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The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command has recently chartered the M/V Beluga Skysails for over a month long voyage transporting Air Force and Army cargo from Europe to the U.S.  This is the first time the U.S. Navy is using a vessel with the sky sails technology.

The 400 ft. M/V Beluga Skysails is the world’s first cargo ship that uses sky sails technology; a new wind propulsion system with a huge towing kite that provides additional thrust for the ship at sea - a sustainable solution for reducing fuel consumption, costs and emissions.  It is estimated that a sky sail can reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 30 percent, or roughly $1,600 per day.

When asked of MSC’s choice for choosing the M/V Beluga Skysails: “MSC values innovation that leads to cost savings,” said Navy Capt. Nick Holman, commander of Sealift Logistics Command Europe, MSC’s area command for Europe and Africa. “We are proud to be collaborating with innovators in the commercial maritime world to provide our customers with efficient and quality service.” [Continue Reading →]

In reaction to what appeared to be an attempted hijacking, a security team aboard United States Naval Vessel John Lenthall was forced to fire warning shots at two small boats that were pursuing the vessel off the coast of Somalia.  U.S Naval Forces Central Command tells us:

Despite defensive measures to deter the vessels from approaching John Lenthall, small boats continued to approach the ship. The rounds impacted the water approximately 50 yards from the closest boat and resulted in both small boats ending their pursuit. All shots were accounted for as they entered the water.

“This incident is clear proof that all mariners must remain vigilant,” said Captain Steve Kelley, the commander responsible for all Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships in the region. “I am extremely pleased with the actions taken by the ship’s master and ultimately by the security personnel aboard. They initially used defensive measures and when those weren’t enough the security personnel took action to defend the ship.”

While it is unclear if personnel on the boats were intent on attacking the 41,000-ton ship, it is clear they were not following the international rules of the road observed by mariners around the globe. More importantly, the location of the incident, the types of boats involved (small open skiffs), and the maneuvering they undertook was consistent with reports from previous attacks on merchant vessels in the region. [Continue Reading →]

Prior to using a fixed fire system, especially CO2, always have a full muster! Why? This Navy video shows the inside view of what happens when this deadly gas is released.

How about when a 75lbs bottle explodes:

Why not to use CO2 on a Class D fire:

Some facts from the EPA: [Continue Reading →]

The above image is one section of a new poster titled “The Ships of Military Sealift Command”. You can download the full poster in pdf format HERE or just preview it HERE.

The Cincinnati Enquirer as us: “As new cruise ships continue to get larger, it begs the question: Is bigger better?”

I admittedly don’t know much about cruise ship operations but quoting a friend… “The only problem with working on cruise ships…. cargo that complains!” The larger the ship the more cargo you have to load.

They tell us a little about these mega-ships including the Freedom of the Seas, pictured above;

Boasting the two largest ships afloat, Royal Caribbean is a leader of mega-ships. Last year, the cruise line rolled out Freedom of the Seas, followed this May by its sister Liberty of the Seas. At 160,000 tons and 1,112 feet long, each ship houses 1,815 staterooms on 15 passenger decks and a crew of 1,360.

Double occupancy pushes capacity to 3,630 cruisers, but the ships are designed to spread people out. Miniature golf, karaoke, court sports, swimming, ice skating, spa services and FlowRider - the industry’s first surf simulator - are just a sampling of the onboard activities.

Norwegian Cruise Line features another industry first: a full-size, four-lane bowling alley onboard the new Pearl and the soon-to-launch Gem. These 93,530-ton ships also incorporate a new style of accommodations with much larger courtyard villas and garden villas, a dozen restaurants, 11 bars and lounges and rock climbing wall.

So what’s on the horizon for these mega ships?

