SeaWaves Today in History April 2, 2009 1513 - Near present-day St. Augustine, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon comes ashore on the Florida coast, and claims the territory for the Spanish crown 1781 - US Frigate Alliance captures 2 British privateers, Mars and Minerva 1801 - The Battle of Copenhagen - The Royal Danish Naval Defense Squadron, commanded by Captain J. Olfert Fischer, fights for more than 4 hours against a superior British naval force, commanded by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson. Lord Nelson ignores the signals from his superior officer, Admiral Parker, to cease fighting; instead he forced a ceasefire with the Danes, thus making an end to this battle 1827 - First Naval Hospital construction begun at Portsmouth, VA 1872 - Samuel FB Morse, developer of the electric telegraph, died in New York 1898 - Adoption of US Naval Academy coat of arms 1912 - RMS Titanic departed builder's yard (Harland and Wolff) for Southampton to enter service 1917 - President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy" 1917 - Cruiser HMS Effingham laid down 1919 - Destroyer USS Reuben James laid down 1919 - Destroyer USS Kennison commissioned 1921 - Soviet submarine A-2 launched 1925 - Submarine FS Dauphin launched 1928 - Submarine USS Argonaut commissioned 1933 - Soviet submarine SC-120 laid down 1940 - U-502 laid down 1940 - Canadian Government purchased the coastal passenger liner Prince Robert from the Canadian National Steamship Lines for conversion to an armed merchant cruiser. Her other two sisters, Prince David and Prince Henry, were purchased on 19 Dec 39 and 11 Mar 40, respectively. Cammell Laird & Co. at Birkenhead, U.K, built Prince Robert. She was launched in 1930 and commissioned into the RCN on 31 Jul 40. Her pendant number was F56. In mid-Sep 40, during a patrol of the Mexican coast, she intercepted the German freighter Weser. In Nov 41 she escorted a troop convoy to Hong Kong that delivered the Canadian contingent to the Island Brigade, which was captured by the Japanese soon afterward. She spent several months in the South Pacific escorting convoys and patrolling during early 1942 before returning to Canada for conversion to an auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser. Prince Robert was recommissioned on 07 Jun 42 and assigned to the Gibraltar Command of the Mediterranean Fleet. There she escorted convoys to Sierra Leone and into the Mediterranean. In late 1944 she returned to Esquimalt and was refitted for service in the Pacific. Prince Robert left Canada on 04 Jul 45 and arrived at Sydney on 10 Aug, where she joined the British Pacific Fleet. 0n 31 Aug 45 she entered Hong Kong & represented Canada at the surrender ceremonies, which took place on 16 Sep. On 20 Oct she returned to Esquimalt carrying Canadian POWs. Prince Robert was paid off and laid up on 10 Dec 45 and sold in 1948. She served for a number of years, first as the Charlton Sovereign and later as the Italian Lucania. The Princes proved to be indifferent auxiliary cruisers. They were prone to heavy rolling in moderate seas and were difficult to handle, which would have made them poor gun platforms. Their armament was old WWI-vintage weaponry with local control. Although frequently referred to as the most powerful ships in the RCN until the arrival of the cruisers, this was purely wartime propaganda. Of auxiliary cruisers in the First World War Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond wrote - [I]t is certain that not one of the armed liners, fitted out with 6-inch and 4.7-inch guns in this country, could have fought the smallest of the German cruisers with any prospect whatever of victory. … The technical error lies in the belief that a merchant vessel is a match for, or a threat to, a Man of War smaller than 10,000 tons. No such idea ever entered the heads of any sea officers at that time when the “cruiser” - the vessel to whom the duty falls for direct control of shipping on the seas - was a vessel of 5,000 tons and even smaller [Richmond cited seven examples of cruisers ranging in size from the British Medea-class of 2,800 tons up to the American Baltimore-class of 4,413 tons]. … It was never imagined that the British cruisers of about 5,000 tons were not able to give the law to any merchant vessel. (Sea Power In The Modern World, 1934, 48.) The RCN spent approximately $800,000 each for the three Princes and another $750,00 to convert them to merchant cruisers. The cost for one liner was equivalent to a British Grimsby-class sloop and approximately half the cost of one of the new J to L classes of fleet destroyers. Each of the Princes went through another expensive refit when two were converted to troop transports and Prince Robert to an auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser. The expenditure of these large amounts on auxiliary vessels is another example of the amateur status of Admiral Nelles and the naval staff and as planners. At a time when the Chief of the General Staff was complaining bitterly about the lack of sealift, the RCN was depriving the country of a strategic resource to satisfy a very questionable tactical requirement at great cost. Sloops were deleted from the 1939 Fleet Expansion Plan on the grounds of cost and complexity but auxiliary merchant cruisers and destroyers were retained. The inconsistency of logic is glaring and was contrary to Admiralty advice on Canadian naval requirements 1940 - Submarine USS Grenadier laid down 1940 - US Fleet departs the West Coast for maneuvers in Hawaiian waters. Fleet Problem XXI is the last of the large prewar fleet exercises that mark the culmination of the training year. Conducted in two phases, Parts II and VI of the annual fleet exercises, it takes place in the waters of the Pacific in the vicinity of Hawaii to the westward. Part II exercises two fleets (the augmented Battle Force vs. the augmented Scouting Force) of approximately equal strength, one side concentrated and the other widely dispersed, in scouting, screening, and conducting major fleet engagements. Part VI exercises two fleets of approximately equal strength (the same opponents as in Part II), each dispersed, in scouting, screening, protecting convoys, seizing and defending advanced bases, and conducting major fleet engagements. The worsening world situation will prompt the cancellation of Fleet Problem XXII 1940 - SS Signe sunk by U-38 1940 - Swedish government receives vague reports of troops and ships being concentrated in north German ports 1940 - Luftwaffe aircraft attack the British naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. On the return flight, the planes attack Duncansby Head and Stroma lighthouses with machine-gun bullets 1941 - HMS Tigris torpedoes and sinks the German tanker Thorn about 25 nautical miles west of the Loire estuary 1941 - At 0100, the unescorted Beaverdale was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-48 SE of Cape Farewell. At 0125, the U-boat began shelling the ship, which exploded after 35 minutes, heeled over to port side and sank. 20 crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The master and survivors in the first lifeboat landed at Ondverdarnes, Iceland. The survivors in the second boat were picked up by the Icelandic trawler Gulltoppur and landed at Reykjavik. They were later transferred to the British merchants Royal Scot and Royal Ulsterman and landed at Greenock on 17 April. U-48 was badly damaged by an explosion on the sinking Beaverdale and was forced to return to base 1941 - At 2329, U-46 attacked Convoy SC-26 SW of Iceland for the first time and reported a hit on the British Reliance and on a steamer of 5000 tons, but was not able to observe the ships sink. In fact, only the British Reliance was hit & foundered later in 58°25N/28°21W. The master, 47 crewmembers and two passengers were picked up by the British SS Tennessee & landed at Reykjavik. The British SS Royal Ulsterman later brought them to Gourock 1941 - U-302 laid down 1941 - HMS Ark Royal brings Hurricanes to Malta 1941 - Submarine HMS Uproar commissioned 1941 - With the British advance on the seaport of Massawa, Eritrea, five Italian destroyers in port set sail for Port Sudan, Sudan. RAF reconnaissance aircraft spot the ships and they are attacked by torpedo carrying aircraft, which sink four of them. The fifth is scuttled by her crew 1941 - U-boats attack convoy SC26 from North America, sinking ten ships 1941 - Rumors are afoot in Shanghai, China that one of Germany's 26,000 ton battleships, either the Scharnhorst or the Gneisenau, is now in the Pacific. In the same dispatch it is announced that the 8,000-ton German merchantman Ramses, anchored in Shanghai since the start of the war has left and all US naval units in the Pacific have been instructed to watch this vessel closely 1942 - Corvette HMCS Trail returned to Halifax 1942 - At 0718, the unescorted and unarmed Liebre was missed by a torpedo from U-123, while steaming a zigzagging course at 10.5 knots about 17 miles east of Cape Lookout Outer buoy. The U-boat surfaced and began shelling the tanker for about 40 minutes. The first hit was scored on the starboard side well forward; thus the master changed the course to put the stern toward the U-boat. Another shell hit the after end of the flying bridge carrying away all controls. At least ten shells hit the midships house and crew quarters. Three shells penetrated the hull and one of these hit the generator, plunging the ship into darkness. The ship was stopped, a