SeaWaves Today in History July 17, 2009 1673 - Dutch privateers raid Ferryland, Newfoundland 1812 - USS Constitution escapes from British squadron after three day chase off New Jersey. Constitution had been leading and was slowly pulling ahead, when there was a drop in the wind, which practicably stalled everyone. Constitution was ahead -- far enough not to be much bothered by occasional bow chaser shots from the leading RN warship, but by no means far enough to be assured of escape. Men were kept hard at it with a bucket-brigade to water down sails, in an effort to seal their fibers and catch whatever little wind there might be, but it did little good. The British were doing the same thing, also to no avail. What to do? The answer was to row, and boats were duly put over and manned, with towlines. The gradual forward movement of the Constitution was soon perceived, and the British began to do likewise. This soon became a matter of who tired out first, with the same basic relative positions being maintained. About this time the American skipper, wise to the nature of weather in that region, noticed a subtle horizon haze very far off. He began watching this very closely, and realized that it was the leading edge of a coming blow. Men were sent up to observe closely. A very thin darkening edge over that far water confirmed the oncoming stiff weather. He pondered this a moment, then hustled men into the rigging to haul in all sail forthwith. The watching British, having noticed Americans staring far out to sea and then seeing them suddenly taking in all sail, sensed that the Americans very likely knew something they did not, also began looking, saw the same coming storm, and took in their sails as well. In a few minutes the storm hit, with heavy winds. At which Constitution suddenly blossomed with all sails set, leapt forward, picked up her boats while moving at increasing speed, and kept going. Taken completely by surprise, the British were still picking up their boats. By the time the British got reorganized, Constitution, faster to begin with, was far ahead and impossible to catch 1817 - Construction begins on the Lachine Canal; completed eight years later 1821 - Spain ceded Florida to the United States 1840 - Samuel Cunard 1787-1865 arrives at Halifax with his daughter on his first steamship, the paddle steamer Britannia, 12 days after leaving Liverpool, England; ship then goes on to Boston on the 19th, completing the new Liverpool-Halifax-Boston mail route in 14 days and 8 hours; first scheduled transatlantic mail service by steamship, and a blow to the age of sailing ships. Cunard was born and raised in Halifax, builds a shipping, banking, lumber and coal empire; shareholder in the wooden paddle wheeler Royal William which crosses the Atlantic in 1833, mainly under steam power; wins the Admiralty contract to provide a fixed schedule mail service to Halifax and Boston in 1839, and starts the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company; launches Britannia May 1840; will move the Cunard HQ from Halifax to Liverpool in 1861 The Cunard Line will thrive until the era of transatlantic passenger jets 1858 - US sloop Niagara departs Queenstown, Ireland, to assist in laying first Trans-Atlantic telegraph cable 1876 - Maksim Litvinov born. Former book-keeper at a factory, Lenin's closest comrade-in-arms, the financial organizer of the Bolshevik party when it was underground. The ambassador of Soviet Russia in Britain and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs (1930 - 39). At that time diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and the USA. In 1939 he was on the verge of being arrested and tried, but the war saved him. He was appointed deputy of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, V. Molotov and Soviet ambassador to the USA. In 1943 Litvinov was recalled to Moscow and in July 1946 he was finally dismissed 1897 - Klondike gold rush starts when the Excelsior and Portland arrive from Skagway with the first group of gold-laden Yukon prospectors 1898 - Santiago, Cuba surrenders to US Naval forces 1914 - Founding of the Brazilian Navy submarine service 1916 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Kennet launched 1918 - HMC CD 34, CD 35, CD 37, CD 38, CD 79, CD 85 commissioned 1919 - Destroyer HMS Wolverine launched 1919 - Submarine USS S-38 launched 1922 - Minelayer HNLMS Pro Patria launched 1927 - First organized dive bombing attack in combat by Marine Corps pilots against Nicaraguan bandits who were surrounding US Marine garrison at Ocotal, Nicaragua. This successful enemy-shocking attack, ad hoc at the time, arguably marked the beginning of serious Marine