RFA Fort Victoria hands over 14 suspected pirates to the Seychelles for prosecution, image courtesy Royal Navy

A group of pirates caught by a Royal Navy operation in the Indian Ocean will face justice in the Seychelles.

RFA Fort Victoria – part of NATO’s counter piracy task force Operation Ocean Shield – has handed over 14 suspects to the islands’ authorities for prosecution.

The fourteen Somalis were captured on January 13 by Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel embarked on RFA Fort Victoria.

The suspected pirates, who were known to have been operating in the Indian Ocean, were intercepted on board a hijacked Yemeni fishing dhow.

They were found to have a variety of pirate paraphernalia and weapons on board, including rocket-propelled grenades and hand-grenades.

This is the culmination of four months of operations for the UK Counter-Piracy Task Group based on Fort Victoria and under the command of Captain Gerry Northwood.

“This has been a long four months of intensive counter-piracy operations during which time we have captured more than 30 pirates for prosecution and rescued 44 merchant mariners from the hands of the pirates.

“This success has been echoed by other NATO units engaged in counter-piracy operations and the handover of these 14 suspected pirates to the Seychelles authorities will contribute to ensuring the waters of the Indian Ocean become a safer place for all mariners.”

The "RHIB" with the suspected pirates is lowered on the RFA Fort Victoria. These suspected pirates face prosecution in the Seychelles for piracy. Image courtesy Royal Navy

Foreign Secretary William Hague said:

“We are very grateful to the Seychelles for their agreement to prosecute these suspected pirates. Their commitment to the fight against piracy has helped avoid a situation where these individuals were not held to account for their actions.

“In a few weeks time the London Conference on Somalia will discuss how the international community can tackle the many problems faced by Somalia, including piracy.

“Today’s agreement on the transfer of alleged pirates demonstrates what can be achieved through international co-operation and commitment.”

Danish ship HDMS Absalon, another NATO ship conducting counter piracy operations in the Indian ocean was also in the Seychelles, handing over four suspected pirates to the Seychelles authorities.

This dramatic video shows UK forces stopping a group of Somali pirates that were trolling for ships in the Indian Ocean on January 13.  A total of thirteen Somali pirates were arrested by a boarding team of Royal Marines commandos following a concerted effort by RFA Fort Victoria and the U.S. destroyer USS Carney to stop the dhow.  Despite repeated warning shots, the pirates continued on but eventually forced to give in.

Note to pirates: If the Royal Navy asks you to stop, you do it.

A full account of the operation can be found HERE.

Thirteen Somali pirates were captured on a dhow in the Indian Ocean on Friday by a combination of Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel.

“]

RFA Fort Victoria alongside the dhow that was found to have 13 Somali pirates on board [Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012

[ROYAL NAVY] The capture took place as dawn broke on Friday 13 January 2012 and involved RFA Fort Victoria joining USS Carney to ascertain the business of the dhow, which had been identified as a vessel being operated by pirates in the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean.In a combined show of force, both RFA Fort Victoria and USS Carney manoeuvred towards the dhow with the intention of encouraging her to comply with the counter-piracy forces. This should have been intimidating, given the size of the two military vessels, but the pirates were determined to carry on with their activities. RFA Fort Victoria was tasked to take positive action to disrupt the progress of the vessel.

RFA Fort Victoria deployed her Royal Navy Lynx Mk8 helicopter with Royal Marines maritime snipers on board who issued various clear warnings to the suspects to stop.

Despite these measures, the dhow failed to comply with repeated instructions to stop and verify her intentions. Immediately afterwards, Royal Marines in speedboats approached the vessel and successfully boarded it. The pirates surrendered as the Marines took control of the dhow.

13 Somali pirates were found to be on board together with a selection of weapons.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said:

“This operation off the coast of Somalia is a clear demonstration of Britain’s ability to tackle piracy that threatens our interests. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines are playing a crucial role in securing and protecting international sea lanes that are vital to global trade. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines can be proud of this successful interception.”

After an 11 month, £20m refit, the HMS Argyll is currently sailing on six-month deployment in the middle east. Photo: Royal Navy

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Any attempt by Iran to disrupt the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz would be “illegal and unsuccessful”, U.K. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will say Thursday.

In advanced extracts of a speech he is due to give in Washington, Hammond will say disruption to the flow of oil through the strait would threaten regional and global economic growth and it was in all interests that the arteries of global trade are kept open.

“The [U.K.] Royal Navy will continue to play a substantial role as part of the Combined Maritime Forces, both at the Headquarters in Bahrain, and through our mine counter-measure vessels which help maintain freedom of navigation in the Gulf,” he will say, according to the extracts.

Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, has threatened to block oil deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz if global powers impose sanctions on the country’s oil industry over its nuclear activities. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that the strait carries about 20% of all oil traded worldwide.

Hammond is visiting Washington Thursday to hold his first meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and discuss Afghanistan, the Gulf and defense cooperation.

In his speech to be delivered at the Atlantic Council, Hammond will also say too many North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries were failing to meet their financial responsibilities in the group.

“Too many are opting out of operations or contributing but a fraction of what they should be capable of. This is a European problem, not an American one. And it is a political problem, not a military one,” he will say according to the extracts.

-By Nicholas Winning, Dow Jones Newswires

nautical tattoos; history and art

illustrations by Bowsprite

Something England DIDN’T Expect:

Friday, December 16th is the 238th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.  Map: Anniv of Boston Tea Party, Boston Harbor (1905) originally posted to the BIG Map Blog.

see also: 1906: Boston Harbor & waterfront. Panorama of two 8×10 glass neg »

GOLDEN GROVE by Frank Allen (more images)
One of the three storeships of the First Fleet built in Whitby. In 1780 this ship had the distinction of carrying on board the Reverend Richard Johnson, Australia’s first Chaplain, to our shores.

