SeaWaves Today in History August 17, 2007 ********************************************************************* August 17 Indonesia - Independence Day. Visiting warships Dress Ship overall. Gun salutes are fired 1615 - Samuel de Champlain arrives at the Huron village of Cahiagu on Lake Simcoe, after traveling down 'La mer douce' - Lake Huron 1759 - A French force of 12 ships-of-the-line, commanded by Admiral Jean Francois de Bertet de la Clue Sabran, broke out from Toulon while the British fleet of 12 ships, commanded by Admiral Sir Edward Boscawen, was at Gibraltar for refit. Admiral de la Clue was under orders to enter the Atlantic and make for Brest, where the two principal squadrons of the French navy would combine and form a covering force for the invasion of England. The landings were planned to take place in Essex. A British picket ship brought word to Gibraltar later on 17 Aug and within 12 hours the British force put to sea, beginning a pursuit that resulted in the Battle of Lagos on 18-91 August1774 - Juan Jose Perez Hernandez c l725-1775 discovers Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, four years before Captain Cook's arrival; the local Nootka people are skilled whalers and trappers of sea otters 1775 - Bruno de Hezeta (Heceta) sights and maps the mouth of the Columbia River 1807 - Robert Fulton's ''North River Steam Boat'' (popularly known as the ''Clermont'') began heading up New York's Hudson River on its successful round trip to Albany. And "North River Steam Boat" is how she appears on old Federal lists. Referring to the error of calling that little vessel "Clermont" is more than "popular" -- it is endemic. Despite being quite wrong for nearly 200 years, it has long appeared in everything from schoolbooks to encyclopedias, and in recent times as the correct answer to one of the questions in the "Trivia" game. In fact, "Clermont" was simply the name of the riverside estate of Fulton's fiscal supporter, which Fulton made his little boat's Hudson River home port and main boarding station for passengers -- who picked up and popularized the name thereby. "Clermont", as the name for a vessel, did not appear on the Register until late in the 19th Century 1809 - Construction of Admiral Nelson's Monument begins; at the top of Jacques Cartier Square in Montreal 1812 - US Frigate President captures British schooner L'Adeline in North Atlantic 1863 - Federal batteries and ships bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War 1869- First International boat race (Thames River) (Oxford beats Harvard) 1892 - The signing of a secret military convention between Russia and France 1915 - Following his torpedo success on 12 August, Commander Edmonds sank a second Turkish ship. Flight Lieutenant Dacre also sank a Turkish vessel with a torpedo, albeit by the unorthodox means of taxiing on the water whilst experiencing engine problems 1917 - Destroyer USS Stockton launched 1918 - Destroyer HMS Hamilton laid down 1918 - Destroyer USS Kalk laid down 1918 - Destroyers USS Breckinridge & Roper launched 1918 - Submarine USS R-17 commissioned 1918 - Submarine USS O-10 commissioned 1922 - Submarine USS S-35 commissioned 1934 - Heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa commissioned 1935 - U-4 commissioned 1938 - German naval, program including two new battleships announced 1938 - Minesweeper HMS Franklin commissioned 1939 - Hitler orders Admiral Canaris, the head of German Intelligence, to obtain Polish uniforms for a 'special SS operation' 1939 - Aircraft carrier HMS Formidable launched 1940 - Admiral Cunningham leads 3 British Battleships to bombard Italian positions at Bardia and Fort Capuzzo. In an effort to provide air cover for the bombardment operation, HMS Eagle dispatched the three Sea Gladiators of her 813 Fight Flight to Sidi Barrani where they joined RAF Gladiator's of 112 Squadron in flying CAP throughout the day. In the afternoon, the expected attacks by Regia Aeronautica appeared. The patrols of Gladiators broke up several attacks, with 813 Fighter Flight's Cdr. C. L. Keighley-Peach, Lt. L. K. Keith, and Lt. A. N. Young claiming two of 8 claims overall. Tragically, 11 days later Young would be killed as killed when his 824 Squadron Swordfish crashed at Dekheila. The Mediterranean fleet sustained no damage 1940 - Corvette HMCS Cobalt launched Port Arthur ON 1940 - Germany announced total blockade of Britain 1940 - Corvette HMS Coreopsis commissioned 1940 - Submarine HMS Utmost commissioned 1941 - Soviet submarine SC-216 commissioned 1942 - The Canada Steamship Lines merchantman Kindersley (1,999 GRT) was damaged by bombs from Luftwaffe aircraft in the North Sea, off Blyth. There is no record of casualties in this incident 1942 - In Makin Atoll, Gilbert Islands, Companies "A" and "B," 2d Marine Raider Battalion (Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson, USMC), land on Butaritari Island. The purpose of this raid is to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the area