SeaWaves Today in History January 3, 2008 ********************************************************************* January 3 1765 - Royal Danish Naval Library is founded 1833 - Britain seized control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic 1882 - The watch at Station No. 13, Second District, Massachusetts, reported at about 4 p.m., the collision of two schooners, two and a half miles east SE of the station. Launching the surfboat, the crew proceeded to the vessels. The smaller vessel, the British schooner Dart, was boarded first. She was out from Saint John, NB and bound for New York with a cargo of lumber and a crew of four persons. The vessel was badly damaged, having her bowsprit, jib boom, and headgear carried away. The life-saving crew at once set to work. They cleared away the wreck and weighed her anchor, which had been let go in the collision. By this time, the steamer Hercules, of Philadelphia had come alongside and Dart's master arranged for a tow to Vineyard Haven. The life-saving crew ran the hawser from the schooner to the steamer and sent them on their way. The other schooner, in the meantime, had sailed away 1904 - Marines from USS Dixie arrive in Panama 1917 - Cruiser HMS Dauntless laid down 1917 - Italian submarines H1 & H2 depart Halifax for Mediterranean via Bermuda accompanied by the brand new submarine depot ship CEARA which was built for Brazil but not yet delivered and "borrowed" to get the two submarines to Italy (The fact that the Italians used CEARA as the escort is also of interest, records indicate she was not completed, for Brazil, until April 1917) 1923 - Allen Street (Kelso) Bridge collapses, with loss of life in Washington State 1931 - Submarine HMS Sturgeon laid down 1933 - Destroyer HMS Dainty commissioned 1936 - Soviet submarine S-4 laid down 1936 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his State of the Union message to Congress says the United States, by the arms embargo and by the discouragement of the export of war materials above peacetime level, declines to encourage the prosecution of war stating, "As a consistent part of a clear policy, the United States is following a twofold neutrality toward any and all nations which engage in wars not of immediate concern to the Americas" 1938 - Destroyer USS Charles F Hughes laid down 1940 - SS Svartön sunk by U-58 57.48N, 01.47W - Grid AN 1866 1940 - Soviet submarine S-2 struck a mine at Märket in the Baltic Sea and sank 1940 - US freighter SS Nashaba is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar. The freighter SS Executive, detained at Gibraltar since 20 December 1939, is released to proceed on her voyage to Greece, Turkey, and Romania 1940 - U-25 becomes the first Axis submarine to take advantage of Spain's offer to allow reprovisioning and refueling in its ports. It ties up along the German freighter SS Thalia in Cadiz. After four hours of taking supplies off the merchant ship, U-25 returns to sea 1940 - US freighter SS Mormacsun is intercepted by British naval vessel and diverted to Kirkwall, Scotland, into the zone designated as a combat area 1940 - In his annual budget message, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt asks Congress to provide US$1.8 billion (US$25.11 billion in year 2005 dollars) for national defense, new appropriations of almost US$1.2 billion (US$16.74 billion in year 2005 dollars), and the development of an annual production program of 50,000 aircraft 1940 - U-143, U-753 laid down 1940 - Submarine HMS Taku commissioned 1941 - US President Roosevelt announces the Liberty Ship program, 200 merchant ships of a standardized British design 1941 - Corvette HMS Hydrangea commissioned 1941 - U-335 laid down 1941 - At Alexandria, Midshipman Prince Philip of Greece joins battleship HMS Valiant, which, with battleships HMS Barham and Warspite, later bombards Bardia, Libya, to assist with the British Army plans for its capture. Prince Philip of Greece is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and of Prince Andrew's wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg [Mountbatten]. Philip is most certainly in the line [fifth in 1940] of succession for the Greek throne 1941 - Canada and the US acquire air bases at Gander, Newfoundland, and Goose Bay, Labrador, on a 99-year lease 1941 - British Ministry of Aircraft Production places an order for 250 Vickers Warwick Mk. Is but it did not enter production until July 1942. Designed as a replacement for the Vickers Wellington, the aircraft did not meet combat requirements and in January 1943 it was decided to convert the Warwicks to air sea rescue operations carrying an airborne lifeboat and this version entered service in the summer of 1943 and the Warwick A.S.R. Mk I 1941 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces that he is sending his close confidant, Harry Hopkins, to London as his personal representative until a new ambassador