All Maritime News and Travel: 01/23/2011

29 January 2011

Prehistoric marine reptiles move into museum

Yin Yeping -

Truth is stranger than fiction, and nature has come up with some beasties that are more monstrous than any creatures Hollywood could come up with. For example, step into the Beijing Museum of Natural History, where an ongoing exhibition gives new life to creatures that lived here more than 200 million years ago.

The 500-square-meter exhibition of Triassic marine reptiles includes the remains of a pregnant Ichthyosaurus from the southwestern part of China, which 200 million years ago was a vast ocean. Among the "sea monsters" on display is the biggest and best-preserved marine reptile ever discovered in China, a Shastasaurus skeleton that is nearly 100-percent complete, including its meter-long skull that incredibly survived the millennia in one piece.

There is a complete fossil of a Lystrosaurus, a dog-like reptile that existed in the early Triassic period 250 to 200 million years ago, and is about a meter long and, honestly, kind of cute. It was a vegetarian and lived near the water.

Fearful creatures are also displayed, like the Vjushkovia, a huge creature with sharp teeth, and the Qianosuchus Mixtus, a ferocious amphibious predator that could grow at about three meters long. A type of Archosaur, it had strong limbs and could walk as well as swim.

Most of the Ichthyosaurus fossils here were excavated from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

If Shastasaurus is one of the largest fossils in this exhibition, then the 2-centimeters baby Icthyosaurus is one of the smallest. The Chaohu Ichthyosaurus that was discovered in Chaohu, Anhui Province is only about one meter long and is the oldest Ichthyosaurus of its kind so far discovered. Other small marine lives such as ancient shrimp, sea chestnuts and different kinds of fish can also be seen here.

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Global Times

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Off-season training means extra scuba diving for Wreck Racing League participant

Scott Jones -

Lisa Mongy is already one busy lady. Not only does she have a full-time job in a Miami law office, but she's also a sought after scuba diving instructor at Underwater Unlimited Dive Center. Last year, Mongy added a new activity to her already jam-packed schedule - underwater scooter racer.

Mongy was a prominent part of last year's inaugural season of the Wreck Racing League. Sanctioned under the banner Formula H2O, the group includes more than two dozen underwater racers who share a love of the underwater world, recreational scuba diving and going fast. Mongy participated in three of the four races and did very well, finishing third in two events and first in her classs in the third event.

Training for this fascinating new sport includes regular workouts for stamina and cardio work several few times a week which helps maneuvering underwater and with air consumption. According to Mongy, "There is a debate about whether it helps to kick while you use the dpv or if it creates more drag. During this off-season I plan on heading to the pool as often as I can in order to test the different styles and types of fins available."

Mythic coastline between Cleveleys and Fleetwood

BBC News -

Five waterfront sculptures marking the history and folklore of the Wyre coastline are planned for the coastline between Cleveleys and Fleetwood.

The proposals for a Mythic Coastline of artworks will be part of the council's £1.6m Sea Change project.

They will include a giant seashell spurting water with the tide and a wall of words commemorating Wyre shipwrecks.

They have been created by artist Stephen Broadbent and are linked to an illustrated book inspired by the area.

If the plans get the go ahead, the artworks will be unveiled in the summer to coincide with the release of the book titled, the Sea Swallow.

Mr Broadbent, who helped design the award-winning Cleveleys seafront, said the sculpture trail will bring to life the mythical world of Wyre's sea ogres, petrified forests and lost villages.

"They will take walkers and cyclists on a magical journey."

The first sculpture will be a 10m welcome beacon with two sea swallows at the top of Victoria Road West in Cleveleys.

He explained: "I hope the swallows will be seen as the symbolic guardians of the town, directing people to the promenade and marking the start point of the Mythic Coastline."

Cayman Islands wins scuba diving awards

Opodo Travel News -

Keen scuba divers looking for a new destination to visit this year might want to consider the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, which has been recognised in Scuba Diving magazine's 2011 Readers' Choice Awards.

The destination was awarded first place in the categories covering overall experience and wall diving.

A number of factors contributed to the Cayman Islands' success in the awards, including the quality and diversity of its dive sites and its thriving marine ecosystem.

The range of diving experiences on offer to visitors has been boosted by the recent sinking of the USS Kittiwake, a former United States Navy submarine that is now an underwater attraction.

Shomari Scott, acting director of tourism for the British overseas territory, said it is 'an honour' for the destination to have been recognised by readers of Scuba Diving magazine

He added: 'The dive sector remains committed to enhancing its product and the recent sinking of the Kittiwake is one example of how joint efforts between the government and private sector can work to the benefit of our country.'

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Women Divers Hall of Fame announces 2011 Inductees

Scott Jones -

The international Women Scuba Divers Hall of Fame has announced its class of 2011. Ten prominent female scuba divers will be inducted later this spring it was announced Thursday.

According to Bonnie Toth, Women Divers Hall of Fame chairwoman, "Every year we take time to recognize women who have contributed in some way to the scuba diving industry. This year's 'class' includes individuals who have contributed in the areas of education, media, research, photography and video."

The non-profit Women Divers Hall of Fame has members who span a variety of fields and specialties. Members currently represent the Arts, Science, Medicine, Exploration & Technology, Marine Archeology, Business,Media, Training & Education, Safety, Commercial & Military Diving, Free Diving, and Underwater Sports.

Gliders assist exercise PROUD MANTA 11

Hydro Intrernational -

From 04-17 February 2011, ten NATO nations will provide six submarines, nineteen aircraft (including ship based helos) and eight surface ships to take part in Proud Manta 11, NATO's largest annual Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise.

This year's MANTA will include, for the first time, maritime gliders (low cost autonomous undersea vehicles).

The gliders are to support experiments related to operational employment of autonomous vehicles as part of a larger operation. Also tested will be the use of these vehicles to collect in-situ three-dimensional environmental data to support improved ASW planning and decision-making tools.

