SeaWaves Today in History February 9, 2009 1776 - Petr Ivanovich Rikord, sailor, admiral, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences born (died February 28, 1855) 1799 - Frigate USS Constellation (Capt. Thomas Truxton) captures frigate L'Insurgente (Captain-Citizen Barreault) off Nevis during the undeclared naval war with France. Barreault lost 29 dead and 41 wounded; the only American fatality was a gunner who deserted his post and was run through by Lt. Andrew Sterett's saber 1882 - Gale blows railroad cars into Elliott Bay (Seattle) 1904 - Nicholas II declares war on Japan http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h90000/h90498.jpg 1910 - Battleship USS Wyoming laid down 1915 - Submarine HMS H10 laid down 1916 - The tiny naval war fought on the waters of Lake Tanganyika (the inspiration for the film African Queen) came to a close when the Royal Navy manned vessels Mimi and Fifi caught and sank the last remaining German vessel, Hedwig von Weissman 1921 - Destroyer USS Bainbridge commissioned 1928 - Sloop HMS Sandwich laid down 1930 - Destroyer HMS Active commissioned 1938 - Destroyer USS Warrington commissioned 1940 - US SS Scottsburg, detained by British authorities previous day at Gibraltar, is released 1940 - RAF Fighter Command: Luftwaffe aircraft attacked shipping off the East Coast. Two enemy a/c were destroyed, 2 naval trawlers were sunk, 3 merchant ships damaged. Two more German a/c were severely damaged 1940 - At 0105, the Chagres (Master Hugh Roberts) struck a mine, laid on 6 January by U-30 and sank 5.5 miles 270° from the Bar Lightvessel, Liverpool. Two crewmembers were lost. The master and 61 crewmembers were picked up by HMS Loch Montreith and landed at Liverpool 1940 - AMC conversion for HMCS Prince David awarded to Halifax Shipyard Halifax NS 1940 - AMC conversion for HMCS Prince Robert awarded to Burrard Drydock N. Vancouver BC 1941 - At 0430, U-37 fired torpedoes at the convoy HG-53 about 160 miles southwest of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal and sank two ships, Courland and Estrellano. At 0545 another attack was made in grid CG 7554, but the torpedo missed the ships in station #61 and #31 and did not hit a ship beyond them, as thought. The master and 25 crewmembers from Courland (Master Robert Cecil Smith) were lost. Two crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by sloop HMS Deptford and landed at Liverpool. The master, 19 crewmembers and one gunner from Estrellano (Master Fred Bird) were picked up by the Brandenburg, transferred to HMS Deptford and landed at Liverpool. Six crewmembers were lost 1941 - Force H with HMS Ark Royal, HMS Renown and HMS Malaya sails into the Gulf of Genoa. The big ships bombard the city of Genoa firing 300 tons of shells onto dock installations, warehouses and the Ansaldo Electric works, while carrier aircraft bomb Leghorn, a major railway junction at Pisa and other rail connections, and lay mines off Spezia. An Italian battlefleet sorties but fails to make contact 1941 - Marshal Philippe Petain announced that he had appointed Admiral Francois Darlan as not only vice-premier, but also minister for foreign affairs, replacing Pierre-Etienne Flandin. And to underline Darlan's triumph in the backstairs conflict with the former vice-premier, Pierre Laval, the marshal designated the admiral as his successor. A year ago Darlan seemed the cheerful ally of the Royal Navy. Born into a family that has held commissions in the French navy since Trafalgar, Darlan was head of the officer's training school, and in the 1930s helped to re-equip the fleet with new ships, including Strasbourg and Dunkerque. However, the British sinking of “his” ships at Oran last July embittered him 1941 - HMS Mayflower & Snowberry (with Canadian COs) departed Halifax as local escort for the 47-ship convoy HX-108, bound for Liverpool. Both ships were Flower-class corvettes. Both ships had recently been delivered from Canadian shipyards and were subsequently completed in British yards on the Tyne River. Mayflower was fitted with a ‘dummy’ 4-inch gun built of wood for the transit to the U.K., an infamous example of the inferior condition of the early wartime Emergency Expansion Plan warships of the RCN. Although guns were acquired later, technological inferiority plagued the RCN until relatively late in the war 