and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Solomon Islands; Intelligence estimates that there are 45 Japanese on the island. The Marines had been transported in the submarines USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut, each of which could carry a company. The submarines surfaced in heavy rain and high seas and Carlson changed the plans; originally, the two companies were to land on widely separated beaches but the new plan has them landing together. One platoon did not get the word and ended up landing alone in what became the enemy rear 1942 - In the Mediterranean, The Italian transport Nino Bixio is torpedoed and sunk by a British submarine. She was carrying Allied POWs and 117 New Zealanders die 1942 - Light cruiser HMS Blake laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Anthony laid down 1942 - Minesweeper USS Motive launched 1942 - U-720 laid down 1942 - U-209 sank SS Kompleks, SS Komsomolec & escorts P-4 & SH-3 1942 - U-108 sank SS Louisiana 1942 - U-507 sank SS Arará & SS Itagiba 1942 - U-566 sank SS Triton in Convoy SL-118 1942 - Minesweeping trawlers HMS Promise & Prodigal commissioned 1942 - Submarine USS Bass while at sea, a fire broke out in the after battery room and quickly spread to the after torpedo room and starboard main motor, resulting in the death of 25 enlisted men by asphyxiation. The following day USS Antaeus arrived to assist the submarine and escorted her into the Gulf of Dulce, Costa Rica. Both vessels then proceeded to Balboa 1942 - U-658 sank SS Samir & damaged SS Laguna in Convoy PG-6 1942 - The Canadian-built, British-registered cargo ship Fort la Reine (7,130 GRT), Captain Percy W. Pennock, Master, was sunk by U-658, Kptlt Hans Senkel, Knight’s Cross, CO, in the Windward Passage, NE of Jamaica, in position 18.30N, 075.20W. Fort la Reine was as part of the 23-ship Vancouver, BC, to Liverpool (via Cristobal, Guantanamo Bay, and Halifax) convoy PG-6 when she was lost. The was loaded with 9,800 tons of grain, lumber and other general cargo. The Master, 37 crewmembers and three DEMS gunners were rescued by the Flower-class corvette HMS Pimpernel. A USN patrol boat rescued twelve other survivors. One DEMS gunner and two crewmembers were lost in this incident. Fort la Reine was a North Sands-class freighter built by Burrard Drydock Company Ltd. (South Yard), at Vancouver, BC She was completed in Jul 42. Fort la Reine was one of 90 North Sands-class freighters built in Canada for American order under the Hyde Park Declaration and subsequently provided to Great Britain under the Lend-Lease Agreement. J. Constantine & Sons Ltd., of Middlesborough, England, managed the ship for the British government. Twenty-two of these ships were sunk and another seven were damaged1942 - The Canadian Pacific Railways passenger liner Princess Marguerite (5,875 GRT), Captain Leicester, Master, was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea in position 32.03N, 032.47E, by U-83, Kptlt Hans-Werner KRAUS, Knight's Cross, CO. Princess Margueritewas requisitioned by the British Government at the end of 1941 from CPR Ships for use as a troopship. After a refit in Esquimalt, she was dispatched to the Mediterranean. Princess Marguerite was enroute to Cyprus, escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Antwerp and three destroyers, with elements of the British 8th Army embarked, when she was torpedoed. A fuel oil fire rapidly spread out of control and detonated a magazine. The ship sank in less than an hour. The loss of life would have been much greater had it not been for the determined efforts of the destroyer HMS Hero (later HMCS Chaudiere), who rescued a great number of the survivors. In all, 55 souls were lost in this incident. U-83 was a medium-range Type VIIB submarine built by Flender-Werke, at Lübeck. She was commissioned on 08 Feb 41. U-83 conducted 14 patrols compiling a record of seven ships sunk for a total of 10,448 tons and two ships damaged for a further 9,336 tons. U-83, OLtzS Ulrich Worsshoffer, CO, was sunk on 09 Mar 43 in the Mediterranean Sea, SE of Cartagena, in position 37.10N, 000.05E, by depth charges from a British ‘Hudson’ patrol aircraft from RAF 500 Squadron. All 50 of her crewmembers were lost. Hans-Werner Kraus was born in 1915, at Beulwitz in Saafeld. He joined the navy in 1934 was serving at the Coastal Artillery School when the war broke out. He transferred to the U-boat force in Oct 39 and served in U-47 as the First Watch Officer under the famous ace Günther Prien during five successful patrols. He was selected for command and underwent his U-boat Commander’s course between Nov 40 and Jan 41. Kraus commissioned U-83 on 08 Feb 41, at the age of 26. On 18 Dec 41, during his third patrol with U-83, he broke through the Straits of Gibraltar and conducted six patrols in the Mediterranean. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross 19 Jun 42, the 54th presented in the U-boat Force. On 28 Nov 42 Kraus commissioned the long-range Type IXD boat U-199. U-199 was sunk on 31 Jul 43 in the South Atlantic east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in position 23.54S, 042.54W, by depth charges from a USN ‘Mariner’ patrol aircraft from VP-74 Squadron and two Brazilian patrol aircraft, a ‘Catalina’ and a ‘Hudson’. Until that time, U-199 had been enjoying a successful patrol having sunk one ship of 4,161 tons and having shot down a USN ‘Mariner’ patrol aircraft on 03 Jul 43, from which there were no survivors. U-199 was enroute to meet a supply submarine when she was attacked and sunk. Kptlt. Kraus was one of only 12 survivors (49 were lost) and spent nearly three years in American captivity before returning to Germany in May of 1946. In total, Kraus sank eight ships for a total of 14,609 tons and damaged two ships for a further 9,336 tons. Although not a top scoring ace, he was a knowledgeable and competent commander. Hans-Werner Kraus died on 25 Aug 19901943 - The Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as US and British forces entered Messina 1943 - USS LCI(L)-1 sunk off Bizerte Tunisia 1943 - Quebec City - William Lyon Mackenzie King 1874-1950 hosts Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at the sixth Anglo-American War Conference, held in the Chateau Frontenac; the first Quebec Conference plans 1944 landings in France 1943 - Corvette HMCS Lunenburg completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS 1943 - Frigate HMCS Chebogue launched Esquimalt BC 1943 - Escort carrier USS Hoggatt Bay laid down 1943 - Frigate USS Pocatello laid down 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Grain launched 1943 - Corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle launched 1943 - Salvage vessel HMS Lifeline launched 1943 - Frigates USS Pasco & Corpus Christi launched 1943 - U-197 sank SS Empire Stanley 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Osmus laid down 1943 - Frigate HMS Bahamas launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Chambers launched 1943 - Escort carrier USS Midway launched. Later renamed USS St Lo 1943 - Submarine USS Tang launched 1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Wasp launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Cogswell commissioned 1943 - U-1063 laid down 1943 - U-350 & U-369 launched 1943 - In the Solomon Islands, new ground troops are landed on Vella Lavella Island despite air attacks by the Japanese. At dusk, several Japanese aircraft attack shipping and sink an LST 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Kapuskasing commissioned 1944 - Destroyer USS Dyess laid down 1945 - Indonesian nationalists declared independence from the Netherlands 1945 - Corvette HMCS Brantford paid off Sorel PQ 1945 - Gate vessel HMCS Festubert paid off Halifax NS 1945 - HMC ML 124 paid off 1945 - U-977 surrendered in Argentina after a lengthy patrol from Norway including a 66-day submerged run 1945 - Submarine USS Mero commissioned 1959 - ADM Arleigh Burke reappointed CNO for 3rd 2 year term, serving longest term as CNO 1962 - Navy's first hydrofoil patrol craft, USS High Point launched at Seattle, WA 1965 - Four treasure seekers drowned in money pit at Oak Island, Nova Scotia digging for buried treasure; the gold of Captain Kidd? 1967 - USS Kearsarge commenced Vietnam deployment 1968 - USS Ticonderoga returned from Vietnam deployment 1969 - 248 people were killed as Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf Coast 1970 - USS America port call Manila 1972 - USS Midway port call Hong Kong 1977 - Soviet atomic icebreaker "Arktika" first surface vessel to have reached the North Pole 1990 - USS Wisconsin transits Suez Canal en route Persian Gulf. MSC Fast Sealift Cargo Ships (T-AKRs) Altair and Capella depart Savannah, GA carrying the 24th (Mechanized) Infantry Division 2002 - Frigate HMCS Ottawa arrived Esquimalt from Operation "Apollo", patrolling the northern Arabian Sea & Arabian Gulf. During 100 days in the theater of Ops, four weeks spent as the Canadian flagship, the Ottawa boarded 33 ships, looking for contraband oil, restricted goods, & fleeing al-Qaeda & Taliban members. Ottawa caught the MV Roaa smuggling oil. The crew spent 55 consecutive days on the sea with temperature averaging 40 C 2004 - RFA Sir Percivale placed in Extended Readiness, and is due to be put up for disposal towards the end of the year Secretary Of The Navy Gordon R England has named the Navy’s next amphibious transport dock ship in honor of the city of Anchorage, Alaska. "Anchorage is an important seaport and one of our nation’s great cities. For many years thousands of young men and women from Alaska have stepped forward to serve America as a sailor or Marine. The warm hospitality of the people of Anchorage has always welcomed the fleet. The USS Anchorage will project American power to the far corners of the earth and support the cause of freedom well into the 21st century," England said2004 - USNS Denebola laid up Brooklyn NY RRF 2005 - Lawrence MacAulay, MP for Cardigan, announced today on behalf of Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the