can be sent to replace Joseph Kennedy who resigned in November 1940 because he disagreed with Roosevelt's determination to involve the USA in the Second World War. A social worker before he became US Secretary of Commerce, Harry Hopkins loves to play poker. He is 50, and so close a friend of the President that he has lived in the White House for the past year. His mission to London is evidence of the extreme importance the President attaches to maintaining close relations with Britain 1942 - U-488 laid down 1942 - Japanese invade Labuan Island in Brunei Bay, without opposition 1942 - During the night of 3/4 January, 14 RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons and four Stirlings attack the German fleet at Brest; one Wellington is lost 1942 - During the night of 3/4 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches ten Hampdens on minelaying mission in the Frisian Islands; one aircraft is lost 1942 - Roosevelt and Churchill announce creation of a unified command in the Southwest Pacific, with British General Sir Archibald P Wavell as supreme commander of American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) forces in that area. General Wavell is directed (1) to hold the Malay Barrier (the line Malay Peninsula-Sumatra-Java-Northern Australia) and operate as far beyond the barrier as possible in order to check the Japanese advance; (2) hold Burma and Australia; (3) restore communications with the Philippine Islands through the Netherlands East Indies; and (4) maintain communications within the theater. Above all, Wavell's forces, mostly Australians and British, are to hold Australia and Burma. In another move, Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek is named Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in China. The Arcadia Conference makes Chiang Kai-shek, a Chinese leader, the leader of Allied troops stationed in and around China 1942 - Military planners come to the realization that it will be impossible to reinforce the Philippine Islands and the troops in those islands are doomed. When told of this, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson notes, "There are times when men must die" 1943 - A two-man submersible Chariot, based on a modified torpedo, succeeded in penetrating Palermo & sank the light cruiser Ulpio Traiano - the first such use of the device by the Royal Navy, which had copied it from the Italian Navy's Maiale that had been used to considerable effect against British shipping earlier in the war 1943 - U-337 reported missing in the North Atlantic. No explanation for her loss. 47 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-96 transferred an ill crewmember to U-163, which was on her way to base 1943 - U-406 took on an ill crewmember from U-123 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Robert E Peary launched 1943 - U-337 (Type VIIC), with 47 crewmen, is listed as missing in the North Atlantic; there is no explanation for its loss. U-337 reported for the last time today when the boat was about 150 nautical miles west-northwest of the Faeroe Islands (63.00N, 12.00W) 1943 - USAAF's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 28: The primary target is the St Nazaire U-Boat base, the first attack on this installation since 23 November 1942 and the heaviest attack to date against U-Boat bases to date. The command dispatches 85 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 13 B-24 Liberators; 60 B-17s and eight B-24s hit the target dropping 171 tons of bombs between 1130 and 1140 hours local. Formation (instead of individual) precision bombing is used for the first time by the VIII Bomber Command, and considerable damage is done to the dock area. Seven aircraft are lost 1943 - During the night of 3/4 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 45 Wellingtons and Lancasters to lay mines off the Bay of Biscay coast: 15 off the Gironde Estuary; 7 off Lorient, six off St. Nazaire, three each off Amiens, Bayonne and Tergnier, and two each off La Pallice, Limoges and St. Jean de Luz 1943 - During the night of 3/4 January, three RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Texel Island 1943 - Japanese supplies and reinforcements are landed at Lae, Papua New Guinea, under Allied air attacks. This convoy will provide the Allied Air Force planners valuable experience for future use. Over 100 sorties are delivered by the USAAF Fifth Air Force. Lieutenant General George C. Kenny, Commanding General Allied Air Force and Commanding General USAAF Fifth Air Force, had information from ULTRA as to when the convoy would leave Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, its destination and when it would arrive. Aircraft were ordered into the air as soon as they were ready. In some cases a medium or heavy bomber would attack singly, in other cases in twos or threes. Not surprisingly, with hindsight, the convoy handled them easily. One