SeaWaves Today in History February 2, 2010 1536 - Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain 1653 - New Amsterdam - now New York City - was incorporated 1709 - The real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk, on whom Daniel Defoe based his famous novel, is rescued after spending five years on the uninhabited islands of Juan Fernandez. Defoe interviewed Selkirk in a sailors' pub. The friendly old Tudor-era tavern, located along the backwater mooring area of the Floating Harbor in Bristol, was named Ye Llandoger Trow after the Welsh community of Llandoger, from whence the cargo barges called "trows" routinely sailed across the Bristol Channel and up the Avon River into the city. The atmosphere of the same tavern also inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's literary description of the meeting place of Little Jim Hawkins with that peculiar old pirate, Long John Silver, for his famed tale, "Treasure Island". Visitors to Bristol can still get a drink and meal there -- it hasn't changed much 1800 - USS Constellation (CAPT Thomas Truxtun) captures la Vengeance 1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War, was signed. The treaty turned over to the United States a huge portion of the present-day SW, including Texas, New Mexico and California 1862 - USS Hartford, Capt David G. Farragut, departs Hampton Roads for Mississippi River campaign 1903 - Submarine HMS No 1 completed 1912 - “The Commander-in-Chief regrets to announce that owing to a collision between His Majesty’s Ship Hazard and the submarine A3, the latter sank near East Princess Buoy about noon today. It is feared that the submarine was completely flooded, in which case there is very little hope of the officers and crew being saved, though salvage appliances have been sent out.” Whilst on exercise off the Isle of Wight HMS A3 surfaced directly in the path of HMS Hazard. The collision caused a large hole to be torn in the side of the submarine sinking her almost immediately 1916 - Submarine HMS J4 launched 1917 - Destroyer HMS Venetia laid down 1935 - U-1, U-2, U-3, U-4, U-5, U-6, U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19, U-20, U-21, U-22, U-23, U-24 ordered 1935 - Submarine FS Casabianca launched 1935 - Soviet submarine SC-119 commissioned 1938 - Patrol vessel HMS Widgeon launched 1939 - Submarine ORP Orzel commissioned 1939 - Destroyer USS Benham commissioned 1940 - Seven men on raft rescued with aid of an RAF Coastal Command aircraft 1940 - US passenger liner SS Manhattan is stopped by the French auxiliary patrol vessel Vaillant about 25 miles SE of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and ordered to proceed to Gibraltar for examination 1940 - At 0624, the unescorted tanker Creofield was torpedoed & sunk by U-59 east of Lowestoft. The master and 15 crewmembers were lost 1940 - At 2040, the unescorted SS Portelet was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-59 and sank less than one mile WSW of Smith’s Knoll Lightship. Two crewmembers were lost. The master & eight crewmembers were picked up by the Finnish SS Oscar Midling and landed at Immingham on 4 February 1940 - Corvette HMCS Matapedia laid down Quebec City PQ 1941 - RAF Bomber Command - attacks continue on the invasion ports from the next 9 days & nights. Le Havre and Ostend are especially targeted 1941 - Carrier-based aircraft from HMS Formidable, on her way to the Mediterranean to replace the damaged Illustrious, attack harbor installations at Mogadishu 1941 - U-431 launched 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Almond mined & sunk off Falmouth 1942 - U-581 was sunk near the coast of Guidaste, Pico Island. One of the officers, Lt Walter Sitek, managed to swim 6 km to shore where the locals picked him up. He then managed to pass through neutral Spain and make his way to Germany again when he again went to sea on a U-boat. Oblt Walter Sitek commanded 3 boats (U-17, U-981 and U-3005) during the rest of the war and survived the fighting. The rest of the crew, 37 men, were picked up by the British destroyer and taken to POW camp being finally released in 1947 1942 - Large cruiser USS Guam laid down 1942 - Submarine USS Jack laid down 1942 - The unescorted & unarmed tanker WL Steed was struck by one torpedo at 1940 in bad and cold weather and was abandoned by all crewmembers in four lifeboats. U-103 surfaced and fired 17 shells into the hull until a second torpedo exploded her cargo and sank her 50 minutes after the first hit. The four lifeboats later drifted apart. Two survivors in boat 2 (14 of 16 men aboard had died of exposure) were picked up four days later by the British SS Hartlepool, but one died in hospital in Halifax on 10 February. Three