1942 - SS Tolosa (Master Harald N. Kruse) disappeared on route from Kingston to Chester with her 22 men crew (16 Norwegians, 2 Swedes, 2 Danes, 1 American, 1 Briton). Believed sunk by U-108 1942 - At 0538, the unescorted Anna Knudsen was torpedoed by U-586 northwest of Scotland, but kept afloat by her crew and arrived safely in Britain 1942 - At 0034, U-654 fired three single torpedoes at convoy ON-60. Just as a hit on corvette FFL Alysse (ex-HMS Alyssum) was observed, a second explosion took place beyond. A freighter of 7000 grt stopped and was later attacked with a coup de grâce by the U-boat, but missed 1942 - At 2020, the Empire Fusilier (Master William Reid), dispersed from convoy ON-60, was torpedoed and sunk by U-85 southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. Nine crewmembers were lost. The master, 31 crewmembers and six gunners were picked up by corvette HMCS Barrie and landed at Halifax 1942 - Submarine USS Trout torpedoes and sinks the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Chuwa Maru (2719 BRT) some 53 miles from Keelung, Formosa in position 25.30N, 122.38E 1942 - U-260 launched 1942 - Submarines USS Saury & Porpoise departed Surabaya for their 2nd war patrol 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Bowen laid down 1942 - Salvage vessel HMS Salveda launched 1942 - Oiler USS Chicopee commissioned 1942 - USS YMS-54 commissioned 1942 - The Pacific War Council, composed of representatives from the U.K., Australia, Netherlands East Indies, and New Zealand, is formed in London 1942 - The 85,000 ton French passenger liner SS Normandie, built in 1931 and regarded by many as the most elegant ocean liner ever built, burns and sinks in New York Harbor during its conversion to a USN transport to be named Lafayette (AP-53). When France surrendered to the Germans in June 1940 and the puppet Vichy regime was installed, the Normandie was in dock at New York City. The US Navy immediately placed it in "protective custody," since the US government did not want a ship of such size and speed to fall into the hands of the Germans, which it certainly would if it returned to France; the Navy took control of the ship shortly after Pearl Harbor. While undergoing conversion to a transport, a welder accidentally set fire to a pile of flammable life preservers with his torch, and by early the next morning the ship lay capsized in the harbor, a gutted wreck. Salvage from this ship will be auctioned in July 1945. It almost certainly was some sort of carelessness that caused the fire, but it was not the fire that sank the ship. Tied up with only some ballast in her hull while she was being converted, it was the vast amount of fire hose water that flooded upper compartments but had no way out, and gradually overweighted the balance and tipped her over 1942 - Four destroyers from Rabaul land troops of the Japanese 144th Infantry at Gasmata, a coastal town on southern New Britain Island 1942 - About 8,000 Japanese troops land near Makassar City and south of Makassar at Jeneponto on Celebes Island. They immediately head for Makassar City, where they capture a bridge and the Dutch troops who were guarding the bridge. A company of native soldiers opens fire on the Japanese causing casualties and in reprisal, the Japanese tie the Dutch soldiers in groups of three and throw them from the bridge into the water to drown 1942 - Submarine HMS Unison completed 1943 - Italian submarine Malachite torpedoed and sunk near Cape Spartivento, Sardinia, Italy in position 38.42N, 08.52E by the submarine HNLMS Dolfijn 1943 - Submarine USS Gar departed Fremantle for her 6th war patrol 1943 - Submarine USS Tarpon torpedoes and sinks the Japanese troop transport Tatsuta Maru (16975 BRT) some 42 miles east of Mikura Jima in position 33.45N, 140.25E 1943 - Submarine HMS Unbending sinks Italian minelayer Eritrea (2517 BRT) east of Monopoli, Italy 1943 - Submarine rescue vessel USS Penguin laid down 1943 - USS SC-1285 laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Smalley laid down 1943 - Net tender USS Stagbush laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Haggard launched 1943 - USS YMS-348 launched 1943 - Destroyer USS John Rodgers commissioned 1943 - USS SC-727 commissioned 1943 - Organized Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends 1943 - Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla HS "Hydrolog" - lost in a storm, in Kolskii Gulf 1943 - HMS Unbending sinks Italian minelayer Eritrea east of Monopoli, Italy 1944 - Destroyer USS Cooper launched 1944 - Frigate USS Greensboro launched 1944 - USS YMS-426 launched 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Weeden commissioned 1944 - Frigate HMS Wye commissioned 1944 - USS PCS-1378 commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Gar: USS Gar (LCdr. G.W. Lautrup, Jr) ended her 10th war patrol at Pearl Harbor 1944 - While on her 3rd war patrol USS Bonefish torpedoes and damages the Japanese tanker Tonan Maru No.2 (19262 BRT) off French Indochina in position 11.30N, 109.10E 1944 - LCdr. A.C. Burrows was relieved as Commanding Officer by LCdr. J.B. Grady of submarine USS Whale 1944 - SS Viva (Master Oscar Andersen) was hit by a torpedo and sunk. Her crew was picked up next day by SS Marwarri and landed in Aden 1944 - U-238 sunk in the North Atlantic southwest of Ireland, in position 49.45N, 16.07W, by depth charges from sloops HMS Kite, Magpie & Starling. 50 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - U-734 sunk in the North Atlantic southwest of Ireland, in position 49.43N, 16.23W by depth charges from sloops HMS Wild Goose & Starling. 49 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - U-193 was damaged by aircraft in the Bay of Biscay 1944 - U-1209, U-1210 launched 1944 - U-1169, U-1231 commissioned 1944 - At 1300, the Kelmscott in convoy HX-278 was torpedoed by U-845 off St. Johns. The ship developed a heavy list but was towed to St John's and after temporary repairs left for Baltimore on 17 August 1944 - Net tender USS Oneota laid down 1944 - Tug HMCS Glenwood 155 tons, 80'x19'8"x7'6", wood, one Enterprise diesel, 6 cylinders (12"x15") 400 hp, 10kts ordered from J.H. LeBlanc Shipbuilding Co Weymouth NS. Cancelled during construction, 59% complete, completed 1946, sold 1947 to Saint John Tugboat Co. Saint John NB, renamed Ocean Weka #179312. Broken up 1969 & removed from register. 1944 -Tug HMCS Glencove laid down Russel Bros Owen Sound ON 1944 - The very successful anti-submarine group led by Captain F J Walker in HMS Starling fought a notable action in defense of convoy SL.147, sinking U-238 and U-734. Over 150 depth charges were used in a long and relentless battle, one of the depth charges successfully exploding a German torpedo just a few yards before it would have hit Starling. Exhausted by his relentless patrols of the North Atlantic, Captain Walker, awarded the Distinguished Service Order no less than four times, suddenly died aboard ship in July 1944 1945 - "Black Friday" is one of the darkest days in the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It was a sneak attack that should have lasted no more than five minutes. Make one pass: Fly level, aim just under the water, fire at the last possible second, and sink one of the last remaining German destroyers, a ship guarded by enemy ships in a Norwegian fjord. But the Allied flyers, including mostly Canadian crews aboard 11 fighter bombers from the 404 Squadron, quickly realized they had lost the element of surprise. German fighter planes filled the daytime sky and the nine enemy ships below them were ready for the attack. The disastrous barrage lasted 30 minutes. Planes exploded into cliffs and crashed into the waters of the Fordefjord. "It was just like flying through metal. These guys really didn't have much of a chance," said Maj. Chris Larsen, historian for the 404 Maritime Patrol Squadron, which today flies out of Greenwood. Of the 404 Squadron's 11 Bristol Beauforts that went into battle that day, only five returned to their base in Scotland. Eleven crew members were dead. One was captured as a prisoner of war. Another three Allied planes were also lost, with mostly British and Australian crews on board 1945 - Frigate HMCS Teme arrived Londonderry to join EG-6 1945 - The following AP report was released to the newswires: Long-range German submarines, sniping at Allied convoys bound into and out of Canadian ports this winter, torpedoed a Canadian warship and five merchantmen within one period of 22 days off the Nova Scotia coast, it was disclosed tonight. The enemy undersea craft apparently were making a desperate attempt to cut the Allied North Atlantic supply line at its western