SeaWaves Today in History February 28 2008 ********************************************************************* February 28 Finland - Kalevala Day. Visiting warships dress ship with Masthead Flags ? 1825 - Convention on dividing Russian and English possessions in North America is concluded ? 1844 - 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others ? 1849 - The ship California arrived at San Francisco, carrying the first of the gold-seekers ? 1855 - Admiral Petr Ivanovich Rikord, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences died. Born February 9, 1776 ? 1865 - Wilfred Thomason Grenfell 1865-1940 medical missionary, born at Parkgate, Cheshire, England; died at Charlotte, Vermont Oct. 9, 1940; 1883 while attending medical school at London University, was converted by US evangelist Dwight L. Moody and joined the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, serving as surgeon on the first hospital ship attached to the North Sea fisheries; 1889 made superintendent of the Mission; 1892 for 3 months cruised the Newfoundland and Labrador coast treating and providing missionary service to the fishermen, settlers and Inuit; 1893 opened the first hospital at Battle Harbor, and raised funds for the mission with speaking tours and popular books, such as Vikings of To-day (1895); 1909 married a Chicago heiress, Anne MacClanahan, who took him away from Labrador life; 1912 founded the International Grenfell Association, with HQ at St. Anthony's after a split with the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen; by 1932 the IGA had built 6 hospitals, 4 hospital ships, 7 nursing stations, 2 orphanages, 2 residential schools, 14 industrial centers, and a cooperative lumber mill ? 1867 - Each officer of Revenue Cutter Service, while on duty, entitled to one Navy ration per day ? 1893 - Launching of USS Indiana, first true battleship in US Navy ? 1918 - Destroyer HMS Vidette launched ? 1919 - Destroyer USS Osmond Ingram launched ? 1920 - Destroyer USS Mason commissioned ? 1921 - The sailors revolt begins in Kronstadt ? 1931 - Destroyer FS Chevalier Paul laid down ? 1935 - Destroyers HMS Hereward & Hero laid down ? 1936 - Submarine HMS Narwhal commissioned ? 1939 - Boom defense vessel HMAS Kookaburra commissioned ? 1940 - Corvette HMS Dahlia laid down ? 1940 - Destroyer depot ship HMS Tyne launched ? 1940 - Battleship HMS Duke of York launched ? 1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Whitehorn commissioned ? 1940 - Corvette HMCS Arvida laid down Quebec City PQ ? 1940 - U-561 laid down ? 1940 - Four German airmen, the crew of the Heinkel bomber shot down off the Scottish coast the previous day were picked up by a trawler & landed at a port on the east coast of Scotland. One of them, a photographer, was suffering from gunshot wounds in the mouth. The trawler was fishing when the crew saw two British fighters attack the Heinkel, which was shot down in flames. The trawler made for the spot, where the Germans were found up to their knees in water in a collapsible rubber boat. The rescued men appeared overjoyed and shook hands with the trawler’s crew over and over again. One of them declared that war was "no good," and that there was only one man in Germany who was allowed to open his mouth. During the journey back to port the skipper discovered that one of the Germans had voluntarily picked up a shovel and was cheerfully assisting the stoker ? 1940 - Divers have recovered three rotors from the top-secret Enigma enciphering machine on board U-33. The U-boat, caught minelaying off Scotland, scuttled herself after being forced to the surface by depth charges from the sloop HMS Gleaner, which marked the spot and sent for the divers. The rotors have been rushed to Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire where code-breaking scientists are working furiously to solve the secrets of Enigma. The rotors could help break the vital U-boat code ? 1941 - Destroyer HMS Brissenden laid down ? 1941 - Corvette HMS Woodruff launched ? 1941 - Minesweeper HMAS Gouldburn commissioned ? 1941 - Destroyers HMS Eridge, Whaddon & Liddesdale commissioned ? 1941 - Corvette HMS Marigold commissioned ? 1941 - Destroyer depot ship HMS Tyne commissioned ? 1941 - Corvette HMCS Kitchener (ex-Vancouver) laid down Sorel PQ ? 1941 - At 2332, the unescorted SS Effna was torpedoed & sunk by U-108 SE of Iceland. The master and 32 crewmembers were lost ? 1941 - In the early morning, SS Holmelea, a straggler from Convoy HX-109, was damaged by gunfire by U-47 & sunk by a coup de grâce SW of Rockall. A torpedo from U-99 had missed the ship earlier that night. The master & 26 crewmembers were lost. On 5 March, ten crewmembers & one gunner in one lifeboat were picked up by the Icelandic trawler Baldur & landed at Fleetwood. On the same day, the trawler had picked up 39 survivors from the Dutch merchantman Simaloer, which had been bombed and sunk by a German aircraft 60 hours before ? 