The exercise will take place in the Ionian Sea to the Southeast of Sicily. Forces are provided by Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Six submarines from Greece (1), Italy (1), Spain (1), Turkey (2) and the United States of America (1) are scheduled to join the exercise. Each submarine will have the opportunity of being a hunter as well as the hunted. NATO surface ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (with an Italian flagship and a German frigate), a Belgian frigate, a French destroyer, an Italian destroyer, and frigate, an Italian auxiliary ship, and a US destroyer will participate in the exercise.

Tanker AB9 sinks in Singapore Strait

Mike -

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reports that the Singapore-registered asphalt tanker, “AB9″ sank at approximately 1510hrs on 27 January 2011 (Singapore time).

The MPA was informed that a was listing off the east coast of Pulau Bintan. The vessel was subsequently reported to have sunk at about 1700hrs.

At the time of the incident, the vessel was reported to be on her way from Singapore to Sumbawa, Indonesia. There are 14 crew, all Thai nationals, on board the tanker. All the crew were reported to have been rescued by the Indonesian Navy.

The vessel is owned and operated by AB1 Shipping Pte Ltd.

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By accident, 18th-century wharf revealed

Taryn Plumb -

For years it has been buried, swallowed up by layers of earth, muck, and water, a once-prominent landmark concealed by time.

And the late-1700s wharf might have remained that way — embedded for the ages — had it not been for a recent accidental find.

Last June, as workers excavated portions of Newburyport’s Water Street for the city’s new waste-water operations building, they unearthed large, centuries-old slabs of granite. Based on maps and archaeological research, the giant rectangles of rock were identified as the capping stones of a 19th-century wharf built onto an earlier Revolutionary War wharf owned by Captain William Coombs.

And, as the city’s infrastructure project has continued for the past several months, archeologists have periodically been on-site to document additional finds from the 1700s and 1800s, including more capstones, cribbing supports, and, this month, timbers from an adjacent wharf.

Although many of the structural artifacts are too damaged or contaminated to save, local officials and historians call the find an extraordinary one, providing a conduit between modern times and the country’s beginnings.

“We’re thrilled — how could we not be?’’ said Newburyport Historical Commission member Tom Kolterjahn. “It’s exciting to uncover an important piece of our history.’’

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Mark Wilson

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28 January 2011

A day in the Life: Aquarium diver

Matt Vecchio -

Bubbles swirl past the lens of my camera as a stingray rushes by. Elysa Leonard, clad in a wetsuit, diving gear, and a tank with 3,000 pounds of compressed air, extends her arm, offering a dead fish to the ray. The slender ray angles toward the meal, quickly snatches it, and darts away, trailing its long, barbed tail. Leonard smiles under her diving mask — this is her time.

Leonard is one of nearly 300 volunteers who give two days of their time every month to dive into the tanks of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The divers are split into teams, 14 in all, and one team is on duty each day. Their main responsibility includes feeding the animals in the tanks, but they also do some minimal cleaning and maintenance. Quite a different experience than Leonard’s day job as an ad-rep for the Times-Mirror.

To get a feel for what Leonard’s day entails, I grabbed my gear and headed out to Baltimore on Jan. 22.

Following the hour-long drive, I found parking and headed to the waterfront, as the looming aquarium appeared to grow in size with each step—the newly added, glass-heavy Australia exhibit gleaming in the morning sunlight. Leonard met me outside near the boats bordering the aquarium, and we headed in the service entrance.

Leonard led me through a maze of tunnels, explaining how the aquarium works and what the diver’s responsibilities are. We saw how the animals’ food is made in the kitchen and where unique animals, like the octopus, are kept prior to joining an exhibit. Then we headed topside to get a feel for the aquarium before the crowd’s arrived.

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Photo Matt Vecchio

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Blind diver 'flies' in a sea of sensations

The Cairns Post -

Many dive into the depths of the Great Barrier Reef to experience the colourful underwater world, but for Ed Przybylek, feeling the coral gave him a new sensation.

Mr Przybylek, 59, has been blind since he was 10, but it did not stop the American tourist from plunging into the sea for an introductory dive with Quicksilver instructor James Hight.

After surfacing from the dive, Mr Przybylek could not stop grinning.

“It was like flying down there,” he said.

“I have just ticked one item of my bucket list but I have to add another – get certified.”

Mr Hight said the dive was a unique learning experience for both of them.

“A dive brief prior to entering the water is normally very visual with pictures and signals so we had to work out a whole new set of signals once underwater,” he said.

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Appeal launched to save historic steamship

Maritime Journal -

One of the UK’s most important historic steamships launched an appeal for survival this month, amid ongoing concerns that Britain’s maritime heritage is in decline.

Registered charity The Solent Steam Packet launched an emergency appeal for £80,000 to secure the future of SS Shieldhall, a unique and historic steam-driven cargo and passenger ship based at the port of Southampton.

SS Shieldhall is one of a small number of vessels forming the UK’s National Historic Ships Fleet and was named ‘Flagship of the National Historic Ships Fleet’ in 2009 by the National Historic Ships Unit, meaning it is officially recognised as being of pre-eminent national or regional importance.

It is the largest remaining sea going steamship in the UK and was built in 1955 for Glasgow Corporation as a coastal tanker with, unusually, day excursion passenger accommodation. SS Shieldhall is a twin screw seagoing vessel of 1,972 gross tons, with a length overall of 82m and powered by two 800hp triple-expansion steam engines. The 55 year old vessel is the last fully operational coastal passenger/cargo steamer in Europe.

In the spring of this year it must undertake drydocking at an estimated cost of £80,000 to £100,000. Without this it cannot continue to sail and would be at risk of being scrapped in the near future. SS Shieldhall is operated entirely by unpaid volunteers who are now looking for help funding this essential work, which will allow the vessel to keep a valid passenger certificate and continue to delight the thousands of people who visit and travel on it each year.