anchor. The sinkings included the Canadian minesweeper Clayoquot, a Canadian merchant ship, and four vessels of other nationalities. A total of 36 men, 8 navy men and the rest seamen, lost their lives in the six sinkings. [The Clayoquot was sunk on 24 December 1944 by U-806 (Hornbostel).] The following AP report was released to the newswires: German submarine activity increased slightly in January, but losses of Allied merchant shipping did not change substantially, the monthly Anglo-American statement reported tonight. The Statement, issued under the authority of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, said U-boats, by making use of new devices, "penetrated further into focal areas of shipping close to shore," but described counter-measures as "encouraging." No figures on losses were given. The British submarine HMS Venturer, commanded by James S. Launders, torpedoed and sank the U-864. This is the only known incident in all of naval warfare in which one submarine sinks another while both are submerged 1945 - U-864 sunk in the North Sea west of Bergen, Norway, in position 60.46N, 04.35E, by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Venturer. 73 dead (all hands lost). While submerged west of Bergen, Lt Chalmers was in the control room when he heard faint underwater sounds on the hydrophones, and Launders spotted a periscope at about 5,000 yards range. Chalmers trimmed the boat in silence for three hours while Launders the CO stalked his quarry, calculating the range by the loudness of its noise. U-864, commanded by Korvettenkaptän Ralf-Reimar Wolfram, was making "suicidal" use of its periscope, which was protruding about four feet above the surface. Venturer fired four torpedoes, and two minutes 12 seconds later there was a loud explosion. This is the only known sinking of one submarine by another when both boats were submerged throughout the engagement. Venturer was cued by Ultra on to U-864, which carried an Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor, 64 tons of mercury, heavy water, and some 20 Luftwaffe officers as well as German and Japanese engineers 1945 - U-923 sunk in Kiel Bay, in position 54.31N, 10.18E, by a mine. 48 dead (all hands lost) 1945 - U-2543, U-2544 launched 1945 - Submarine USS Loggerhead commissioned 1945 - USS PGM 32 commissioned 1945 - Indian troops complete the capture of Ramree Island, Burma 1945 - Capt. Alexander Solzhenitsyn is arrested, commander of an artillery battalion, is arrested and sentenced to eight years in a camp for criticizing Stalin in a letter to a friend 1945 - HMS Venturer, commanded by James S. Launders, torpedoed and sank the U-864 (all hands lost) in the North Sea west of Bergen, Norway. This is the only known incident in all of naval warfare in which one submarine sinks another while both are submerged 1946 - Aircraft carrier HMS Theseus commissioned 1955 - Marshal of the Soviet Union KG Zhukov named Minister of Defense 1967 - USS Coral Sea port call Yokosuka 1968 - USCG vessels helped thwart a Communist attempt to run four trawlers through the Market Time blockade. The defeat of this attempted re-supply was hailed as "the most significant naval victory of the Vietnam campaign." (Robert E. Johnson, Guardians of the Sea - History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present) 1973 - USS Ranger port call Hong Kong 1991 - Frigate HMCS Montreal laid down Saint John NB 1991 - An A-6 attacked a Zouk patrol boat near Faylaka Island with a Rockeye missile, inflicting substantial damage. Naval aircraft also attacked a Silkworm site destroying three launchers and a control van with a direct hit. A Marine AV-8B is downed. The pilot, Captain Russell Sanborn, is missing. Bomb damage assessment confirms that 750+ tanks, 650+ artillery and 600 armored personnel carriers have been destroyed 1991 - USS Wisconsin continues its naval gunfire missions, responding to calls for fire from US and coalition forces. USS Missouri is simultaneously on patrol in the Arabian Gulf supporting Marines and coalition forces 1991 - USS Thomas C. Hart diverts a freighter in the North Red Sea 2001 - Submarine USS Greeneville sinks Japanese school ship Ehime Maru while surfacing off Honolulu 2003 - First escape from a modern day prison ship in the UK. The man was named as 28-year-old David Beech from the Guildford area. He was