small transport is sunk by an Australian (PBY) Catalina attacking at night. After the convoy delivers its cargo, the Fifth Air Force sinks two more ships but by then the damage is done 1943 - Minesweeper HMAS Bunbury commissioned 1943 - Light cruiser HMS Uganda commissioned 1943 - Japanese supplies and reinforcements are landed at Lae under Allied air attacks. This convoy will provide the Allied Air Force planners valuable experience for future use. Over 100 sorties were delivered by the 5th Air Force. General Kenny had information from ULTRA as to when the convoy would leave Rabaul, its destination and when it would arrive. Aircraft were ordered into the air as soon as they were ready. In some cases a medium or heavy bomber would attack singly, in other cases in twos or threes. Not surprisingly, with hindsight, the convoy handled them easily. An RAAF Catalina attacking at night sank one small transport. After the convoy delivered its cargo, 5th Air Force sank two more ships but by then the damage was done 1943 - U-310 launched 1943 - At 1800, the unescorted SS Baron Dechmont was torpedoed & sunk by U-507 NW of Cape San Roque, Brazil. Seven crewmembers lost. The master was taken prisoner and later lost when the U-boat was sunk ten days later. 28 crewmembers and eight gunners landed at Fortaleza 1943 - At 2252, SS British Vigilance (Master Evan Owen Evans) in convoy TM-1 was torpedoed by U-514 about 900 miles NE of Barbados in 20°58N/44°40W (grid DQ 9325) and abandoned. 25 crewmembers and two gunners were lost. The master, 21 crewmembers and five gunners were picked up by the HMS Saxifrage & landed at Gibraltar 1944 - After returning from her third convoy duty, the Turner was anchored off Sandy Hook, New Jersey waiting to go to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs. The next morning, a series of unknown explosions rocked her ammunition storage areas, turning the ship into an inferno. Another explosion ripped the bottom out of the Turner and she sank by the stern taking with her 15 officers and 138 ratings. 165 survivors were taken to the hospital at Sandy Hook, their lives saved by blood plasma being flown in from New York 1944 - Frigate HMCS Prince Rupert departed St John's as escort for Convoy SC-150 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Formoe, Grady, Melvin R Nawman & Oliver Mitchell laid down 1944 - Escort carrier USS Nehenta Bay commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Runels commissioned 1944 - U-275 had to return to base because the commander was suffering from appendicitis 1944 - U-373 was attacked by a British Wellington aircraft in the North Atlantic. The boat suffered heavy damage and was forced to return to base 1944 - U-1003 collided with U-237 off Danzig in the Baltic Sea. U-1003 suffered some damage 1944 - SS Empire Housman, straggling from the Convoy ON-217, was again torpedoed by U-744 and foundered two days later. One crewmember was lost. The master, 37 crewmembers and seven gunners were picked up by the armed trawler HMS Elm & rescue tug HMS Earner & landed at Reykjavik 1944 - Major Gregory Boyington USMCR, the F4U ace commanding Marine Fighting Squadron Two Hundred Fourteen (VMF-214) brings his total kills to 28 (including six with the American Volunteer Group) when he shoots down three "Zeke" fighters near Rabaul, New Britain Island at 0815 hours local. He is himself shot down and is picked up by a Japanese submarine and is dropped off at Rabaul. He spends the next 20 months in a Japanese prison camps 1944 - US VI Corps withdraws from the line to participate in amphibious assault on Anzio 1944 - Aerial minelaying operations in the Marshalls continue: seven USN PB4Y-1s Liberators of Bombing Squadrons One Hundred Eight and One Hundred Nine (VB-108 and VB-109), flying from Apemama, Gilbert Islands, mine the waters northwest of Enijun Island, off west side of Taroa, and outside lagoon off Kumaru Island, and strafe shipping anchored off Taroa. Four PV-1 Venturas of VB-137, flying from Tarawa, mine the southeast pass of Jaluit Atoll 1944 - In the South China Sea, submarine USS Bluefish lays mines off the eastern Malayan coast 1944 - Returning to the US yesterday after completing her third Atlantic convoy duty, the destroyer USS Turner is anchored in the Ambrose Channel off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, waiting to enter the Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs. At about 0630, the destroyer is shaken by a series of internal explosions in her ammunition storage areas while the crew is preparing for breakfast. The explosion ignites the fuel tanks turning the ship into a raging inferno. Another explosion blows the bottom out of the vessel at 0750 and the blazing ship begins to sink by the stern. It is not known what caused the explosions which took the lives of 15 officers and 123 enlisted men. There were 165 survivors who were rescued by nearby