SeaWaves Today in History April 20, 2009

 

1534 - Jacques Cartier 1491-1557 sets sail on first voyage with two ships; commissioned by François I to find passage to Asia and 'lands where there is a great quantity of gold'; makes crossing to Newfoundland in just 20 days; explores Strait of Belle Isle, which he hoped was the beginning of a river leading to China; says of the coast, 'I believe that this was the land God gave to Cain'; returns Sept. 5
1770 - Captain James Cook discovered New South Wales, Australia
France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars
1796 - Congress authorizes completion of 3 frigates
1836 - Incorporation of company to build a Niagara River suspension bridge
1861 - Norfolk Navy Yard abandoned and burned by Union forces
1884 - Northern Pacific completes a railroad bridge across the mouth of the Snake River at Ainsworth
Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator of Germany who led his country into World War II and was responsible for persecuting millions of Jews, was born
1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium
1909 - Battleship FS Condorcet launched
1910 - The Canadian Government adapts the Naval Service Act: the first legislative step towards the creation of a Royal Canadian Navy
1913 - Battleship FS Provence launched
1914 - In first call to action of naval aviators, detachment on USS Birmingham sailed to Tampico, Mexico.
1915 - First Navy contract for lighter-than-air craft awarded
1916 - Battlecruiser HMS Glorious launched
1917 - Submarine HMS H-32 laid down
1918 - Destroyers USS Edwards, McLanahan & Laub laid down
1920 - Destroyer USS Sicard launched
1928 - Heavy cruiser FS Colbert launched
1931 - Destroyer HMS Dainty laid down
1931 - Opening of new Welland Canal, linking Lakes Erie and Ontario; wide enough to carry big lakers
1934 - Destroyer FS Milan commissioned
1935 - Soviet submarine SC-126 launched
1937 - Non-Intervention Committee's patrol of Spanish land and sea frontiers to prevent entrance of volunteers and munitions went into operation 
1939 - Submarine HNLMS O-26 laid down
1940 - ASW trawler HMS Rutlandshire sunk by German aircraft off Namsos, Norway
1940 - Corvette HMCS Kenogami laid down Port Arthur ON
1940 - Corvettes HMS Hyacinth & Gentian laid down
1940 - Corvette USS Courage (ex-HMS Heartsease) launched
1940 - Submarine HMS Utmost launched
1940 - At RNAS Hatston, Acting Captain C. L. Howe, RN, again decided to attack shipping in the vicinity of Bergen. An unspecified number of Skuas from both 800 and 801 Squadrons were dispatched. 800 Squadron, FAA dispatched a single Skua on an armed reconnaissance mission to Larvik. Capt. Partridge, RM and his Observer, Lt. Bostock, RN made the crossing at 12,000 feet. Opting to fly a detour around the known Luftwaffe fighter base at Stavanger, and reached Larvik safely, where nothing of importance was sighted. En-route home, they spotted a lone MTB, schnellboote S-22, at speed. Electing to attack her, he releases his single 500 pound SAP bomb but missed by some 50 yards. Shortly thereafter, the pair spotted a U-Boat on the surface. Having no remaining bombs, they had to settle for a strafing run. While approaching the Orkney's on the return flight, Skua L2999 of 800 Squadron disappears, Midshipman (A) John Richard Crossley, RN (P) and Petty Officer Airman Maurice Hall, DSM, twice Mentioned in Dispatches, RN being missing and presumed killed. This was to be the last Skua operation from RNAS Hatston for some time
1940 - HMS Ark Royal, having parted company with destroyers HMS Westcott & Bulldog off Plymouth, is joined by the destroyers HMS Saladin, Juno & Hasty, all arriving in the Clyde at 0145. She then docks at Greenock. HMS Glorious remains in Greenock loading stores and equipment
1940 - U-68 laid down
1940 - U-121 launched
1940 - U-120 commissioned
1941 - ASW trawler HMS Topaze sunk after a collision with battleship HMS Rodney off the Clyde
1941 - President Roosevelt announced an exchange of defense articles with Canada 
1941 - USS Yorktown and four destroyers are transferred from Pacific to Atlantic Fleets. (By the summer, three battleships, one aircraft carrier, four light cruisers, seventeen destroyers and 16 auxiliaries had been transferred
1941 - At 0332, the unescorted Empire Endurance was torpedoed & sunk by U-73 SW of Rockall. The motor launches HMS ML-1003 & ML-1037 were lost with the ship. The master, 63 crewmembers and one passenger were lost. Five crewmembers were picked up after 20 days by the British merchantman Highland Brigade & landed at Liverpool. 20 crewmembers and four passengers were picked up on 21 April in position 52°50N/22°50W by HMCS Trillium & landed at Greenock on 25 May
1942 - At 0524, the unescorted Harpagon was torpedoed & sunk by U-109 about 150 miles NNW of Bermuda. The master, 34 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Eight crewmembers were picked up by the Argentinean merchantman Rio Diamante and landed at Buenos Aires
1942 - At 0306, the unescorted Empire Dryden was torpedoed & sunk by U-572 east of Cape Hatteras. The master, 22 crewmembers and three gunners were lost. 22 crewmembers and three gunners were picked up by the passenger ship Monarch of Bermuda and landed at Bermuda
1942 - MS Agra sunk by U-654 at 34.40N, 69.35W 
1942 - SS Steelmaker sunk by U-654 at 33.48N, 70.36W 
1942 - Submarine USS S-1 of Bethlehem Steel products built by Ford River, Quincy and Union Iron Works loaned to RN & renamed HMS P-552 and nicknamed "Intelligent Whale"
1942 - Operation Calendar. Aircraft carrier USS Wasp escorted by the battle cruiser HMS Renown along with 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers ferry 47 Spitfires to Malta. USS Wasp flies off a CAP of Wildcats then launches her first delivery of Spitfires to Malta. They deliver 46 to the island; however, their arrival is also watched on radar screens in Sicily, and Stukas attack; 30 are immediately destroyed and within four days all but six are destroyed
