SeaWaves Today in History April 29, 2009

 


1745 - William Pepperell 1696-1759 departs Canso to attack Louisbourg with British naval squadron from West Indies under Comm. Peter Warren; joined at Canso by smaller groups from New Hampshire and Connecticut
1814 - USS Peacock captures HMS Epervier
1817 - Richard Rush for the US and Charles Bagot for Britain sign the Rush-Bagot Agreement limiting the number of warships the two countries can maintain on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain - 2 ships each under 100 tons on upper Great Lakes, 1 each on Lake Champlain. On this day in 1818, US President Monroe proclaims US naval disarmament on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain
1862 - New Orleans fell to Union forces during the Civil War
1864 - 1,700 British troops and sailors from a Naval Brigade launched an assault on the Gate pa, a formidable Maori fortification in Tauranga. Although only 300 Maoris held up, they inflicted a severe reverse on the attackers, who were driven off. Commander Hay, leading men from HMS Harrier, was mortally wounded. His Coxswain, Mitchell, came to his aid and, ignoring Hay's orders to leave him, carried the dying man back to the British lines. Assistant-Surgeon Manley did what he could for Hay, then went back into the breach in the pa to bring out more wounded men. Mitchell and Manley both received the Victoria Cross. Despite their victory, the Maoris evacuated the pa during the night
CP steamship Empress of India arrives in Vancouver from Yokohama to open regular service to the Far East; breaks record Pacific crossing by two days
1898 - US warships engage Spanish gunboats and shore batteries at Cienfuegos, Cuba
1915 - Battleship HMS Royal Sovereign launched
1917 - Russian submarine A-1 laid down
1918 - Minesweeper HMS Aberdare launched
1918 - Destroyer HMS Lea launched
1918 - Destroyers HMS Scimitar & Winchester commissioned
1919 - Minesweeper USS Quail commissioned
1920 - Submarine USS S-18 launched
1926 - Destroyer FS Simoun commissioned
1936 - Destroyer HMS Inglefield laid down
1937 - Soviet submarine K-55 laid down
1938 - Minesweeper FS Chamois launched
1938 - Soviet submarines K-1 & K-2 launched
1940 - Corvette HMCS Agassiz laid down Vancouver BC
1940 - Corvette HMCS Kamloops laid down Victoria BC
1940 - King Haakon and the Norwegian Government are enroute from Molde to Tromsø on the British cruiser HMS Glasgow. They will arrive on May 1st
1940 - U-503, U-504 laid down
1940 - At 1730 HMS Unity sailed from Blyth to patrol off Norway. The visibility was down to 300 yards as Unity moved out in the main channel, where the Norwegian ship Atle Jarl was proceeding on her way from Scotland to the Tyne. A short while later visibility was down to 100 yards and neither vessel was aware of the other until the submarine spotted the ship at 50 yards and on a collision course. There was just time to shut the bulkhead doors and order the engines astern before the Atle Jarl smashed into the submarine. The order to abandon the submarine was given and Unity sank only five minutes after the collision
1940 - ASW trawlers HMS Cape Chelyuskin & Cape Siretoko bombed & sunk by German aircraft off Norway
1940 - The sea phase of the evacuation of Sickleforce begins in Norway. First a sloop took off 340 men. After darkness fell that evening more than 1,800 British troops, exhausted and hungry, stumbled aboard blacked-out warships and transports
1940 - HMS Furious, in company with HMS Isis, Ilex & Imogen arrives in the Clyde, the carrier anchoring off Greenock at 0800 in preparation to being drydocked for repairs and refitting
1940 - HMS Glorious, at Scapa Flow, flew off her two unserviceable Skuas and has the pilots attempt to acquire replacement aircraft for what remains of 803 Squadron. HMS Ark Royal has retired out to sea to rest and reorganize her air group in preparation for the planned bombardment of Trondheim Leeds by the Home Fleet, after HMS Glorious rejoins
1940 - Corvette HMCS Alberni laid down
1941 - U-514 laid down
1941 - U-84 commissioned
1941 - At 0229, the unescorted City of Nagpur was torpedoed &sunk by U-75 about 600 miles west of Valentia Island, Ireland. 15 crewmembers and one passenger were lost. The master, 170 crewmembers, eight gunners and 273 passengers were picked up by destroyer HMS Hurricane & landed at Greenock
1941 - Destroyer HMS Hurricane rescued the master, 170 crewmembers, eight gunners and 273 passengers from the British steam passenger ship City of Nagpur which was sunk in position 52.30N, 26.00W by U-75. The survivors were landed at Greenock
1941 - Submarine HMS Thunderbolt assigned to Halifax for convoy escort duty
1941 - Corvettes HMCS Brandon & Shediac launched Lauzon PQ
1941 - Corvette HMCS Pictou commissioned