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Ian Bowman

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Indonesian ferry fire kills 11

Fidelis Satriantanti -

At least 11 people were killed when a fire broke out on a ferry caught fire traveling between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra overnight, the transportation ministry said Friday.

The ferry caught fire in the Sunda Strait, about three kilometers from the port of Merak at the westernmost tip of Java, at around 3.30am.

"11 people have been killed, and 427 people have survived. We don't know how many people are missing, hopefully there are none,” the transportation ministry's director for maritime passenger services Wiratno said.

The survivors had abandoned the ferry wearing life jackets.

Joko Sulaksono the ministry's directorate general of land transportation said many passengers were transferred to Krakatau Medika hospital in Cilegon near Merak for treatment.

Joko said a vehicle inside the ferry was the suspected source of the fire.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on ferry services but the industry has a poor safety record and fatal accidents are common.

Up to 335 people were killed when a heavily overloaded ferry sank off the island of Sulawesi in January 2009.

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National Geographic introduces adventure travel program

Sun Herald -

In keeping with its tradition of adventure and exploration, National Geographic has introduced National Geographic Adventures, a new program offering unique trips for the active traveler.

The program allows travelers to experience adventure from new perspectives, such as trekking across mountain ranges to archaeological wonders; kayaking into a glacier-carved wilderness; crossing an entire country on foot; or climbing a little-known route up one of the world’s highest peaks.

These adventures also offer immersive cultural experiences like visiting with Andean villagers, hiking to a remote monastery in Bhutan to meet with monks, or living among some of the world’s last hunter-gatherers in Tanzania.

To make these trips possible, National Geographic has partnered with Mountain Travel Sobek, an adventure travel company co-founded more than 40 years ago by the late Barry Bishop, legendary mountaineer, photographer and longtime National Geographic staff member.

Together, National Geographic and Mountain Travel Sobek have developed unique, active itineraries in some of the world’s most remote and spectacular places, including Alaska, Bhutan, Chile and Argentina, England, Italy, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru, Spain, and Tanzania.

“Adventure is an integral part of National Geographic’s heritage. These new trips combine the immersive experiences for which we are so well known with the opportunity for a more physically active adventure,” said Lynn Cutter, National Geographic’s senior vice president, Travel and Business Development.

“Each unique itinerary has something special to offer that makes the experience not just a trip through stunning scenery, but an authentic, unforgettable adventure.”

Maersk joins UN disaster relief team

gCaptain -

The A.P. Moller – Maersk Group is has announced it has joined a team of international companies, designated as a disaster relief support network under the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

The Logistics Emergency Teams (LETs) consist of four of the world’s leading logistics and transport companies and supports the WFP and the humanitarian community during disaster relief efforts by providing access to a global network of transportation and logistics expertise. As the newest member of the LETs, Maersk joins Agility, UPS and TNT Express.

Maersk brings to the team a global ocean transportation network which includes the world’s largest container shipping fleet and more than 50 terminals across the world. In addition, Maersk has extensive experience and presence in Africa.

“Maersk has a history of stepping in when it comes to disaster relief, whether through employee involvement or with the use of our business assets. Given our competencies in sea transport, container terminal operations and supply chain management, joining the LETs is a natural step,” says Helene Regnell, Head of Corporate Responsibility in Maersk Line.

“Our vessels call ports all over the world, and we are present in more then 130 countries. So when it comes to disaster relief, we are never far away. The LETs enable us to further leverage our local knowledge and global capabilities and ensure that our disaster relief efforts are coordinated and aligned for maximum impact.” she says.

27 January 2011

Top U.S. Navy Officer says new, more intense, techniques need to fight piracy off Somalia

Cheryl Pellerin, American Forces Press Service -

Pirates off the coast of Somalia are using bigger vessels to extend their criminal reach in a move that could prompt U.S. Navy forces in the region to intensify techniques for pursuing the lawbreakers, the top naval officer in the region said, Jan. 26.

Vice Adm. Mark I. Fox, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet, told a group of defense reporters here that pirates have begun commandeering large merchant ships and using them as “mother ships” to put smaller boats into operation far from the coast, and beyond the reach of the international forces arrayed against them.

“This is the first time we’ve seen persistent and increased use of mother ships – up to eight ‘pirate action groups’ as we refer to them, disbursed throughout the region,” Fox said, calling this development a “game changer.”

Such groups may include one or two mother ships that travel with a range of dhows, skiffs and other small craft to attack and hijack international commercial vessels.

Fox said the number of pirate hostages rose from 250 to about 770 between September and January. In response to this and to the pirates’ evolving capabilities, “we’re in a constant process of assessing the way we do our business here.”

The international force that works together in the region includes participation from the political alliance with the European Union, the military alliance with NATO, and military combined task forces that bring together nations from around the world to address critical security issues facing the region, including terrorism and piracy.

U.S Naval Forces Central Command is part of that mosaic, Fox said, “and then we have independent deployers like China or Russia, who are also in the region looking out for the well-being of their ships.”

“Real Genius” – the Navy version

Rob -

The Navy appears to be another step closer in developing a new class of super-weapon, one that promises to significantly change the naval battlespace of the future.

Since the first shipboard cannons were fired in anger, to today’s Mach 3 sea-skimming missiles, naval ships have been vulnerable to attack by the sheer reality that hitting a small, supersonic target from a moving ship is extremely difficult to do. Especially if that target is headed in your direction.

For the past 30 years or so, the US Navy’s Aegis missile defense system has been very effective at mitigating this threat through it’s use of ultra-high power X-band phased array radars and the SM-2 missile system. Unfortunately, this system is not failsafe and terrible accidents have occurred, such as when the USS Vincennes misidentified and shot down an Iranian Airbus in 1988.