others in boat 3 (had have 5 men aboard) were picked up by AMC HMS Alcantara on 10 February. Boat 4 (had 14 men aboard) was found on 12 February by the British SS Raby Castle with four men onboard, but only one was alive. The man died three days later aboard the ship. Boat 1, with three men, had cleared the ship first. But it was never found. (The Mexican tanker Poza Rica found an empty boat on 19 February northwest of Cape Hatteras, it may have been boat 1 from WL Steed) 1942 - Tanker Corilla sunk by U-751 in Convoy HX-173 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Rockhampton commissioned 1942 - Japanese minesweeper W.9 is sunk, and minesweepers W.11 & W.12 are damaged, by Dutch mines off Ambon Island 1942 - Submarine USS Seadragon sinks a Japanese Army cargo ship off Cape Bolinao, Luzon 1942 - British Naval Staff reports that German battlecruisers Gneisenau & Scharnhorst will probably attempt to leave Brest & pass up the English Channel through the Straits of Dover 1942 - Minesweeping trawlers HMS Cloughton Wyke & Cape Spartel sunk by German aircraft off the Humber 1942 - The Japanese launched their first air raid on Port Moresby in New Guinea, in preparation for a planned amphibious assault 1943 - Submarine HMS Usurper commissioned 1943 - HMS Safari intercepts and Italian convoy off Isola di Capri and torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchants Valsavoia and Salemi 1943 - U-795 laid down 1943 - At 0304, US Liberty ship Jeremiah Van Rensselaer in station #45 (last ship in the extreme port column) of Convoy HX-224 was torpedoed by U-456. The ship had been in station #11, but had performed poorly keeping station and kept her station about once in seven nights, she managed to catch up in the daytime and consequently her position was changed. Two torpedoes struck on the port side in the #1 hold. The explosion created a hole 8 feet by 30 feet, blew the hatch cover off, spewed cargo overboard and started a fire. A short time later, a third torpedo struck on the port side at #4 hatch and blew a truck standing on deck into the water and also started a small fire. The engines were secured and some of the eight officers, 34 crewmen, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one passenger abandoned ship. Panicking, they tried to launch three lifeboats, but two capsized in the rough seas. Eight men got away in a boat and others jumped overboard and swam to three rafts, but the harsh weather and cold water caused the most men to die from exposure. Only one officer, six crewmen and 17 armed guards survived. 23 survivors and three bodies were picked up after five hours by the British rescue ship Accrington and landed at Gourock. A boarding party from USCGC Ingham later boarded the ship and noted that she could have been saved, but the watch below left the boilers fire lit, which burned the boilers out. The vessel was scuttled by gunfire at 1300. The boarding party also found one man, who never left the ship and took him to the escort vessel. One week later two bodies were recovered from a raft by the French corvette Lobelia 1944 - Destroyer HMS Gabbard laid down 1944 - Light cruiser USS Oklahoma City launched 1944 - Rescue tug HMS Emulous commissioned 1944 - Destroyer USS John D Henley commissioned 1944 - War correspondent Raymond Clapper killed in a collision between two Avenger aircraft from USS Bunker Hill 1944 - Sailing vessel Yahia rammed & sunk by U-453 in eastern Mediterranean 1944 - Saldor, New Guinea landings. USCG personnel take part 1945 - President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill departed Malta for the summit in Yalta with Soviet leader Josef Stalin 1945 - Ecuador declares war on Germany 1945 - 88 USAAF B-29s destroy the docks & Japanese naval base at Singapore 1945 - U-4705 commissioned 1945 - Convoy JW-64 sailed from the Clyde. The following AP report was released to the newswires - Information received from neutral and underground sources indicates that the Germans are ready to send 200 U-boats out into the sea lanes for a large-scale attack on convoys en route to France and Russia, the Daily Telegraph said today. Estimates have been made in Stockholm, the newspaper said, that the German navy has a total of 400 serviceable submarines and is building new ones at the rate of 20 monthly. A report from the Norwegian underground said many were based at Bergen and Trondheim. The new submarines, many of them long-range 1500-tonners, were said to be fitted with a number of new devices 1945 - Corvette HMCS Fergus arrived St John's to join EG C-9 1945 - Minesweeper HMCS Noranda returned Halifax from workups Bermuda 1945 - Frigate HMCS Strathadam departed St John's for Londonderry to join EG-25 1946 - Destroyer