radio message was sent and the crew of eight officers and 26 crewmen began to abandon ship after 15 minutes in two lifeboats. One officer and eight men died, seven drowned when they jumped overboard and two died of shrapnel injuries. The British motor torpedo boat HM MTB-332 appeared, forcing the U-boat to cease the attack and leave the area. The lifeboats were towed back to the tanker by a USCG boat and the master and nine crewmembers reboarded her eight hours after the attack, while one lifeboat with 15 men was towed to Morehead City, North Carolina by the USCG boat. The tug Resolute & armed trawler HMS St Zeno towed the Liebre into Morehead City, arriving there on 4 April. After temporary repairs were made, she was towed to Baltimore for reconstruction and returned to service on 19 July. On 16 Feb 1945, the Liebre was taken over by the USN at Pearl Harbor & commissioned as USS Meredosia (IX 193). The ship was sold for scrap on 8 Feb 1947 1942 - Destroyer USS Farenholt commissioned 1942 - U-435 encountered a Soviet submarine in the Arctic Sea, but neither boat attacked 1942 - U-877, U-878, U-879, U-880, U-881, U-883, U-889, U-929, U-930, U-1107, U-1108, U-1109, U-1110, U-1167, U-1168, U-1169, U-1170, U-1205, U-1206, U-1207, U-1208, U-1209, U-1210, U-1301, U-1302, U-1303, U-1304 ordered 1942 - U-264 launched 1942 - U-119, U-463, U-616 commissioned 1942 - Submarine HMS United commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Albacore launched 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Filla launched 1942 - Destroyers HMS Haydon & Orwell launched 1942 - Submarine USS Barb launched 1942 - Destroyers USS Kendrick & Endicott launched 1942 - Patrol vessel (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Early Field commissioned 1942 - Destroyer USS Boyd laid down 1942 - Destroyer HMS Hurley commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Caraquet commissioned 1942 - Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring's Luftflotte 2 commences massive bombing of Malta, to neutralize the British island. The heavy bombing depletes Malta-based bombers and submarines, enabling more supply convoys to reach Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps 1942 - The USN's Task Force Thirty Nine (TF 39) comprised of the battleship USS Washington, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp, heavy cruisers USS Tuscaloosa & Wichita and eight destroyers, arrives at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands 1942 - The aircraft carrier USS Hornet and escorting vessels, sail from San Francisco, California, with 16 USAAF B-25 Mitchells of the Doolittle attack group on her deck; Hornet's aircraft are in the hanger deck. That afternoon, Captain Marc Mitscher informs his men of their mission - a bombing raid on Japan 1942 - Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, Commander of the British Eastern Fleet, changes course for Addu Atoll with the main part of his fleet. Two heavy cruisers are detached, (1) HMS Dorsetshire is sent to Colombo, Ceylon, to resume an interrupted refit and (2) HMS Cornwall is sent to escort convoy SU-4 bound for Aden. The aircraft carrier HMS Hermes with Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire is detached to return to Trincomalee 1942 - Two unarmed US merchant ships are shelled by German submarines off the US East Coast - (1) U-123 attacks a tanker about 55 miles SE of Morehead City, North Carolina; a motor torpedo (PT) boat arrives forcing the sub to leave the area and the ship is towed to Morehead City; (2) U-552 shells a freighter about 30 miles off the coast of Virginia and 60 miles NE of Virginia Beach, Virginia; only three of the 25 crew aboard the freighter survive 1942 - In the Andaman Islands off the south coast of Burma, the 10th Air Force flies its first combat mission; the mission is lead by Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General 10th Air Force. Two B-17 Flying Fortresses and an LB-30 Liberator attack shipping during the night of 2/3 April and claim hits on a cruiser and a transport; 2 B-17's are damaged by AA and fighters, but all return to base 1943 - At 1855, U-124 attacked Convoy OS-45 about 320 miles west of Oporto and sank the Katha and Gogra. The master, 75 crewmembers and six gunners from the Gogra were lost. Five crewmembers and three gunners were picked up by the British SS Danby, transferred to the Canadian SS New Northland and landed at Freetown. One crewmember and five gunners from the Katha (Master Samuel Thomson) were lost. The master, 53 crewmembers and four gunners were picked up by Danby and corvette HMS La Malouine, transferred to New Northland and landed at Freetown. U-124 is attacked by sloop HMS Black Swan & corvette HMS Stonecrop of the 37th EG & sunk in turn 