federal government will provide funding in the amount of $3.9 million for work at Launching Pond in Prince Edward Island. Already scheduled for Launching Pond this summer was final preparatory work for a large, future harbor improvement project involving reconstruction and extension of the entrance breakwaters. The additional funding means that actual construction work on the project will start this year. The work is the first phase of the project and will involve improvements to the north entrance breakwater. When completed, the breakwater will be repaired and strengthened with the addition of 8,500 tons of armourstone 2005 - Britain removed its military attaché in Islamabad for having an affair with a Pakistani female spy 2005 - French Vice Admiral Jacques Mazars relieved Commodore Tony Rix RN of command of Task Force 150 in a ceremony at Bahrain. EUROMARFOR assumed Task Force 150 anti-terrorism duties 2005 - More than 100 people missing when an Ecuadorian ship carrying suspected illegal immigrants sank in the Pacific off the Colombian coast. An Ecuadorian fishing boat ar rived at the scene of the sinking about 100 miles out in the Pacific and rescued seven men and two women, the navy said. About 120 people were aboard the vessel when it sank. But some media reports put the number of people on board at 113. The navy said their personnel were assisting in search-and-rescue operations. The boat was apparently carrying people who wanted to enter the United States illegally, the Navy statement said 2005 - Kings Bay bade farewell to USS Louisiana, which departed for her new home in Bangor WA. Louisiana is the fourth Trident submarine in as many years to leave Kings Bay for the Pacific Fleet. Next to go is USS Maine, which is scheduled to depart in September. The move is part of the Navy's realignment of fleet ballistic missile submarines to comply with nuclear arms treaties and support changing defense objectives 2005 - The Coast Guard airlifted a 41-year-old woman suffering from a possible heart attack this morning from Orcas Island WA. The San Juan County Sheriffs Department called the Coast Guard at 0028 requesting a medevac of the woman. Due to poor weather conditions a civilian medevac helicopter was unable to take off. The Coast Guard flight surgeon determined the woman needed to be flown to the hospital after speaking with the paramedic monitoring her. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles was launched and safely took the woman aboard. The helicopter flew the patient to Olympic Memorial Hospital in Port Angeles for further treatment 2005 - The Coast Guard, working in conjunction with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and local officials, continues to monitor a sulphuric acid spill that resulted from grounded tank barge MGM 3030 (1851 grt, built 1965). Martin Product Sales own the tank barge and the cargo. The barge was moved approximately a quarter mile, to open Chocolate Bayou and to make removal of its cargo easier. Approximately 126,000 gallons of acid cargo was off loaded from the tank barge onto a smaller barge for transfer and storage at a facility. The tank barge that grounded on the banks of the bayou Aug 15 at night is leaking some of its sulphuric acid cargo. Continued water sampling shows changes in pH levels, indicating the presence of acid in the water. Samples taken early this morning were the first indication that the barge was leaking. The direction and density of the acid plume is being tracked through the use of water samples. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists continue to monitor the situation and advise the incident command team regarding potential impacts to fish and wildlife resources. However, the extent of the spill and its affects on wildlife are still being determined. The Chocolate Bayou area is considered ecologically important because it has significant wetlands and marshes that provide habitat for waterbirds, wildlife and many species of fish. Estuaries like this one, where freshwater from rivers meets saltwater from the sea, are among the most important ecological features on the Texas coast, providing "nursery" areas that form the foundation of the coastal food chain. The Coast Guard, TCE, TP&W, Brazoria County Office of Emergency Management, and Brazoria County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol are on scene overseeing the response and recovery efforts. T&T Marine has been hired by Martin Product Sales for operational response. The tank barge was grounded Monday evening when it started to sink. The starboard bow of the barge is now partially submerged. At the time of the grounding it was carrying 425,000 gallons of sulphuric acid. Coast Guard investigators from Marine Safety Unit Galveston, Texas are on scene gathering information to determine the cause of the accident. The Coast Guard has established a safety zone for Chocolate Bayou near Peterson Landing. There are no injuries associated with this incident 2005 - Passenger ship