Maritime Monday 127

Welcome to this 127th edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 77 here. (Published 24 September 2007)

You can find last week’s edition here.

You can find links to all the previous editions at the bottom of this post. You are encouraged to participate leaving comments at the bottom of the post. If you have photos or stories to tell, do email me at [email protected].

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This Week’s Photos:

This week’s photos come from the website of Denmark’s great Maersk Line:

About us: Maersk Line is one of the leading liner shipping companies in the world, serving customers all over the globe. A.P. Moller – Maersk Group headquarters at the waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark

With a fleet numbering more than 470 container vessels and more than 1,900,000 containers, we ensure reliable and comprehensive worldwide coverage. Maersk Line is a division of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group.

EMMA MAERSK

ELLY MAERSK

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Four Maersk ships in Bremerhaven, Germany

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Twin 20 foot container lift

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This Week’s Items:

EagleSpeak has “Somalia: Pirates collect ransoms, release a couple of ships“.

Also be sure to check out EagleSpeak‘s weekly series “Sunday Ship History: Port of Galveston“.

gCaptain has the amazing photos: “Incident Photo of The Week – M/V Hyundai Fortune“.

gCaptain also has “Blogging in the Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine“.

The Wall Street Journal has “U.S. Accuses Iran Shipper Of Nuclear Aid“.

The U.S. Treasury Department accused Iran’s national maritime carrier of helping the country’s nuclear and missile programs, a formal move designed to pressure Iran amid stalled talks over its nuclear work.

The Treasury, in designating the carrier as a “proliferator,” said the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and 18 of its affiliated entities were secretly “providing logistical services” to Iran’s military, falsifying shipping documents and using deceptive terms to describe shipments in order to hide their activities from foreign maritime officials.

Houston pilot and photographer OneEighteen has a photo: “The wreck is the former concrete ship, SS Selma, built during the First World War“. Yes, they made ships out of concrete. After all, steel was a material in short supply.

Christiaan Conover has “Life As a 3rd Class Cadet – Differences From Last Year“.

The Pilot Boat has a clarification as a past post has resulted in an official investigation by the “Tax Man“. So for all those seafarers wondering why a shipping company would have a problem with blogging seafarers, well here is one reason. Luckily the tax man misunderstood what was written.

Bob Couttie’s Maritime Accident Casebook has “Be Big and Bold To Avoid The Bang“. Your actions should not be a mystery to other vessels.

SILIVE has bad news for the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island in “Lighthouse Museum board is ready to give up“.

International Herald Tribune has “Ferry sinks off Turkey’s coast; at least 1 dead“. The ship is the RORO Ferry HAYAT N.

Independent Online (South Africa) has “Crewman’s log: I’ve a bad feeling about this” questioning the seaworthiness of the ship he is sailing on, the LOLA. Which is the same ship which lost over 600 logs a couple weeks ago.

The Maritime has “Disabled and drifting freighter survives hurricane Ike“. The ship is the ANTALINA.

The Merchant Marine Express‘s ship survives Hurricane Ike: “Made it Through!“.

blue water: news of my escape also rides through Hurricane Ike but runs into much worse luck than Merchant Marine Express: “Showdown“. Go read it, unless you get seasick easily or if you can’t stand blood.

Hurricane Ike has taken ass-kicking to a new level for me. Although we tried to get away, we ended up going right through Ike, riding through the Dangerous Semicircle, for any of you mariners out there… basically doing what we shouldn’t have. Ike packed a greater punch than anyone expected, as we encountered 40-50 foot seas, rogue waves, and other niceties associated with a Category 3 hurricane. The ship did not escape unscathed, nor did the crew. Things got toppled, things got ripped out of bulkheads, and one person got so banged up that yours truly assumed that he had witnessed a violent and instantaneous death… traumatizing stuff.

Molten Eagle Covers Australia’s admission that they have had to cut operating 4 or 6 of their submarines in “Updating Submarine Retention and Recruiting in a Job That Females Now Do“.

Why volunteer for a job that females now do? Answer: The young males do not volunteer; glamour has been compromised.