It all comes down to reaction time. How much time does the watch stander have to make a decision before they run out of options?

With today’s technology, that timeframe can be fractions of a second, or in some cases, it’s already game over by the time a target is acquired.

A recent technological breakthrough at Los Alamos National Laboratory may be changing all that and paving the way for a 1-Megawatt shipboard laser gun. This system would be capable of engaging multiple targets at the speed of light without running out of ammunition.

Read more...

NAVSEA

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U.S. Coast Guard seeks improved shore access for mariners

gCaptain -

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued an ALCOAST bulletin advising captains of the port to enforce legal requirements that port and maritime facilities provide mariners, pilots and associated welfare and labor organization representatives with the ability to board and depart vessels in a timely manner and at no cost to the individual.

Also this month, leaders of several U.S. seagoing unions, including American Maritime Officers National President Tom Bethel and AMO National Vice President for Government Relations Michael Murphy, met with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp to discuss U.S. implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s 2010 amendments to the STCW code.

The ALCOAST bulletin, dated Jan. 11, is an interim measure to urge enforcement of the Congressional mandate requiring that a system for providing shore access be incorporated into the security plan of each U.S. port or maritime facility. The bulletin notes a legal review has determined additional clarification of terms covering shore access in the Maritime Transportation Security Act is required, and the Coast Guard has requested the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee draft definitions to incorporate into the law via the Coast Guard Authorization Act.

Dubai's world has a sinking feeling

Richard Spencer -

They were intended as the ultimate luxury possession. But ''The World'', the man-made islands off the coast of Dubai shaped like the countries of the globe, are sinking, a property tribunal has heard.

Developed with hotels and villas, the islands are accessible by boat, but the sands are eroding and navigational channels between them are silting up, the British lawyer for a company bringing a case against state-run developer, Nakheel, told judges. ''The islands are gradually falling back into the sea,'' said Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, for Penguin Marine.

According to Nakheel, 70 per cent of The World's 300 islands have been sold, but most of the development plans have been brought to a crashing halt by the financial crisis. Only one of the islands - Greenland - is inhabited, and that is a showpiece owned by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The company was part of Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate that had to be bailed out of debts put at $A25 billion at the end of 2009.

Nakheel is also behind Dubai's palm-shaped offshore developments. Villas in the only one near completion, Palm Jumeirah, were given to or bought by footballers, including former England stars David Beckham and Michael Owen.

Investors who bought islands proved unwilling or unable to finance further work when Dubai's property prices halved.

Call for harsher punishment after ship crosses Great Barrier Reef

ABC News -

An Australian politician says the punishment for two mariners who steered a foreign ship into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is too lenient.

Two men from Hong Kong yesterday pleaded guilty in the Gladstone Magistrates Court for entering a restricted zone and were fined $US53,000.

The Member for Keppel in Central Queensland, Paul Hoolihan, says the fine is too low and won't act as a deterrent.

"Lets deal with these people who treat our Barrier reef, let's punish them to the full degree," he said.

"Any penalty that's imposed has to have a deterrent effect to stop people from taking chances with the environment of Australia."

Last year, the Reef was damaged when the bulk carrier - the Shen Neng 1 - ran aground after veering off course.

Two of its crewmen were charged.

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Navy divers concerned about sharks in Brisbane River

Francis Tapim -

The Australian Navy says its divers are using special shark repelling equipment to protect them from attacks in the murky Brisbane River.

The divers are surveying the river to find and clear dangerous hazards to boating and shipping.

The Brisbane River is known for its bull sharks which are responsible for more fatal attacks around the world than any other species.

Commander Peter Tedman says the river is so dirty the divers can barely see more than 15 centimetres in front of them.

"We do have a very good piece of equipment called shark shield which puts up an electronic field around the diver so we wear that at all times," he said.

"We certainly stay out of the water at those peaks periods just before dawn and dusk."

Sarah Clarke

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Lyme Regis: A maritime feast at the museum

View Online -

As part of the year-long Maritime Lyme celebration of the maritime life, culture and heritage of the town, February’s events at the museum will have a maritime theme.

These include:

• Lyme’s Eroding Coast on Wednesday, February 2nd at 2.30pm - Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager of the Jurassic Coast Trust, discusses the coast of Lyme Regis, its erosion and coastal engineering schemes. He will try to answer the ultimate question, will people want to live in Lyme Regis 50 years from now?

• The Eternal Mariner on Saturday, February 5th at 2.30pm - A talk by Jennifer Grierson about her recent experiences crewing on a Tall Ships adventure, with images and more than a nod to ancient stories.

• Shipwrecks of Lyme Bay on Wednesday, February 9th at 2.30pm - Diver Nigel Clarke talks about the diversity of over 200 shipwrecks in Lyme Bay, from war ships to cargo vessels. Each wreck has a story, as well as providing a habitat for marine creatures.

• Jane Austen and her Naval Brothers on Saturday, February 12th at 2.30pm - Jane’s brothers Charles and Francis both rose to Admiral in the Royal Navy. Diana Shervington describes how Jane’s fictional characters reflect her admiration for their dedication.

• Know Your Fossils on Sunday, February 13th at 2.30pm - A talk on how fossils lived, and how to find, identify and handle them, with the museum’s fossil experts Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew.

Read more...

Photo Carole Halden

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"Medvedev’s yacht" tested in Sochi

RT -

The Russian presidential administration has bought a yacht, which will be used during official receptions, particularity of delegations arriving for the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

The yacht is already in use on the Black Sea near Sochi, spokesman for the administration Viktor Khrekov told ITAR-TASS news agency. He did not offer any additional detail on the purchase.

Earlier Turkish media reported that the presidential yacht was launched in January 2009. Its initial name was Leo Fun, but after Russia bought it, it was renamed Sirius.