UK forces beef up Olympic security »

Christmas in 17th-Century England and Virginia »

Along with their friends and relatives in England, the Englishmen who came to Jamestown in 1607 considered Christmas to be one of the most special times of the year.  In England, the season lasted about two weeks, from December 25 to Twelfth Day, January 6.  During this period, festivities abounded and little work was accomplished.

When the first colonists left England to find the riches of the New World, they took with them the culture they had known in England.  The travelers to Virginia spent their first Christmas of 1606 on board their ships en route to the New World. Christmas of 1608 found the colonists in desperate straits – sick, hungry and impoverished.  Captain Smith and his men left Jamestown at the end of December to find the Powhatan and acquire some food.  Inclement weather forced them to stay at Kecoughtan (Hampton) for “6 or 7 daies.”

There, “the extreame wind, raine, frost, and snowe, caused us to keepe Christmas amongst the Salvages, where wee were never more merrie, nor fedde on more plentie of good oysters, fish, flesh, wild foule, and good bread…”

keep reading »

A lion’s mane jellyfish swims beneath the waters at the Farne Islands, England. The archipelago of 16 to 28 separate islands (depending on the tide) off Northumberland is a summer home to many kinds of wildlife. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

50 best photos from The Natural World; The Big Picture: Boston.com

In 2004 i started an assignment for an investment banking house, based in Hamburg, Germany. The termination of the project was, to take pictures of container vessels and oil tanker. They where used to illustrate the ship investment brochure of the bank. The pictures where taken in the harbour of: Hamburg, Kiel, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Germany and in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Ships and Vessels 2004 – 2010 (more: Christian O. Burch)

Painting of the Battle of Flamborough Head by Dean Moser (FULL SIZE) – via thingsihappentolike

The Battle of Flamborough Head was a naval battle that took place on 23 September 1779, in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire between an American Continental Navy squadron led by John Paul Jones and the two British escort vessels protecting a large merchant convoy. It became one of the most celebrated naval actions of the American War of Independence despite its relatively small size and considerable dispute over what had actually occurred.  MORE ON WIKIPEDIA »

The Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin) are depicted here as humorous deities gathered together in their Treasure Ship (Takarabune). A picture of the Treasure Ship along with the Seven Gods became an essential part of the New Year celebrations. It was placed under the pillow in order to promote lucky dreams, for legend has it that the original ship sailed at this time of year bearing its treasures. The sail of the ship depicted here carries the character Ju, meaning longevity, and the print features other symbols of longevity, such as the crane, the long-tailed turtle and branches of pine.

The Treasure ship; Takarabune; woodblock, Japan, ca. 1840, by Hiroshige
Far Eastern Collection, Victoria & Albert Museum

Art of the Luggage Label »

Map: Parsons and Atwater’s Chicago, Illinois (1874) on the BIG Map Blog.

ca. 1850-55, [mourning bracelet woven from hair, with portrait of woman] –full size
via the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Daguerreobase (drtuesdaygjohnson)

ceramic plate: Sailing Ship; 1625-1650; Islamic Middle East
see also »
see also »

Image from TeamTom’s Facebook page showing Tom Sauer, left,
and Tom Fancett before their transatlantic attempt

Transatlantic rowers rescued after boat is
struck by “enormous wave”

Briton Tom Fancett and Dutchman Tom Sauer rescued from life-raft by cruise ship 500 miles south-west of Canary Islands

Tom Fancett, 23, from London and his Dutch friend Tom Sauer, also 23 and a student at St Andrews University, were picked up by a cruise ship nearly 500 miles south-west of the Canary islands, eight days after departing for Barbados in the 2011 Atlantic Challenge race.

In a message to race organisers Sauer told how the pair were changing places in the boat when disaster struck on Tuesday evening. “The ocean was quite calm. We were in great spirits after the first eight days in the race. Suddenly our boat was rocked by an enormous wave, the size of which we’ve never seen before. Our boat was thrown over and capsized. The cabin flooded.

more on The Guardian »

Thames Wharf »

Oil painting, London, ca. 1757 Samuel Scott (artist) — London began in ancient times as a small settlement next to a crossing point of the Thames, and until the mid-19th century the river was still the main route through which all the trading wealth flowed into the City.

The docks were literally the gateway to the world, filled with a huge mass of shipping. London has changed so much since the 18th century that it is now difficult to identify the exact location shown in this picture. There is some evidence that it represents the Old East India Wharf, as there is the mark ‘UEIC’ (United East India Company) on a bale. Therefore the traditional title of this painting may be correct. There were many such wharves on the Thames, with their wooden treadmill cranes for the unloading of merchandise.

Samuel Scott was a marine painter and a drinking companion of William Hogarth (1697-1762). He was commissioned by merchants, sea captains and naval officers to paint pictures of riverside and sea scenes and naval engagements.

England Expects, the Great Naval Card Game »

The First and Second World Wars generated a lot of games some of which were meant to be fun and others had an educational purpose. These cards are divided into four suits indicated by a Crown, Anchor, Lifebelt and Pennant, and are numbered from one to eleven with the exception of the Crown suit which is numbered from one to ten. The crown is always the Trump suit. The game was devised with the help of Francis E McMurtrie, who was, at the time, editor of Jane’s Fighting Ships.