serving two years for threatening behavior, but is a category C prisoner not thought to pose a danger to the public. Beech escaped from HMP Weare, which is moored off the Island of Portland 2004 - USCGC Mackinaw laid down Marinette WI 2004 - RRF Cape Kennedy activated 2004 - Aircraft carrier Minas Gerais (ex-HMS Vengeance) departed Rio de Janeiro under tow for scrapping in India 2005 - Bryan T Tuttle, Deputy Director of Maritime and Riverine Programs in the Narcotics Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Peru, died in the line of duty on February 9, 2005. Bryan, a contract employee of the American embassy, was killed in an accidental explosion during the inspection of a pressurized container found to contain nearly one ton of cocaine hydrochloride. In his work on counternarcotics, Bryan was a specialist in port and maritime security and retired from the United States Coast Guard in 2003. He was professionally respected and personally very well liked. His colleagues remember Bryan as the glue that kept the Coast Guard teams together during good times and bad. In his last tour with the Coast Guard Bryan served in the International Training Division and traveled extensively in Latin America to assist in law enforcement training programs 2005 - Tugboats are scheduled to tow the freighter USS Neosho from the James River Reserve Fleet to International Shipbreaking Limited in Brownsville TX where it will be dismantled. The departure schedule is subject to weather and safety clearances. The Neosho will be the ninth vessel to leave the James River Fleet for disposal since last June. The disposal contract for the ship was announced December 20, 2004. The USS Neosho was built in 1954 at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Quincy MA as a US Navy oiler ship. It was decommissioned in 1978, and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) in 1999. Preparations for towing the Neosho must be made under the scrutiny of the US Coast Guard. Towing can take place only when the preparations are deemed safe and seaworthy, and if weather permits. MARAD officials emphasize that the process is thorough and that safety considerations may delay the towing schedule 2005 - Deadly bands of pirates robbing ships and kidnapping crews in the Malacca Strait may have been dealt a body blow by the tsunami that tore through the Indian Ocean in late December, an anti-piracy watchdog said. Believed to hide out in coastal estuaries, mangrove swamps and bays on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, pirates have not staged a single reported attack since the Boxing Day devastation that left hundreds of thousands dead or missing 2005 - A search continued in the Baltic Sea off Poland for a Canadian sailor believed to have fallen overboard during a naval exercise. HMCS Montreal was sailing with a NATO reaction force about 30 miles off Poland when the Canadian ship's crew discovered that Leading Seaman Robert Leblanc could not be found. The force was heading to Gdynia for a weekend port visit and was the first routine overseas deployment for a Canadian warship since 2001 2005 - A killer whale, which was trapped in ice off Japan's northernmost island prefecture of Hokkaido, was spotted swimming out to sea Tuesday afternoon, local officials said. Officials of the town of Rausu said the 11 other killer whales similarly trapped died after being weakened from being enclosed by the ice 2005 - At a hearing today at Horseferry Road Magistrate Court, London, the skipper of a passenger carrying DUKW was successfully prosecuted following a collision on the River Thames last year, narrowly missing a child. The skipper, Brian Gould pleaded guilty to one charge brought under Section 58, of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 brought by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. This section deals with conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals. Mr Gould was fined £500 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs. The amphibious vehicle ‘Titania’ was between Westminster and Lambeth Bridges was returning to its drop off point. Another amphibious vehicle, called the ‘Desdemona’, which was skippered by Mr Gould, was travelling in the opposite direction. Gould decided not to take her under Westminster Bridge as normal. He crossed over to the Parliament