1941 - Evacuations through this morning from Greece result in about 50,00 troops removed at a cost of 2 destroyers and 4 transports
1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Hildasay launched
1942 - U-412 commissioned
1942 - U-627, U-628 launched
1942 - At 0857, the unescorted Mobiloil was torpedoed by U-108 about 350 miles NE of Turks Island. The tanker had been spotted by the U-boat already at 1950 in grid DC 9592 the day before, but she was steaming at 14 knots and it took so long to come into an attack position. At 0412, a first torpedo already missed, before the U-boat fired a spread of two torpedoes at 0857 & hit the tanker with one between the #1 & #2 tanks on the starboard side and blew a large hole in the bow. Then the U-boat surfaced and began shelling the tanker from a distance of 2000 meters with all weapons, while Mobiloil was firing 12 rounds from the 4-in stern gun (the ship was also armed with two .50cal and two .30cal guns). After three hits on the tanker, Scholtz had to cease fire after 50 minutes because the target could not be seen properly, the 2cm AA gun jammed and the gun sight of the 37-mm AA gun was defect. In the meantime the tanker swung around to show the stern towards the U-boat, shifted some ballast and set course toward Bermuda. At 1112 & 1113, the U-boat fired two torpedoes, the first missed and the second struck on the starboard side of the #4 tank, destroying a lifeboat, opening the pumproom, wrecking the living quarters and the gyro compass, but the tanker was able to continue. The sixth torpedo fired at 1645 hit between #7 & #8 tanks on the port side, stopping the engines and caused flooding, this caused the ship to break in two in the middle. The eight officers, 33 crewmen, two workaways and nine armed guards abandoned ship in three lifeboats just before the ship sank at 1712 in 26°10N/66°15W with bow and stern pointing skyward. All survivors were picked up about 86 hours after the attack by submarine chaser USS PC-490 after being spotted and circled twice by aircraft and landed on 4 May at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The master was later convicted of violating convoy routing orders, because he had been ordered to await a convoy off Norfolk, but the vessels did not arrive at the appointed hour, so he proceeded alone
1942 - The Alliance struck a mine laid on 13 April by U-562 off Famagusta and sank
1942 - U-573 was attacked with 325-pound depth charges launched by an RAF 223 Sqn Hudson NW of Argel. Seriously damaged, U-573 headed for Spain, which she reached on 2 May. Unable to finish repairs in time, the boat was interned in Spain
1942 - Sailing ship Terpsithea sunk by U-562 at 35.09N, 33.56E 
1942 - Motor tanker Harry G. Seidel sunk by U-66 at 11.50N, 62.50W. 2 killed with 48 survivors
1942 - ASW trawler HMS Bredon commissioned
1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Sir Gareth commissioned
1942 - Destroyer USS Daly laid down
1942 - Destroyer USS Murphy launched
1942 - Destroyer USS Lansdowne commissioned
1942 - Corvette HMS Borage commissioned
1942 - Submarine HMS Sibyl launched
1942 - Submarine FS Curie (ex-HMS Vox) laid down
1942 - Submarine KNM Ula (ex-HMS Varne) laid down
1943 - U-861, U-981, U-982 launched
1943 - One man was lost when a 461 Sqn Sunderland attacked U-119
1943 - U-332 sunk in the Bay of Biscay north of Cape Finisterre, Spain, in position 45.08N, 09.33W, by depth charges from an RAF 224 Sqn Liberator. 45 dead (all hands lost)
1943 - U-975 commissioned
1943 - U-870, U-1233 laid down
1943 - At 2334, the Nanking was hit in the bow by one of two torpedoes fired by U-123 and sank at 0013 after being missed by a coup de grâce twelve minutes earlier
1943 - At 0924, U-258 fired torpedoes at Convoy ONS-5 and reported hits on three ships. However, only one torpedo hit the McKeesport, the other torpedoes detonated away from the convoy after missing the ship, which had been in station #42 but had fallen slightly astern. The torpedo struck on the starboard side at the collision bulkhead and the #1 hold. The explosion blew out all beams, hatches and ballast, put the steering gear out of order and opened a large hole. The ship continued at full speed for 45 minutes, but developed a list of 20° to port and began to sink further by the head. Then the twelve officers, 31 crewmen and 25 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and nine 20mm guns) abandoned ship in four lifeboats. Due to the list, they had difficulties to launch the boats; some of them became tangled in the lifenets. The survivors were picked up within 30 minutes by armed trawler HMS Northern Gem & landed on 8 May at St John's, but one men died of exposure on the vessel. HMS Tay was ordered to sink the ship by gunfire, but apparently the vessel stayed afloat and was sunk at 1455 by two coup de grâce from U-258