Vintage WWI Poster – Remember! “England Expects; The Need is Great Today” (on ebay)

Flags Spelling Out ‘England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty’ »

Nelson’s Signal to His Fleet: from: Welcome to “The Life Of Horatio Nelson”. This video tells the story of how a young seasick boy grew up to be a national hero. We follow his progress through the naval ranks. We also find out about his great love Emma Hamilton and the national outpouring of grief after his death in battle. (A 6-minute video on Tales of Curiosity)

Poster available on AllPosters.uk »

England expects every man to do his duty. Lord Nelson explaining to the officers the plan of attack previous to the Battle of Trafalgar, engraved by James Godby, published by Edward Orme, 9th January 1806; William Marshall Craig (Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, UK)

A Correct Representation of the Funeral Barge which conveyed the Body of the
Late Lord Nelson from Greenwich to Whitehall Jany. 8th. 1806

Picture transfer-printed on glass depicting Nelson’s funeral barge, shown on the Thames, flying the Royal Standard, white ensign and a flag with Nelson’s coat of arms. Inscribed below the image: ‘A Correct Representation of the Funeral Barge which conveyed the Body of the Late Lord Nelson from Greenwich to Whitehall Jany. 8th. 1806′

Made by W. B. Walker; Fox & Knot Court, Cow Lane, London; March 1806. See full size »

England expects – and England must not and will not be disappointed… (1915)
Recruits wanted for the Royal Naval Division; Andrew Reid & Co., Ltd., 50, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne. SEE FULL SIZE — Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. World War I Posters »

Fletcher’s Yard, Limehouse – FULL SIZE

Fletcher’s Yard was the site of one of the oldest firms on the Thames, as Fletcher had set up a shipbuilding business at Shadwell in the 18th century. They moved to Limehouse in 1818. As Fletcher, Son and Fearnall, they became pioneering steamship builders, and eventually switched to ship repairs.

This scene is of a ship in dry dock. Workmen are shown chopping wood, and pushing wheelbarrows. Piles of timber beams lie on the side of the dry dock. To the right is a large chimney. The dry dock is surrounded by warehouses and other buildings. In the background ships can be seen on the Thames with housing on the far bank. The English landscape painter Charles Deane lived and worked in London. He exhibited in almost all Royal Academy exhibitions between 1815 and 1851 and specialised in views of the Thames and Bristol.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

John Boydell’s view of the riverside at Limehouse in 1751 shows respectable houses and
shipyards crowding onto the riverfront

From its foundation, Limehouse, like neighbouring Wapping, has enjoyed better links with the river than the land, the land route being across a marsh. Limehouse became a significant port in late medieval times, with extensive docks and wharves. Although most cargoes were discharged in the Pool of London before the establishment of the docks, industries such as shipbuilding, ship chandlering and rope making were established in Limehouse.

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Map of Wapping from Charles Booth‘s Labour and Life of the People.

East London (London: Macmillan, 1889). The streets are colored to represent the economic class of the residents: Yellow (“Upper-middle and Upper classes, Wealthy”), red (“Lower middle class – Well-to-do middle class”), pink (“Fairly comfortable good ordinary earnings”), blue (“Intermittent or casual earnings”), and black (“lowest class…occasional labourers, street sellers, loafers, criminals and semi-criminals”)

The area was first settled by Saxons, from whom it takes its name. John Stow, the 16th century historian, described it as a “continual street, or a filthy strait passage, with alleys of small tenements or cottages, built, inhabited by sailors’ victuallers”

Wapping’s proximity to the river gave it a strong maritime character for centuries, well into the 20th century. It was inhabited by sailors, mastmakers, boat-builders, blockmakers, instrument-makers, and representatives of all the other trades that supported the seafarer.

Wapping was also the site of ‘Execution Dock’, where pirates and other water-borne criminals faced execution by hanging from a gibbet constructed close to the low water mark. Their bodies would be left dangling until they had been submerged three times by the tide.

Said to be England’s first, the Marine Police Force was formed in 1798 by magistrate Patrick Colquhoun and a Master Mariner, John Harriott, to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and the lower reaches of the river. Its base was (and remains) in Wapping High Street and it is now known as the Marine Support Unit.

The area’s strong maritime associations changed radically in the 19th century when the London Docks were built to the north and west of the High Street. Wapping’s population plummeted by nearly 60% during that century, with many houses destroyed by the construction of the docks and giant warehouses along the riverfront.

A woolwork picture depicting a warship at anchor, dressed overall with sails furled. A similar vessel is shown in full sail behind it. A small steamer with two funnels is placed in the foreground wearing the Admiralty flag. The embroidery is sewn in long and short stitch with button thread used for the rigging.

The maker Charles Weedon was born at Portbury, Somerset in November 1833. He entered the Royal Navy on 23 February 1859 after serving in the merchant service. He was rated Able Seaman on HMS Algiers and transferred to Leader on May 1863, also having spent a brief period on Duke of Wellington.

Although he had been promoted to Leading Seaman, then to Barge Cox, in July 1865 he was disrated to Able Seaman. He was discharged to HM Dockyard Sheerness in 1868 where he worked as a rigger. In 1869 in Bristol, he married Rosa Alberta Cook, age 27. The embroideries were donated by his daughter.

see full size »

Winston Churchill ironically portrayed as a propagandist hammering home his lies to the British people  -via greatestgeneration

Ten Weirdest Life-forms of 2011: Editors’ Picks on Nat Geo Top 10 Lists »

SS Mercator in Antwerp harbour; Edward Pellens (1872-1947) MORE on Linosaurus »

The barquentine Mercator lies at anchor in Ostend, Belgium She was named after Geradus Mercator. (1512-1594), Flemish cartographer. She was designed by the Antarctic explorer Adrien de Gerlache (1866-1934) as a training ship for the Belgian merchant fleet. She was built in Ramage & Ferguson, Leith, Scotland and launched in 1932. Besides being a training a ship, she was also used, mainly before World War II , for scientific observations, or as ambassador for Belgium on world fairs and in sailing events.