side of the river and proceeded to catch up with the 'Titania'. Gould then brought the 'Desdemona' alongside the 'Titania' and was running parallel to her. The distance apart varied between 3 meters and less than a meter. The 'Titania' was on the inside of the 'Desdemona' about one boat's lengths away from the embankment wall. A high tide, strong wind and close proximity of the embankment wall resulted in a hazardous situation and after a short period, a collision occurred between the two vessels, which narrowly missed a child 2005 - A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued three fishermen after their boat sank 45 miles east of Gloucester, Mass., at 1320. Rescued were: Richard Shatford, Lewis Mitchell and Brian Clancy, all from Gloucester. A Coast Guard Falcon jet crew heard a mayday call from the fishing vessel Hollywood, a 38-foot boat homeported in Gloucester, reporting the boat was sinking and all three people on board were getting in a life raft. A Coast Guard helicopter flying in the Gloucester area headed toward the sinking vessel's position and rescued all three people on the life raft. The helicopter crew took the fisherman to Coast Guard Station Gloucester, where local EMS met them. They refused treatment and were released. Two of the three fishermen were wearing survival suits. They also had an emergency position-indicating radiobeacon (EPIRB), which went off at 1330 and confirmed the distress and position for the Coast Guard 2005 - FS Marne arrived off Sumatra to replace the group formed by FS Jeanne d’Arc and George Leygues. The admiral commanding French forces and his staff were transferred to Marne 2005 - The unusual sight of ten navy patrol vessels being loaded onboard the heavy lift ship “Maria” in the first week of February contrasted the normal exports leaving the Western Australian port of Fremantle. The shipment is a truly international logistics exercise involving leading aluminum shipbuilder Austal; Singapore-based project and heavy lift shipping specialist Coli Shipping (S); SAL, the German owners of “Maria”; and the Yemen Ministry of Defense which ordered the boats in June 2003. Local heavy lift and logistics specialists, Global Hire, managed loading of the 37.5 meter boats, each weighing in at 90 tonnes. The delivery of these vessels heralds an important step in Austal’s progress as an internationally recognized supplier of navy and patrol vessels. It follows last month’s naming ceremony for the first of twelve 57 meter patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy, and reflects Austal’s status as one of Australia’s most successful and advanced manufacturing companies. Austal Chairman, Mr John Rothwell said, “Thanks first must go to our skilled designers and technical staff who were able to provide the winning design ahead of some 24 competing shipyards worldwide. Following this, the skill of our tradespeople has delivered a product that has certainly impressed the customer, and which is likely to be of interest to other nations seeking to boost their coastal security.” The patrol boats have been designed to meet a variety of operational requirements including general police missions in coastal waters, customs control and anti-terrorist operations at sea, offshore protection and tracking, surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone, defense and protection of national sea areas and operations within integrated task forces. The heavy lift ship left the Australian Marine Complex on Wednesday 9 February and will offload the Middle East nation’s new maritime force in the port of Hodeida in approximately two weeks time. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new patrol boats are the 60 members of the Yemen defense force who each spent several weeks in Perth last year receiving instruction on vessel operation and maintenance techniques 2005 - Commander, Combined Support Force 536, US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Rusty Blackman, presented USS Essex Commanding Officer, Capt. J. M. van Tol, a plaque in appreciation of the ship's significant contributions and support to the victims of the Dec 26 earthquake and tsunami. Essex' assets moved 5,971,000 million pounds of relief supplies to devastated areas of Indonesia from Jan 18 until Feb 8 2005 - In the early morning, Tokyo informed Beijing's