China Sea Discovery (24,799 grt, built 1956) has been sold at its third auction for US$42m to Indian scrap merchants. The vessel is currently listing and under arrest at Kaohsiung. Its last operators, China Sea Cruises, bought it in 2000 and the vessel sailed briefly on overnight cruises from Hong Kong and Kaohsiung but was soon laid up and abandoned 2006 - Krasnoyarsk Shipyard (a subsidiary of Yenisey Inland Shipping Company JSC) launches the sixth barge of the 82260 project. The barge is 80 meters long, 15 meters wide, 2.180 dwt. The barge is intended for carrying a wide range of ground stored cargo such as timber and logs, coal, mineral and construction materials, containers and different types of machines 2006 - Lt. Cmdr. James W. Mitchell, the present commanding officer of MSST Kings Bay, will be relieved of by Lt. Cmdr. Paul Murphy, who will assume command and control of more than 80 personnel and six 25-foot Homeland Security Response Boats responsible for National Special Security Events from as far north as North Dakota to as far south as the Caribbean Sea 2006 - Quintana Maritime Limited secured seven Kamsarmaxes and two Panamaxes, which were recently acquired or are set to be acquired from Metrobulk, under its master time charter with Bunge S.A. for 2007 at an average daily rate of approximately $23,000 per day 2006 - The Russian prosecution has launched criminal proceedings against the three fishermen who were on a schooner detained in disputed waters, while Japan is pressing Moscow for more details on the fatal shooting of one of the crewmembers. Russian maritime border guards opened fire on a Japanese fishing vessel in waters claimed by both countries, killing one man and arresting the rest of the crew. The schooner, carrying about three tons of crab, 10 kilograms of octopus and 25 crab traps, was then convoyed to the Russian port of Yuzhno-Kurilsk 2006 - G E Shipping has signed a contract to buy a 1,47,834 dwt., modern Suezmax crude carrier. The 1996 built double hull tanker is expected to join the Company's fleet during Q3 FY 2006-07. The Company’s decision to induct the said vessel is with the objective of enhancing its double hull tonnage apart from building a modern Suezmax fleet. With this delivery, the crude tonnage will stand at 15 ships aggregating 1.95 mn dwt.2006 - Japan's Coast Guard chased away a group of Taiwanese nationalists as they tried to sail to Japanese-held islands also claimed by Taiwan, officials said. The group was filmed before they left northern Taiwan's Keelong harbor, shouting at Taiwanese coast guard officials. "I am not afraid to die, I am afraid of nothing," one of the group said before sailing. The Japanese coast guard warned the ship through loud speakers and wireless communication as it entered a 12-nautical mile zone set just outside Japanese territorial waters off the islets - known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in Taiwan 2006 - Bharati Shipyard has bagged a contract from Reliance Industries for the construction of six vessels, including one diving support vessel, for its offshore terminal at Jamnagar. According to a release issued by Bharati to the BSE, the value of the order is approximately Rs 120 crore 2006 - CEOs of Korean shipbuilding companies had no time off even during summer vacation as the industry is enjoying soaring sales this year. Choi Gil-sun, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries, has been to Nigeria during his vacation with his executives to visit the company’s construction site there, and Nam Sang-tae, CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, came to work as usual during the holidays, as well as the Liberation Day holiday2006 - Three Mexican fishermen who disappeared in the Pacific Ocean nine months ago have been rescued nearly 8,000 kilometers from their home, saying they survived by eating seagulls, drinking rainwater and reading the Bible. A Taiwanese tuna boat scooped the men out of the water about halfway between Hawaii and Australia on Aug. 9. They had drifted all the way from San Blas, a fishing village about 160 kilometers north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they were last seen in late October or early November, 20 2006 - Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa accepted the US plan to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at the naval port in Yokosuka in 2008. "As the utmost safety measures are being taken, inevitably we have to accept" the deployment, Matsuzawa told a news conference. Yokosuka will host for the first time a US nuclear-powered carrier -- USS George Washington 2006 - Carnival Cruise Lines said that by August 2007 it would deploy a second year-round ship to New Orleans. The 2,758-passenger ship named Carnival Triumph would cement Carnival's status as the number one cruise operator, Carnival said. The company claimed that it would be the only cruise line to operate year-round from New Orleans and, with the deployment of the line's 2,056-passenger Fantasy to New