She participated in several races, winning the Oslo-Ostend race. During World War II she was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Mercator. Based in Freetown Sierra Leon where she was used as a support ship for submarine forces in the area.

In 1961 she became a floating museum, first in Antwerp,and finally from 1964 in the marina of Ostend, just in front of the city hall. During all this time, she has become perhaps the best-known ship of Belgium.

MORE on Leith Built Ships »

Portsmouth paper archives describe secret departure of Edward VIII

It happened 75 years ago, when Edward VIII abdicated the British throne, leaving the making of history to his brother, the shy, inarticulate Duke of York.

The archives of Portsmouth’s Evening News newspaper reveal the details of how the former king slipped silently away from Britain.

One eye-witness, George Hale, 36, told the paper how he was asked for directions to the navy base by one of the drivers…

MORE »

see also: A female surgeon in the days of sail »

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Urinal Discovered In Baltic Sea Shipwreck

Last week German archaeologists announced the discovery of a urinal once sprinkled by Kaiser Wilhelm II. The “porcelain potty,” as the Huffington Post reports, was discovered in the wreck of the Udine, a light-cruiser equipped with a special lavatory for the emperor’s convenience that was sunk by the Royal Navy in 1915…

keep reading »

• Mini Review: Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum »
• Shipwreck-themed beers and cocktails around the world »

New York. June 17, 1918. “Stokes stretcher on Comfort.” facilities aboard the World War I hospital ship.
FULL SIZE on Shorpy »

Pup Therapy: 1918 — Queen and Commoner: 1906 — Million-Dollar Pier: 1907 — Steamboat Annie: 1904

Positive copper plate of Royal Observatory, Greenwich, seen from the east. Shows the Shepherd Gate Clock and Porters Lodge with Flamsteed House in the background. ca.1890 – FULL SIZE »

Burgee of Pirate Yacht Club, Bridlington

Used as a sledge flag by William Colbeck RNR on the Borchgrevink Antarctic Expedition 1898-1900.

Inscribed on the mount: Burgee flown by Lieutenant Wm. Colbeck R.N.R, F.R.G.S, a member of the Pirate Yacht Club on Sledge journey across the Great Ice Barrier when in company with C. E. Borchgrevink F.R.G.S. the farthest south was attained Lat 78˚ 50΄ S. Long 164˚ 30́ W. on 17 February 1900.

The sledge was detached from S.Y. Southern Cross, during the expedition on which Lieutenant Colbeck was Chief Magnetic Observer. Previous farthest south 78˚ 10΄ by Capt Ross. The burgee is made of red wool bunting printed with a black skull and crossbones. circa 1898 – see full size »

Close-up view of lighthouse – World’s Transportation Commission photograph collection (Library of Congress)

The Rime of the Modern Mariner by Nick Hayes

This graphic novel is a beautiful re-telling of Coleridge’s poem for our modern plastic-filled times. It carries a really chilling message about our consumer-driven lives and its consequences on our planet and the ocean in particular.

The book is also an object of great loveliness with stunning illustrations. In and of itself it is a beautiful thing to have, but the story is also very touching and poignant.

And it has lots of science in there. I love the way Hayes has used his artwork and poetry as a really imaginative way of telling the stories of the oceans and getting ideas across about the problems that we are causing…

MORE: Helen Scales’ five ocean books »

It’s not too late to pick up a last-minute Christmas gift for one of your favorite bloggers…

Moby Dick (Das Spiel vom weißen Wal) – The board game

The game consists of an elevated round course with an underlying rotating cardboard disk – on their turn the players rotate the disk. Whenever a whale symbol appears, a small plastic whale miniature is put on the course. The players now try to catch the whale with their ships (reach the whale miniature), before it dives again (a hole in the rotating disk lets the miniature disappear into the game box).

The rotating disk also constantly changes the values for different whaling goods at a stock exchange. The player selling his cargo for the highest price wins. Sometimes a white (plastic) whale appears which cannot be caught, but the player “wounding” Moby Dick gets a gold doubloon worth $200.

Actually sounds like more fun that you might expect for a board game designed in 1962 and based on a 600+ page classic of American literature.

-via thingsihappentolike

1972: The wreck of Seawise University, the former Queen Elizabeth – via larboardwatch

In 1968, Queen Elizabeth was sold to a group of Philadelphia businessmen from a company called The Queen Corporation (which was 85% owned by Cunard and 15% by them). The new company intended to operate the ship as a hotel and tourist attraction in Port Everglades, Florida, similar to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The Elizabeth, as it was now called, lost money and was forced to close after being declared a fire hazard. The ship was sold at auction in 1970 to Hong Kong tycoon C.Y. Tung.

Tung, head of the Orient Overseas Line, intended to convert the vessel into a university for the World Campus Afloat program (later reformed and renamed as Semester at Sea). Near the completion of the £5 million conversion, the vessel caught fire on 9 January 1972. The ship was completely destroyed and the water sprayed on her by fireboats caused the burnt wreck to capsize and sink in Hong Kong Victoria Harbour.  More on wiki »

marinera y tiburon by Poleta Art

8 Bells: Author, pundit Christopher Hitchens dies at 62 »

“Christopher Hitchens, the author, essayist and polemicist who waged verbal and occasional physical battle on behalf of causes on the left and right and wrote the provocative best-seller “God is Not Great,” died Thursday night after a long battle with cancer.

“A most-engaged, prolific and public intellectual who enjoyed his drink (enough to “to kill or stun the average mule”) and cigarettes, he announced in June 2010 that he was being treated for cancer of the esophagus and canceled a tour for his memoir “Hitch-22.”

“Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949. His father, Eric, was a “purse-lipped” Navy veteran known as “The Commander”; his mother, Yvonne, a romantic who later kill herself during an extramarital rendezvous in Greece. Young Christopher would have rather read a book. He was a “a mere weed and weakling and kick-bag” who discovered that “words could function as weapons” and so stockpiled them…”

more on msnbc »

Monkey Fist

Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan in Baltimore, Maryland.  In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical art, history, and marine science on Adventures of the Blackgang. Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com.  She can also out-belch any man.

RFA Fort Victoria was approached by a pirate skiff at speed as they attempted to board her, However after Fort Vic laid down warning shots using their Miniguns the pirates had a sudden change of heart and started to make a run for it. Fort Vic gave chase and launched her boarding teams to stop them. Whilst the boarding teams were dealing with the skiff word came in about a whaler and skiff trying to board a fishing dhow not far away, after a 20 mile steam the whaler was found and boarded, the ships helicopter was lauched to find the second skiff which it did and they were soon detained by Fort Vics Boarding team. (MOD / Crown Copyright 28 Nov 11)

SOMALI basin (COMBINED MARITIME FORCES) – The Royal Navy has struck at the heart of Somali piracy operating in the Somali basin.  RFA Fort Victoria was patrolling in an area approximately 420 nautical miles from the Seychelles and 350 nautical miles from the Somali coast as part of NATO’s combined task force 508.

Early that morning, she received information that a Spanish fishing vessel operating to the north of their position had come under attack from a group of pirate vessels to the North of their position.  The ship’s Lynx helicopter was quickly despatched to investigate.

Once at the scene, the helicopter identified two suspect vessels, a whaler and a skiff, in the vicinity of the fishing vessel.  The faster of the two, a skiff, sped away at over 25 knots as the helicopter gave chase.  When the skiff ignored orders to stop, a specially trained sniper onboard the Lynx helicopter fired warning shots ahead of the fleeing vessel which stopped and the suspected pirates onboard were then transferred to Fort Victoria via boat

RFA Fort Victoria's Royal Marines with one of the skiffs (MOD / Crown Copyright 28 Nov 11)

Having disrupted several pirate vessels and with both evidence and suspected pirates on board, permission was sought to take them to the Seychelles for prosecution.  With Seychelles authority granted, this will be the first case to be heard there under a memorandum of understanding signed between the UK and Seychelles’ governments in July 2009.

Captain Gerry Northwood, Royal Navy, embarked in Fort Victoria said:

“It has been a long but rewarding operation with many complex aspects. Operating under NATO tasking and in consultation with our headquarters in the Middle East and in the UK, we utilised a range of national and international assets to bring these events to a satisfactory conclusion.  The Royal Navy has once again demonstrated that multinational coordination can be successfully deployed to disrupt piracy in this area in order to protect international merchant shipping.”

About Combined Maritime Forces

CMF is a unique multi-national naval coalition, dedicated to promoting security and prosperity across 2.5 million square miles of international waters in the Middle East. CMF’s main focus areas are defeating terrorism, preventing piracy, reducing illegal activities, and promoting a safe maritime environment.

 it’s deadlicious™: Terreur – Ed. Bel Air. 1965 – via mudwerks

Without science, we wouldn’t know that prehistoric creatures, like this short-necked plesiosaur
at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum were real (image source)

Why I Like Science By Sarah Zielinski
on Smithsonian’s Surprising Science

 Science is under siege these days. Some politicians proudly proclaim that evolution is just a theory and that climate change is a conspiracy among scientists. Health gurus advocate homeopathy or “natural” remedies rather than modern medicine. Parents ignore the advice of doctors and experts and refuse to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases. People who are quite happy to reap the benefits of science—new medical treatments, for example, or sci-fi-like technological devices—advocate for schools to teach religion in science class.

And so I think it’s time for the rest of us to speak up. Let’s explain what it is about science that satisfies us, how science improves our world and why it’s better than superstition. To that end, I’m starting a new series here on Surprising Science: Why I Like Science. In coming months, I’ll ask scientists, writers, musicians and others to weigh in on the topic. And I’m also asking you, the readers, why you like science.

keep reading »

Click here to view the embedded video.

Death of a Siren by Raoul Servais

This darkly surreal and poetic tale was created by the Belgian master of animation Raoul Servais in 1968.  The website of the Raoul Servais Foundation contains lots of info about the author and his works.     —via Animalarium

A lifeboat negotiates stormy conditions off Ile d’Ouessant in Brittany, France
Photograph: Phillip & Guillaume Plisson /Rex Features – The Guardian via mabelmoments

The Sea: First Wonder of the World – a feature in pictures »

Ernest Shackleton biscuit from 1907 South Pole expedition to sell for £1,500»

A single biscuit from Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctica ­expedition looks set to make a packet at auction. The Huntley and Palmers snack that stopped the explorer and his exhausted men starving to death in 1909 is expected to fetch £1,500. It has somehow survived intact for an amazing 102 years since returning from the intrepid group’s hut on the frozen wastes near the South Pole.

Specially made for the grueling trip and fortified with ­concentrated milk protein Plasmon, the biscuit helped keep up the mens’ diminishing strength as they returned from their trip, called the Nimrod mission. One, Frank Wild, later told how Shackleton made him eat the snack daily to stay alive as they headed home from their failed bid to reach the South Pole.

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Cobh, Ireland – (full size)

Lifebuoy Royal Disinfectant Soap 1904 »

Illustrated front covers from The Queenslander: (set A), (set B)

Published between 1866 and 1939, The Queenslander was the weekly summary of the Brisbane Courier (now The Courier Mail) newspaper . This weekly edition enabled the news to be distributed to the regional and outlying areas of the state.