1942 - SS Vineland (5,587 GRT) a Canadian freighter was sunk in the Caribbean Sea in position 23.05N, 072.20W, by torpedoes & gunfire from U-154, KKpt. Walther Kölle, CO. One member of Vineland's crew of 37 was lost in this incident. Vineland was proceeding alone, in ballast, southbound through the North Windward Passage for St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. She was to load bauxite & return to Portland, Maine. After the ship sank, KKpt. Kölle brought the U-boat alongside the Vineland's lifeboat & inquired about the welfare of the survivors & then gave them a bearing for the nearest land, then ninety miles to the westward. The survivors were picked up 4 days later by fishermen from the Turks and Cacaos Islands & were eventually repatriated back to Halifax. U-154 was a long-range Type IXC U-boat, built by AG Weser, at Bremen. She was commissioned on 02 Aug 41. U-154 conducted 8 patrols & compiled a record of 9 ships sunk for a total of 46,716 tons & 3 ship damaged for a further 23,937 tons. U-154, OLtzS Gerth Gemeiner, CO, was sunk on 03 Jul 44 west of Madeira, Portugal, in position 34.00N, 019.30W, by depth charges from USS Inch & Frost, destroyer escorts of TG 22.5 based on the escort carrier USS Croatan. The group was vectored onto U-154 when her radio signals were intercepted & a direction bearing was obtained. All 57 of her crewmembers were lost. OLtzS Oskar Kusch, the 3rd commander of U-154, was executed on 12 May 44, after being denounced by his senior Watch Officer, OLtzS Ulrich Abel, for defeatism. The real reason was that Kusch removed the mandatory picture of Hitler from the U-boat's officer's mess. He was one of only two U-boat commanders to suffer such a fate, the other being Heinz Hirsacker of U-572, who was executed in 1943 for cowardice. OLtzS Ulrich Abel died in action as the commander of U-193, when his boat was sunk on 24 Apr 44. Walther Kölle was born in 1907, at Ulm. He joined the navy in 1926 & his first wartime service was in the armored ship Admiral Graf Spee until Sep 39. He was assigned as the Commanding Officer of the Naval College at Mürwick in Sep 39, in Sep 40 was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the naval base at Flushing. Kölle was an 'old hand' when he transferred to the U-boat force in Oct 40, after normal conversion training, was immediately selected for command because of his seniority & experience. He commanded U-154 from Feb 41 to Sep 42 & proved to be a competent submariner. In Oct 42 he was assigned again to the Naval College at Mürwick where he stayed until Sep 43, when he participated in a special commando mission to occupy Genoa. In Dec 43 he was assigned to the Naval College in Schleswig & in Jan 44 was designated as the First Officer for the merchant raider Hansa. In Oct 44 Kölle was assigned to the Staff of OKW for Command and Organization, where he remained until the capitulation. He was promoted to FKpt on 01 Mar 45. Walther Kölle was detained briefly as a POW & was freed on 14 Jun 45. His diverse experience in operations, command, training & education was quite exceptional
1942 - Unarmed US freighter SS West Imboden, her presence advertised by an accidental fire in her stack, is torpedoed by German submarine U-752 about 200 miles off Nantucket lightship and abandoned as she is being shelled by the U-boat. U-752 nears one of the lifeboats and asks about casualties. "That's good," one German officer responds when told that the American merchant sailors have come through unharmed
1942 - U-338 launched
1942 - U-963, U-964 laid down
1942 - Canadians are part of an abortive commando raid assigned to land at Hardelot, just south of Boulogne. As their landing craft wait in the Channel for the signal to advance, a "recall" rocket is seen and all begin the return run for Dover
1942 - Submarine HMS Unbroken Lands two secret agents near Antibes (France) 
1943 - USS Runner mines the waters near Hong Kong while submarine USS Scorpion sinks a Japanese gunboat off the east central coast of Honshu, Japan
1943 - Minesweeper HMS Fantome is mined during clearance operations off Cape Bon and has her stern blown off. She is towed back to Bizerta, but found to be beyond repair and paid off as a constructive loss. There is one casualty but 36 survive
1943 - Due to incorrect operation of her Otway log (speed measuring device) submarine HMS Untamed begins to flood and settles in 160 feet of water off Sanda Island on the West Coast of Scotland. Due to delays in escape attempts, and incorrect flood valve assembly, none are able to escape and the entire 36-man crew is poisoned by CO2. Untamed was eventually raised and recommissioned as HMS Vitality, finally being broken up in March 1946
1943 - Corvette HMS Flint Castle laid down
1943 - Minesweepers HMS Plucky, Recruit & Rifleman laid down
1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Grassholm launched
1943 - Minesweeper HMS Spanker launched
1943 - Heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire commissioned
1943 - Minesweeper USS Admirable commissioned
1943 - Destroyer USS Murray commissioned
1943 - At 0752, U-565 fired torpedoes at Convoy UGS-7 about 60 miles west of Oran and sunk the Sidi-Bel-Abbès in station #82 and Michigan in station #81. The Michigan was hit by one torpedo between the #1 and #2 holds with a muffled explosion. The blast caused extensive damage to the hull and minor to the deck and superstructure and threw water to the height of the bridge. The ship began to settle rapidly by the bow and lost way immediately. The engines were secured and all eight officers, 29 crewmen, 23 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and six 20mm guns) and one passenger abandoned ship in two lifeboats and three rafts within ten minutes. The ship stayed afloat for about one hour before sinking bow first. The survivors were picked up after two hours by the armed trawlers HMS Stella Carina & Foxtrot & later transferred to HMS Felixstowe & landed in Oran. Some of the crew remained in their lifeboats to assist in the rescue of survivors from the other torpedoed ship, which carried Senegalese troops. The crew was later repatriated to New York on the American steam merchant Delnorte. The Sidi-Bel-Abbès carried Senegalese soldiers and sank with heavy loss of life. The survivors were picked up British escort vessels, assisted by lifeboats of the other torpedoed ship