1941 - U-129 launched ? 1942 - HM MTB-315 (PT-57 USN BPT-9) Lend leased to RN ? 1942 - HM MTB-314 (PT-56 USN BPT-8) Lend leased to RN ? 1942 - Destroyer escorts USS Brennan & Doherty laid down ? 1942 - Destroyer HMAS Quadrant launched ? 1942 - AA cruiser USS San Juan commissioned ? 1942 - At 2330, the transports carrying the Japanese 16th Army anchor in Bantam Bay and prepare to land the Japanese Army troops ? 1942 - Admiral Yamamoto, Commander of the Combined Fleet, issues Navy Directive No. 60, which states that the Japanese Navy is to consider Soviet ships as "absolutely neutral" ? 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Sir Galahad commissioned ? 1942 - Certain duties of former Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation transferred to Coast Guard temporarily by Executive Order 9083. Made permanent July 16, 1946 ? 1942 - U S. Maritime Service transferred to Coast Guard from War Shipping Administration ? 1942 - Japanese troops landed in Java ? 1942 - SS Bayou sunk by U-129 at 08.08N, 55.14W. The only survivor was rescued on 5 Mar at 07°36N, 58°05W ? 1942 - At 1117, the unescorted & unarmed Oregon was attacked by U-156 with the deck gun about 150 miles NE of Mona Passage while steaming completely blacked out on a zigzag course at 10 knots. The first shell hit the starboard side in the quarters of the master and the second destroyed the radio shack. After disabling the radio the U-boat circled the tanker and fired shells at point blank range into the waterline during 75 minutes. Fire broke out on the bridge and the stern and a boiler exploded but the cargo never caught fire. The tanker sank by the stern about four hours after the initial attack. The eight officers and 28 crewmen abandoned ship in one lifeboat and one raft. They abandoned ship on the starboard side while the U-boat fired shells into the port side. The master, two officers and three crewmen died during the attack. The 26 survivors in the lifeboat made landfall near Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on 4 March. The Gulfpenn picked up the four survivors on the raft five & a half days after the attack. Some survivors reported that two U-boats shelled the vessel and that some men were machine gunned when they tried to lower the port boats. A man who jumped overboard reported that a U-boat attempted to run him over. There are no proofs for this reports, but fact is that only one U-boat attacked and the men lost were apparently killed in the initial shelling of the bridge and radio shack ? 1942 - At 1057, destroyer USS Jacob Jones was hit by two torpedoes fired by U-578, while proceeding completely blacked out at 15 knots. The first torpedo struck on the port side just aft of the bridge and ignited a magazine. The explosion completely destroyed the bridge, the chartroom and the officer's and petty officer's quarters. As the ship stopped, the second torpedo struck on the port side about 40 feet forward of the stern & carried away the after part of the ship above the keel plates and shafts and destroyed the after crew quarters. The ship remained afloat for 45 minutes, allowing about 30 survivors to abandon ship on four or five rafts. But as the stern sank, the unsecured depth charges exploded, killing several survivors on a nearby raft. Some hours later, an US Army observation plane sighted the life rafts and reported their position to Eagle Boat USS PE-56 on inshore patrol. The Eagle Boat was forced to abandon her search after three hours, due to strong winds and rising seas. She had picked up 12 survivors, but one of them died enroute Cape May. The search for survivors continued for two days, but was fruitless ? 1942 - At 0844, the unescorted Leif was hit by two torpedoes from U-653 east of Cape Hatteras. The forward section broke away & sank immediately, followed by the rest of the ship 11 minutes later. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats, one containing six survivors and the other 18. First they had rain, hail showers and strong winds, but as soon as the weather permitted four men (including the master) moved to the boat with less men in it. In the afternoon the boats were separated. The master and nine survivors were picked up from the first boat in the morning on 2 March by the Swedish steam tanker Sveadrott about 185 miles west of Bermuda and landed at Key West four days later. The other lifeboat with 14 survivors was never seen again ? 1942 - U-757 commissioned ? 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Peterson laid down ? 1943 - Destroyers USS Bullard, Kidd, Thorn & Turner launched ? 1943 - Submarine USS Ray launched ? 1943 - Light fleet carrier USS Monterey launched ? 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Hill launched ? 