The yacht is said to have a 12-strong crew, six luxury apartments and a glass-roofed dining area.

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26 January 2011

A very big airplane helps a very big cruise ship get a very big engine change

Telstar Logistics -

The cruise ship Carnival Spendor just entered the big drydock in San Francisco, where she will undergo major repairs -- including an engine replacement. Ouch!

Remember the Carnival Spendor? That's the infamous ship that spent four days adrift last November after an onboard fire disabled her propulsion 200 miles south of San Diego. With 3299 passengers and 1167 crew trapped aboard, the US Navy diverted the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to provision the stricken ship with food and supplies. (Fresh shrimp cocktails for the buffet? Delivered by the Gipper ??)

All kidding aside, it was a bad scene.

But now it's time to make the ship new again. It will cost $56 million and take 4 to 6 weeks, but in the end the Carnival Splendor will get a new diesel engine and two alternators. The new motor arrived via a gigantic Antonov An-124 that landed on Saturday at San Francisco International Airport.

Read and see more...

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‘M/V Beluga Nomination’ pirated in Indian Ocean

gCaptain -

After 4 days of uncertainty regarding the exact status of the crew, MV Beluga Nomination is now believed to be pirated.

On the afternoon of 22 January 2011, the MV Beluga Nomination was attacked by a skiff, with an unknown number of suspected pirates on board. Small arms were used against the vessel during the attack.

The attack took place in the Indian Ocean, 390 nautical miles north of the Seychelles. The MV Beluga Nomination is an Antiguan and Bermudan flagged, German owned, general cargo vessel which was on passage to Port Victoria in the Seychelles at the time of the attack.

There is no information on the condition of the mixed crew of 12 (Polish, Filipino, Russian and Ukrainian) at this time. EUNAVFOR are monitoring the situation.

MV Beluga Nomination was registered with MSC(HOA) and had reported to UKMTO.

The nearest EU NAVFOR warship at the time of the attack was over 1000 Nm away. The warship was waiting to escort a World Food Programme (WFP) vessel delivering vital humanitarian aid to Somalia, which is EUNAVFOR: s primary task within its mandated mission.

The remainder of the EUNAVFORs warships was even further away carrying out tasks in the IRTC (International Transit Corridor), which is their secondary task within the mandated mission.

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Man to row, row, row his boat across the atlantic

Michael McLaughlin -

The third time could be the charm for a New York City man trying to row across the Atlantic Ocean by himself.

Victor Mooney, 45, a college publicist, will paddle west from the Cape Verde islands in February after two previous attempts to cross the Atlantic had to be abandoned.

The trip is a mission to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS -- a disease that claimed the life of one his brothers. Another brother is infected.

"I'm hoping that for every stroke I make, someone can get tested for the virus," Mooney said.

The journey -- first toward the Caribbean and then northward, ultimately landing at the Brooklyn Bridge -- covers 5,000 miles and could take Mooney eight months or more aboard his 21-foot vessel christened "Never Give Up."

"This is something I'm dedicated to doing," Mooney told AOL News. "And with God's blessings, I can make it."

If he succeeds, he'll become the first African-American to row across the Atlantic.

"These milestones are here, but my focus is on HIV/AIDS advocacy and prevention," Mooney said. "The water just happens to be the conduit."

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South African Arts International, Ltd.

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Missing Americans found by the Philippine coast guard

Jim Gomez -

Searchers from the Philippine coast guard found five missing Americans on board a sailboat that was reported missing en route from Guam. All were in good health, officials said Sunday.

A search ship guided by a spotter plane located the 38-foot (11-meter) catamaran The Pineapple after it was spotted off the southern island of Dinagat, coast guard chief Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said. The rescuers were escorting the vessel to its original destination on central Cebu island, he said.

"They apparently had engine trouble while in rough seas," Tamayo told The Associated Press, adding that he was awaiting other details.

The sailboat left Guam on Jan. 6 on a trip that normally would take seven to 10 days, officials said. Relatives of the Americans contacted the U.S. Coast Guard when it had not reached its destination by Jan. 18, they said. The U.S. Coast Guard then asked the Philippines to help in the search.

French ports return to work

HButler -

French ports Jan. 25 returned to work after a four-day nationwide strike as dock unions plan their next move in a bitter labor dispute.

The Communist-led Fédération Nationale des Ports et Docks CGT, the largest union on the waterfront, is widely expected to call for further stoppages as the government refuses to bow to its demands for early retirement for several thousand dockworkers.

The government is under pressure to make concessions as port employers are backing the CGT's call for retirement at 58 for dockworkers and other port workers with arduous jobs.

The four-day strike, the latest in a series of stoppages this month, paralyzed cargo handling at leading ports, including Marseille and Le Havre, the country's largest container hub.

As unions discuss further strike action, the International Dock Workers Council, an association formed by organizations of dockworkers, called on its members to refuse to handle ships and cargoes diverted from French ports.

Ocean container carriers have been re-routing containers bound for French ports to foreign ports, notably Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge in northwest Europe and Barcelona and Genoa in the Mediterranean.

Derelict ship contained on Columbia River

Marine Link -

Contracted by the owner of the SS Davy Crockett, a former WWII U.S. Navy Liberty Ship, Ballard Diving & Salvage completed the required clean up of contaminants that posed imminent threat to the environment according to the United States Coast Guard.

After significant structural failure, an Administrative Order by the USCG to the owner was issued for immediate action late last week.

Ballard Diving & Salvage responded with crews trained in salvage operations. Response included confined space teams and commercial dive teams as well as remote underwater vehicles with sonar to locate and evaluate all sources of oil on and within the vessel.

The SS Davy Crockett is 442-ft in length and was constructed in 1942, currently located near Camas Washington on the Columbia River.