Corps' concern with close ground-support aviation, of which dive-bombing became a major aspect. Simultaneously, two large aircraft carriers rebuilt from WWI battlecruiser hulls, the new carrier USS Lexington that would join the fleet that November, soon to be followed by USS Saratoga, gave naval aviation a huge boost. Navy airmen quickly picked up on the USMC support interest, especially the dive-bombing, and sold it wholesale to the new Bureau of Aeronautics. Aircraft got designed and built for that particular purpose, there was serious training for years, and WWII saw many USN and USMC dive-bombing squadrons as such, later plus other planes (notably the famous F4U "Corsair") fitted for a semblance of it. And in the case of Corsairs and the big AD ("Spad"), in Korea as well, though theirs were less dives than steep swoops. Interestingly -- and exactly opposite of the Luftwaffe -- the US Army Air Corps saw and studied the same thing from 1927 on, tried it out experimentally for a few years, then put it all aside. The WWII AAF never had any actual dive-bombers 1928 - Destroyer FS Forbin launched 1928 - Heavy cruiser HMS York launched 1929 - Submarine HMS Regulus laid down 1931 - Sloop HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau laid down 1935 - Submarine USS Plunger laid down 1935 - Light cruiser FS Marseilllaise launched 1936 - U-34 launched 1936 - Destroyer USS McDougal launched 1936 - Soviet submarines SC-401 & SC-424 commissioned 1937 - Germany and Russia signed naval treaties with Britain 1939 - Destroyer USS Grayson laid down 1939 - Destroyer HMS Havant launched 1939 - Submarine USS Spearfish commissioned 1940 - At 0005, U-34 began shelling the Naftilos until she sank at 0110. All 28 crewmembers abandoned ship safely, but one man later died of wounds 1940 - At 1040, the Fellside, a straggler from Convoy OA-184, was torpedoed & sunk by U-43 about 135 miles NW of Bloody Foreland. The master and 20 crewmembers were rescued and landed at Liverpool 1940 - At 2222, the Manipur in Convoy HX-55A was torpedoed and sunk by U-57 eight miles NW of Cape Wrath. 14 crewmembers were lost. The master and 64 crewmembers were picked up by destroyer HMCS Skeena and landed at Rosyth 1940 - At 0410, the OA Brodin was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-57 and sank after 45 minutes. The ship had been missed by a first torpedo at 0405, a surface runner 1940 - Mooring vessel HMS Steady mined & sunk off Newhaven 1940 - Destroyer HMS Beaufort laid down 1940 - Destroyer USS Plunkett commissioned 1941 - Patrol vessel HMCS Grizzly assigned to Prince Rupert BC as a stationary guardship & examination vessel 1941 - U-487, U-488, U-489, and U-490 ordered 1941 - U-449 laid down 1941 - U-579 commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Narcissus commissioned 1941 - Destroyer USS Ingraham commissioned 1941 - HMS Thrasher heavily damages the French fishing vessel Virgo Fidelis with gunfire in the Bay of Biscay off San Sebastian, Spain 1942 - Submarine HMS Sportsman launched 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Castlemaine commissioned 1942 - U-751 sunk NW of Cape Ortegal, Spain, in position 45.14N, 12.22W, by depth charges from an RAF 61 Sqn Whitley & a 502 Sqn Lancaster. 48 dead (all hands lost) 1942 - Submarine USS Hake launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Satterlee launched 1943 - Frigate HMCS Longueuil laid down Montreal PQ 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Providence (ex-HMCS Forest Hill) laid down Toronto ON 1943 - Frigate HMCS Valleyfield launched Quebec City PQ 1943 - At 0031, the unescorted City of Canton was torpedoed and sunk by U-178 NE of Beira. Eight crewmembers were lost. The second officer was taken prisoner by U-178. The master and 74 crewmembers were picked up by the Free French cruiser Suffren and landed at Durban. 19 crewmembers were picked up by the Portuguese merchantman Luabo and landed at Mozambique 1943 - U-747 commissioned 1943 - U-880 laid down 1943 - U-478, U-903 launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Swenning & Willis laid down 1943 - Minesweeping trawlers HMS Bardsey & Rosevean launched 1943 - Frigates HMS Bentley, Keats, Kempthorne launched 1943 - Submarine HNLMS Zwaardvisch (ex-HMS Talent) launched 1943 - Light cruiser USS Vincennes launched 1943 - Strasbourg raised by Italian salvage teams 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Aries commissioned 1943 - AA cruiser USS Oakland commissioned 1943 - MTB 316 torpedoed by Italian cruiser Scipione 1943 - HMS Torbay sinks the Italian sailing vessel Pozzalo 5 nautical miles west of Civitavecchia, Italy 1944 - Port Chicago Disaster - At 2222, there was an