1943 - At 1710, U-371 fired one torpedo at an eastbound convoy off Dellys, Algeria and observed the hit. At 1718, another torpedo was fired. U-371 heard a hit, but no detonation after 35 seconds. SS Daniel Carroll was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side at the bow. A second torpedo struck the ship but failed to explode. The explosion extensively damaged the Liberty ship, but the ten officers, 33 men, 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and 30 passengers remained on board. A British tug towed the Daniel Carroll to Algiers, where she arrived on 1 March. The most of her cargo was saved by salvors. On 11 May, she proceeded to Gibraltar for intermediate repairs, arriving two days later. On 22 July, left in convoy GUS-10 for New York, where she arrived on 9 August. She returned to service in Jul 44. Daniel Carroll had left New York for Casablanca in Convoy UGS-4 & was then proceeding from Gibraltar to Algiers in station #23 of convoy TE-16 ? 1943 - US Liberty Ship Wade Hampton sunk by U-405 at 59.49N, 34.43W. Soviet RPT-1 (ex USS PT-85) & RPT-3 (ex-USS PT-87), deck cargo on Wade Hampton, were lost as well ? 1944 - HMC MTB 461 commissioned ? 1944 - Frigate HMCS Teme (ex-HMS Teme) commissioned ? 1944 - Corvette HMCS Hespeller commissioned ? 1944 - Submarine HMS Artemis laid down ? 1944 - Submarine USS Sea Devil launched ? 1944 - The last Vultee SNV-2 is delivered to the USN ? 1944 - Soviet submarines M-108 & K-22 reported lost sometime during the month ? 1944 - Soviet minesweeper Gruz torpedoed & sunk by E-boats off Cape Myshako ? 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Leland E Thomas launched ? 1944 - Aircraft carrier USS Bennington launched ? 1944 - Destroyer HMS Zealous launched ? 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Sylvia launched ? 1944 - Minesweepers USS Vigilance & Change commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Martin H Ray commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer USS Moale commissioned ? 1945 - The Canadian-owned, US-registered merchantman Soreldoc (1,926 GRT) was torpedoed & sunk by U-1302, Kptlt. Wolfgang Herwartz, CO, in the English Channel, in position 52.15N, 005.35W. Soreldoc was on route from Liverpool to Swansea. Fifteen of her 36 crewmembers were lost. The survivors were rescued by the fishing vessel Loyal Star and were landed at Milford Haven, Wales. Soreldoc was acquired by the US War Shipping Administration in 1943 and was registered in Panama at the time of her loss. The crew was American ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Eversole laid down ? 1945 - The great Baltic port of Danzig, Poland, is the scene of an amazing evacuation. Some two million people are being shipped to the west to escape the "red terror" being visited on the German people by the advancing Russians. The Soviet soldiers are inflamed by the writing of the propagandist Ilya Ehrenburg, who tells them - "Break the racial pride of these Germanic women. Take them as your lawful booty. Kill. As you storm onwards, kill, you gallant soldiers of the Red Army." The slogan "Blood for blood. Bread for bread" has been drummed into them, and as they roll through the villages of East Prussia they are exacting a terrible revenge. The men are shot, and for the women the order "Frau Komm" means certain rape and probable death. Homes are looted of everything, with furniture being strapped onto tanks by drunken soldiers. So the people are fleeing, stumbling across the icy fields carrying what they can, prepared to leave everything behind to escape the rampaging Russians. Those who reach the safety of the ports fight to get on board the evacuation ships. Babies are being thrown to be used by another member of the family as a means to get aboard. At sea there is danger from mines, but the ships are getting through and anything is better than facing the rampant terror of the Red Army ? 1945 - Destroyer HMS Sluys launched ? 1945 - Submarine USS Carp commissioned ? 1945 - Destroyer escort USS Joseph E Connolly commissioned ? 1945 - Minesweeper USS Reform commissioned ? 1945 - U-3031 commissioned ? 1945 - At 2300, U-1022 fired a spread of three torpedoes at Convoy UR-155 & heard detonations and sinking noises from two ships. In fact only the Alcedo (Master Marius A. Kolster, age 53) in position 22 was hit by one torpedo on the starboard side between #3 and #4 hatches. The force of the explosion sheared off the mainmast and it fell to port. The propeller shaft was broken stopping the engine and the #4 hold was immediately flooded. This caused the ship to sink by the stern after 25 minutes in 64.00N/22.46W. An Able Seaman had been caught in the safety net hanging over the starboard side and was trapped & drowned when the ship sank. Another AB fell into the hole on deck, which was caused by the explosion. A messman went down with the ship when he refused to jump overboard to be picked up by a lifeboat. In all three crewmembers died & eight were injured out of her complement of 32 crewmembers (3 Americans and 15 other nationalities), 5 US Naval armed guard and one navy security officer. The remaining survivors abandoned ship in two boats and two rafts and were picked up at 0140 by HMS Home Guard & landed in Reykjavik about four hours later. The Danish Master Marius A. Kolster (Age 53) survived ? 