ships and taken to the hospital at Sandy Hook. Many lives are saved when 40 units of blood plasma lashed to the floats of a USCG Sikorsky HNS-1 Hoverfly helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station, New York, New York (Floyd Bennett Field), flies to Battery Park in lower Manhattan to pick up the plasma and then to the hospital in Sandy Hook. The flight is made through snow squalls and sleet which grounds all other types of aircraft. This is the first recorded lifesaving flight conducted by a rotary-wing aircraft 1944 - TIME magazine declares the Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, its "Man Of The Year" for 1943 1944 - The escort aircraft carrier USS Nehenta Bay commissioned at Astoria, Oregon. The USN now has 38 escort aircraft carriers in commission 1945 - In preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and mainland Japan, Gen. Douglas MacArthur is placed in command of all US ground forces and Adm. Chester Nimitz is placed in command of all US naval forces. This effectively ended the concept of unified commands, in which one man oversaw more than one service from more than one country in a distinct region 1945 - British forces launched an attack on Akyab, Burma, including the deployment of a Royal Navy bombardment force. In the event, the Japanese proved to have withdrawn, and Akyab was liberated single-handed by a Royal Artillery officer 1945 - Third Fleet carriers begin a 2 day attack against Formosa destroying 100 aircraft with loss of only 22 aircraft 1945 - Trouble with the diesels forced U-315 to return to base 1945 - U-2361, U-4703 launched 1945 - In the Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA) area, the Indian XV Corps invades Akyab (Operation TALON), omitting preparatory bombardment since no opposition is expected. From landing craft in the Naaf River, the British 3d Commando Brigade lands and is followed by a brigade of the Indian 25th Division from Foul Point. Inland, troops of the British 2d Division, XXX Corps, Fourteenth Army, occupy Ye-u 1945 - Occupation of Fais Island by elements of the 321st Infantry Regiment, US 81st Infantry Division continues. They destroy a Japanese radio station found there. Interrogation of natives and Japanese prisoners reveals that Fais, located southeast of Ulithi Atoll, had never been used to base ships 1945 - Six P-51s claim several river steamers sunk in the Hankow-Chiuchiang area while six others damage bridges at Chinchengchiang. Over 20 other P-40s, P-51s, and P-47 Thunderbolts on armed reconnaissance attack various targets of opportunity in the Wuchang-Hankow and Shwangliu areas 1945 - USN Task Force 38 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) begins operations against Japanese airfields and shipping in the Formosa area. Principally along the west coast of Formosa, TF 38 planes sink a landing ship, five cargo ships and damage five army cargo ships. TF 38 consists of five battleships, 11 aircraft carriers, five small aircraft carriers, three heavy cruisers, 14 light cruisers and 56 destroyer 1945 - Submarine HMS Shakespeare surfaces to engage a merchant ship and is damaged by gunfire and later aircraft in the Nankauri Strait, Andaman Islands. She reaches Ceylon and is written off as a constructive total loss 1945 - USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells from the Aleutians fly coverage for a naval force over the Kurile Islands 1945 - USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command flies Mission 17: 97 Mariana Island-based B-29 Superfortresses are sent to bomb docks and urban areas of Nagoya; 57 hit the primary target and 21 others bomb alternates and targets of opportunity; Japanese fighters fly over 300 attacks on the B-29s and five are lost; B-29 gunners claim 14-14-20 Japanese aircraft 1945 - General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is designated Commander in Chief US Army Forces in the Pacific and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz is designated Commander in Chief US Naval Forces in the Pacific 1945 - U-4712 laid down 1945 - Frigate HMCS Cap de la Madeleine detached convoy HX-328 & assigned Convoy ONS-39 westbound 1945 - At 1803, SS Henry Miller in station #51 of convoy GUS-63 was torpedoed by U-870 22 miles SW of Cape Spartel. One torpedo struck at the bulkhead between #2 and #3 holds. The engines were secured as a fire started at the #3 hold, but the holds were soon filled by water and it extinguished the flames. The ship, now down by the head and listing to port, lost way and drifted aft of the convoy, but the complement of eight officers, 36 crewmen, 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with two 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one passenger (US Army security officer) remained on board. The master decided to restart the engines and make it to Gibraltar 50 miles away. 40 minutes after the attack the master ordered 