A selection of beautifully illustrated covers from the 1920s-1930s are shown here. Some drawings depict the daily life of Queenslanders during this time while others highlight local and national events. –State Library of Queensland, Australia

The Capture of the Pirate Blackbeard by Jean-Leon Gerome Ferris
raiseyourraggedsails via sailorjunkers

‘Flying Merguin’ by Jon Carling : Slug Ship

World’s fastest Ferrari ends up in Atlantic Ocean in road race crash

THE world’s fastest Ferrari went for an unscheduled clean when it span out of control and ended up in the Atlantic. The 240mph Enzo suffered a “slight mishap” on gravel during a road race and careered into the ocean.

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Ship in Aberdeen Harbour fuel leak to be inspected

BBC Scotland – An offshore supply vessel at the centre of a leak of about 1,000 litres of fuel oil into Aberdeen Harbour is to go into dry dock for possible repairs.

Oil spilled from the offshore supply vessel Skandi Foula during refuelling at the Torry dock on Friday. The affected area was cordoned off.

Shell UK said 500 litres of oil had been recovered.

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more photos of Port of Felixstowe »

Felixstowe still the UK’s busiest container port »

UK ports handled 512 million tonnes in 2010, a 2% increase over 2009, but still 12% below the 2005 level, according to statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT).  Felixstowe, in the south-east, maintained its position as the UK’s largest container port in 2010 with just over two million containers, up 12% on 2009.

Although throughput figures for Felixstowe are not published by the port’s owner, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, the DfT’s container number is thought to represent around 3.4 million teu.

In the next few weeks, Felixstowe will officially open its new berths 8 and 9, which are able to handle the very largest container vessels, including the recently ordered Maersk Line Triple Es of 18,000teu capacity.

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• The Port of Felixstowe on No Way to Make a Living blog »

Churchill, Chance and the ‘Black Dog’

The wartime prime minister’s dark moods, plus a series of lucky encounters, may have transformed the course of human history, writes John Gray.

Towards the end of his long life, when he was staying in a house lent to him by friends in the south of France, Winston Churchill sent for a young man who was helping him write one of the books with which he occupied his retirement.

Churchill needed the young man as a researcher. But he also valued him as a companion, particularly in the evenings when he would otherwise feel lonely.

One cold night they were sitting before the fire, where pine logs were hissing and spitting as they were burnt away. Churchill watched the blaze in silence. Then he growled: “I know why logs spit. I know what it is to be consumed.”

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Bulldozers Tear Into Big Washington Dams

Dignitaries and at least one bona fide celebrity kicked off the historic event for watershed restoration on Washington’s Olympic peninsula Saturday morning. It was the start of a three-year, $351 million project to dismantle two dams near the mouth of the Elwha River, opening the waterway to salmon for the first time in a century. (See a map of the region.)

It’s also the largest dam removal in the history of a country with 80,000 of the man-made structures, many of them aging, silting up, and no longer useful (or at least necessary). Some, like the two Elwha dams, were built without fish ladders, meaning they serve as completely impenetrable barriers to fish migrations. On Saturday at the base of the dam, officials counted only 72 salmon, unable to swim any farther upstream…

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Staxxon’s Space-Saving Shipping Container

New Jersey startup’s recently-patented technology has the potential to revolutionize the shipping industry.

Failure magazine – Improvements in efficiency tend to be hard-won in the liner shipping industry—the service of transporting goods by means of high capacity, oceangoing vessels like the Emma Maersk. To be sure, ocean carriers are always looking for ways to make operations more efficient, efforts that have included: using low-friction paint to reduce hull friction, utilizing “smart” shipping containers that feature RFID technology, and building ever-larger ships, including the 20 “Triple-E” behemoths recently ordered by Maersk.

But Staxxon, a startup based in Montclair, New Jersey, is taking what might be loosely described as an “inside the box” approach to addressing the inefficiencies involved in moving empty intermodal containers. The company’s patented technology—utilized in steel containers that fold from left to right like an accordion—is elegant in its simplicity…

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Remembering 9/11′s Heroes Afloat»

Posted by David Braun of National Geographic

Growing up between Long Island and Manhattan where my father lived, and having him take me down to the tugboats in the Chelsea neighborhood as a child, or on Circle Line cruises or fishing out of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, I remember how quickly my perspective on the city changed: from weekend visitations defined by crowded streets and stores to salt brine and wonder, be it of a powerful diesel marine engine and the men who kept its pistons turning or the strange sen-sation of catching my first fish, a conger eel, a true sea monster, at the age of eight. New York for me became what it had been for my father when he’d arrived at Ellis Island as a boy of 12, a place where freedom and Lady Liberty were intimately linked by the great harbor and rivers of one of the nation’s founding port towns.

A clear September morning many years later, the men and women who make their livings on those same waters were rudely awoken to the fact that our nation’s bordering oceans can no longer protect us from our enemies.

Just off Governors Island, Coast Guard Petty Officer Carlos Perez was at the helm of a 41-foot utility boat sent from Staten Island to check out the initial report of an airplane hitting the World Trade Center…

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Before Panama Canal, Snails Hitched a Ride

Long before there was a Panama Canal, at least two marine snails made a fantastic journey between oceans, crossing not on land or water but in the air.

By analyzing mitochondrial DNA from horn snail species on both sides of the North American continent, scientists concluded that this journey occurred twice in the last million years — 750,000 years ago, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 72,000 years ago, in the other direction.

The snails were hitchhikers, probably attaching themselves to the leg or belly of a shorebird that flew across Mexico, said Eldredge Bermingham, a geneticist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

more on NY Times »

New Orleans: Algiers youngster enjoys monitoring river traffic

Nate King, 6, is lucky that he lives close enough to the Mississippi River to feed his hobby: watching ships, boats and barges go by.