1945 - MS Norfolk Coast was torpedoed & sunk by U-1302 SW of Strumble Head. Six crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The master, four crewmembers & one gunner were picked up by HMCS Moose Jaw & landed at Fishguard ? 1946 - Frigate HMCS Charlottetown completed tropicalization refit ? 1946 - RCN 826 Sqn, equipped with Firefly FR Is, disbanded due critical early post-war shortage of maintenance personnel. The squadron remained Canadian on paper pending reactivation at a future date ? 1950 - Destroyer HMCS Huron recommissioned after modernization ? 1951 - HMCS Athabaskan wins the "oiling at Sea" contest for Korean ships with a time of 1 minutes and 40 seconds ? 1951 - A costly day for RCN Aviation. At 1312, Sea Fury VX 688 (AA-A) piloted by Lt (P) WD "Chiefie" Munro, 883 Sqn, torque-stalled while coming in for a landing on HMCS Magnificent and crashed alongside the carrier. The pilot was rescued. Two hours later, Lt (P) Jack Hartle's 883 Sqn Sea Fury TG 126 (AA-M) stalled on takeoff turned over on its back and dove into the Sea. The pilot was lost. At 1615, TBM Avenger 86158 (AB-J), piloted by Lt(P) F.R. Fink of 826 Sqn, suffered engine failure just short of the round-down, stalled and ditched off the starboard quarter. The pilot exited the cockpit of his floating a/c, walked along the wing, returned for his dinghy, walked out again, launched the dinghy and climbed into it. This, the first-ever loss of an Avenger operating from Magnificent, demonstrated the relative ease in successfully ditching aircraft of this type ? 1955 - Commanding Officer of HMCS Sioux informed Canadian authorities that ROK Navy taking over all patrols effective March 5 ? VX 10 detachment of two Banshees and two CS2F-1 Trackers departs HMCS Shearwater for the UK to conduct initial flight trials on HMCS Bonaventure, via St. Hubert, Goose Bay, Greenland and Iceland. This was the first-ever Trans-Atlantic flight by RCN aircraft ? USS Strong rescues 13 Arab fishermen from Bahrain when their fishing boats floundered in a storm ? 1964 - Minesweepers HMCS Fortune & James Bay paid off Esquimalt BC ? 1966 - USS Hornet port call Sydney ? 1966 - A squadron of Soviet atomic submarines sets out on the first group circumnavigation of the world ? 1980 - Blue crew of USS Francis Scott Key launches 4 Trident I (C-4) missiles in first C-4 Operational Test ? 1991 - USS Nimitz and Forrestal Carrier Battle Groups will depart on 5 and 7 March 1991 for overseas deployment. The battle groups will provide operational and maintenance flexibility for carrier battle groups in support of Operation Desert Storm and ensure maximum readiness and deployment stability of naval forces in that area ? 1991 - Iraq agrees to meeting to work out cease-fire issues ? 1991 - Submarine HMS Ursula launched Cammell Laird Birkenhead ? 1995 - US Marines swept ashore in Somalia to protect retreating UN peacekeepers ? 2001 - Earthquake registering 6.8 on Richter Scale jolts Seattle and Puget Sound ? 2003 - Destroyer USS Fife decommissioned at Everett ? 2003 - Frigate USS Sides officially decommissioned ? 2004 - Cdr George Bonsall, commanding officer of the Norfolk-based guided-missile destroyer Stout, was given nonjudicial punishment for personal misconduct during a liberty visit in Mobile, Ala., and was relieved for loss of confidence ? 2005 - Armed escorts from the Singapore Navy will guard selected merchant ships and cruise liners plying the city-state’s busy waters as part of efforts to prevent terrorism. The Accompanying Sea Security Teams (ASSeT) scheme will be launched sometime in March, a ministry spokesperson said ? 2005 - Five Royal Navy warships were recalled from sea amid safety fears concerning their life rafts, defense officials have confirmed. They were called back earlier this month, 48 hours after safety checks had found some craft were defective. In total, 38 of the emergency boats had broken buoyancy chambers, meaning they would have failed to inflate properly. A Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokeswoman said immediate action was taken and all life craft have been replaced. The replacements have been fitted to aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, destroyer HMS Exeter, frigates HMS Grafton and HMS Lancaster and mine hunter HMS Grimsby ? 