Deep Water Writing has “Short Seas Shipping one step closer?“

The BBC has “Russians ‘leaving Georgian port’“.

The BBC also has “Date set for MSC Napoli inquiry“.

MercuryNews has “Cosco Busan spill legacy: a wave of new oil spill bills“. Beware of the legal hysteria.

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MarineBuzz has “When Nations Celebrate Maritime or Marine or Merchant Marine or Merchant Navy Day“.

MarineBuzz also has “Canadian Warships On Goodwill Visit to Chennai“.

Danish Maritime Authority has a surprise quiz “International efforts to enhance security at sea“.

The campaign means that the technology, education and expertise of the navigators when it comes to handling the equipment will be examined.

Seems that your certificates of competence are quickly becoming just an invitation to the game.

Press TV (Iran) has “Iran denies agreement on vessel ransom“.

TimesOnline has “Shipping insurance cost soars with piracy surge off Somalia“.

Wired’s Danger Room Blog has “Coming to a Sea Near You: Giant Russian Nuke Cruiser” as Russia threatens to rebuilt the Soviet Era cruiser ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV. Here is the ship’s Wikipedia entry.

Tims Times has “Asgard II sinks in the Bay of Biscay.” He had sailed on the ship as a trainee.

euobserver has “Melting ice cap pushes Arctic up EU agenda“.

barentsobserver.com has a search for suckers in “Investors for Arkhangelsk Port needed“. Just where is all of Russia’s oil profits going? There is a growing list of foreign investors being stripped of their rights to the projects they helped fund in Russia. Why would this project be any different? At the very least, there are a number of less risky port projects worth investing in over this one.

Freaque Waves has “A freaque wave case in South Indian Ocean” killing the Chief Officer of the cargoship NILEDUTCH ASIA.

Skipper’s Scrivenings has posted feedback from their last port of call in “Visited by Angels“.

Shirlaw News Group has “Over 30 missing as overloaded boat capsizes in India“.

Robin Storm – In Search of Severe Weather has “Fewer buoys means less storm-tracking data“.

Ahoy – Mac’s Web Log has “A Brief history of Ships Bells “.

Information Dissemination has “The Burke Era Returns” as Congress kills off funding for the DDG-1000 Program.

Kennebec Captain encounters a couple “Amusing ship names“.

Tugster has photos of “Pleasure Tugs 3“.

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Newsweek has “Shipping News – The ‘greening’ of America’s two biggest ports.“

America’s ports are not generally thought of as the most ecologically advanced places on the planet. But a green wave is lapping at their shores. This summer, officials at the polluted twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach began a program to convince container-ship captains to wean their engines off dirty-burning “bunker fuel” and instead use relatively clean marine diesel oil while idling in port. Up until recently, that hasn’t been an easy sell. While marine diesel has just one tenth the sulfur, it costs an extra $650 a ton. That can add up quickly, especially during a typical three-day port of call. As an incentive to participate in their alternative-fuels program, port officials are making up the cost difference.

Sailor Girl has photos of the Romanian Navy training tall ship MIRCEA. Tims Times also has pictures as he spots the ship in the Mediterranean Sea

Never Sea Land has “September 20 is Coastal Cleanup Day“.

Sea * Fever has “Not too surprising – Wooden Submarines Never Really Caught On“.

Hellenic Shipping News has “Minister of Merchant Marine, George Voulgarakis hands in resignation“.

Minister of Merchant Marine & Island Policy George Voulgarakis resigned on Friday amid a political frenzy over his use of offshore companies to reduce his tax load from real estate holdings and related transactions.

SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE has “Congress Pressured On Cruise Ship Crimes“.

US Maritime Law has “SS Morro Castle catalyst for Merchant Marine Act of 1936“.

Master of Towing Vessels Association Forum has “The 30-Day Wonder“.

Well, they went and did it, and we always had faith in them that they would. The Coast Guard published their Final Rule for “Training and Service Requirements for Merchant Marine Officers” that serve on towing vessels last Thursday in the Federal Register, and it’s quite a statement. Sea-time earned on actual towing vessels is, to the Coast Guard and the supporters of this rule-change, not terribly important if you want to “lateral” over into the towing industry from other sectors of the Merchant Marine.