embassy here that the Senkaku Islands would be administered by the Japanese Coast Guard. The unexpectedly bold action by Tokyo received little attention here. But it is seen as a "serious chess move," says one diplomat, in a region where power relations are being redefined, and where tensions over energy, borders, military buildups, and ethnic rivalries are palpable 2005 - USS Florida undocked at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, achieving a major milestone in the overhaul and conversion process for the guided-missile submarine (SSGN) program. Event was achieved one week ahead of the scheduled date of Feb 16 2006 - The Coast Guard is continuing to work today to offload red-dye diesel from the fishing vessel Arsco III, which sank at its moorings in Conn Brown Harbor 2006 - Matson Navigation Company is proceeding with the first conversion of one of its C-9 containerships, MV Mokihana, to a combination Ro-Ro and container vessel to further strengthen its Hawaii service capabilities. The vessel will have Ro-Ro and container capacity comparable to two vessels in Matson's service today, the dedicated Ro-Ro vessel Great Land and the containership SS Lihue. The new garage will have the capacity to carry 1,350 vehicles 2006 - Fincantieri signed a contract with the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Madras, India to build an oceanographic ship. The order, worth about 40 million Euros, has been won by Fincantieri despite fierce international competition. The ship is due to be finished in 20 months from the moment work starts, expected within this month. It will be about 104 meters long and about 18 meters wide and will be built at the Fincantieri shipyards of Riva Trigoso (Genoa) and Muggiano (La Spezia) by the company’s Naval Vessel Business Unit. The vessel, suitable for any field of operation, including the polar regions, will be used for oceanographic and hydrographic research and will be a high-tech facility to study the marine environment 2007 - Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. today announced that its 2006-built double-hull and 1A ice-class strengthened Aframax tanker Propontis "touched bottom" while maneuvering off Primorsk Pilot station at 2345 Northern European time on February 8th, 2007. The vessel sailed under its own power to anchorage for further inspections by appropriate authorities. No pollution of any kind or injury to personnel has occurred and the vessel has full structural integrity 2007 - "Carnival Dream" and "Carnival Magic" are the names Carnival Cruise Lines has chosen for its two 130,000-ton SuperLiners scheduled to enter service in October 2009 and June 2011, respectively. Representing a new class of vessel for the line, the 3,652-passenger "Fun Ships" will be the largest in Carnival Cruise Lines' fleet and offer a host of innovative on-board amenities and facilities 2007 - The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group sold Codan Gummi A/S and its subsidiaries to Italian owned Maflow Group 2007 - The skipper and owners of the Irish trawler " Derisa" were fined a total of £23,000 for three net offences and one offence of failing to keep an accurate log book after being boarded in the Celtic Sea. Skipper George Corr, and owners Derisa Hanfield Ltd., both of Dublin, pleaded guilty to all four offences on Friday February 9th at Haverfordwest Magistrates court 2007 - Winds whipping and harbor waves raging did not slow submarine USS Hyman G. Rickover from arriving at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard 2007 - Kuwait-based US Navy command responsible for managing nearly 90 percent of all US military cargo being shipped in and out of the Middle East held a change of command ceremony at the Port of Ash Shuaybah, Kuwait. US Naval Reserve Capt. Steven DeLong and his ten-person unit were relieved by Capt. Peter Johansen and members of Military Sealift Command Expeditionary Port Unit 104, based in Syracuse NY 2008 USNS Robert E Peary christened at NASSCO San Diego 2008 - Russian TU-95 bombers intercepted by Japanese Air Force F-15 and US Navy F/A-18 aircraft flying near USS Nimitz off Southern Japan 2008 - USNS Seay conducted an at-sea rescue operation in the Strait of Gibraltar Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click. 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