1943 - U-930 laid down
1944 - During Operation Cockpit, an Allied task force consisting of ships of the British Eastern Fleet, including the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, and the US aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three US destroyers, attacks Japanese ships and positions at Sabang, Netherlands East Indies. This is the first joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean
1944 - USS Seahorse sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS RO-45 off the Marianas
1944 - Mediterranean - German torpedo planes and submarine U-969 attack the 87-ship convoy UGS-38 in the Mediterranean off the coast of Algeria. The destroyer USS Lansdale is sunk by aerial torpedo; the survivors are rescued by two destroyer escorts. 47 of her crew were lost.  The US freighter SS Paul Hamilton is struck by an aerial torpedo and disintegrates; the 47-man merchant crew, the 29-man Armed Guard and 504 troops aboard are all killed
1944 - Soviet planes, destroyers, submarines and torpedo boats attack German and Romanian ships evacuating the 17th German-Romanian Army from Sebastapol. During the next three weeks, the Soviets will sink 10 Axis ships, but the sealift will rescue more than 42,000 troops
1944 - Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll search the area near Wake Island for shipping; finding none, the bombers hit Wake and Peale Islands
1944 - Tug HMCS Glendevon launched Vancouver BC
1944 - Minesweeper HMS Squirrel launched
1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Charles J Kimmel & Pa Prade commissioned
1944 - U-1172 commissioned
1944 - U-1057, U-1105 launched
1944 - U-970 was attacked in the North Atlantic and suffered slight damage
1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-366 was built at Sturgeon Bay WI and after being floated down the Mississippi was commissioned at New Orleans. Her first commanding officer was LTJG Howard V. Reckhow, USCGR. Departing New Orleans on 25 May 1944, she reached Long Beach, CA on 23 June 1944, via Guantanamo, Cuba, and the Panama Canal. She sailed for Oro Bay, New Guinea on 13 July 1944, via Hawaii, Ellice Islands, New Hebrides, and Guadalcanal arriving at Milne Bay, New Guinea en route on 21 August 1944. Two months spent traveling up and down the New Guinea coast brought her to such places as Finschhafen, Hollandia, and Biak. At Biak she was under fire from Japanese bombers who attacked a nearby airstrip, but she was not allowed to fire on them. On 7 November 1944 she left Hollandia, in convoy, for San Pedro Bay and Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines, where she arrived under constant day and night air raids. The crew spent half the time at general quarters. On 24 November 1944 a large-scale attack by 80 Japanese planes, 30 of them broke through the combat air patrol to bomb and strafe the airstrips and shipping in the harbor. A 20-mm shell hit her deck spraying shrapnel among her 50-calibre machine gun crews, wounding the gunnery officer and five enlisted men, none seriously. All were awarded the Purple Heart. The gun crews claimed hits, but no definite "kill" could be established because of the numerous other vessels that were firing at the enemy planes during the action. Loaded with steel strips to be used for landing mats on airstrips, the FS-366 left Leyte on 9 January 1945 en route to the Lingayen Gulf beachhead. As the weather cleared en route and detection by the enemy became easier as they approached the Southwest coast of Mindoro, a Kamikaze hurled up against the side of a liberty ship alongside the FS-366. The liberty ship was holed amidships just above the waterline and great clouds of smoke poured forth. She managed to keep going, however, and eventually made port. Constant enemy attacks at irregular intervals followed on the route to Lingayen Gulf, which was finally reached 13 January 1945 (D+4). FS-366 remained anchored in Lingayen Gulf on emergency standby, on guard each night for suicide swimmers with bombs on their backs and Q boats. Proceeding to Nasugbu, south of the entrance to Manila Bay, a beachhead established by the 11th Airborne Division who were pushing inland toward the city of Manila, they returned to Subic Bay for cargo for Batangas in Southern Luzon, where our troops were still fighting. They were with the first cargo ships to dock there and were warmly greeted by the natives. The same was true of Lemery and Taul where they stopped en route. On 31 March 1945, the FS-366 entered Manila Bay where sporadic fighting was still in progress. The city was in sad shape, the Japanese having destroyed the waterfront and docks and downtown section, where its stately modern buildings were almost completely reduced to rubble. Proceeding soon to Cavite, they took a cargo of ammunition to Batangas, returning to Manila on 15 April 1945. Toward the end of April they took another load of ammunition to the town of Legaspi on the eastern coast of Luzon and for the next few months hauled ammunition between Lingayen, Subic Bay, Manila, Batangas and Legaspi. Late in May 1945 the FS-366 entered a floating drydock near Guinan for a long needed overhaul and paint job. In July 1945 she carried a cargo of high-octane gas to Abulug, near Aparri, where our airborne troops had landed. Thence, she proceeded to Damortis in Lingayen Gulf for another load of ammunition for Aparri. After several more runs to Aparri, San Fernando, Subic Bay, Manila, the FS-366 proceeded to Mindanao. On her return to Manila her Coast Guard crew was taken off and she was decommissioned on 22 September 1945. A Philippine crew relieved Coast Guard men.