1943 - Submarine USS Becuna laid down
1943 - Escort carrier HMS Striker commissioned
1943 - Destroyer escort USS Jacob Jones commissioned
1944 - Gunboat FS Tahure sunk off Hainan in position 13°02'N, 109°28'E by submarine USS Flasher
1944 - USS PT-346 destroyed by US Navy aircraft mistaken identification near Cape Pomas New Britain Island 
1944 - USS PT-347 destroyed by US Navy aircraft mistaken identification near Cape Pomas New Britain Island
1944 - U-2325 laid down
1944 - U-806, U-901, U-1056 commissioned
1944 - U-1132 launched
1944 - U-421 sunk at 1200 in the Mediterranean near Toulon, France, in position 43.07N, 05.55E, by US bombs
1944 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan sunk by German torpedo boat T-24 North of Ile de Bas, with 128 lost, & 83 members taken prisoner.  Although the 'official history' credits the German T-24 with sinking Athabaskan, substantial evidence exists to suggest that the second & fatal shot was fired by one of two RN MTBs that were in the area on that night. The first torpedo hit on the port side at 0417 was definitely from T-24 but a second major explosion at 0427, originally thought to be a magazine explosion, was probably another torpedo hit, also on the port side. The other German vessels had already withdrawn & T-24 was hard aground by this time. The sound of high-speed MTB engines was clearly heard by many of Athabaskan's survivors. See the article by Lt (N) Peter A. Dixon entitled - "I Will Never Forget the Sound of Those Engines Going Away - A Re-examinations into the Sinking of HMCS Athabaskan, 29 April 1944." Canadian Military History, Spring, 1996, pp. 16-25. Almost 60 years after it was torpedoed by a German gunboat with a loss of 128 lives, the wreck of HMCS Athabaskan was found. The find may offer clues to resolving an old controversy over what really sank the ship - the first German strike, or a second one, possibly an accidental hit from a British vessel. The Canadian destroyer sank 10 minutes after the German torpedo struck on April 29, 1944. At the time it was on patrol in the English Channel with its sister ship, HMCS Haida, now a naval museum ship. Athabaskan carried 261 men & a ship's cat 'Ginger', who perished. The wreck was tentatively identified by Jacques Ouchakoff, a French marine historian, in October and confirmed this month. Ouchakoff had spent almost two years patrolling the coast of Brittany in a tiny boat equipped with a "remote operating vehicle" - a video camera housed in a propulsion device controlled from the surface - before he found the wreck. He located it at a depth of only 90 meters about 1.6 kilometers south of where the Athabaskan was thought to have sunk, near the Island of Batz. "Jacques found that the ship had been split into two or three pieces by what must have been a massive explosion," A huge blast was heard 10 minutes after the torpedo struck. The search was initiated using co-ordinates developed by Toronto naval historian Peter Dixon, to resolve a controversy over allegations that a torpedo fired in error from a British ship caused the fatal second explosion. A public inquiry afterward found the Athabaskan was destroyed after fire moved from the stern to the middle and exploded a magazine or boiler. A dive on the wreck of Athabaskan is to be conducted in an effort to gather further information regarding her loss. Because of her succession of accidents, weather & battle damage, & eventual loss, Athabaskan was dubbed 'The Unlucky Lady'. Haida took off 44 crewmembers of Athabaskan & damaged German T27, which was beached
1944 - Minesweeper HMS Skipjack (ex-HMCS Sole Bay) commissioned
1944 - Task Force 58, which had supported these landings, is now freed and begins a two-day attack against Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands. Today, 84 USN fighters fly a dawn sweep over Truk and during the day, USN aircraft shoot down 58 Japanese aircraft
1944 - Aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard launched
1944 - Destroyer escort USS Woodson launched
1944 - Minesweeper HMS Skipjack commissioned
1944 - Submarines USS Barbero & Scabbardfish commissioned
1944 - Minesweeper USS Impeccable commissioned
1944 - Frigate USS Knoxville commissioned
1944 - Destroyer USS Watts commissioned