explosion at the Ships Pier, cause of which is unknown. The consensus of opinion of witnesses is that two explosions took place within five seconds of each other, and that the first explosion was the lesser of the two. Two merchant vessels were berthed here at the time. The SS Quinault Victory (Type VC-2) was outboard, starboard side to. The SS A. E. Bryan (EC-2) was inboard, starboard side to. The Quinault Victory had berthed at 1800, 17 July, and was being prepared for the receipt of cargo. No ammunition was aboard the Quinault Victory at the time of the explosion. The A. E. Bryan had been loading since 13 July 1944. The foregoing vessels were the 79th and 80th ships to have berthed and loaded ammunition at the Magazine since start of operations 30 Nov 1942, during which period in excess of 280,000 tons of ammunition and high explosives had been loaded for overseas shipment. Involved in the explosion was a total of approximately 5080 tons of ammunition and high explosives, of which approximately 4485 tons were aboard the A. E. Bryan and approximately 595 tons were in thirteen box cars on the Ships' Pier partially unloaded or awaiting loading in the two vessels. In addition, three cars of inert material and one empty Magazine boxcar were on the pier and were lost in the explosion. At the time of the explosion, cargo being loaded consisted of: MK7 Incendiary Bombs in #1 Hold, MK47 Depth Bombs (Torpex loaded) in #2 Hold, Tail Vanes in #3 Hold, MK4 Fragmentation Bombs in #4 Hold, and 40mm in #5 Hold. Practically all the tonnage that had been loaded aboard the A. E. Bryan was lower hold stowage. Results of the explosion may be summarized as follows: (a) Both vessels, the SS Quinault Victory and the A. E. Bryan, together with the Ships' Pier, one 45 ton Diesel locomotive, the Joiner Ship, Bldg. A-7, and the adjacent marginal wharf under construction, were completely demolished. A Coast Guard fire barge moored at the east end of the Ships' Pier was also destroyed and all hands aboard lost. A nearby Coast Guard patrol boat suffered no injury to vessel or crew other than blast damage to its superstructure. A MK33 1000-lb AP bomb landed on a passing oil barge. While same did not detonate, it caused considerable damage to the barge, which nevertheless was able to proceed under its own power to destination. A total of 319 people were killed and 255 injured. The dead consisted of: 9 Naval officers engaged in supervision of ship loading at the pier; 202 Naval Enlisted Personnel (mostly colored), comprising two working divisions at the pier; 1 Marine enlisted man on sentry duty at the pier; 5 Coast Guard Enlisted Personnel--the crew of the Fire Barge; 3 Magazine Civil Service employees--the train crew; 30 Armed Guard Personnel attached to the Quinault Victory and the A. E. Bryan; 66 Merchant Marine Personnel--crews of the two vessels; 3 employees of the Macco-Case Construction Co.--Contractors for the marginal wharf under construction. The injured consisted of: 245 Naval and Marine Corps personnel transferred to hospitals, the greater majority of which suffered slight injuries, principally from glass fragments; 10 Magazine civilian employees suffered lost time injures; Numerous other personnel were treated for minor injuries, the exact number of which we have no record. Every building on the Magazine suffered damage from the blast except the kennels for the sentry dogs. However, all damage to buildings may be classified as Class "C" damage except the Recreation Building, which was Class "B", and the Joiner Shop, which was Class "A". At the time of the explosion, there were a total of 218 boxcars of ammunition and components in the Magazine yards. None of this ammunition detonated as a result of the explosion at the Ships' Pier, including two cars of bombs, spotted in the open on Spur 10, a distance of only some 1100 feet from the scene of the explosion. Two cars of MK4 Smoke Pots caught fire in Barricade B-206, but the fire was extinguished without further loss or damage. Of the 218 cars, representatives of the Bureau of Ordnance inspected and approved all but three cars for shipment as serviceable ammunition. While various railroad cars themselves suffered damage from the blast, only 54 cars were in such bad order that contents had to be transferred to other cars for shipment. Qualified Bomb Disposal officers, prior to releasing material for shipment are making further inspection of each round in each car. Of the 218 cars on hand at the time of the explosion, at this writing 145 cars have already been shipped to other loading points or naval activities, and it is anticipated that the remaining 73 cars will be shipped by 5 August 