2005 - A Coast Guard helicopter and a vessel from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission located the two teenagers who have been missing since Saturday night deceased approximately eight miles offshore of the mouth of the Swanee River around noon. The boys' canoe was located overturned about five and a half miles west of the Swanee River. The missing 14-year-old boys were part of a 10-person school group that came down from Darlington School in Rome, Ga., to head out via kayaks and canoes and one motorized vessel from the Swanee River en route Coon Island to go camping Saturday evening. During their transit in 2 to 3-foot seas and scattered rain, the motorized vessel became disabled and the group became separated. The Coast Guard received the call for help after the vessel operator called his wife via cell phone to report the distress. A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Clearwater was launched along with a rescue boat from Station Yankeetown and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission airboats. The helicopter crew located six kayakers who managed to stay together and vectored the Coast Guard rescue boat to their location. The helicopter crew also located and hoisted the two people from the disabled vessel due to space constraints on the Coast Guard rescue boat. The eight individuals who were rescued indicated that there were two ninth-grade boys in one canoe unaccounted for. Coast Guard helicopters, planes, jets, cutters and small boats conducted the constant search for the boys since Saturday with the aid of several FWCC boats and three Dixie County airboats ? 2005 - The Coast Guard rescued a man after his boat capsized near Squalibum Creek near Bellingham, Wash. Coast Guard Station Bellingham launched a 27-foot response boat at 1612, two minutes after a man called the station from his shoreside home, near the creek, to report an overturned vessel. Minutes later, the crew from the response boat rescued the victim as he was clinging to his capsized 17-foot boat in 50 degree waters, approximately a half mile from Squalibum Creek ? 2005 - A short in an electrical transformer on HMCS Fredericton in Bermuda won't delay the Canadian frigate's return to Halifax. A local fire department was ready to respond to the incident, which happened while the vessel was alongside, but was not needed. A small fire in a transformer panel on the second deck next to a wardroom was put out with a chemical extinguisher. No one was injured and the ship wasn't damaged. HMCS Fredericton and its crew were in Bermuda after finishing exercises ? 2005 - Four people reported missing off Baffin Island were spotted safe and sound on an ice floe. ? The crew of a Hercules aircraft spotted the four aboriginals, who found themselves in a precarious position amid pack ice. The four, who were in a large open canoe designed for hunting, set out the previous day but did not return in the evening as expected. Jessup said a Cormorant helicopter was expected to lift the stranded foursome to safety ? 2005 - The Manitowoc Company, Inc. named Robert P. Herre as president of Manitowoc Marine Group. Mr. Herre replaces Dennis E. McCloskey, who has assumed a new role in handling special corporate-level projects. Herre brings more than 30 years of maritime industry experience to the position, with an extensive background in operations. He was previously Executive Vice President and Head of Operations at Trinity Industries, Inc., where he was responsible for all operational and financial aspects of the company's six-plant shipbuilding segment. Herre has held similar leadership positions at American Commercial Lines, LLC; Walker Boat Yard, and The Valley Line Company ? 2005 - The Colombian Navy captured 1.2 tons of cocaine aboard a boat off the Caribbean tourist resort of Cartago in one of the biggest single drug seizures here so far this year ? 2005 - A Malaysian tugboat was attacked by gun-wielding pirates in the Malacca Strait in what is said to be the first incident for the year, and following the deadly tsunami disaster ? 2005 - BJ Penn was sworn in Feb. 28 as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment by Secretary of the Navy Gordon England. In this position, he is responsible for formulating policy and procedures for the effective management of Navy and Marine Corps real property, housing, and other facilities; environmental protection ashore and afloat; occupational health for both military and civilian personnel; and timely completion of closures and realignments of installations under base closure laws ? 2006 - A change of command ceremony for the commanding officer of Coast Guard Group Woods Hole at 1030 accompanied by a commissioning ceremony for the new Sector Southeastern New England. During the change of command ceremony, Capt. Roy Nash, currently the commanding officer for Marine Safety Office in Providence, RI., will assume the responsibilities of command from Capt. Judy Keene. Sector Southeastern New England will be formed when Group Woods Hole and Marine Safety Office Providence merges during the commissioning ceremony, making Capt. Nash the new commander of Sector Southeastern New England ? 