25 crewmembers, 24 armed guards and the passenger to leave the ship in two lifeboats in case a bulkhead failed. They were picked up 15 minutes later by frigate USS Brunswick & landed at Gibraltar the next day. At 0300 on 4 January, the skeleton crew brought the Henry Miller under her own power into Gibraltar, where she was declared a total loss. After the war the wreck was towed to Spain and scrapped 1946 - Frigate HMCS Joliette sold Chilean Navy & renamed Iquique 1946 - Frigate HMCS Thetford Mines to Honduran buyer for mercantile service 1946 - Submarine USS Remora commissioned 1965 - USS Coral Sea port call Subic Bay 1968 - USS Enterprise commenced Vietnam deployment 1968 - USS Ticonderoga port call Pearl Harbor 2002 - Six German naval vessels set out to patrol off East Africa as part of the US-led war on terrorism. Ultimately, the German Navy since World War II will send eight ships and a number of support vessels to the region in the most ambitious deployment outside of European waters 2003 - RSS Courageous collided with container ship ANL Indonesia in Singapore Straits 2003 - USNS Pollux & Antares activated 2004 - Hospital ship USNS Mercy activated at San Diego for Asian tsunami relief duties 2004 - CBS News anchorman Dan Rather arrives onboard USS Abraham Lincoln to cover tsunami relief operations off Sumatra 2005 - Frigate HMS Marlborough, on duty in the Persian Gulf, unofficially dubbed “HMS Stinky” after one of two water making machines has been broken down for over two weeks. 181 crewmembers of the frigate have to do without proper bathing 2005 - A 55-year-old Spanish sailor was airlifted to a St. John's hospital after a serious accident at sea. A Cormorant helicopter picked up the man from the fishing trawler Fakir on Monday morning. He had suffered back and chest injuries when he was struck by a cable. The vessel was almost 500 kilometers from St. John's at the time of the accident. The helicopter and CCGS Leonard J. Cowley met up with the vessel Monday to coordinate the rescue 2005 - Submarine U-33 rolled out of builder shed at HDW in Kiel 2005 - USS Hue City rescued five of seven mariners off the coast of Somalia while steaming in the 5th Fleet area of operations. The guided-missile cruiser began conducting the search and rescue operation after being directed to investigate the disappearance of MV Global Island at approximately 3:45 p.m. local time, Jan. 2, when Commander 5th Fleet received a call from the parent shipping company. The five mariners, including four Kenyans and one Tanzanian, were located in a life raft approximately 45 nautical miles off Somalia's coast after Global Island sank while it was enroute to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The survivors will be taken to Mombassa, Kenya. Hue City is continuing search and rescue efforts for Global Island’s two remaining crewmembers 2005 - High Speed Vessel (HSV) 2 Swift deployed from Ingleside TX to support the Tsunami disaster relief efforts in the US Pacific Command area of responsibility in the vicinity of Singapore 2006 - Rear-Admiral Drew Robertson promoted Vice-Admiral and appointed Chief of the Maritime Staff at National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa on January 17th. He will replace Vice-Admiral Bruce MacLean who will be retiring upon completion of over 34 years of loyal and outstanding service to Canada, the Canadian Forces, and the Navy, culminating in command of the Navy as Chief of the Maritime Staff. Rear-Admiral Robertson has served in the Canadian Forces for 32 years in a variety of key positions, including command of Her Majesty's Canadian Ships Annapolis and Athabaskan, and command of the Canadian Task Group during its six-month Operation APOLLO deployment to Southwest Asia 2006 - The Spirit of Vancouver Island will be removed from service on the Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen route for its annual refit and a major passenger services upgrade. Similar to the 2005 upgrade of the Spirit of British Columbia, the Spirit of Vancouver Island will see all the interior passenger areas completely renovated. Among the many improvements to the 1994 vessel will be an upgraded cafeteria, a redesigned buffet, renovated washrooms, new seating, flooring and carpeting, and the replacement of the Lantern Coffee Bar with the Seawest Lounge. The passenger-service improvements, which are part of a major initiative to revitalize the fleet, represent an investment of approximately $10 million that, when combined with the refit budget (which includes overhauling two of the four engines and repainting the vessel), total $13 million 2006 - Poland is to declassify nearly all its secret files from the Warsaw Pact, the military alliance of the Soviet Bloc which disbanded in 1991, Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said 2006 - The international agency controlling endangered species Tuesday ordered a ban on