1944. Barricades and inset magazines were practically undamaged by the explosion except BM 138 and the doors of all inset magazines, which were blasted inwards. There was ammunition in 30 of the 50 inset magazines, primarily consisting of warheads, which was undamaged. Except for the fire in the two cars previously mentioned, no fire resulted from the explosion. General Class "C" damage from the blast was suffered in e town of Port Chicago and adjacent communities, including Pittsburgh, Concord, Walnut Creek, and Martinez. The lighthouse on Roe Island was similarly damaged by the blast. The explosion was felt in a radius of some 40 miles. It is not possible to name all personnel and agencies from the many communities and activities which came to the assistance of the Magazine at the news of the disaster. Generally speaking the response of everyone who could get here was magnificent, and too much praise cannot be given for their efforts. Among those who responded were: The Martinez Fire Department, The Mt. Diablo Fire District, of Concord, The Rio Vista Fire Department, The Crockett Fire Department, The Berkeley Fire Department, The Associated Oil Co. Fire Dept., of Avon, The Red Cross, The USO, The Salvation Army, The US Army, including units from Camp Stoneman, the 217th AAA group, and the 324th AAA Searchlight Battalion The US Coast Guard, Navy Yard, Mare Island, Naval Ammunition Depot, Mare Island. The Army, in particular, was of inestimable assistance in the immediate feeding and evacuation of Magazine personnel. The devotion to duty during the emergency of all personnel attached to the station was also of the highest order, including officers, enlisted personnel, and Civil Service employees. Rehabilitation and re-establishment of facilities commenced almost immediately. Employees of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company were on the Base to restore telephone communications within three hours after the explosion. The following day, invaluable assistance was further given by employees of the Navy Yard at Mare Island and the Naval Ammunition Depot at Mare Island, particularly in the restoration of utilities. Numerous services were restored the first day after the explosion, most remaining were restored the second, and all essential utility services were restored the third day. The assistance of T. L. Rosenberg, Electrical Contractors of Oakland, Calif., was particularly helpful in the restoration of light and power circuits. By the end of the week, transfer of ammunition from damaged box cars to certified cars had begun under the direction of Bomb Disposal and Magazine officers, the physical handling of ammunition being performed by station enlisted personnel, who volunteered their services. The first shipments of cars of ammunition were made 25 July and similar shipments have gone forward each day since then. Loading of ammunition aboard lighters at the Barge Pier (which was undamaged) was resumed 24 July, and the first lighter of warheads was shipped from the Magazine on 25 July. To date a total of three lighters have been loaded and shipped since the explosion. Following conferences of various public works officers and representatives of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and Bureau of Ordnance, on 18th and 19th of July, plans for the immediate rehabilitation of Magazine facilities were formulated and contracts let for the repair of existing Magazine facilities and completion of the construction of other facilities that had been in progress, including the reconstruction of the partially completed marginal wharf destroyed in the explosion. At this writing, it is estimated that the first berth will be completed by 1 Sept 1944. The contracting firm of Barrett and Hilp was assigned the rehabilitation of the Magazine Administration Building and Marine Barracks, Buildings A-1 and A-2, together with certain other designated structures, and moved their men and equipment on the station 19 July. The 42nd Construction Battalion was assigned the rehabilitation of the remaining Magazine facilities, including in particular the structures in the Barracks area. The Seabees moved men and equipment on the station 20 July. To date, the work of all parties involved in the reconstruction of Magazine facilities is proceeding expeditiously. The makeup of the loading personnel became a large court-martial series and remains a civil rights cause célèbre. Almost entirely black sailors, like men of the SOS (Services of Supply) in France in WWI, they were so assigned simply because nobody imagined them as anything more than labor gangs -- certainly not as proper sailors in warships. In the wake of that massive and