1945 - USS Guitarro lays mines in Berhala Strait off the NE coast of Sumatra
1945 - Escort carriers USS Bastogne & Eniwetok laid down
1945 - Submarine USS Cochino launched
1945 - At 2109, the Ethel Crawford struck a mine laid on 18 April by U-218 and sank
1947 - CAPT L.O. Fox, USN, supported by 80 Marines, accepted the surrender of LT Yamaguchi and 26 Japanese soldiers and sailors, two and one half years after the occupation of Peleliu and nearly 20 months after the surrender of Japan
1947 - HMS Bambara, RNAS Tricomalee, 733 Sqn, Seafire XV a/c, Lt (A) Frederick Gordon McMonagle RNVR, of Canada, lost flying accident, interred Trincomalee War Cemetery, Sri Lanka
1949 - Sloop HMS Amethyst steamed up the Yangtze River to relieve the guard ship HMS Consort at Nanking, prepared to evacuate British and Commonwealth citizens caught up in the advance of the Chinese Communist Forces. At about 0830 hours, Amethyst came under fire from Communist shore batteries positioned on the north shore of the river opposite Low Island. HMS Amethyst steamed on and was attacked again by batteries around Xou An Reach and Rose Island where she took three direct hits. Amethyst was hit again by two shells that struck the bridge wounding Amethyst's Commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Bernard Skinner. Skinner died from his injuries a day later and he was posthumously mentioned in dispatches. In the confusion that followed, the ship ran aground off Rose Island. The ship managed to send off a signal to all ships in the area, “Under heavy fire, am aground, large number of casualties". Another shell wrecked the power room below decks disabling the gyrocompass, radio, and electrically controlled firing circuits were out of action. Another direct hit killed the gun crew on the forecastle. An attempt was made to evacuate the wounded ashore in a damaged sea boat, but the boat was hit killing two men. The surgeon and his assistant administered to the wounded on the quarterdeck when a shell killed both of them. Amethyst was now a helpless target. Some of the ship's company were ordered to swim ashore to Rose Island. Remaining on board were about 40 unwounded men, 12 wounded, and 15 dead. The shelling had stopped but no one could move without drawing the attention of snipers. HMS Amethyst had received over 50 hits and holes below the waterline were plugged with hammocks and bedding. During this time HMS Consort was sighted, flying 7 White Ensigns and 3 Union Jack flags, steaming down from Nanking at an incredible 29 Knots. Consort came under fire from the shore batteries but her 4.5-inch guns managed to knock out the enemy shore batteries and she attempted to take Amethyst in tow. HMS Consort turned about with all guns blazing at the north bank batteries, destroying an enemy position. As she steamed up river for the second time she was fired on by a concentrated number of 37mm anti-tank guns. The bridge and wheelhouse were hit with both 'A' and 'B' guns being put out of action and she transferred to emergency steering. Consort came about again under heavy fire and steamed away down river. She had taken 56 hits and lost 9 killed and 30 wounded. Of the 60 seamen who made it ashore from Amethyst, 10 later made it back to the ship later, and 50 eventually reached Shanghai. Every effort was made to free Amethyst from the mud but to no avail. On the 26th of April, after being aground for six days and in the dead of night, a second attempt to free the Amethyst from the mud was successful after she had been lightened forward. She then proceeded to move up river and anchored off Fu Te Wei. Later that day a signal was received - "HM ships London and Black Swan are moving up river to escort the Amethyst downstream. Be ready to move." But concentrated fire from batteries near Bate Point hit both ships; HMS London was holed 12 times on the port side and lost 12 killed and 20 wounded. HMS Black Swan had 7 wounded. Reluctantly the order was given for both ships to return down river. During the course of the day an RAF Sunderland Flying boat arrived with medical supplies and an RAF doctor but shortly after landing a salvo of shells hit the water 100 yards from the aircraft and it was forced to take off again after disembarking supplies and the doctor. The worst of Amethyst's wounded were taken off by sampan. The Amethyst anchored 10 miles further upstream and the Sunderland flying boat circled the ship but was unable to land due to heavy fire. At anchor off Tan Cha Ten a boat arrived with the British Naval Attaché Lt. Cdr. J. S. Kerans who took command of the Amethyst and started negotiations with the Communist authorities. Months of fruitless negotiations went by and the Peoples Liberation Army occupied the whole area. Vital supplies were withheld as the Chinese insisted that Lt. Cdr. Kerans sign a statement that the Amethyst had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon them first. Finally Lt. Cdr. Kerans decided to make a break for open waters. On July 31st under cover of darkness, Amethyst slipped her cable and proceeded downstream to begin a 104-mile dash for freedom running the gauntlet of Communist guns on both banks of the river. 0055 hours Amethyst came under heavy fire off Kiang Yin but putting down thick black smoke she confused the Communist gunners on the shore. At 0500 hours she approached the forts at Woosung and Par Shan with their searchlights sweeping the river. The Amethyst, at full speed ahead, broke through the boom at the mouth of the river and made contact with HMS Consort and sent the time-honored signal. "Have rejoined the fleet off Woosung...God save the King" 
1953 - USS New Jersey shells Wonsan, Korea from inside the harbor
1955 - VS 881 Avenger # 69303 (NAVY*334), piloted by Lt (P) Robert "Bob" Murray RCN, suffered engine failure while involved in weapons practice over the Air-to-Ground Range, and force-landed on the mud flats at low tide in Chezzetcook Inlet. Lt Murray emerged from the accident unscathed, but the wheels-up landing precipitated a sequence of events that are noteworthy. Damage to the a/c was minimal and her salvage considered worth looking into. This endeavor would necessitate deployment of a motor boat, one of which was slung underneath a HUP for delivery to the crash site from Shearwater. Once airborne, the boat began to sway dangerously, and to avoid a serious accident the pilot wisely elected to cut the vessel loose over an unoccupied area. It transpired that an unoccupied car was illegally parked down below, and the boat landed directly on top of it. The car's owner reportedly had difficulty coming to terms with his insurance agent. The Shearwater Senior AEO, meanwhile, was airlifted by helicopter to the Avenger crash site to assess the salvage prospects. The helo departed, leaving the AEO to his own devices but with the plan to return and take him back to the station. This did not happen as soon as might have been hoped, and with the tide becoming a factor, the stranded AEO climbed ever higher up the a/c fuselage to escape the rising flood. Fortuitously, a local fisherman not only rescued the officer, but also struck a deal with him to keep an eye of the a/c to ensure there was no pilfering of it. In due course, a recovery crew was dispatched to the scene and hauled the TBM off the flats. By virtue of her being inundated by seawater, she was a write-off. Six months later, the fisherman submitted an invoice of several hundred dollars (including interest for late payment?) to the authorities at CANAS for "protection services rendered" to the downed aircraft. The agreement had not been terminated following retrieval of NAVY*334 and apparently was lost sight of by all except the enterprising fisherman