Photo Ballard Diving & Salvage

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SHI shipyard’s new anti-piracy device

John Konrad -

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., South Korea’s third-largest shipbuilder, said Sunday it has developed an anti-piracy solution system that can track down and repel nearby pirate ships.

The development of an anti-piracy system comes amid rising alarm that overseas pirates are targeting South Korean ships. On Friday, South Korean naval special forces successfully rescued 21 seamen and their 11,500-ton cargo ship, the Samho Jewelry, that was hijacked by Somali pirates.

Two months earlier, a South Korean supertanker was also released after being held captive by Somali pirates for seven months, in exchange for a reported ransom of around $9 million.

According to Samsung Heavy, the new system tracks down suspected pirate ships within 10 kilometers by analyzing their speed and direction. The anti-piracy solution also features a surveillance system that records real-time videos of suspected ships and water cannons with a maximum range of 70 meters, the shipbuilder said.

The water cannons, which can be remote-controlled at indoor steering houses, are forecast to increase safety as seamen formerly had to control them on the deck, the company said.

Samsung Heavy plans to equip its ships with the anti-piracy solution in the future, it said.

“The system will substantially contribute to protecting seamen and their ships. It will also help boost orders,” said a company official.

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Video shows the ugliness below the beauty of Puget Sound

Denise Whitaker -

It's been a wet January in Seattle, with close to 4 inches of rain so far. After such heavy rain, there's a river that rages under Puget Sound, but it's not all water.

Local scuba diver Laura James took her camera down off Harbor Avenue SW to document the stunning stream of storm sediment now rushing into the Sound.

It looks like a thick black plume of muck.

"People don't even think about it," James said.

James says she takes the underwater video to make people aware of the ugliness below the beauty of Puget Sound. She finds cigarette butts, candy wrappers, chewing gum -- the garbage that people toss.

"It goes somewhere. And I like to show people where it goes," she said. "Right out here in Puget Sound."

And there is the toll from our daily lives: detergents, fertilizers, oil, brake dust -- even the rubber that wears off of our tires as we drive.

"Tire rubber? I mean where does that go?" she wondered. "We have to get our tires replaced pretty regularly; I mean where does that rubber go?"

When it rains, the water runs into storm drains and eventually flows out into our local waterways. As the water runs, it picks up all kinds of things in its path.

The city maintains storm water catch basins, designed to collect larger pollutants. But stuff still makes it into Puget Sound and area lakes.

First deep-sea mining licence granted

Duncan Geere -

Papua New Guinea's government has granted the world's first deep-sea mining licence to a Canadian company named Nautilus Minerals, who want to operate in the Bismarck Sea.

The company's Solwara 1 project sits at 1.6km below the surface of the sea, 50km north of the nearest port, the volcano-threatened Rabaul. Early surveys have found high-grade copper and gold deposits close to the sea floor, which Nautilus reckons will be lucrative enough to exploit on a commercial scale.

The technology behind the process is complex. It takes aspects from undersea oil and gas exploration, combines dredging processes and adds a smattering of the kind of principles that govern open pit mining.

A preparatory machine called an "auxiliary cutter" (AC) flattens out the sea floor to create a surface that a "bulk cutter" (BC) can operate on, ripping the ore apart. That ore is then left on the sea floor and collected by a "collecting machine" (CM), which sucks it up into a tube and pushes it through a pipe to the "riser-and-lifting system" (RALS), which sends it to a boat at the surface.

On the deck of the boat, the slurry coming up from the sea bed is filtered, with the water then being sent back down the pipe to the seabed, where it's released. A transportation barge then hauls it to a stockpile in the port of Rabaul.

25 January 2011

US vet recalls U-boat hidden in Bermuda

Bernews -

A US Navy veteran is attempting to track down other participants in one of the most highly classified missions of World War Two — the capture of a Nazi U-boat on the high seas which was then towed almost 2000 miles to Bermuda under a veil of secrecy.

Former Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Philip Kornely Jr. tells a Florida newspaper today how the Task Group 22.3 Association is still looking for members from among US Navy veterans who took part in the 1944 action — the first capture of an enemy vessel by American ships since the 19th century.

“Just send us a letter to P.O. Box 3071, Wenatchee, Washington 98807, USA” he said.

Mr. Korneley served on the USS “Pope”, a destroyer in the US Navy task group which seized the U-505 — allowing Allies to capture a prized Nazi Enigma code machine which was then used to read encrypted German messages.

The U-505 was towed to Bermuda (it is pictured above in Port Royal) and was was camouflaged and hidden here under heavy guard for the remainder of the war. The crew was held incommunicado on the island and later in the US without access to the International Red Cross until the Nazis surrendered in 1945. The subterfuge was designed to persuade German authorities the U-505 had been sunk so they would not change codes used by submarines patrolling the Atlantic — codes the Allies could break as a result of seizing the Enigma.

The United States Navy captured the German submarine U-505 on June 4, 1944 in an action in the Atlantic Ocean about 150 miles off the coast of Rio De Oro, Africa. The American force was commanded by Captain Daniel V. Gallery and comprised the aircraft carrier “Guadalcanal” and five escort vessels: “Pope”, “Pillsbury”, “Flaherty”, “Chatelain” “Jenks”.

Week's Quote !

“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it” Confucius

Posted via http://batavia08.posterous.com batavia08's posterous

The grand challenge of ocean acidification and fisheries

Kevin Zelnio -

Anthropogenic climate change has been hypothesized for centuries (discussed in Le Treut 2007) before the careful measurements of scientists in the mid-20th century.

From 1833 to 1997, Stanhill (2001) calculated that the climate change science doubled every 11 years. The impact of carbon dioxide concentrations in the ocean was recognized early on with measurements and analyses taken by Revelle and Suess (1957).

While research on ocean acidification has made great strides in the last two decades (reviewed in Doney et al. 2009), the surface has barely been scratched with understanding how lower pH affects the already downtrodden commercial fisheries that serve as the foundation of many livelihoods and economies.