1944 - The Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-367 was commissioned April 29, 1944, with LTJG R.H. Greenless, USCGR, as commanding officer. She reached her final destination in the Philippines on 30 December 1944. In Operation L-3, near San Jose, Mindoro Island, Philippines, she anchored 500 yards off Bulong Point midway between Blue and White beaches. The USS Mariposa, Navy X-126, Liberty-type, converted oil tanker, dropped anchor about 300 yards away and some 800 yards from shore. At 1530 Japanese planes, in a sudden and devastating attack of shipping in the harbor sunk or damaged 24 ships. One crashed the USS Arturus, a PT-boat tender, which sank almost immediately. A second made a low level strafing and bombing attack on a group of LSTs unloading at White Beach blowing the stern off one of them and then turned on the Mariposa, into which it crash dived. The tanker immediately burst into flames and a number of the crew either were blown or jumped into the water. The FS- 367 went to her assistance. At the same time a third Japanese plane made a low-level attack on the destroyers outside the harbor, straddling two destroyers with bombs and finally crashing into the USS Ganesvoort, which immediately began to burn and settle in the water, being assisted by two other destroyers, in a sinking condition. Proceeding to assist the Mariposa, the FS-367 took several men aboard with her boarding net and James D. Ellis sighting a man struggling in the water and calling for help, dove into the water and supported him until both were picked up by an LSM. The FS-367 stayed alongside the Mariposa until all survivors had been taken off. About 1900 the FS-367 withdrew out of the line of fire of guns that were about to shell the Mariposa. Later, this was cancelled and the Ganesvoort launched 2 torpedoes into her. Immediately thereafter a great amount of burning gasoline spread over the bay making the FS-367's anchorage unsafe. As she was preparing to move, the Ganesvoort requested she come alongside and take off her crew. By the time she had reached the destroyer, however, the gasoline had spread so widely that the Ganesvoort was in immediate danger of being engulfed. The FS-367, instead of stopping to take off personnel, warped alongside the destroyer and began towing her to a safe anchorage. While so occupied another alert sounded and a Japanese plane was shot down immediately overhead. The FS-367 finally got the Ganesvoort to safety several hundred yards off White Beach. The next day the Ganesvoort was abandoned by her crew in a sinking condition. No casualties ware suffered by the FS-367. She was decommissioned 24 September 1945
1945 - U-427 attacked destroyer HMCS Haida but missed upon departure of Convoy RA-66 from Kola Inlet. Also in escort were sister ships HMCS Iroquois & Huron
1945 - Convoy RA-66 of 24 ships, becomes involved in the last convoy battle of the war. There are no transports sunk - only one damaged. But two U-boats are lost. This battle will continue through the 2nd of May
1945 - U-286 Type VIIC sank the first time 3-17-1944 in the Baltic Sea after collision with U-1013 with 26 survivors. Raised and repaired and returned to duty. On 18 July 1944 a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqn 333/K) attacked the boat, causing damages and killing 1 man and wounding 7 more. The boat reached Kristiansand, Norway on the same day. Finally sunk today in the Barents Sea north of Murmansk, Russia, in position 69.29N, 33.37E, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Loch Insh, Anguilla and Cotton. 51 dead (all hands lost)
1945 - Earthquake hits Puget Sound area, centered near North Bend
1945 - Destroyer USS Haggard seriously damaged by Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa and not repaired after end of the war
1945 - Adolf Hitler designated Admiral Karl Doenitz his successor
1945 - Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage the destroyers USS Hazelwood & Haggard and light minelayers USS Shannon & Harry F. Bauer 
1945 - Aircraft carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt launched
1945 - Heavy cruiser USS Bremerton commissioned
1945 - Frigate HMS Goodall (ex-USS Reybold) torpedoed & sunk at 2200 in position 69.25N, 33.38E by U-286
1945 - U-307 sunk in the Barents Sea near Murmansk, Russia, in position 69.24N, 33.44E, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Loch Insh. 37 dead and 14 survivors
1945 - U-1017 sunk in the North Atlantic NW of Ireland, in position 56.04N, 11.06W, by depth charges from an RAF 120 Sqn Liberator. 34 dead, unknown number of survivors
1946 - Submarine USS Dogfish commissioned
1946 - Minesweeper HMCS Caraquet sold to Portugal & became NRP Almirante Lacerda. Deleted 1975
1952 - The Sikorsky HO4S helicopter was taken on strength by the RCN. The first example, # 55144, was an HO4S-2 that was assigned to the utility unit, No. 1 Helicopter Flight. This machine was destroyed in a crash on McNabs Island in April of 1956 
1953 - Destroyer HMCS Ottawa launched Montreal PQ
1953 - Coastal escort (ex-minesweeper) HMCS Digby commissioned
1953 - Destroyers HMCS Huron & Iroquois departed Halifax for Korean War
1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga on Pane Yong Do & Tae Chong Do patrol