American Shipper has “Dubai considering canal to bypass Strait of Hormuz“. As a side benefit, they can create many more islands as they dig out a canal.

i Report has “Ike Uncovers Civil War Ship, Fort Morgan, AL” and “More pics of Civil War ship at Fort Morgan“.

The Washington Post has “The Sound of Light“.

by 1986, all of the Chesapeake’s lighthouses were automated, with Thomas Point being the last to make the switch. Today, this lighthouse, much admired for its design — a red-roofed, white-clapboard cottage perched near the mouth of the South River — has opened its door so that curious travelers like me can go inside.

PortSide Mary Whalen remembers in “9/11 on Pier 9B“.

Her Captain’s Voice has a summary table of “Submarine Accidents around the world(1905 – 2000)“.

UK-Halsey Sailmakers has a test of your knowledge of sailboat racing rules with a series of animated race course incidents in “Sailing Rules Quiz – Rules Of Racing“. (Found at wetstuff Blog (Which is in Swedish))

Cryptomundo has a sighting of Sweden’s seamonster “Storsjön Blobbogey Caught On Film“. Video of the creature is posted here.

WebUrbanist has “9 Over-the-Top Luxury Swimming Pools of the Rich, Famous and Utterly Eccentric“. A couple of them are large enough to sail in.

Mr. Boat Blog has “Griffon Hovercrafts“.

southbendtribune.com has “Youths build ark, nail Noah’s story“. Go and check out the photo of their 70 foot long Ark.

Hattiesburg American has “Time running out for historic SS Hattiesburg Victory“.

I received an email with a photo of the current state of the WWII Liberty ship SS ALBERT M BOE. It had been renamed the STAR OF KODIAK and converted into a landlocked cannery in Alaska. Might other ships find similar use other than being scrapped?

See this wikimapia entry for a bird’s eye view of the facility.

Artificial Reef (Canada) has a photo of the former Canadian Victory Ship, RAME HEAD berthed in Portsmouth England.

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Haight’s Maritime Items has:

UK – asleep on the bridge – The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a press notice stating that the company that managed a small freighter was fined £10,500 plus costs after being convicted of breaches of the Collision Regulations, the ISM Code, and the UK Carriage of Cargo regulations. The prosecution related to the o44o, January 10, 2007 grounding of the freighter on Swona Island in the Orkneys. The mate was standing watch alone and fell asleep. Investigation revealed that the ship sailed with minimal crew and that seamen were not used to stand watch so that they would be available for day-work. The master was earlier convicted of failing to keep an adequate look-out and was fined £2,500. (9/10/08). – Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

AND:

Celebrating the heroism and sacrifice of 9/11 – Today marks the seventh anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11, when a small group of terrorists used commercial airliners to crash into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. A fourth airliner attack was thwarted by brave passengers and crashed in Pennsylvania. We remember not so much that attacks as the heroism and sacrifice of the many victims and response personnel. Holland & Knight, in particular, celebrates the selfless actions of one of its own. Glenn J. Winuk was a partner in the New York office and a long-time volunteer firefighter. When the Twin Towers were attacked just blocks from the firm’s New York office and everyone was seeking safety, Glenn went into the South Tower to render assistance. His remains were found months later in the rubble. The firm sponsored a Memorial Wall at FDNY Ten House, adjacent to the World Trade Center to honor his memory and that of all the response personnel involved. – Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Ferries take up slack for Channel Tunnel – DOVER is handling 10% more vehicles on ferries than usual since the closure of the Channel Tunnel on Thursday, the port authority said today.

In the 12 hours since the closure, more than 3,000 cars were ferried between the UK and France; the number of passengers increased from 500 to 17,800.

An additional 250 freight vehicles also travelled through the port.

Port spokesman Keith Southey said that the morning after the closure, all tourist traffic was getting away to France without delays.

“We are making inroads into the queue which is developing on the M20,” he also said. “This just goes to prove how important the Port of Dover is for Europe’s tourism and trade.”

The tunnel was closed by a fire on a freight train carrying trucks from the UK to France. It remains unknown when it will reopen. – 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.

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