• Cunard rolls out the regal Queen Victoria this December with an elegant Todd English Restaurant.
• MSC’s Poesia is poised for March, carrying 3,013 guests on 13 passenger decks. Amenities include a tennis court, teen club, cigar room, disco and miniature golf.
• Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas makes waves in England in May with a spa and well-being center with thermal caves.
• Next summer, Holland America debuts the 2,104-passenger Eurodam, the largest ever for the line. Innovations include a topside pan-Asian restaurant and a lounge that overlooks the ocean and pool.
• Carnival’s Splendor makes its inaugural cruise next July. The 113,000-ton ship will have a sliding Sky Dome, a 21,000-square-foot health and fitness center and 68 special spa staterooms.
• The 113,000-ton, 3,080-passenger Ruby Princess sparkles in November 2008 with a dramatic piazza-style atrium and performing street entertainers, in addition to its signature Movies Under the Stars.
• The 122,000-ton Celebrity Solstice takes its maiden voyage in December 2008.
• In fall of 2009, Royal Caribbean’s “Project Genesis” ship will set a record as the largest cruise ship on the sea. This whopping 220,000-ton, next-generation ship will carry 5,400 passengers.

If your interested in these new ships then head over to Holland America’s Eurodam Blog for a behind the scenes look at the building of a Mega-Ship.

Read the full Cincinnati Enquirer article HERE.

Back in June we brought you the departure of one of our favorite ships, the USNS Comfort hospital ship. You can read that article including ship details HERE. Today PilotOnline has news of the ship’s return to the states. They tell us;

America’s high-tech, smart-bombing Navy could be seeing its future in a pair of hulking former oil tankers and their patchwork crews of civilian and military mariners and medical specialists.

Adm. Gary Roughead, the Navy’s chief of naval operations, on Friday told the crew of the hospital ship Comfort that its four-month cruise points the way toward other medical missions aimed at adding combat prevention to the Navy’s warfare portfolio.

“There’s another part to defending our country and another part to advancing our strategic interests,” he said, “and that’s to reach out to other people and to cooperate with other people.”

Roughead, who took over as chief last month, said fostering international goodwill has always been one of the Navy’s missions. But the Baltimore-based Comfort’s cruise, along with a similar Pacific deployment last year by the San Diego-based hospital ship Mercy, heralds an intensified effort to use the Navy to strengthen America’s image abroad, he said.

The Comfort’s medical staff treated more than 98,000 patients in or offshore from a dozen countries during its voyage, straightening teeth and fixing cleft palates, administering about 32,000 vaccinations, and dispensing more than 24,000 pairs of prescription and reading glasses.

The ship also carried a group of engineers who went ashore in several countries to dig or repair wells and sewage treatment facilities.

Read the full article HERE.

This just in from the Boston Globe:

Firefighters battled through smoke and heat to quench a blaze early this morning in the bowels of a Navy ship in dry dock on South Boston’s waterfront.

The fire in the steering gear room of the Sisler, a cargo ship, was reported just before 3 a.m., said fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Two firefighters and two civilians were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, said EMS Deputy Superintendent John Doyle. The fire caused an estimated $750,000 in damage.

Firefighters wearing air tanks dragged 600 feet of hose to reach the fire, which was in the ship’s stern, MacDonald said. He likened their job to fighting a fire on the third floor of a windowless 15-story building.

It took about a 30 minutes to find the fire and another half-hour to knock it down, he said. About 60 firefighters battled the blaze. Read More…

This gigantic ship, the USNS Sisler is the fourth Bob Hope Class LMSR (large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ) to be built by NASSCO shipyard for the U.S.’s Military Sealift Command. The AMO union newsletter (story link) tells us the management contract of the ship went to American Overseas Marine Corp (AMSEA), a division of General Dynamics, in 2005 but we are unsure of the manning situation since the vessel entered drydock. (It is now managed by Maersk Line, thanks John)

We don’t know the cause of the incident but it sounds to us like the ships crew and local fire department did an excellent job containing and extinguishing this fire. If you have more information please email it to us at tips{at}gCaptain.com

UPDATES:

Not much new information but I picked up this gem: “Firefighters resorted to the use of special one-hour air bottles”