1943 - At 0823, the unescorted Melbourne Star was torpedoed by U-129 about 500 miles ESE of Bermuda and blew up 90 seconds after being torpedoed. The master, 82 crewmembers, eleven gunners and 31 passengers were lost. Four crewmembers drifted in a lifeboat for 39 days until they were rescued by a USN Catalina & landed at Bermuda. The four survivors were later each awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for their courage and fortitude 1943 - At 0441, the unescorted Lysefjord was torpedoed and sunk by U-155. Four crewmembers were lost. 11 survivors in a boat landed near Gobernadora Light on Cuba after having rowed for 14 hours, while the remaining survivors, who had been on a raft had found an overturned lifeboat and righted it. They were picked up the same day by an American ship and taken to Tampa 1943 - At 2200, the City of Baroda in Convoy NC-9 was torpedoed by U-509 NW of Capetown. The heavy damaged vessel was towed to Lüderitz Bay, South West Africa and was beached in 27°20S/15°06E. Later she broke in two and was declared a total loss. One crewmember and seven passengers were lost. The master, 124 crewmembers, four gunners and 196 passengers were picked up by armed trawler HMS Cape Warwick & landed in Capetown 1943 - SS Simon Duhamel II sunk by U-755 at 36.01N, 02.29W 1943 - Gate vessels HMC GV 18 & GV 19 ordered 1943 - U-1016 laid down 1943 - U-455 laid 6 mines off Casablanca. Three weeks later one ship was lost due to these mines 1943 - In stormy weather, the LI of U-666 went overboard, but the crew was able to rescue him within a few minutes 1943 - Destroyer HMS Tumult commissioned 1943 - U-124 is sunk with all hands west of Oporto, Portugal, by the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the sloop HMS Black Swan 1943 - In the Caroline Islands, a USN submarine sinks a Japanese transport 1943 - In the Solomons, Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and P-40s attack and set fire to a small cargo vessel in Kokolope Bay 1944 - U-360 sunk in the Norwegian Sea SW of Bear Island, in position 72.28N, 13.04E, by destroyer HMS Keppel. 51 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Fieberling, Formoe & Grady launched 1944 - Minesweeper USS Peril commissioned 1944 - 2 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s on a sea sweep from Hong Kong to Formosa bomb a 215-foot ship (reported sunk) and damage a large motor launch 1944 - The USN's Task Unit 57.10.9, composed of destroyer escort USS Sanders, tank landing ship USS LST-127 and infantry landing craft LCI-346 and LCI-449 occupies Mejit Island. The small Japanese force that opposes the occupation is wiped out by gunfire support provided by the LCIs 1945 - The US 163rd Regiment lands at Tawitawi in the Philippine Islands in the Sulu Archipelago. Filipino guerrillas had cleared the island in March so the 163d did not encounter any opposition. Three USN destroyers supported the landing 1945 - Destroyer USS Joseph P Kennedy JR laid down 1945 - Aircraft carrier HMS Glory commissioned 1945 - Minesweeper HMS Marvel commissioned 1945 - High-speed transport USS Dickerson was irreparably damaged by Japanese Kamikaze Attack off Okinawa. Decommissioned & scuttled off Kerama Retto 4 April 1945 1945 - U-1109 had to return to base due to some technical problems 1945 - U-321 sunk SW of Ireland, in position 50.00N, 12.57W, by depth charges from a Polish 304 Sqn Wellington. 41 dead (all hands lost) 1945 - Steel fire tugs HMC FT 1-6 ordered 1945 - Off Okinawa, 4 US transports are damaged by Kamikaze forces. The four ships were the attack transports USS Henrico & Goodhue, and the attack cargo ships USS Achernar & Tyrrell. Two other ships damaged by kamikazes are the high-speed transport USS Dickerson and infantry landing craft (gunboat) USS LCI (G)-568. The attack transport USS Chilton is damaged by a near miss of a kamikaze and attack cargo ship USS Lacerta is damaged by friendly fire. Other ships damaged off Okinawa today include destroyer USS Franks, which collides with the battleship USS New Jersey. Destroyer USS Borie which collides with aircraft carrier USS Essex. The destroyer escort USS Foreman which is struck by a bomb 1945 - Off Okinawa, aircraft of Task Group 58.4 carriers sink three Japanese ships near Amami-Oshima 1945 - In Borneo, Far East Air Force B-24s hit the Sandakan shipyards 1945 - 4 B-24s bomb the Kowloon Docks in Hong Kong and hit shipping at Bakli and Samah Bays on Hainan Island 1945 - USS Hardhead lays mines off Cape Camau 1945 - In the Pacific, RN and USN submarines sink four Japanese ships 1945 - HMS Stygian sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire in the Java Sea south of Kangean Island 1945 - HMS Thorough sinks a small Japanese gunboat with gunfire off the Nicobar Islands 