Orleans in October, it would now offer four-, five- and seven-day cruise to the most attractive destinations in the western Caribbean 2006 - Terminal de LNG de Altamira, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell plc (50%), Total and Mitsui (each 25%), today announced the arrival of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo ever to be delivered to Mexico. The 138,000-cubic-meter, Shell-owned LNG cargo was delivered to Mexico's first LNG regasification terminal near Tampico, Tamaulipas, on the country's Northeast coast, by the Shell-operated vessel SS Gracilis, after a 14-day, 6,257-nautical miles journey from the Nigeria LNG plant in Africa. The arrival of the cargo signals the start of the commissioning phase at Altamira 2006 - Russian naval exercises in command skills and coordination of forces started off the Kamchatka peninsula in the Far East 2006 - ITAR-Tass news agency said that a diving team from the Far Eastern State Technological University in Vladivostok found USS Wahoo in the La Perouse Strait and took pictures during a recent expedition. It didn't give further details. Under the command of Dudley "Mush" Morton, the Wahoo became one of the most famous US submarines of World War II. With 19 Japanese ships sunk, Morton was ranked as one of the war's top three sub skippers. Wahoo was sunk by the Japanese navy as it returned from its seventh patrol on Oct. 11, 1943. All 79 crewmen died 2006 - A Vancouver geologist has received a prospecting permit for Hans Island, the isolated rock in the High Arctic that has sparked a territorial dispute between Canada and Denmark. John Robins paid Indian and Northern Affairs Canada $50 for the rights to explore on the 1.3-square-kilometre island, which is located between Ellesmere Island and the northwest coast of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory 2006 - USCG assisted the 85-foot pleasure craft, Seawave, that was taking on water near Foulweather Bluff, Wash., at 0834 2006 - An oil slick in the central Philippines that has devastated more than 300km of coastline is likely to spread much further unless international help is deployed quickly to salvage the ship that caused the disaster. A spokesperson for the Philippine coast guard, Lieutenant Commander Joseph Coyme, said raising Solar I from the Panay Gulf, off Guimaras island, was "the foremost priority" but that local authorities could not do it alone 2006 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen announced the following flag officer assignments: Rear Adm. (sel.) Wayne G. Shear is being assigned as commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command/chief of Civil Engineers, Washington DC. Shear is currently serving as director, Ashore Readiness Division/director, Seabee Readiness Division, N46, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington DC. Rear Adm. (lower half) Scott R. Van Buskirk is being assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group 9, Everett, Wash. Van Buskirk is currently serving as deputy to the deputy chief of staff for political, military and economic business, Multi-National Forces, Iraq 2006 - A 40-year old male diver that had been missing near the south end of the Los Angeles Channel since yesterday, was found this morning near the wreck three miles off shore where he had been diving. In a joint effort, local agencies started searching for the missing diver yesterday afternoon. Involved in the search were assets from the Coast Guard, the LA County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, LA Port Police, and LA Police2006 - Two divers assigned to the Seattle-based USCGC Healy died during a routine dive operation in the Arctic Ocean approximately 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska. Deceased are Lt. Jessica Hill, 30, of St. Augustine FL and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 26, of Miami ============================================================= Sources: Colton Shipping Report, NOAA, MARAD, Marine Digest, Leo Pettipas, Kommersant, Samuel Loring Morison, Frank Pierce Young, Navy Times, Naval Institute Proceedings, www.uboat.net, Andrew Etherington, John Nicholas, US Naval Historical Center, Ministry of Defense, US Coast Guard, Thomas N. Carlson, Jack Arrowsmith, Allan Snowie, Ken Hansen, Andy Barber, John Weiss, Jack McKillop, Bernard de Neumann, Sympatico Today in History, Washington History Link, Lloyds List, Fairplay, New York Times, I-Newswire and other news sources in the public domain. Additions, submissions and corrections are always welcomed. ============================================================= Today in History Archives at: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/today_in_history_archive.htm Copyright 2007 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Photos courtesy of US Naval Historical Center, US Coast Guard Historical Center, Wikipedia Encyclopedia or Naval Museum of Manitoba unless otherwise noted. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click.