1954 - The Super marine Seafire XV was officially struck off strength. By this time, the type had long gone out of active service with the RCN and in fact only one example (PR 410) was still on charge this date. It had been transferred to HMCS Star, Hamilton, Ontario as a ground instructional aide (?) after being retired from service at Shearwater. From there it was relocated to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary in 1953 before being SOS and eventually scrapped
1960 - Destroyers HMCS Ottawa, Saguenay & St Laurent returned to Esquimalt from Pacific cruise
1961 - Aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk commissioned
1961 - Destroyers HMCS Restigouche & Columbia visited Washington DC
1967 - USS Constellation commenced Vietnam deployment
1969 - USS Hornet port call Yokosuka
1971 - Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa 1933-1997 outlines his James Bay project; Hydro Quebec to build $6 billion hydroelectric power project in James Bay region; largest such development ever undertaken in western hemisphere
1973 - Saint John River flooding causes up to $25 million damage in New Brunswick
1974 - Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline begins 
1975 - Operation Frequent Wind evacuation from Vietnam begins
1982 - The hospital ship, SS Uganda, leaves Ascension for the South Atlantic. With a team of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing and RN medical staff on board their task is to a provide modern service hospital facilities including the provision of up to 120 hospital beds, operating theatres, high dependency and burns units, laboratories, X ray, and blood bank and sterilizing facilities
1991 - 1 unidentified Bangladeshi FAC wrecked and another sunk in typhoon at Chittagong. Landing craft L 103 & FAC Durbo wrecked
1994 - Canadian Sea King accident Saint John NB. Pilot killed
1995 - Frigate HMCS Ottawa laid down Saint John NB
1996 - Former CIA Director William Colby was missing and presumed drowned in Maryland after an apparent boating accident; his body was later recovered
2003 - MV Cape Decision laid up Charleston SC RRF
2004 - US Navy lost the prototype Battlespace Preparation Autonomous Underwater Vehicle being trialed by HSV Swift during a NATO MCM exercise off Norway
2004 - Guided missile destroyer USS Kidd laid down Pascagoula MS
2005 - Canada Post issues stamp to commemorate Battle of the Atlantic. The stamp was designed by Derek Sarty of Halifax's Gaynor Sarty. Sarty's challenge was to reduce the epic story of this battle into a single small image. Sarty selected the images used on the stamp from the extensive files of the Maritime Command Museum in Halifax. Assembling the composite work of several images (a convoy of vessels, a torpedoed supply ship, a Canadian Navy corvette and a German U-boat) required weeks of fine detailed work, Sarty noted. To heighten the visual drama of the stamp, Sarty added fields of color in nautical tones reminiscent of the period, which also suggest the harsh conditions of the North Atlantic. The stamp measures 56 mm x 30 mm, and will be sold in a pane of 16 stamps. Lowe-Martin printed 2.5 million of the stamps, using lithography in 8 colors plus varnish, and P.V.A. gum, on Tulles Russell Coatings paper. The stamp is general tagged on all four sides with 13+ perforations
2005 - Landing ship SPS Galicia arrives Malaga after tsunami relief operations in Sumatra
2005 - Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and Scott Simms, Member of Parliament for Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor, announced today that the federal government is investing $5.1 million in harbor repairs and improvements. "The Government of Canada understands the importance of safe and efficient harbors, especially in provinces like this one," said Minister Regan. "My Department will work closely with your Harbor Authorities to continue improving the safety and efficiency of harbors throughout this province." Joe Batt’s Arm - The project involves dredging from the approach channel to the main wharf. This will remove a current grounding hazard and allow larger vessels to dock and unload safely. Work is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2005. Ladle Cove - The existing native timber wharf is severely deteriorated and beyond repair. The project involves removal of the existing structure and replacement with a new timber crib marginal wharf topped with a concrete deck. Work is scheduled to proceed during the summer of 2005. Cannings Cove - The existing finger pier wharf has surpassed its life expectancy. This project will remove the existing structure and replace it with a new treated timber facility. The work will be phased over two years with removal and partial reconstruction to take place