international trade in caviar and other products from wild, endangered sturgeon fish 2006 - Three people were rescued in Shinnecock Inlet, Long Island by Good Samaritans after their fishing vessel capsized just before 0500. The fishing vessel Cindi Sea reported the overturned Hail Mary II to the Coast Guard via marine band radio at 0500. The crew of the Cindi Sea then rescued Jerzy Bogucki of Riverhead, Long Island, who had been swept away from the overturned boat. The two remaining victims, Rick Gardiner of Hampton Bays, Long Island, and John Windels of Quogue, Long Island, the owner of the vessel, managed to remain on the overturned hull until Les Trafford, a Sea Tow operator, rescued them. Trafford had heard the distress call in the cab of his truck nearby and immediately launched his boat to assist in the rescue. A Coast Guard rescue crew from Station Shinnecock arrived on scene at 0520 and transferred Bogucki from the Cindi Sea and transported him to shore. All of the victims were taken to Southampton Hospital in hypothermic but alert states. The Hail Mary II, homeported in Shinnecock, was carrying 30,000 pounds of fish and undetermined amount of fuel onboard at the time of the accident. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident and environmental impact from any discharged oil 2006 - The USCG suspended search efforts for a boater, who fell overboard from the sailing vessel Querida Maria, 170 nautical miles south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2006 - A 39-year-old man suffering from chest pains was medevaced from a 600-foot vessel this morning 30 miles off the coast of Port Angeles, Wash. At 0900, Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles received a call from the master of the container ship Hyundai Duke requesting medical assistance for a 39-year-old crewmember. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles was launched to medevac the man at 0930. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer to the vessel and the man was then safely hoisted into the helicopter. The crewmember was then flown to Air Station Port Angeles where an awaiting ambulance transported him to Olympic Memorial Hospital in Port Angeles for further medical treatment 2006 - A dozen Greenpeace activists were detained by police on Tuesday after a protest at the French Embassy in India against a decision to send an asbestos-laden defunct warship to India to be broken up for scrap. The decommissioned aircraft carrier Clemenceau set sail from the French naval base of Toulon on Saturday for the world's largest ship-breaking yard in Alang on India's western coast. A dozen activists from the environmental group Greenpeace converged on the embassy on Monday and held up posters and pictures of workers at the shipyard reading: "Clemenceau toxic ship. Stay away. Don't pollute India." Police detained the group briefly for protesting in the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave of the capital without a permit. There was no immediate comment from the French embassy. Greenpeace says the ship contains at least 100 tonnes of asbestos that could cause serious health problems for ill-equipped Indian workers at the shipyard as well as polluting the environment 2006 - COSCO Pacific acquired a 20 % equity interest in Suez Canal Container Terminal SAE (SCCT) from Egyptian International Container Terminal, a subsidiary of Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk Group. SCCT operates Port Said East Port at Port Said, Egypt 2006 - Donald C. Winter was sworn in today as the 74th secretary of the Navy by Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. In this position, Winter leads the US Navy and Marine Corps team and is responsible for almost 900,000 people and an annual budget in excess of $125 billion. The secretary of the Navy is responsible for all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing and demobilizing. The secretary also oversees the construction, outfitting and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities. The office is also responsible for formulating and implementing naval policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the President and the secretary of defense. The Department of the Navy consists of two uniformed services: the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. Before joining the Bush administration, Winter served as a corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector. In that position, he oversaw operation of the business and its 18,000 employees, providing information technology systems and services; systems engineering and analysis; systems development and integration; scientific, engineering and technical services; and enterprise management services. Winter also served on the company's corporate policy council. Previously, Winter served as president and CEO of TRW Systems; vice president and deputy general manager