Commercial fisheries have worn the brunt of excess and experiments in regulations for several decades. Many fishing quotas are set using recent historical catch data and based on a maximum sustainable yield.

The commercial fishing industry has much to be concerned about. Reduced yields will devastate livelihoods and jobs in areas where fishing is the only, or by far the largest, industry. Subsidence fishing, typical in impoverished areas, will be threatened and inhabitants will need to procure new sources of protein.

Diver anger over failed abalone plan

ABC News -

Tasmania's abalone industry has suggested the State Government must accept some of the blame for the outbreak of a deadly virus in wild fish off the east coast.

Initial tests on wild fish near the out-flow of an abalone farm near Bicheno have tested positive for the ganglioneuritis virus at low levels.

While they have tested positive for viral DNA, they have not got the disease and there is still a chance they have developed immunity.

Further results are expected later in the week.

Dean Lisson of the Abalone Council says the Government has failed to fully implement the industry's biosecurity plan.

"The chances of it happening would have been much reduced had our biosecurity plan been rolled out as was originally agreed upon a couple of years ago," he said.

"The fact that hasn't happened is a sad indictment mainly on the Government because they have chosen not to make the resources available."

Dive sites in Thailand face closure

Janjira Pongrai -

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has recommended that 10 diving sites inside marine national parks be closed so damaged coral reefs can recover.

However, the final decision would still rest with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP).

The sites are Hin Klang off Phi Phi, Mae Yai Tai Peninsula off North Surin Island, the area to the east of South Surin Island, Chong Khad Bay off North Surin Island, Kangkao and Pai Islands in Chon Buri, Yak Island in Trat, Chaloke Ban Kao Bay, Tanod Bay and Surat Thani's Nuansai Beach.

"The coral reefs in these areas have been severely damaged," DMCR director-general Kasemsan Jinnawaso told the press yesterday, adding that he would ask the chiefs of all 26 marine national parks to keep an eye on tourists' activities that could hurt the local environment.

The final decision still lies in the hands of the DNP, he said.

"Closing diving attractions in the Andaman Sea could affect tourism in the area," Kasemsan said.

24 January 2011

Incident Involving the RRS James Cook and ROV Isis

Joshua S Hill -

The National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK, can confirm that there has been an incident involving the RRS James Cook in which the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Isis came into contact with the ship’s port propeller.

The accident occurred during ROV deployment at around 12.00 GMT (approximately 09.00hrs Ship’s time) on Wednesday 19 January 2011. Buoyancy debris from Isis was immediately sighted, but the ROV has been recovered and is now aboard the ship.

There have been no casualties. According to the Preliminary Damage Report, there is minor damage to the ship’s port propeller and its condition continues to be monitored.

The ship remains fully operational and there are no reports of any release of pollution. However, the ROV has suffered extensive damage and is inoperable.

Israeli report says Gaza flotilla raid was legal

RT -

A state-appointed Israeli commission has issued a report on the probe into the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May 2010 justifying both the raid, which killed nine Turkish activists, and the blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza.

The panel looking into the raid, which sparked strong international condemnation, was made up of four Israelis and two foreign observers.

"The actions carried out by Israel on May 31, 2010, to enforce the naval blockade had the regrettable consequences of the loss of human life and physical injuries," reads the report.

Nonetheless, "the actions taken were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law."

Turkish prime minister has dismissed the Israeli report, saying it “has no credibility.”

Sari Bashi, the executive director of the Gisha legal center, which protects the freedom of movement of Palestinians, says no inquiry commission in the world can justify deliberately restricting the passage of people and goods in order to paralyze the economy and prevent normal life in Gaza.

Posted via http://batavia08.posterous.com batavia08's posterous

Edinboro professor studies lobster "missing link"

Sean McCracken -

The phrase "lobster missing link" might be a little bit misleading.

What Dale Tshudy's research helped to uncover wasn't a small, clawed Sasquatch patrolling the Atlantic coast of Maine, but from his perspective, it was something even more exciting.

Tshudy, a geosciences professor at Edinboro University and a widely-regarded expert in crustacean fossils, has spent the past few years fill in a large blank in the evolution of lobsters.

"It's months of long days," Tshudy said. "But I enjoy maintaining and improving the database we all work from."

By studying some 50-million-year-old fossils found off the coast of Steeple Bay, England, Tshudy believes he has found evidence of an extinct lobster species.

The new species fills in numerous gaps in what they know about the lobster genus Thaumastocheles.

This particular group of lobsters isn't what you'd expect to see on your dinner plate. These lobsters reside in the deep waters of places like the Sea of Japan or the Caribbean and are very rarely encountered by humans.

Tshudy said they're most easily recognized by their long, slender claws and a "bulb-shaped" palm, which look very little like the fat, club-like claws of Maine lobsters.

Read more...

Photo Rob Engelhardt/Erie

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23 January 2011

Sunday's Quote !

“Those people who tell me that I'm going to hell while they are going to heaven somehow make me very glad that we're going to separate destinations”

Martin Terman

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Saving Bahrain's coral reefs

Lujein Ashi -

A Bahraini architect is on a one-man mission to resurrect the country's coral reefs by building an underwater aquarium.

Overfishing, pollution and reclamation are among the many human actions that have harmed the eco-system, according to MSCEB architects and engineers vice-president Thamer Salahuddin.

"The creation of artificial islands has covered the natural breeding grounds of fish and corals," he said.

The expert explained corals depended on the oxygen from the water and filter-feed on small organisms that currents wash into their openings.

"In the process of reclamation, a stilt happens, like when we have the desert storms here, it covers the coral and it blocks its 'breathing', so it dies," said Mr Salahuddin.

The death of the corals also means the destruction of the sanctuary and food source of many fish that eat and hide in the folds of corals.