this year, and deck, fenders and wheel guards to be installed the following year. Lumsden - At this site, the recently constructed marginal wharf will be extended and electrical work completed. Work is scheduled to begin this summer for completion by late fall. The result will provide much-needed berthage space for the larger vessels. Seldom Come By - The project will replace the deteriorated deck on the existing treated timber wharf to correct unsafe operating conditions. At the same time, the outdated electrical system servicing the structure will be replaced. Work is scheduled to begin this summer with completion in the fall. Twillingate - Dredging in the harbor basin will remove high points between two existing finger piers. In addition, planning and design will be completed for a future project to construct a marginal wharf and widen and extend an existing finger pier. Valleyfield - This two-year project involves extending the existing finger pier wharf to better accommodate the large number of fishing vessels using this harbor. The extension will decrease congestion and increase available berthage and offloading capacity. In addition to these new projects, several major projects are ongoing. The final phase of multi-year projects at Bonavista to repair and extend the Canaille breakwater and at Plate Cove West to improve harbor facilities will be undertaken this year. The wharf reconstruction projects at Glovertown and Newtown will be completed this year with the installation of concrete decks, wheel guards, ladders and fenders. Following planning and design work last year, construction will commence on the extension to the marginal wharf at Salvage
2005 - Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, announced that the Government of Canada will invest an additional $20 million over three years on initiatives to combat overfishing and strengthen international fisheries governance. This investment will enable the Government to marshall resources on several new fronts, including science, advocacy, policy and legal initiatives. The results will support Canada’s efforts to work with other countries through a number of different fora to improve international management of important ocean resources. Specifically, the money will be spent on: Scientific research to increase knowledge of offshore marine ecosystems and to enable sound management decisions concerning resources within these ecosystems. In particular, the program will focus on better understanding sensitive marine areas and sensitive aquatic species associated with the Grand Banks. The program will include research on straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, and on sustainable fisheries practices and harvesting strategies that use a precautionary approach. An advocacy campaign to be mounted domestically, in Europe, and globally, and enhanced strategic communications to promote progress on regional and global governance issues. An Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation will be created to promote Canada’s efforts internationally. A $500,000 contribution to the United Nations Fish Agreement Part VII Assistance Fund, which helps Developing States implement this key international agreement to manage straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. Additional policy and legal capacity with which Canada will seek to lead the development of international consensus on new policy frameworks, legal and institutional change, and modernized tools for the protection of oceans biodiversity. Finally, the funding will enable Canada to participate in two new regional fisheries management organizations: the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention. The announcement comes two days before the opening of a major international conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, which will launch a process of strengthening global governance of high seas fish stocks. Prime Minister Paul Martin kicks off the five-day conference Sunday, May 1st with a keynote address to ministers and senior officials from at least 48 countries
2005 - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has signed a resolution to award medals to ten British servicemen who saved a Russian Baltic Sea Fleet sailor
2005 - The Russian Black Sea Fleet will be based in Sevastopol until 2017 in accordance with the bilateral agreements, Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoly Gritsenko said after a meeting with Ukrainian Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Igor Knyaz, Black Sea Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Alexander Tatarinov and Sevastopol city administration head Sergei Ivanov
