. ambassador to Sweden, Michael Wood, in a comment in newspaper Svenska Dagbladet warns against the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, saying that imported Russian gas is “a threat against Sweden”.
The article quickly triggered furore in the German government, a major stakeholder in the project. An official protest has now been sent by the Germans to U.S. authorities.
His 510-mile voyage from the Kenyan port of Mombasa was made possible only by staying close to the guns of a naval escort. As the master turns the vast hull of the Golina towards Mogadishu’s harbour, a Canadian frigate, HMCS Ville de Quebec, stands guard. Her commander, Chris Dickinson, scans the shoreline with high-powered binoculars, watching for high-speed skiffs leaving the harbour. Anything that gets within 500 yards of cargo ship or escort will be turned to driftwood by the frigate’s 57mm cannon.“The threat here for us is small boats – a suicide boat or a boat armed with RPGs or small arms,” Commander Dickinson says.
CNN has crazy video: “Hydroplane crashes at practice“. Disintegrates is a more accurate description. 180 miles per hour.
Ynetnews has “Haifa: Ukrainian sailors hospitalized after eating poisonous fish“. The cook made some blowfish that the crew had caught. He and a couple of the crew reportedly needed to be resuscitated and the cook may end up losing his life. Even if you didn’t know the damn fish was poisonous, it is not a fish you think of eating when you look at it. Not only that, but there is not much meat on the thing.
Navy Newsstandhas photos of the recent US Coast Guard seizure of a semi-submersible craft packed with bales of cocaine.
THE PRIVATE ISLANDS BLOG has the history of the Spratly Island chain’s “Pag-asa Island“, an island so small that the airport sticks out off both ends of the island. Also explained is why the Philippines have the claim to beat, buying the claim to the island for one peso.
Steeljaw Scribe has “Russian SLBM Developments“. Developments come slow in Russian shipyards with the ten year upgrade of the missile boat DMITRIY DONSKOY.
Coast Guard Report has stonewalling in response to their request for information to determine if there was some deceptive actions taken by removing possibly faulty communication equipment from the new US Coast Guard Cutter BERTHOLF in order to pass inspection by the Coast Guard: “Admiral Thad Allen: Transparency Blocked Again, Self Correcting Behavior – NOT“.
PortSide Mary Whalen (the tanker Mary Whalen’s blog – begun in Brooklyn Navy Yard 1/07, mothballed for a while and now reactivated 8/08) sees opportunity as another boat of the same type is going to be scrapped in “Can the Ked help the Whalen?“
It’s sad to see another Bushey boat go, but we’re hoping the Ked can help save the Whalen. The Ked has two davits on the boat deck (we are missing 3) and also has a Fairbanks Morse engine. We don’t know what type of engine yet; I’m hoping it’s a 37E12! Standing by!
USCG – Safety Alert – counterfeit EEBDs – The US Coast Guard issued aSafety Alert stating that counterfeit Unitor model UNISCAPE 15h emergency escape breathing devices (EEBDs) are being sold to ship operators and placed onboard commercial vessels. As explained in the Safety Alert, there are physical differences between the authentic and the counterfeit devices. If in doubt regarding your EEBD, contact the manufacturer. (9/19/08). – Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage(Used with Permission)
Fairplay Daily News has:
Tax bill 17 times bigger rocks Solvang – SOLVANG, the listed Norwegian owner of LPG carriers, is having second thoughts about its decision to put its fleet in Norway’s new tonnage tax regime – after its tax bill arrived 17 times larger.
The company recorded net losses in the second quarter of 51.5M kroner ($10.2M), versus profits of 31.4M kroner in the same period last year.
Its tax bill has soared to 75.8M kroner from 4.4M kroner since the abolition of the 1996 tonnage tax regime at the end of last year.
Solvang pointed to “constant change in and backdating of the rules for entering the new tonnage tax regime” as the reason for reconsidering. SOLVANG, the listed Norwegian owner of LPG carriers, is having second thoughts about its decision to put its fleet in Norway’s new tonnage tax regime – after its tax bill arrived 17 times larger. – Fairplay Homepage(Used with Permission)
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Submissions for future editions:
Please submit articles for inclusion in next week’s edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email stories and photos to [email protected] for inclusion in future editions as well as suggest areas of coverage.
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Previous Editions: As linked below or click on the tag ‘Maritime Monday’ for all gCaptain editions.
Dive into a sea of information with our meticulously curated weekly “Dispatch” email. It’s more than just a newsletter; it’s your personal maritime briefing.
Dive into a sea of information with our meticulously curated weekly “Dispatch” email. It’s more than just a newsletter; it’s your personal maritime briefing.
By Yimou Lee TAIPEI, March 7 (Reuters) – China has stepped up grey-zone warfare against Taiwan, aiming to make the areas around the democratic island “saturated” with balloons, drones and civilian boats,...
Austal USA has kicked off plans to construct a new manufacturing facility, marking a significant expansion of its shipyard capacity in Mobile, Alabama in support of U.S. Navy and Coast...
Oldendorff and Norsepower have announced an agreement to install three Norsepower Rotor Sails™ on board a modern bulk carrier to reduce its emissions. The vessel, Dietrich Oldendorff, will be equipped...
February 5, 2024
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