2006 - Keppel Shipyard Ltd delivered FPSO Capixaba, with a conversion contract value of over S$90 million. The 13-month fast-track project is the sixth Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO/FSO) conversion project for Keppel Shipyard from Single Buoy Moorings (SBM), member of the SBM Offshore NV Group, since 2000. The work scope on the former Stena Congress includes installation and integration of topside modules; the fabrication and installation of the internal turret, flare tower, piperack and helideck; and installation of a hose reel at the stern for offloading to export vessels. FPSO Capixaba will now be capable of producing 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) with a storage capacity of two million barrels. The vessel will be moored in 1,350 meters of water. First oil is anticipated in the second quarter of 2006. To be leased by SBM to Petrobras SA, Brazil’s national oil company, FPSO Capixaba will be the first FPSO to be deployed in the Golfinho light oilfield in the Espirito Santo Basin offshore Brazil ? 2006 - Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh takes over as Commander-in-Chief of the tri-services Andaman and Nicobar Command. Commissioned on 01 Jan 69, he joined the submarine arm of the Indian Navy and served on various submarines, the Submarine Base INS Virbahu and Submarine School INS Satvahana ? 2006 - Vice Admiral Sangram Singh Byce, PVSM, AVSM, NM, takes over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command today consequent to the retirement of Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh. An anti-submarine warfare specialist, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 Jan 1969 and is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla.. During the 1971 operation against Pakistan, he commanded INS Subhadra, which participated in the operations on the western seaboard. During these operations, he was awarded 'Mention- in-Dispatches' for gallantry ? 2006 - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced today that the President has nominated Navy Capt. James W. Houck for appointment as Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy and appointment to the grade of rear admiral. Houck is currently serving as Special Assistant for Transformation, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Washington ? 2006 - The master of a vessel which ran aground off Kent and docked later in Hull was remanded in custody by Scunthorpe Magistrates today, 28 February 2006 after pleading guilty to being four times over the legal drink drive limit whilst in charge of a ship. At the hearing today in Scunthorpe, Adrian Fericel, a Romanian national aged 45, was remanded to appear at Grimsby Crown Court on the 2oth March at 10.00. The master was involved in incidents on the Goodwin Sands on 12th February 2006 and New Holland on the River Humber on the 15th February 2006. On the 13th February 2006, the owners of the Swiss registered vessel 'Kathrin' contacted Dover Coastguard to report that the vessel had grounded on the Goodwin Sands. Examination of the radar records at Dover showed that the 'Kathrin' had crossed normally from the NE lane of the Dover Traffic Separation Scheme into the English inshore traffic zone. However, instead of altering course to continue its passage up to the Humber, the `Kathrin' maintained its course. Ten minutes after narrowly missing the East Goodwin Light Vessel, the `Kathrin' ran aground on the Goodwin Sands. The vessel remained aground for 20 minutes before re-floating itself and re-commencing its passage to the north of England. Dover Coastguard was not contacted at any time during this incident. As a result the vessel was met at New Holland by a Port State Control Inspector from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). On boarding it was suspected that the Master was over the prescribed limit for alcohol. Accordingly Humberside Police was asked to attend and subjected Mr Fericel to a breathalyzer test. He failed the test and was arrested. He was taken to Scunthorpe Police Station and asked to provide a sample of his breath for analysis. This showed level of alcohol in his breath of 140 micrograms per microliter of breath. This was about four times the legal limit. This is the highest recorded alcohol level in incidents that the MCA have had to deal with As a result the Humberside Police commenced an investigation into Mr Fericel. This investigation was assisted by the Enforcement Unit of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Mr Fericel pleaded guilty to breaches of the drink/drive provisions of the Railway and Transport safety Act 2003 and section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, as amended. The Magistrates in transferring the case to the Crown Court said: "The sentencing powers available to the Magistrates Court today were insufficient." (the sentencing available to the court is a maximum fine of £5,000 for each offence ? 