Nate lives in Algiers, a couple of blocks from the river, and throughout the summer — and on weekends and many days after school — he drags one or both of his parents, Liz and Matt King, up to the top of the levee to spot ships.

His parents are responsible for bringing the binoculars. Persistently but not necessarily patiently, Nate will wait for a ship or a work boat to pass. He carries a pencil and a little notebook in which he records the names of the vessels. If a ship or boat is too far away to see the name, he will shout, with increasing urgency, “Try and get the back of that guy, Mom. Get that guy, Mom! Get that guy!” His mother will then use the binoculars to spot the name and call it out, clarifying the spelling if necessary, so Nate can record it accurately.

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The Most Famous Russian Polar Icebreaker »

The icebreaker symbolizes a whole epoch in the history of Russia. The place is very popular both among the guests of Saint-Petersburg and its native citizens. In the beginning of the 20th century Russia was a leading country that developed the Polar Ocean with the help of linear ice-breakers. Russian ships ‘Ermak’ and ‘Svyatogor’ were the strongest ice-breakers in the world. Ship ‘Svyatogor’ that was renamed into ‘Krasin’ later is the second Polar ice-breaker in Russia with the most perfect construction.

more photos »

Mikhail Mikhailovich Cheremnykh
(Russian, 1890-1962)
Crimea — The All-Union Health Resort, May 12, 1944
from a great new blog called Tass Posters

• The Order of Ushakov, April 15, 1944
• Our Pechenga, November 4, 1944
• The End of the Resort Season, September 16, 1944
• Expel the Pirate from the Black Sea!, September 15, 1944
• Fascist Reports, False Reports, August 17, 1942
• Naval Guardsmen, June 26, 1942
• Cargo Ships and Submarines, 1944
• There Was a Shout Near Orel and it Echoed in Rome, August 2, 1943

 from the Archives of ITAR-TASS »

Cool Retro Photos from the Archives of ITAR-TASS »

“A place for rest in a whale’s mouth”, Y. Muravin, 1960

Whale Fishing Facsimile of a Woodcut in the
Cosmographie Universelle of Thevet in folio Paris 1574

above: Flensing is the removing of the outer integument (blubber) of whales. English whalemen called it “flenching”, while American whalemen called it “cutting-in”.

New England ships began to explore and hunt in the southern oceans after being driven out of the North Atlantic by British competition and import duties. Ultimately, American entrepreneurs created a mid-19th-century version of a global economic enterprise. This was the golden age of American whaling.

An early winter in the north Pacific in September 1871 forced the captains of an American whaling fleet in the Arctic to abandon their ships. With 32 vessels trapped in the ice and provisions insufficient to weather the nine-month winter, the captains ordered the abandonment of the ships and the three million dollars’ worth of property carried on board but in the process saved the lives of over 1,200 men.

From the Civil War, when Confederate raiders targeted American whalers, through the early 20th century, the American whaling industry was overwhelmed by new, crippling economic competition, especially from kerosene, which was a superior fuel for lighting. New Bedford, once the fourth busiest port in the United States, gave up whaling. (+)

Whale Fishery — Attacking a Right Whale, New England whaling ca. 1860

see also: American Experience Timeline: The History of Whaling in America »

Humpback whales await flensing at a whaling station; Sechar, Vancouver Island, British Columbia »

Japan Quintessential: A Holiday Guide »

Whaling in Chukotka: Photos on English Russia »

Whaling is very popular type of hunting in Chukotka. Today we’ll meet locals of the village Lavrentiya, located on the shore of the Bering Sea.

The Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula, at about 66° N 172° W, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the east. The peninsula is part of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia. The estimated population of the region in 1990 was 155,000.

The peninsula was traditionally the home of the native Chukchi people, some Eskimo peoples (Siberian Yupiks and Sireniki Eskimos), Koryaks, Chuvans, Evens/Lamuts, Yukagirs, and some Russian settlers.

The peninsula lies along the Northern Sea Route (the Northeast passage). Industries on the peninsula are mining (tin, lead, zinc, gold, and coal), hunting and trapping, reindeer raising, and fishing.  (wikipedia)

tear sheets from illustrator Harold Von Schmidt on Today’s Inspiration

Sevenstones Light Vessel circa 1950

Gay sailors coming forward in wake of DADT»

The law banning gays from serving openly ended Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. Now that it’s history, gay sailors are coming forward in ways ranging from showy to subtle. Others are simply blunt.

One of them is Master-at-Arms Seaman Casie Jude, who’s posted in Italy. In a Facebook update on Tuesday she wrote, “Dear Navy: I’m gay. Duh.” One of her commenters replied, “I knew it!!!”

Another sailor coming forward is Lt. Gary Ross. The 33-year-old surface warfare officer was married very early this morning at a small ceremony in Duxbury, Vt. to his partner of 11 years, Dan Swezy. It was the first same-sex marriage after the repeal by a servicemember.

more on militarytimes.com »

‘There was nothing to find out’

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — As the highest-ranking member of the U.S. military to come out as gay, retired Rear Adm. Alan S. Steinman had much to celebrate when the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” became official.

To guard against discovery, Steinman said he remained celibate, refusing to even socialize with other gay men, during the 25 years he served in the military. “There was no possibility they would find out,” he said of military investigators, “because there was nothing to find out.”

Lt. Col. Chris Rowzee, an active member of the Air National Guard in Toledo, Ohio, spoke about how her partner was afraid to mow the lawn of the property where the couple lived, and how they both avoided shopping together. During one military deployment, Rowzee went into septic shock, requiring an emergency operation. Since Rowzee’s partner wasn’t listed as a spouse or family member, she only learned of the operation by scanning a list of U.S. casualties.