USS Witek launched 1946 - By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Southern Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands were incorporated into the USSR 1948 - Submarine HMS Artful commissioned 1948 - The first full-scale course in naval operational flying to be conducted by the RCN began at the Operational Flying Training School, 1 Training Air Group, Naval Air Section, RCAF Station Dartmouth. Aircraft types to include Seafires, Harvards and Ansons. The mandate was to produce pilots for the 18th and 19th Carrier Air Groups 1955 - USS MSB 23 destroyed by fire while under construction 1956 - Minesweeper HMCS Miramichi laid down Victoria BC 1967 - USS Coral Sea port call Subic Bay 1970 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay 1973 - USS Oriskany port call Subic Bay 1987 - Submarine HMS Triumph laid down 1989 - ARA Bahia Paraiso capsized 1991 - A USN A-6 with two crewmembers, LCDR Barry Cooke, LT Patrick Connor, from the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Attack Squadron 36 and a USAF A-10 with 1 crewman has been shot down by anti aircraft fire. The three crewmembers are listed as missing 1991 - US naval operations continue with an attack on the A1 Kalia naval facility. One Iraqi Exocet-capable patrol boat was directly hit with two laser guided bombs, while a second aircraft launched a string of 12 500 pound bombs across a second patrol boat which also went into a building on the pier generating several secondary explosions 1991 - Helos from the USS Nicholas engaged four Iraqi patrol boats near the Myerdam Island, destroying one, damaging two. Also, A-6s scored a direct hit with two laser-guided bombs on a patrol boat in Kuwait City harbor. 35 Iraqi naval craft have been sunk or damaged to date. Senior commanders now conclude that with the destruction of all Iraqi patrol craft capable of delivering missiles. Iraqi naval forces are considered to be combat ineffective 1991 - USS Samuel B. Roberts diverts 2 freighters in North Red Sea, USS Halyburton assists with one diversion. USS Biddle diverts one freighter in the North Red Sea 1992 - The US Coast Guard shipped home 250 more Haitian refugees from the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, a day after repatriating a shipload of about 150 Haitians 2000 - Searchers recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 off the California coast 2003 - Frigate HMCS Regina departed Esquimalt to become flagship Task Force 151 in Persian Gulf 2003 - USNS Altair activated 2004 - RRF Cape Diamond, Cape Race & Cape Vincent activated 2005 - Japanese rescuers have saved 16 crewmen from the dry cargo ship Oreliya, which wrecked off the shores of Japan’s Chichishima Island. The fate of six other seamen unknown. Ships of the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency and two helicopters combed the wreck zone. The operation proceeds in adverse weather conditions. High waves are accompanied by strong wind, reaching the speed of up to 65 kilometers per hour. Most rescued Ukrainians were using rescue rafts. None of them has received serious injuries. Oreliya, having a water displacement of 22,000 tons, was registered in Malta and had a crew of 22 members, all of them having Ukrainian passports, the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency reported. It sent a distress signal at 0630 local time shortly before it sank 2005 - Frigate HS Nikiforos Fokas (ex-HNLMS Bloys Van Treslong) commenced FOST training at Devonport 2005 - Finnish FACX Tornio completed modernization at Aker Finnyards. The combat systems installed consists of SAM and SSM missiles, new sea mines and 57 mm gun system 2006 - At approximately 0525Alaska Time, MV Seabulk Pride, a 1998-built double hull tanker, owned and operated by a subsidiary of Seabulk International on charter to Tesoro Corporation, was struck by an ice floe and before loading was completed broke away from the Tesoro dock in Nikiski, Alaska. At the time, the MV Seabulk Pride was loading heavy vacuum gas oil (HVGO) and unleaded gasoline. Some product was released during this incident. The Company does not have an estimate as to the amount of product released, and there are no reports of oil near the vessel at this time. No injuries were reported by the ship or the dock. The vessel is currently aground approximately a half mile north of the dock. The vessel has confirmed that the tanks in the vessel are currently secure 2006 - Holland America Line took delivery ms Noordam from Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. at a special ceremony in Venice, Italy. The Noordam will depart Venice February 3 for her new homeport, New York City, where she will offer 10- and 11-day Caribbean cruises