2005 - At 1515 Humber Coastguard RCC received a mayday call from the crew of the 40-foot fishing vessel Harvester with three crew on board reporting an engine room fire. Humber Coastguard requested an immediate launch of Humber and Bridlington RNLI Lifeboats and a helicopter from RAF Leconfield. The Rig standby vessel Putford Guardian is also proceeding. The fire on the vessel has now been extinguished, and all crew are still on the fishing vessel. The helicopter stood by the fishing vessel until the arrival of the lifeboat. The Humber lifeboat has commenced the tow towards Bridlington. Both lifeboats will rendezvous and the tow will be passed to the Bridlington lifeboat who will take it back to its homeport
2005 - An annual open house/party designed to kick-off the start of the boating season at MacRay Harbor in Harrison Township has grown to more than 500 boaters and non-boaters who come together to celebrate the start of their favorite recreational activity. The event is free to the public and offers free food sampling from the various restaurants and grills located at the facility.
This year the event is sweetened with an award to MacRay Harbor putting this Michigan marina into the national spotlight as it will receive the very prestigious "Marina of the Year Award" from Preston Publications and Marina Dock Age Magazine. The award acknowledges MacRay Harbor for its outstanding customer service, which makes MacRay Harbor a top-notch family resort and marina on the Great Lakes, along with its state-of-the art amenities and proactive customer- management relationships
2005 - South Korea plans to set up a national tidal warning system that will allow it to better cope with destructive waves caused by typhoons, a state research institute said. The National Oceanographic Research Institute said the government plans to establish the system by 2010 at an investment of 4.8 billion won (US$4.78 million)
2005 - Volunteers and members of the Submarine Memorial Association, which maintains the New Jersey Naval Museum and USS Ling submarine, are the 2005 recipients of the Claire K. Tholl Award, the Bergen County Historic Preservation Advisory Board announced
2005 - South Korea's Coast Guard and military personnel rescued hundreds of passengers from a high-speed cruise ship on Friday after it became waterlogged near an island off Busan, Coast Guard officials said. “We've rescued the passengers and crew," Ham Un-sik, a spokesman for the Busan Coast Guard told Yonhap News Agency, adding that there is no possibility of the ship's sinking and there were no casualties. The passenger ship was left leaning at a 30-degree angle after the accident, which occurred when it struck an unidentified object while en route from Busan to the Japanese port of Fukuoka, according to the Coast Guard. The collision occurred 10 miles southeast of Jo island at around 1640 they added. A total of 163 passengers and seven crew were on board when the ship collided with the object. The spokesman, however, said it remains unclear how many Koreans and Japanese passengers there were. No explanation for the accident was immediately available. Police said they will launch a probe into the accident
2005 - With $60 million in funding for the new Port of Prince Rupert container terminal now secured from the Canadian and British Columbia governments, CN, Maher Terminals of Canada Corporation and the Prince Rupert Port Authority announced today plans to make the new terminal a reality in the first quarter of 2007. CN has obtained approval from its board of directors to increase its financial contribution to the terminal to $30 million from $15 million. Of the $30 million total, $15 million will be spent on the Intermodal yard at the port, $10 million on terminal trackage, and $5 million on infrastructure improvements to CN's BC North line so that it can accommodate double-stack container cars. Maher Terminals of Canada Corporation has completed plans to proceed with a request for proposals in May 2005 for the acquisition and installation of three large container cranes at the terminal, together with supporting container handling equipment and technology, at a cost of approximately $60 million. The Port of Prince Rupert is completing bank financing for its $25-million contribution to the container terminal development. Phase 1 of the terminal development is expected to provide initial throughput capacity of 500,000 TEUs per year
2005 - The Coast Guard cutter Naushon crew terminated a vessel's voyage near Kake Wednesday for failing to have required safety equipment on board. During a routine marine safety inspection conducted by a Naushon boarding party, the 41-foot fishing vessel Zonta skipper operated the vessel without a Coast Guard approved buoyant apparatus or life raft. The Naushon crew escorted the Zonta to Petersburg