1945 - HMS Rorqual sinks two Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire west of Sumatra 1946 - Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed outside Manila 1946 - Aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea launched 1947 - UN places former Japanese mandated islands under US trusteeship President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries 1951 - First Navy use of jet aircraft as a bomber, launched from a carrier, USS Princeton 1951 - Destroyer HMCS Crusader recommissioned for Korean War 1954 - Minesweeper HMCS Comox commissioned 1955 - Opening of Angus L. Macdonald Bridge linking Halifax and Dartmouth 1956 - Airliner crash into Puget Sound kills 5 1957 - Recently commissioned (17 January), HMCS Bonaventure steamed into the English Channel to begin flying trials. Despite mist patches giving visibility of less than 1.5 miles and a light wind of 6 to 10 mph, the carrier found sufficient open spaces between shipping to receive two Hawker Sea Hawk fighters, two Fairey Gannets, two Grumman Avengers (all RN) and two RCN DHC Trackers of VX 10 for flying trials 1958 - Destroyers HMCS Margaree & Skeena returned to Esquimalt from Far East 1960 - USS Glacier begins 12 days of relief operations, providing helicopter and boat transportation and emergency supplies to residents of Paramaribo, Brazil after floods 1966 - USS Ticonderoga port call Subic Bay 1968 - North Vietnam agreed to meet with US representatives to set up preliminary peace talks 1970 - USS Bon Homme Richard commenced Vietnam deployment 1973 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay 1982 - Argentine forces invade and occupy the British Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic 1984 - US and Canada sign the Skagit River Treaty 1991 - Naval forces continue counter air-defensive, combat air patrols, minesweeping and maritime interception operations. To-date, 8,598 merchantmen have been challenged, 1,110 boarded and 58 diverted. Navy has conducted 581 boardings. There are 44 Navy ships in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Northern Arabian Sea. There are 13 Navy ships in the Red Sea. There are 25 Navy ships in the Mediterranean 1991 - USS Chicago arrives at San Diego CA homeport. During a six-month deployment, the attack submarine worked with US and coalition forces deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations. A total of 13 Navy submarines conducted surveillance and reconnaissance operations in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Two, USS Louisville and Pittsburgh, conducted submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missile attacks against Iraq 1994 - Frigate HMCS Halifax departed Halifax for blockade duties off Yugoslavia 2002 - Frigate HMCS Ottawa became flagship of multinational Task Force 151 in Arabian Sea 2004 - Princess Cruises' newest ship, the 113,000-ton Caribbean Princess, the company's first ship to be dedicated year-round to Caribbean cruising christened at Fort Lauderdale. To celebrate the debut of the company's newest Love Boat, Jill Whelan, who spent nearly a decade growing up before viewers as Captain Stubing's TV daughter, will christen the 3,100- passenger Caribbean Princess on April 2. And, in a unique twist, in addition to becoming "godmother," Jill will also be the first christener to become a bride when she marries fiancé Michael Chaykowsky onboard the new ship the same evening 2004 - Ferry service resumes between St Petersburg, Helsinki & Tallinn. Operated by AS Tallink Group 2005 - A Taiwanese vessel was sighted at 0430 catching squid by the Argentine corvette Drummond during a routine fisheries protection patrolling mission east of Viedma, Chubut province, apparently seven miles inside Argentina’s EEZ. On being sighted Win Lien Sheng III, rapidly steamed towards international waters taking advantage of fog banks in the area. However after four hours persecution the Taiwanese jigger was still closely followed by Drummond which continually, and in different languages, radioed stop engines message. Mid morning air surveillance began and after consulting the Argentine Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the corvette fires several warning shots over the bow of the jigger. Apparently an only shot against the vessel damaged the rudder system. But unexpectedly the vessel was set on fire, and probably scuttled, by the crew which then jumped overboard and was rescued by other jiggers legally operating in the area and Drummond. By 1020 the jigger had sunk and the Argentine corvette headed for Mar del Plata where the rescued crewmembers were turned over to a Federal court. In spite of the surprise reaction of the jigger’s crew, Argentine naval sources said that Taiwanese vessels normal