1964 - USS Henry Clay launches a Polaris A-2 missile from the surface in first demonstration that Polaris submarines could launch missiles from the surface as well as from beneath the ocean. 30 minutes later the submarine launched another Polaris missile while submerged
1968 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada
1977 - Ottawa starts $41 million program to upgrade the East Coast fishery
The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida
2003 - North Korean-owned, Tuvalu-registered Pong Su seized by HMAS Stuart 90 nautical miles off Sydney. Pong Su was carrying 50 kilograms of heroin with a street value of $80 million
2003 - USS Winston S Churchill limped unexpectedly into Gibraltar with propeller damage
2005 - The press service of the Southern regional center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations told Itar-Tass on Wednesday an air search for a boat with three fishermen who went missing in the Sea of Azov had brought no results. At present, all active search has been stopped. All the vessels in the Sea of Azov have been informed about the fishermen in distress, a source at the regional center said
2005 - Sailors from destroyer USS O’Bannon assisted two crewmembers aboard a 45-foot fishing vessel in the Mediterranean April 20 at approximately 1300Z. They commenced rescue operations after receiving a distress signal and sighting an emergency flare from the fishing vessel. The rescue operation occurred in international waters off Corsica. O’Bannon deployed a rigid-hull inflatable boat and rescue personnel to the scene, and transferred the Danish crewmembers from the flooding vessel. Both crewmembers are in good health aboard O’Bannon
2005 - Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd announced that it has taken physical delivery of MV Renuar, a Panamax bulk vessel, at the port of Kobe in Japan. The vessel is a Panamax dry bulk carrier of approximately 70,000 dwt, built in 1993 in China, which the Company agreed to acquire on March 22, 2005
2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today announced the appointments of Mr. David F. Mothersill of Burlington, Ontario, Mr. Vito Anthony Sgro of Hamilton, Ontario, and Ms. Mary Wiebe of Stoney Creek, Ontario to the board of directors of the Hamilton Port Authority. Mr. Mothersill received a bachelor of applied science and engineering from the University of Toronto, a master of business administration from McMaster University and an executive financial management MBA from the University of Western Ontario. He worked at Dofasco Inc. as a researcher, manager of accounting, manager of purchasing and manager of corporate projects. Mr. Mothersill is past director of the Chamber of Maritime Commerce, the Iron Ore Company of Canada, the Quebec Cartier Mining Co. and a former member of the National Marine Advisory Board. Mr. Sgro attended the University of Western Ontario where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and economics before earning his chartered accountant’s designation. He began his career with Pannell Kerr MacGillivray as auditing senior and spent three years working for Revenue Canada before becoming tax manager for Wade & Partners. Mr. Sgro is currently a partner with CBM Chartered Accountants LLP in Hamilton, Ontario. Ms. Wiebe has worked as service representative manager with Bell Canada and has served as a provincial returning officer for Elections Ontario. She is a founding member of the Centennial Parkway Ratepayers, the Citizens’ Expressway Committee, the Community Stakeholders’ Committee and the Get Hamilton Moving Task Force
2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today announced the appointment of Ms. Kazuko Komatsu of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the board of directors of the Vancouver Port Authority. Ms. Komatsu was born and educated in Japan. She came to Canada in 1977 and settled in British Columbia where she became an active member of the business community. She began exporting beer to Japan in 1986 and took over the Pacific Western Brewing Company in 1990. Soon after, she formed Kowa Canada Ltd., Nika Marketing Corp. (now Royal Canadian Homes) and Natureland Bio Products Ltd. Ms. Komatsu was also recently selected as chairperson of the Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce
2005 - Three of the world's largest Super Post-Panamax Cranes are arriving at the Port of Vancouver after leaving China by ship four weeks ago. The delivery marks the fulfillment of an Agreement of Intent between TSI Terminal Systems Inc. (TSI) and crane suppliers Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. Ltd. (ZPMC) of Shanghai, signed in the presence of Premier Campbell and Canada's Ambassador to China at the World Economic Summit in Beijing in November 2003
2005 - The Nakhodka-based Maritime Territory shipping company (MTSC) has signed a contract with South Korea's Hyundai shipyards for the construction another two supertankers with a deadweight of 104,000 tonnes each. Both tankers will be launched in 2008. The contract was signed in Moscow. The South Korean shipbuilders currently make three 100,000-tonne tankers for the MTSC. They will join the MTSC fleet at the end of this year. All the tankers will be used to ship oil produced on the shelf of Sakhalin Island. A gas-carrying ship with a capacity of 147,000 cubic meters will be also built in Japan for the MTSC. In 2008, the gas carrier will begin to transport liquefied natural gas from Sakhalin to Pacific Rim countries. At the close of the fleet enlargement program in 2008, the MTSC will own eight 100,000-tonne tankers. A tugboat of ice-breaking class and three supply ships are now under construction for the MTSC. They all will operate on the shelf of Sakhalin
2005 - The Greenbrier Companies announced it has received $125 million in new orders for 1,300 new railcars and two oceangoing marine vessels. The two marine orders are valued at $25 million. The first order is for an 87,000-barrel double-hull oceangoing oil tank barge for Sause Bros. It is the sixth vessel ordered by Sause from the Company. The second order is for a 380' deck cargo barge for Northland Transportation Company. It is the third such vessel ordered by Northland or its affiliates from the Company
2005 - TOP Tankers Inc. announced today that it has signed new employment contracts for 12 of its tankers. Following these new contracts, all 14 Handymaxes and four out of nine Suezmaxes will be employed on time charter contracts. In total, 18 of the Company's 23 tankers will be on time charter contracts with an average term in excess of three years. All but one of the time charters include profit sharing agreements. The Company has secured approximately 76 percent of the estimated working days for 2005 and 78 percent for 2006 under time charter contracts. At the same time, the five Suezmaxes operating in the spot market, together with the profit sharing component of the time charter contracts, expose approximately 57 percent of the Company's estimated working days for 2005 and 58 percent for 2006 to potentially higher spot rates.