2005 - Authorities rescue two boaters off the coast of San Diego who made a distress call after the vessel they were in started to fill with water
2005 - Judi Longfield, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labor and Housing and MP for Whitby-Oshawa, on behalf of Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre, together with Oshawa Mayor John Gray and Councilor Louise Parkes, Chair of Development Services Committee for the City of Oshawa, have agreed to assess the environmental condition of the Oshawa marina. Transport Canada will conduct a site-specific risk assessment of the marina to determine the next steps required to improve the environmental condition of the site including the possibility of remediation. Up to $1.5 million in funding for environmental work, to be cost-shared with the City of Oshawa, has been earmarked by Transport Canada for the Oshawa marina
2005 - The US Navy's newest amphibious ship, the future USS San Antonio, sailed from Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' Pascagoula shipyard to undergo trials in the Gulf of Mexico
2005 - Italy’s Cabinet agreed to allocate long-awaited funds to launch construction of 10 multi-mission frigates for the Italian Navy. The Ministry of Industry will provide around 400 million Euros ($515.9 million) to kick-start the program with France, which is building 17 of the so-called FREMM frigates. Rome’s Ministry of Defense will then continue paying for the Italian frigates, which will cost around 350 million Euros each. Sen. Giovanni Lorenzo Forcieri said the decision confirmed funding for the first tranche of six Italian frigates. The cabinet decision followed pressure from politicians such as Forcieri and unionists, who feared that if no money was found, agreements to sign final joint contracts with France this year would be breached. France has already budgeted its costs on the program, while no funds were inserted in Italy’s 2005 defense budget 
2005 - Italian Chief of General Staff, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola officially opened the new Italian Navy Submarine School in Taranto. Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sergio Biraghi was also in attendance
2005 - Buoy tender USCGC Maple is pulled down the ways at Seward Ship's Drydock in preparation for undocking at Seward. Maple is undergoing a 60-day scheduled overhaul
2005 - President George W. Bush signed a “Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense”  approving the redesignation of the United States Naval Reserve to the United States Navy Reserve. The process and authority to seek this change were afforded by the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which requires that the President of the United States authorize the change, followed by delivery of the relevant United States Code changes to the Armed Services Committees, and finally publication of the change in the Federal Register. Vice Adm. John G. Cotton, Commander Navy Reserve Force, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee April 13, supported the name change
2006 - Two US Navy ships, along with Bahraini Coast Guard emergency management teams, participated in a proof-of-concept demonstration April 29 off the port of Mina Salman. USS McCampbell and USNS Catawba executed the proof of concept, which entailed simulating an oil spill and conducting the subsequent containment and recovery
2006 - The white ghost ship rolled in the Atlantic swell as the rescue boats approached it 70 nautical miles off Ragged Point, one of the most easterly places on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The yacht was unmarked, 6m long, and when Barbadian coastguard officers boarded it, they made a gruesome find. The boat's phantom crew was made up of the desiccated corpses of 11 young men, huddled in two separate piles in the small cabin. Dressed in shorts and colorful jerseys, they had been partially petrified by the salt water, sun and sea breezes of the Atlantic Ocean. They appeared to have come from far away
2008 - Richard S. Haynes, executive director of the US Navy's Military Sealift Command, was recognized by President Bush at an afternoon ceremony at the White House. Haynes and 45 other Senior Executives Service members received the nation's highest civil service award ¬- the 2007 Presidential Distinguished Rank Award
2008 - Cmdr. John J. Zuhowski relieved Cmdr. Todd A. Lewis as commanding officer of USS Tortuga at Sasebo
2008 - An historic radio exchange took place between battleship North Carolina and the new submarine USS North Carolina. Capt. Mark Davis and ham operator Bill Morine communicated with the battleship from atop the submarine




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Today in History Archives 
 
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