beginning with her maiden voyage on February 22, 2006 2006 - Carnival Splendor is the name Carnival Cruise Lines has chosen for its new 112,000-ton cruise ship scheduled to enter service in spring 2008. Representing a new class of ship for the line, the 3,006-passenger vessel will be constructed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and feature an innovative new design, including the largest spa and children's facilities in the Carnival fleet 2006 - ADI has achieved significant progress in its FFG Upgrade Project, with the start of HMAS Sydney’s formal acceptance sea trials and commencement of preparations for HMAS Melbourne’s installation 2006 - At approximately 1334, HMCS Athabaskan's Sea King helicopter, with a crew of five on board, ditched approximately 50 kilometers off the east coast of Denmark. All five crewmembers were recovered by the ship and are safe. All have been examined by the medical officer and have returned to their quarters. Their families have been advised of the incident. The accident occurred while the aircrew practiced night landings with the Sea King off the back of the ship. The helicopter is in 16 meters of water, marked by a buoy. Salvage operations may be undertaken pending sea state. Sea state was calm with half-meter waves and wind speed of less than 10 knots 2006 - The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) of Pakistan Thursday arrested 23 Indian fishermen and impounded their four boats for illegally entering into its territorial waters in the Arabian Sea, the MSA said in a statement. The MSA will hand them over to the Dock Yard Police on Friday, it added. The arrest came only a week after the MSA arrested 37 Indian fishermen along with four boats. The coast guards of both countries routinely detain each other's fishermen for straying across maritime border and hundreds have been released as a goodwill gesture under their peace initiative program. With the latest arrest, the number of arrested Indian fishermen in Pakistani jails has increased to over 600 2006 - David B. Zilkoski has been named as the new director of NOAA’s Office of National Geodetic Survey where he will be responsible for overseeing NOAA's responsibilities for the nation's spatial reference system 2006 - At 1415 Humber Coastguard received a channel 16 Mayday call from fishing vessel Rejoice after the crew had detected a fire on board. The 40-ft fishing vessel is currently 14 miles northeast of the River Tyne. The crew of three managed to contain the fire in the engine room. Humber Coastguard coordinated the incident and the Tynemouth RNLI all weather lifeboat has Rejoice under tow for Amble where on arrival they will be met by Northumbria Fire Service 2006 - TODCO announced the reactivation of a cold-stacked drilling rig against a term contract from an independent oil and gas company. THE 256, a 250 foot mat slot jackup rig, will be reactivated against a one-year term contract with contract revenues of approximately $38 million. The cost to reactivate and upgrade the rig is estimated at $18.6 million consisting of approximately $12.4 million of reactivation costs that will be expensed over the 150-day reactivation period and an additional $6.2 million for capital upgrades to the rig 2006 - The US Embassy in Caracas confirmed that Venezuela's government has deemed their naval attaché in the country persona non grata. Chávez' government maintains that Commander John Correa engaged in espionage during his tenure in the Embassy 2006 - Fourteen Indonesian fishermen taken hostage by Somali pirates in mid-August released unharmed, and do not intend to give up their jobs sailing in African waters, Indonesia's foreign minister said. The 14 Indonesian fishermen were released - along with 34 fellow captives from other parts of Asia - and sailed to Mombassa, Foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said. "They want to return to their jobs immediately," Hassan Wirajuda told reporters in Jakarta, adding that the fishermen were physically unharmed and that Indonesia had not paid any ransom 2006 - Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron (NCWRON) 5 made history during its commissioning ceremony at Outlying Landing Field (OLF) Imperial Beach, making it the first active-duty Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron since the Vietnam War 2007 - Two years after her decommissioning, the RNZN's last Leander-class frigate, the former HMNZS Canterbury, signed over to her new owners. The signing of the Sale Agreement will take place at Te Taua Moana Marae between the Crown and the Bay of Islands Canterbury Charitable Trust at 1100. His Excellency the Governor General of New Zealand, the Honorable Anand Satyanand, PCNZM