Lynn Briere, a chief warrant officer in the Coast Guard, said she used code words on email and during phone calls, not wanting to leave clues that she was in a same-sex relationship. “I even went on dates with guys, just to keep my cover,” she said.

more on msnbc »

Dozens of calls after explosion in Zeeland

A concrete caisson has exploded on a beach in the south-eastern province of Zeeland. The blast on Ritthem beach was heard in large parts of the province.

Police have sealed off the area which is covered with debris. A police spokesperson says pieces of concrete are spread up to a distance of 100 metres from the crater. The crater is three metres in diameter. The caisson, which is a huge hollow concrete structure used in underwater construction, has been completely destroyed.

Police believe a World War II mine may have come into contact with the caisson.

–keep reading »

update: Massive blast on Dutch beach deliberate

A blast in a caisson on a beach in the southern Dutch province of Zeeland on Friday evening was caused deliberately using high explosives, police report.

–more »

NASA Satellite Debris Likely Fell in Ocean, May Never Be Found

No credible reports yet of UARS spacecraft pieces, agency says.

National Geographic News

After 20 years in orbit, NASA‘s UARS satellite has fallen to Earth, most likely into a watery grave at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. But its exact resting spot may remain a mystery forever, NASA said.

(Also see “Space Debris: Five Unexpected Objects That Fell to Earth.”)

The U.S. military’s Joint Space Operations Center estimated that the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, toppled from the sky at 12:16 a.m. ET Saturday.  (See “NASA Satellite Falling Faster Due to Solar Activity.”)

If that’s correct, the 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of debris that were predicted to survive reentry would have splashed down in the northern Pacific, far west of California. But “we may never know” exactly where the spacecraft met its fate, NASA’s Nick Johnson said on Saturday.

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drtuesdaygjohnson (via ahoyhoyyy)

Scientists Want Publisher to Refreeze Greenland

The news release promoting the latest edition of Britain’s influential Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World hailed it as “the Greatest Book on Earth.”

Not the way climate scientists see it.

“Fiasco” was the word chosen by one scientist in an e-mail to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., alerting his colleagues to erroneous claims made by the publishers of the atlas (whose name derives from The Times of London) about the speed at which Greenland’s glaciers are melting.

A new atlas depicts Greenland as having lost around 15 percent of its ice since 1999, with significant portions of coast ice-free.

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(AP) Diana Nyad: Ending Swim Was ‘Huge Disappointment’

Diana Nyad ends Cuba-US swim bid after jellyfish stings

US endurance athlete Diana Nyad has abandoned her attempt to swim 103 miles (166km) from Cuba to Florida, after being stung by a dangerous jellyfish.

She ended the bid after doctors warned that another sting from a Portuguese Man-Of-War could be life-threatening. The 62-year-old had swum about 49 miles (79km) in shark-infested waters after setting out from Havana on Friday.

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Everything Old is New Again:

Illustrated by Jack Davis, September 1974 – *see the set on Flickr »

Gemeinnüzzige Naturgeschichte des Thierreichs bd 2 plates Berlin;
bei Gottlieb August Lange, 1780-1789 »

New Species of Dolphin Discovered Off the Coast of Australia

A new species of dolphin was discovered by Australian zoologists off the coast of Melbourne, after they realized the 150 or so porpoises that were previously thought to be bottlenose dolphins actually differed significantly in skull shape and DNA. That, kids, is why you should always double-check your homework.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Celebrating »

Boston Globe: The Big Picture – Vessels sail during a great parade of the Culture Tall Ships Regatta on the Bay of Gdansk near the eastern Polish Baltic Sea city of Gdynia Sept. 5. The Culture 2011 Tall Ships Regatta featured two races from Klaipeda to Turku to Gdynia as part of the Tall Ships festival season, during which participating cities showcased their cultural activities, according to organizers. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters) #

Don’t ask…  no, really…  – via mudwerks

Maritime Monday is compiled every week by Monkey Fist

Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan in Portland, Maine.  In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical art, history, and marine science on Adventures of the Blackgang and The Scuttlefish

Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com.  She can also out-belch any man.

The Maritime Monday Archives »

DRAGON, the fourth Type 45 anti-air warfare destroyer built by BAE for the Royal Navy, has arrived in Portsmouth Naval Base, where she will be handed over to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at a ceremony today, joining her sisters ships HMS DARING, HMS DAUNTLESS and HMS DIAMOND.

“DRAGON is the most advanced Type 45 destroyer delivered to date,” said Paul Rafferty, Type 45 Programme Director at BAE Systems’ Surface Ships business. “Working in partnership with the MOD and the Royal Navy, we have incorporated lessons learned from the earlier build and in-service support of her sister ships. She is the first of the batch two destroyers, which include upgrades to systems onboard in line with technological developments, as we continue to deliver cutting-edge naval equipment to the Royal Navy.”

First steel was cut on DRAGON in December 2005 and she was launched at the company’s Govan yard in November 2008.  After undergoing extensive sea trials, DRAGON left the Clyde for the final time on Saturday August 27, arriving at her new home port of Portsmouth today, August 31.

The Type 45s will provide the backbone of the UK’s naval air defenses for the next 30 years and beyond. The destroyers will be capable of carrying out a wide range of operations, including anti-piracy and anti-smuggling activities, disaster relief work and surveillance operations as well as high intensity war fighting.

Each destroyer will be able to engage a large number of targets simultaneously, and defend aircraft carriers or groups of ships, such as an amphibious landing force, against the strongest future threats from the air. The vessels will contribute a specialist air warfare capability to worldwide maritime and joint operations.

Here are some more photos of the DRAGON provided by BAE Systems