2006 - Seaspan Corporation announced that it has signed a contract to build four 2500 TEU vessels from Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China. These new orders are incremental to Seaspan's original contracted fleet and will increase the company's total fleet to 29 vessels. The four newbuilding vessels will be delivered between September 2008 and March 2009. The total delivered cost is expected to be approximately $44.5 million per vessel, subject to certain pre-delivery expenses remaining at budgeted levels. Seaspan also announced that it has arranged simultaneous twelve-year charter agreements for these four vessels with China Shipping Container Lines (Asia) Co. Ltd. ("CSCL Asia") at an initial rate of $16,750 per day, increasing to $16,900 per day after six years ? 2006 - Two men are safe after their 16-foot recreational skiff capsized in the entrance of Tillamook Bay OR. At 1415 a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay located a disabled skiff anchored inside the bay with two persons aboard. A line was passed to the skiff from the motor lifeboat to tow it to shore. As the skiffs anchor was pulled up the vessel capsized. The crew of the motor lifeboat immediately rescued both of the men from the 48-degree water. The two men were wearing lifejackets. The boat was not recovered and remains submerged. The two men were taken to Station Tillamook Bay and released without injury ? 2006 - Sailors from the guided missile destroyer USS Gonzalez, currently deployed to the Arabian Gulf, rescued six Iranian mariners yesterday after they had been adrift for 10 days ? 2006 - USCGC Sapelo repatriated 77 Dominican illegal immigrants to the Dominican Republic today at 0700. Sapelo arrived on scene Monday and safely embarked all the illegal immigrants, 56 male and 21 females, before proceeding to rendezvous with the Dominican Republic Navy Vessel Proción in the vicinity of Isla Saona, Dominican Republic to conduct the repatriation at sea. Sapelo transferred all the illegal immigrants safely and in good health to the Proción. A Forces United for Rapid Action fixed-wing aircraft from the Puerto Rico Police Department located the migrants Monday at 1710 traveling illegally to Puerto Rico on board a wooden yola. Minutes later, a FURA marine unit intercepted the 35-foot yola approximately five nautical miles north of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. After the yola was detained, a second FURA marine unit arrived on scene to support the interdiction. US Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center controllers diverted the Sapelo to assist FURA personnel and transfer the illegal immigrants to the cutter. As the illegal immigrants were being transferred, an Air Station Borinquen HH-65 Dolphin helicopter flew rescue support overhead ? 2006 - An investigation has been launched after a Royal Navy mine-hunting ship was damaged on a training exercise in Norway, the Ministry of Defense said. The Clyde, Scotland-based vessel HMS Grimsby will have to undergo repairs after striking the side of a fjord north of Bergen. None of the 35 to 40 strong crew was injured in the incident, but there was flooding on board after a fresh water tank burst. The hull was also damaged, and the ship is now being assessed at the coastal town of Maloy ? 2006 - After the success of the Submarine Archaeological Exploration to the light cruiser Dresden, at 1800 hours landing ship Valdivia arrived at Valparaiso. The bell that was rescued in the coasts of the Island Robinson Crusoe, by a group of Archaeologists of the German government, supported by the Navy of Chile and the National Monument Council ? 2007 - The British Seaking MK 42 Bravo, the Indian Navy lost allegedly due to a technical snag near INS Kunjali (II) in Colaba was the fourth such helicopter lost by the services since its induction in 1988. This leaves the Indian Navy with 16 Seaking MK 42 B’s of the 20 that were inducted between April 1988 and 1992. The MK 42 B’s, which was chosen by Indian Navy ahead of the French Super Puma, were inducted to serve Godavari class frigates and aircraft carriers Vikrant and Viraat ? 2007 - Submarine JDS Otoshio commissioned at Kobe ? 2007 - USCG helicopter crew airlifted a man with a severely injured hand who was aboard an 80-foot fishing vessel roughly 80 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard ? 2007 - In a traditional maritime handover ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, Carnival Cruise Lines took delivery of the new 110,000-ton Carnival Freedom – the 22nd vessel in the “Fun Ship” fleet ============================================================= 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 2008 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.