will also attend and witness the signing of the Agreement 2007 - Guinea-Bissau has become a key transit point for cocaine moving between Latin America and Europe as drug traffickers take advantage of scant surveillance, government instability and poverty to ply their trade 2007 - Lotos Yard (part of MNP Group) has laid the keel for Dutch Rensen Shipbuilding BV. The ship to be delivered by June 2007 is aimed for transporting both conventional dry cargoes and containers. Together with its sister ship also under construction at Lotos it will be deployed on inland water routes in Europe 2007 - The government of Trinidad & Tobago has purchased its second Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran in as many months. The former US Army Theatre Support Vessel Spearhead (Hull 060) has been purchased from its Delaware, United States based Owners, Bollinger / Incat LLC. To that end the four-year-old fast ferry, to be renamed T&T Spirit, is currently being refitted for passenger service 2007 - The replacement of three historic river ferries along the Missouri River in Montana has been recognized by the Montana chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The Missouri River Ferry Rehabilitation Project won an Honor Award at the Montana chapter's annual engineering competition 2007 - The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has amended the regulations to prohibit US persons from registering vessels in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [North Korea] or otherwise obtaining authorization for a vessel to fly the North Korean flag. US persons are already prohibited from owning, leasing, operating, or insuring any North Korean vessel 2007 - Wärtsilä has signed an agreement to acquire the Swedish company Senitec AB in Varberg. The company is privately-owned and specializes in environmental technology products for separating waste such as oily water and sludge in power plants, harbors and ships. Senitec has 5 employees. This new business gives Wärtsilä the possibility to expand its offering of environmental solutions in waste management 2007 - Conrad Industries, Inc. signed four contracts for the construction of 26 barges totaling $10.3 million 2007 - The Navy overlooked $16 million in environmental cleanup costs in its analysis of what it would take to close Brunswick Naval Air Station 2007 - Rear Adm. Richard B. Wren assumed command of the USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group, Task Force 70, Task Force 75 and Carrier Strike Group 5 from Rear Adm. Douglas L. McClain during a ceremony aboard aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk at 1000 2007 - A 98-meter trimaran, dubbed 'prison ship' by its critics, takes to Australian waters for first time in Darwin, ahead of its inaugural border patrol. Triton is the federal government's latest weapon in the fight against illegal fisherman and other unlawful activities within Australian waters, including intercepting illegal immigrants before they get ashore. Capable of detaining 30 people for up to a month and armed with twin machine guns, the Triton is one of the world's largest trimarans. It is being deployed in Australia's northern waters during a 12-month trial costing $17 million. In Darwin for the ship's launch, federal Customs Minister Chris Ellison said it was a significant day for Australia's northern border protection 2007 - Commander, Naval Surface Forces Vice Adm. Terrance T. Etnyre relieved the commanding officer of the destroyer USS Halsey, Cmdr. John Pinckney Jr. Following a preliminary inquiry into incidents onboard the ship and a subsequent administrative proceeding, Vice Adm. Etnyre expressed his loss in confidence in Pinckney's ability to command. The executive officer of Halsey will temporarily serve as the acting commanding officer of the ship. Pinckney has been temporarily reassigned to the Regional Support Organization in San Diego 2007 - Aker Philadelphia Shipyard & Philadelphia Metal Trades Council announce new collective bargaining agreement between the union and the shipyard has been ratified by the Philadelphia Metal Trades membership. The new agreement comes after months of determined negotiations between the yard and union leadership and will be effective through January 31, 2011 2007 - The Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) officially established Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 2 in a ceremony at Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Little Creek 2009 - USCG HU-25C with five people on board made an emergency landing at the Martha's Vineyard Airport at 1515 after reporting electrical problems. The plane landed safely. 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