for group development of TRW's Space & Electronics business; and vice president and general manager of the defense systems division of TRW. From 1980 to 1982, he was with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as program manager for space acquisition, tracking and pointing programs. Winter earned a bachelor's degree (with highest distinction) in physics from the University of Rochester in 1969. He received a master's degree and a doctorate in physics from the University of Michigan in 1970 and 1972, respectively. He is a 1979 graduate of the University of Southern California Management Policy Institute, a 1987 graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles Executive Program and a 1991 graduate of the Harvard University Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security. In 2002, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering 2006 - Despite unfavorable weather and sea swells which at times have been more than four meters, all IMO-classified hazardous cargo has now been removed from CP Valour following its grounding in the Azores on 9th December. None of the crew of 21 suffered injury as a result of the grounding. Salvage efforts have been underway since shortly after the grounding but have been repeatedly thwarted by adverse sea conditions, which are causing increasing damage to the ship. Representatives of CP Ships Marine Operations arrived on site as soon as possible after the grounding to liaise with local authorities and assist the salvage efforts. Several attempts to re-float CP Valour were not successful and because of the current state of damage to the ship, no further attempt to re-float will be undertaken. This has been discussed and agreed with local authorities. Next steps in terms of removal of the cargo and of the ship itself are under consideration. At the time of the grounding, the ship had about 1,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and 140 tonnes of diesel oil on board as well as a small quantity of lubricating and hydraulic oil and paint. All accessible fuel oil that could be pumped has been removed as well as all lubricants, paints, chemicals and engine oils. With the removal of these materials and the hazardous-classified cargo, the threat to the local environment has been significantly reduced. A limited amount of bunker and diesel fuel has been spilled since the grounding. Local pollution mitigation specialists have removed most of the fuel that washed ashore. CP Valour was en route from Montreal to Valencia carrying 525 containers and was heading into safe anchorage when it grounded off the coast of the Azorean island of Faial 2006 - Seaspan Corporation today announced the delivery of its fourteenth ship, the Dubai Express. The 4250 TEU vessel, which was built by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., was delivered approximately ten weeks ahead of its contractual delivery date. The Dubai Express is the second of nine Seaspan vessels to be chartered to CP USA, a subsidiary of CP Ships Ltd. Seaspan also received notice of expected delivery for the second 4250 TEU vessel to be delivered this year, the Jakarta Express. The containership is scheduled to join the Seaspan fleet on February 21, 2006 and would grow the total fleet to 15 ships, and the number of vessels contracted to CP USA to three 2006 - Rear Admiral Enrique ÓReilly Merino appointed Director of the National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE) in Chile 2006 - The World Food Program (WFP) is now using new sea routes to deliver relief food to more than 2 million Somalis faced with famine 2007 - Kirby Corp purchases stock of Coastal Towing, Inc., the owner of 37 inland black oil tank barges, for approximately $19.3 million in cash, subject to post closing working capital adjustments. Kirby has been operating the Coastal tank barges since October 2002 under a barge management agreement. Kirby also announced the purchase of 21 tank barges from Cypress Barge Leasing LLC for $15.0 million in cash. Kirby has been leasing the barges since 1994 when the leases were assigned to Kirby as part of Kirby’s purchase of the tank barge fleet of The Dow Chemical Company. Both the Coastal and the Cypress purchases were financed through Kirby’s $250 million revolving credit facility 2007 - Ukraine Antitrust committee approved of the joining of the Odessa Commercial Seaport with the Odessa shipyard "Ukraine" 2007 - At 1130 Eleonora Maersk left Lindoe Shipbuilders and anchored outside Odense Fjord. She will in the next days bunker and take in ballast. Then she will start her tests and prepare for her maiden voyage. Her two sisterships Emma Maersk and Estelle Maersk are already in use and has made headlines for the exceptional size, all over the world 2007 - The three fishery protection vessels operated by the Royal Navy will patrol UK waters for another five years under a £52 million lease-contract