procedure when unable to escape, is sinking the vessel so avoid having to pay fines or being endlessly docked while the litigation process continues. This squid season Argentine naval units have arrested several vessels from Korea, Spain, China and now the sinking of the Taiwanese jigger 2005 - As many as nine Australian Defense Force (ADF) personnel are reported to have been killed in a helicopter crash on the Indonesian island of Nias. The Royal Australian Navy Sea King helicopter, part of a fleet that arrived earlier in the day aboard the HMAS Kanimbla supply ship, came down on land. An ADF spokesman says the Kanimbla is heading towards the area of the downed aircraft. Kanimbla, equipped with Sea King helicopters and medical personnel, arrived off Nias on Saturday to help deliver aid and medical care to survivors of a massive earthquake. On Monday a magnitude 8.7 earthquake hit the area, killing hundreds 2005 - At just before 1930 Portland Coastguard were alerted by a mobile phone call to a small 14-foot Fletcher Arrowflight speed boat which was taking water just over half a mile out to sea at Lyme Regis and 600 yards outside of the harbor. The vessel was reported to be sinking and that there were four people on board; two adult males, an adult female - all in their mid 30s and a boy of about 11 on board - all wearing lifejackets. The caller said they had no idea how the water was getting in but they needed rapid assistance. As the Coastguard operator was getting further details the caller then reported that they were going under and the call was aborted. The occupants were then thrown into the water. The Lyme Regis RNLI inshore lifeboat was immediately requested to launch and the Coastguard helicopter `Whiskey Bravo' was also scrambled. The lifeboat crew managed to get all four out of the water and into the lifeboat where they were taken back to the shoreline. As it was clear they were each suffering from various stages of hypothermia the helicopter landed on the beach and took them on board before flying them on to Dorchester hospital. The vessel which was spotted three quarters submerged was then towed back into the harbor. There was no sign of pollution 2005 - The newest Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC Mackinaw, a Great Lakes Ice Breaker (GLIB), launched at Manitowoc WI. More than 60 years ago the first Mackinaw was launched on the Great Lakes and was tasked with many missions, one of the most important being ice breaking and keeping commerce moving on the lakes during the frozen winter months. This new cutter Mackinaw is a state of the art 240-foot ice breaker/buoy tender and will carry on the traditions of the old Mackinaw. The new Mackinaw is scheduled to join in the Coast Guard fleet in late 2005 2006 - Washington State Ferries will be returning to Sidney, British Columbia after a 12-week winter hiatus. To celebrate the reopening of the route, the ferry system and the City of Anacortes Chamber of Commerce are hosting a special event on Sunday featuring the sister cities of Anacortes and Sidney as well as unveiling the ferry system's 2006 commemorative poster 2007 - Royal Caribbean Cruises exercised option to build second ship in its “Genesis Project” 2007 - INS Rana provided 10 tons of fuel to MV Maharashtra in a daring alongside maneuver 270 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City 2007 - More than 6,000 Sailors and Marines attached to the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group deployed from their homeport of San Diego 2007 - Hong Kong-based Seaspan Corp. has signed contracts for two 2500 TEU vessels from Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. at an expected delivered cost of $46.4 million each 2007 - Coast Guard Sector Seattle received a call at approximately 1641 that the passenger ferry Carlisle II, grounded 50-feet from the Kitsap Passenger Ferry Terminal in Port Orchard 2007 - Ambassadors International completed acquisition of Windstar Cruises from Holland America Line 2008 - CNO Adm. Gary Roughead guest speaker at Treasure Coast Council of the Navy League 2008 - The Philippine Navy said it would "fight to the last sailor and Marine" to defend the country's claim to the disputed Spratly Islands, rejecting allegations it would give up the reportedly oil-rich islands without a fight 2008 - HNLMS Evertsen temporarily relieved HDMS Thetis in Somalia piracy patrol duties until arrival of HDMS Peter Tordenskiold 2008 - Minehunter FS Andromeda assisted three fishing vessels that collided off Cape Finistere 2008 - USS Nashville change of command ceremony while underway. Capt. Tushar R. Tembe relieved Capt. Dewolfe H. Miller Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. 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