Regarding the new employment contracts: TOP Tankers has entered three of its Suezmax tankers into two-year time charter agreements with Glencore SA, one of the world's largest oil traders. Pursuant to these agreements, the M/T Stopless, M/T Timeless and M/T Flawless will earn base rates per day of $28,000 during the term of the contracts. Should a vessel generate revenue in excess of its base rate over the duration of the contract, TOP Tankers will receive 100 percent of the first $7,000 per day in excess of the base rate, up to $35,000 per day, and 50 percent of the excess thereafter. The Company has also extended the two-year time charter contracts with Glencore SA that are currently in place for four of TOP Tankers' Handymax vessels by three years. The M/T Invincible, M/T Relentless, M/T Sovereign and M/T Victorious are currently deployed under two-year time charters that expire during the third quarter of 2006. The new three-year contracts will commence immediately upon the expiration of the current contracts. The existing two-year time charters have base rates per day of $14,500. Should a vessel generate revenue in excess of its base rate over the duration of the contract, TOP Tankers will receive 100 percent of the first $500 per day in excess of the base rate and 50 percent of the excess thereafter. The base rates per day for the new three-year periods will be $14,000. Should a vessel generate revenue in excess of the base rates over the duration of these contracts, TOP Tankers will receive 100 percent of the first $500 per day in excess of the base rate and 50 percent of the excess thereafter. TOP Tankers also announced the details of its five-year employment agreements with Glencore SA for all four of its double-hull Handymax tankers delivered during March and April 2005. Pursuant to these time charter agreements, the M/T Taintless, M/T Dauntless, M/T Soundless and M/T Topless will earn a base rate of $17,000 per day during the first year of their respective contracts. Should a vessel generate revenue in excess of its base rate over the first year of the contract, TOP Tankers will receive 30 percent of the excess. From the second year through the expiration of these contracts, the base rates per day will be $16,250. Should a vessel generate revenue in excess of its base rate per day during this period, TOP Tankers will receive 100 percent of the first $1,000 in excess of its base rate and 50 percent of the excess thereafter. The M/T Taintless, the M/T Dauntless and the M/T Soundless were delivered on March 21, March 24 and April 19 respectively. The Company anticipates delivery of the M/T Topless on or about April 25, 2005. In addition, TOP Tankers has entered one Suezmax tanker into a five-year time charter contract with Hyundai Merchant Marine. The M/T Faultless will earn $37,000 per day during the first two years of the time charter contract, $36,000 per day for the third year and $35,000 per day for the remaining two years through the expiration of the contract
2005 - The Manitowoc Company, Inc. announced that its Manitowoc Marine Group was awarded a contract to build an unmanned, self-discharging, bulk cement barge for American Transport Leasing (ATL). The 460' x 70' vessel, which provides a minimum capacity of 14,000 tons and features a computerized state-of-the-art cargo-unloading system, will be built at the company's Bay Shipbuilding facility. This new bulk cement barge is virtually identical to Integrity, an unmanned, self-unloading vessel that Manitowoc built in 1995. The ATL barge will be built and classed for ocean service, but will operate on the Great Lakes servicing 15 US terminals. Vessel construction is scheduled to begin next month, with a projected delivery during the second quarter of 2006
2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today announced the appointment of Mr. Martial Bouchard of Chicoutimi, Quebec, to the board of directors of the Saguenay Port Authority. After receiving his degree in management, Mr. Bouchard joined Produits BCM Ltee as a technical representative. He worked as a management consultant for the company, before becoming a shareholder and then president and chief executive officer. In 1988, he founded BBG Refrigeration Inc. Mr. Bouchard is also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Chicoutimi