extension awarded by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) to VT Group Plc. Portsmouth-based HMS Tyne, Severn and Mersey carry out fishery protection duties on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), with crews of each vessel boarding up to ten commercial ships a day, monitoring net quotas and type. As Royal Navy vessels they also police the UK's territorial waters on home defense and anti-terrorist tasks 2007 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed the veteran British diplomat John Holmes as the new United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 2007 - MCA joined efforts to refloat a general cargoship that has been aground on the Annat Bank in the River South Esk outside Montrose since 29 Dec. Antigua and Barbuda-flag Emsland (2,200 dwt, built 1984) has reportedly been taking water into two of its ballast tanks. The vessel - understood to be German-owned - is laden with 1776 tonnes of timber, and there are thought to be some 33 tonnes of marine diesel and 1.5 tonnes of lube on board 2007 - Steven R. Chealander sworn in as a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board 2007 - Indonesian air force planes took to the skies and navy ships scoured the sea Wednesday, searching for a missing jetliner and its passengers, including an Oregon man and his two daughters. The search continued a day after officials wrongly reported finding the Boeing 737’s wreckage and a dozen survivors, causing anguish among the passengers’ families 2007 - The Honorable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Minister responsible for Nova Scotia, today announced on behalf of the Honorable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the transfer of the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Arcadie to Dalhousie University. The vessel will be used to help carry out important oceanographic research work by the university’s science faculty 2007 - Captain Gastón Massa Mud, former commander of CNS Araucano assumes command of CNS Almirante Williams from Captain Jorge Chandía Cuitiño 2007 - Twelve people who were aboard a Indonesian seagoing ferry, sunk at the end of December, were rescued alive. Representatives of the Indonesian Navy said these people managed to save themselves climbing on the derrick 2007 - Carnival signed a letter of intent for a new 116,000-ton ship for its P&O Cruises brand. The new vessel, which will have 3,076 lower passenger berths, will be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri at its Monfalcone yard, at an estimated all-in cost of 535 million Euros. The ship is scheduled for delivery in spring 2010. Externally, the vessel will be similar to P&O Cruises Ventura, which is scheduled to enter service in spring 2008, but the new product features and interior design will be announced at a future date 2007 - ABG Shipyard secured a repeat order, from Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd for construction of 1 No. Self Loading & Unloading vessel of 4000 DWT Bulk Cements Carrier at a price of $9.9M 2007 - The US Navy will name its next aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in honor of the president who was buried Wednesday in his home town of Grand Rapids. The Navy had not planned to make the announcement yet, but Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary who served in the Ford administration, divulged the news during his eulogy at the funeral. "How fitting it would be that the name Gerald R. Ford will patrol the high seas for decades to come in defense of the nation he loved so much," he said. Later at the Pentagon the Navy confirmed that it would make an official announcement "in a few weeks." It said it was still working on details of the ceremony with members of the Ford family. Ford served in the Navy during World War II 2007 - US Navy vessels are deployed off the coast of Somalia to make sure al-Qaeda or allied jihadists don't escape the country by sea now that the once-dominant Islamist forces there are in retreat, the State Dept said 2007 - HMAS Toowoomba, a Royal Australian Navy ANZAC Class Frigate, with her crew of 183 personnel departed her homeport of Fleet Base West at Garden Island for the Persian Gulf 2007 - Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea arrived in McMurdo today after a 10,200 nautical mile transit from its home port in Seattle, Washington. Polar Sea made stops in Honolulu, Hawaii and Sydney, Australia during its voyage south. Polar Sea, a 399-foot polar class icebreaker with a 150-person crew, is recently out of a two-year overhaul. The Polar Sea conducted sea trials in the Arctic this summer to test all the ship's equipment and train the crew prior to transiting to Antarctica to re-supply the McMurdo station for the National Science Foundation ============================================================= 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.