Mr Salahuddin, who has been diving since 1987, has devised a plan to create shelters where fish can hide and preserve the beauty of the coral reef.

"I always wanted to come up with an idea that's practical, inexpensive and manoeuvrable to place in the sea," he said.

His brother Salah Salahuddin, who owns a race car, inspired him to come up with the idea two years ago.

Dive closures don't go far enough: conservationist

Asia One -

The founder of the For Sea Foundation (FSF) is urging authorities to close dive sites in more national marine parks on the Andaman Sea, claiming the recent closure of 18 sites in seven parks does not go far enough.

The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department on Thursday announced the measure, which is intended to allow coral reefs bleached by high sea temperatures time to recover.

But in an article titled "Coral Bleaching: Stop Damage and Recover the Rest", FSF founder and Prime Minister's Office secretary Vittayen Muttamara wrote that scientific studies had identified more sites in the Andaman that had been severely damaged by bleaching.

The data, which were used by the department in its decision to close the parks, were collected from the middle of last year.

Vittayen said the studies showed coral reefs in Surin National Marine Park and on the east coast of Similan Island were severely damaged, but the department had closed only two sites in those parks.

"The department should urgently survey all coralreef sites and update their database to decide which sites they should close," Vittayen wrote in the article.

To reduce the impact on the tourism industry, the department has closed only sites that have been severely damaged.

The end of Nelson's Pier

Kelly Strange -

The pier, thought to be one of the oldest in Britain, inspired artists because of its association with Lord Nelson and his famous battles.
Now the jetty, built in 1560 at Great Yarmouth in Norfolk and painted by John Constable and JMW Turner, is set to be demolished.

Council bosses have said they can’t find the £300,000 needed to refurbish it. Residents claim the decision would have Nelson turning in his grave.

Kirsty Cater, 31, said: “We are so fortunate to have this piece of history on our doorstep. To think those famous artists were inspired enough to capture it in the way they did is incredible and now we’ve got to see it knocked down.

“Nelson would be horrified. It was used to service the great warships. It’s thought of around here as his jetty. How can we just knock down a piece of history?” The council voted last week to demolish the pier after English Heritage refused to award it listed status.

The jetty was rebuilt in 1701 and 1767 after suffering sea damage. In 1791 it was nearly swept away by a freak high tide and just about survived another battering in 1805, the year of Trafalgar.

As it was thought indispensible to the warships the then vast sum of £5,000 was spent to save it. As the sea receded it was lengthened by 60ft in 1846 and 1870.

Adventure in Belize along the world's second longest barrier reef

Matt Jackson -

"If you want to see feesh, you come to the right place," says our guide Carm. His enthusiasm is palpable. "We gonna show you lots of feesh!"

There are 10 of us here to take part in a seven-day, multisport extravaganza with Vancouver-based Island Expeditions. We're spread out across the white sand of Tobacco Caye, under the leafy fronds of palm swaying in the breeze.

We are hinged on Carm's every word as he recites off a list of tropical fish that reminds me of Bubba listing off shrimp recipes in the movie Forrest Gump: grey angelfish, queen triggerfish, spotted butterflyfish, French grunts, blue tangs. The list seems to go on forever.

"And now we gonna go to the dock and I show you some of them," says Carm. This is a preview, he tells us, for what's coming tomorrow morning, when we take to the water for the first time with masks, fins and snorkels. The water is so clear beside Belize's barrier reef -- the second longest reef in the world - that you can see many of the fish from the end of the dock.

With expectation etched on our faces, we walk past a small beach bar with a thatched roof and a grinning bartender.

However, as our group wanders out onto the dock, the first thing we see is not what we had expected: several feet of lime-green eel slithering alongside a fishing dory that's been tethered to the wharf. As promised, the clarity of the water ensures that we see the moray's sharp white teeth in perfect detail.

Coral marches to the poles

Nicola Jones -

Corals around Japan are fleeing northwards, according to a new study. One type has been spotted 'sprinting' at 14 kilometres a year, thanks to a lift from ocean currents.

That means ocean ecosystems could shift rapidly in the face of climate-change impacts such as warming seas, the authors say.

The study, due to be published in Geophysical Research Letters1, is the first documentation of coral mass migration, but matches up with several other observations.

As early as 2004 in Florida, for instance, staghorn and elkhorn corals were observed farther north than their usual ranges2, and in Australia, reef-dwelling fish have been found farther south than before.

Hiroya Yamano of the Center for Global Environmental Research in Tsukuba, Japan, and his colleagues checked out records of corals seen in Japanese waters since the 1930s. Here, sea surface temperatures in winter have increased by 0.7–2.4 °C over the past 100 years.

Read more...

Aqua Image / Alamy

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The magnificent mammal menage a trois

Scicurious -

…aka “The Thrilling Whale Threesome”
…aka “Constant Coupling Clubs in Cetacean Coitus”
…aka…I could keep going!

Cause this is more than mammals. It’s WHALES, BABY !!! Whales GETTING IT ON. Strap yourselves in, cause we’re headed on a journey to the bay, complete with a bendable 8 foot penis...

Before we get to the goods, let’s talk about the Right Whale. The one featured here is the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis).

Right whales are baleen whales which feed by filtering plankton out of the water. We all know that we’re supposed to save the whales, but the right whale is of particular interest, as it was hunted a LOT until the world finally banned it in 1937. Since then the main thing the right whale is used for is for whale watching, and BOY did these scientists get an EYEFUL.

You see, the male right whale is…pretty well endowed. Ok, REALLY well endowed. Male right whales are, on average, between 13-16m long. The penis is around 2-2.5m long. 15% of the male’s total length. Compare that to the human, average male human height, 1.75m (ish), average penis length, 0.15m = 8%. Buuuurn. Whales got humans beat by a meter…or two.

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