2005 - Passenger Grandeur of the Seas (73817 grt, built 1996) hit a pier at a Mexican port, putting a 13-m gash in its hull, but not injuring any passengers or crewmembers. The accident happened as it was docking in Costa Maya, Yucatan Peninsula. Winds of 17 mph and a stiff current contributed to the incident, the company said. Royal Caribbean said it expects to complete a full evaluation of the repairs the ship needs and the time it will take to complete them. "The ship has a football-shaped puncture in the bow on its starboard side that is approximately 42 ft long and 5 ft wide at its widest point," the company said in a written statement. "The puncture is in the first deck approximately 5 ft above the waterline." It left New Orleans on Saturday (Apr 16) carrying 2,030 passengers and 740 crewmembers. The Miami-based company said it was making plans to return passengers to New Orleans if the ship was unable to return to the city this weekend
2005 - The U32  submarine left the shipyard in Emden on 20th April 2005 for its final sea-testing phase. Extensive tests will be carried out until July 2005 in the deep water on the South Norwegian coast (Skagerrak) and in different shallow water regions of the Baltic Sea. After the tests have been completed, the "U32" will be handed over to the German Navy in July 2005 as scheduled. The overall order comprises of a total of four units of the submarine class 212A, which are being collectively built and tested for the German Navy at Nordseewerke in Emden and at HDW in Kiel within the framework of the ARGE U212. Two of these state-of-the-art, non-nuclear submarines with combustible fuel cells U31 and U33 will be constructed, put into operation and tested in different sea regions at HDW in Kiel, while the other two units, U32 and U34 undergo the same program at Nordseewerke in Emden. Delivery of the four submarines is planned for 2005/2006. The two ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipyards currently have a total of four submarines being tested at sea in the Skagerrak. In addition to the U31 and 32, the submarines Papanikolis - submarine class 214 for the Greek Navy - and S 101 - submarine class 209/1400mod for the South African Navy - are also being put through their paces
2005 - Crude oil tanker Saetta (37,949 grt, built 1984), Cartagena for St Eustasias, laden with approximately 37,000 tonnes of fuel oil, is reported to have touched bottom two miles off Bocachica at 0730 shortly after departing Cartagena. As a result of damage to the hull an unknown quantity of oily water leaked from the vessel. Unofficial reports suggest that it is not the vessel's cargo, which has leaked out, but bilge water. A slick of oil about 11km long by 180m wide is drifting southwards, but this is being gradually recovered by a fleet of tugs and other vessels, coordinated by state oil company Ecopetrol, the shippers of the cargo. An official notice issued by the Local Committee of Attention and Prevention of Disasters of the National Navy reported that the spillage was being investigated. The harbormaster in Cartagena, Nelson Fernandez, has stated the incident did not cause problems to vessels arriving at or departing from Cartagena. Saetta has remained at anchor, approximately one mile from the entrance to Cartagena Bay
2005 - Sailors and Marines from the United States, Great Britain, Poland and Australia worked with civilian mariners to convert Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ship (RFA) Diligence into a forward-deployed base for Iraqi patrol craft. This process allowed multinational naval forces to train approximately 25 Iraqi navy sailors aboard Diligence in the North Persian Gulf, under Commander, Task Force (CTF) 58. Royal Navy sailors taught their Iraqi counterparts day-to-day maintenance and operation of the Iraqi navy’s small patrol craft, and gave lessons on how to refuel and clean the vessels. They also prepared the Iraqis to conduct maritime security operations (MSO), such as embarking with large commercial ships or monitoring the movements of tiny fishing dhows. MSO sets the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment and complements the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO denies international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material. Royal Marines gave instruction on boat security, firearms safety and hand-to-hand combat. They also conducted daily fire and man overboard drills to train Iraqi Sailors how to handle emergency situations. Diligence is attached to CTF 58 and supports MSO under Commander, US Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, US 5th Fleet. RFA Diligence has been stationed in the Persian Gulf since 2002 and is not scheduled to return to Great Britain until 2008
2006 - A Coast Guard rescue crew from Station Sandy Hook is providing a safety zone for responders from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center who are attempting to recover a stranded dolphin in the Navesink River, Monmouth County, N.J, reported at 8:45 a.m. today.
Responders were immediately deployed after a kayaker noticed the stranded dolphin in shallow water near the Oceanic Bridge in Rumson NJ. The team from the MMSC is monitoring the dolphin, which has been reported able to swim freely but unable to return to open ocean
2006 - Arpeni Pratama Ocean Lines said it plans to invest $130 million to buy 24 vessels to strengthen its fleet this year
2006 - The Department of National Defense (DND) has settled a class action lawsuit with the plaintiffs in a sexual abuse case that dates back to the 1960s. The abuse took place at the Captain Vancouver Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps from 1964 to 1980
2006 - Legendary test pilot and former naval aviator Scott Crossfield died today when his single-engine plane crashed in Georgia. He was 84. Crossfield made aviation history on November 20, 1953, becoming the first person to fly at more than twice the speed of sound, or Mach 2
2006 - Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling welcomed the launch of the UK's Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG), the first specialized fire and rescue service for dealing with incidents at sea. MIRG will form an integral part of the United Kingdom's search and rescue response. It will also have the air-borne capacity to react to incidents anywhere in the country, not just at sea. MIRG comprises 15 Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) teams strategically located around the country, with about 50 fire fighters in each team. Each team has been specially trained to tackle fire in the marine environment and is equipped with the lighter, more compact equipment required when travelling by helicopter to the scene of an incident. The teams will not only fight fires but also deal with chemical hazards and free trapped personnel. In addition, the teams' specialized training, allied to a helicopter capability, will provide a valuable, additional resource for the emergency services across the rest of the UK. Each team will be reinforced with paramedics who will also be trained in the unique conditions that they will face. This new service, one of the first of its kind in the world, is the result of a major cross-governmental project involving some of the principal organizations behind the UK's civil resilience, supported by almost £3m of funding from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Department for Transport
2006 - WAN Hai Lines has christened its latest newbuild, the Wan Hai 313, at a special naming ceremony held at Singapore's Jurong Shipyard, where the ship was built. The 2,646-TEU vessel will serve on the shipping line's transpacific service, which has experienced sustained growth in recent years. The new vessel is part of a company building program that was launched back in 2003. It is one of six newbuilds of similar size on order from Jurong Shipyard. The Wan Hai 311 and 312 have already been delivered and the Wan Hai 315 is expected to enter the company's service network this September
2006 - USCG Captain of the Port expelled a vessel from Port Canaveral marine inspectors found the vessel in violation of many serious safety standards. The Aral Wind is a 500-foot, gasoline tanker that was preparing to unload its cargo at the South Cargo Piers - Tanker Berth 1 when inspectors from Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Port Canaveral met the vessel to conduct a routine certificate of compliance boarding. The vessel did not have a valid certificate of compliance, and the conditions on the ship were so unsafe inspectors left the vessel shortly after beginning their inspection
2006 - The California Air Resources Board (ARB) today approved a plan to dramatically reduce the emissions associated with the movement of goods throughout the state. The proposed plan, combined with existing measures already adopted, will save more than 1,500 lives each year by 2020 when fully implemented
2006 - A massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, followed by a huge aftershock, has rocked Russia's remote northeastern Kamchatka peninsula but caused only light injuries
2006 - HMS Endurance believes to have found an active volcanic vent in the Antarctic using their new KONGSBERG EM 710 multi beam echo sounder
2007 - USS Saipan decommissioned at Norfolk
2007 - Overseas Shipholding Group acquired the Heidmar lightering business from Heidmar, Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc
2007 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen announced the following flag officer assignments: Rear Adm. (lower half) Ronald H. Henderson Jr., is being assigned as defense attaché US European Command, Defense Intelligence Agency, United Kingdom. Henderson is currently serving as special assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans, and Strategy, N3/N5, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Rear Adm. (lower half)(selectee) James C. Grunewald is being assigned as commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Fifth/Seventh Fleet, Misawa, Japan. Grunewald is currently serving as deputy director, Air Warfare Division, N88B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Rear Adm. (lower half)(selectee) Steven J. Romano is being assigned as director of Logistics and Security Assistance, J4, US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany. Romano is currently serving as chief, Strategy Division, J4, Joint Staff, Washington
2008 - Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton, 40, of Bakersfield, Calif., died in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain.  She was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain





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