deadly explosion, efforts to get very nervous black survivors to go right back to work around explosives provoked a virtual sit-down strike; they were not about to again get into something that would likely as not kill them, unless serious investigation and improvements were made to ensure safety. This amounted in Navy minds to a refusal to obey orders -- mutiny -- in time of war, thus a succession of heavy charges and courts-martial 1944 - Submarine HMS Seawold commenced refit Philadelphia 1944 - Corvette HMCS Barrie completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS 1944 - Corvette HMCS Peterborough arrived Bermuda for workups 1944 - Corvette HMCS Loch Morlich commissioned 1944 - Royal Canadian Navy escorts war's largest convoy of 167 ships into Atlantic; meets no U-Boat opposition; RCN now controls all Battle of the Atlantic close escort forces 1944 - On anti-submarine patrol over the Atlantic, a Catalina flying boat of 210 Squadron RAF piloted by Flying Officer Cruickshank sighted a U-boat. U-742 chose to fight it out on the surface and met the Catalina's attack with accurate anti-aircraft fire. One of the RAF crew was killed, and others wounded, and the aircraft suffered serious damage. Cruickshank himself suffered 12 wounds, but ignored his injuries to bring the Catalina around for a second attack run. This proved on target, depth charges straddling the submarine and destroying her. The damaged Catalina then faced a 5.5-hour flight home. Cruickshank lost consciousness several times but managed to help land the aircraft safely. He received the Victoria Cross 1944 - U-994 attacked by a Norwegian 333 Sqn Mosquito and the boat was damaged & 5 men wounded. The boat reached Bergen the same day 1944 - Destroyer HMS Cambrian commissioned 1944 - Submarines USS Caiman & Sea Owl commissioned 1944 - U-347 sunk west of Narvik in position 68.36N, 08.33E, by depth charges from an RAF 86 Sqn Liberator. 49 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - U-361 sunk west of Narvik in position 68.35N, 06.00E, by depth charges from an RAF 210 Sqn Catalina. 52 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - At 0708, Cdr William D. A. King's submarine HMS Telemachus, at periscope depth, sights the I-166 at four miles. King tracks the I-166 until 0730, then at 1,500 yards he fires six new type torpedoes. Unknown by the Telemachus' crew, the new warheads are heavier than the older ones. As a result, after their release without appropriate compensation for the increased weight forward, the Telemachus loses depth control and broaches. Just as she breaks the surface, a torpedo hits the I-166. She sinks seven miles off One Fathom Bank light at 1-10N, 103-45E. The Japanese rescue the bridge watch - five survivors including Lt Suwa, but 89 crewmembers lost. Telemachus is chased by converted minelayer No. 4, two torpedo boats and a JAAF Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" bomber of the 62nd Sentai, but manages to escape. I-166 had departed Penang for Singapore to operate as an ASW target for Vice Admiral Kurita's fleet the previous day 1944 - HMS Tantalus misses the Japanese submarine I-166 with torpedoes in the Strait of Malacca 1945 - Rescue tug HMS Athlete mined & sunk off Leghorn, Italy 1945 - HMS Thule sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire of the north coast of Java 1947 - RCN 826 Sqn Firefly #MB668 crashed at sea near Musquadaboit NS. Crew killed 1948 - Destroyer HMCS Saguenay sold for scrapping 1948 - Corvette HMCS Forest Hill sold. Scrapped Hamilton ON 1952 1952 - Minesweeper HMCS Thunder launched Montreal PQ 1953 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga departed Comox for Esquimalt BC 1959 - Submarine HMS Templar scrapped at Troon 1962 - At 0650 the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine Leninsky Komsomol reached the North Pole. Right after her return to the base N Khrushchev and Minister of Defense R. Malinovsky handed government awards to all the participants of the voyage. Three commanding officers were awarded the highest title of Hero of the Soviet Union 1971 - USS Kitty Hawk completed Vietnam deployment 1972 - USS Saratoga port call Subic Bay 1972 - USS Coral Sea completed Vietnam deployment 1975 - Docking in space of the US Apollo (Apollo 18) and Soviet Soyuz (Soyuz 19) space craft. This was the first manned space flight conducted jointly by the 2 nations. Former naval aviator Vance D. Brand was the Apollo Command Module Pilot. The Apollo craft was in space for 9 days and 7.5 hours. Recovery was by USS New Orleans 1976 - Destroyers HMCS Fraser & Skeena with supply ship HMCS Protecteur arrived Montreal for Olympic duties 1984 - Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine commence refit Sorel PQ 1996 - General I Rodionov appointed Russian Defense Minister and remained until May 22, 1997 1998 - The burial of the remains of the family of the last Emperor of Russia held in St Petersburg 2003 - MV Cape Horn laid up Oakland CA RRF 2003 - Submarine HMS Splendid arrives at Faslane from final deployment before decommissioning 2004 - MV Maunawili, the second ship to be built by Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. (KPSI), christened at a shipyard ceremony 2004 - Official opening of the HMCS Haida National Historic Site of Canada and the Canada Marine Discovery Center. The Discovery Center will give Canadians an awareness of Canada's national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas. It will also provide the people of Hamilton the opportunity to showcase the restoration of Hamilton Harbor. HMCS Haida is Canada's most decorated warship and was declared a national historic site of Canada in 1984. As the "fightingest ship in the Royal Canadian Navy", HMCS Haida will help raise awareness and inform Canadians about the nation’s naval history 2005 - A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod aircrew rescued three fishermen from a liferaft after their fishing vessel sank 12 miles northeast of Chatham, Mass at 1520. The fishing vessel Princess, a wooden-hull, 60-foot scalloper homeported in Provincetown, Mass., left Provincetown Saturday afternoon for a fishing expedition. According to the master of the vessel, Jack Macara, a 49-year-old native of Provincetown and third generation fisherman, a 1,000-pound dredge struck the wooden hull of the vessel at 1 p.m., popped a board inward, unknowingly causing a leak. The leak flooded the engine room and the pumps could not keep up. Macara immediately put on his lifejacket and attempted to make a mayday call, but the call did not go through. The other two crewmembers put on survival suits and all three fishermen entered the liferaft with an emergency position indicating radiobeacon and cell phone. An emergency position indicating radiobeacon transmitted a distress frequency to the Coast Guard. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter arrived on scene to the position of the EPIRB and saw flares fired from a liferaft. A rescue swimmer assisted in hoisting all three fishermen safely into the helicopter. The crewmembers were flown back to the air station, given dry clothing, food and met by family members. There were no injuries. Marine Safety Office Providence is investigating the incident 2005 - Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor crewmembers' search for a missing male in the vicinity of Great Harbor Marina in Southwest Harbor, Maine ended at 0614. Marc French, a 27-year-old native of Holden, Maine, was found by the Maine State Police Dive Team after he was reported missing by a friend at 0015. French and Douglas Farrell, a 26-year-old native of Brewer, Maine, boarded a 12-foot skiff and headed toward the sailing vessel 2 Bush 2, which was moored approximately 1000 yards from the marina. The skiff overturned, Farrell swam ashore and reported the incident to Cyclone's Bar, who then called the police. French was unaccounted for. Neither was wearing a lifejacket. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England received the report from Southwest Harbor Police Department at 0027. Station Southwest Harbor sent a 25-foot rescue boat to assist the Maine Marine Patrol, Southwest Harbor PD, FD, and Southwest Harbor Harbormaster in the search for French at 0043. The search area was one-half square miles, the depth of water three to 12-feet deep, water temperature was 49.8 degrees. A debris field was located 100 feet from shore, including French's hat, Farrell's wallet and paddles. Once the debris field was located, the MSP Dive Team was called in and the search turned to a recovery effort at 1746. Station Southwest Harbor crewmembers provided a safety zone for the MSP Dive Team. Next of kin has been notified. The incident is under investigation by Southwest Harbor Police Department and Maine Marine Police 2005 - Coast Guard units established a security zone in Nantucket and responded with local and state agencies to a bomb threat received at the Nantucket passenger ferry terminal at 2000. Coast Guard Group Woods Hole and Marine Safety Office Providence received notification of a bomb threat at Hy-Line's Nantucket passenger ferry terminal at approximately 2016 resulting in the Captain of the Port suspending ferry operations. Coast Guard Station Brant Point, Nantucket Police Department and Massachusetts State Police responded to the terminal. Both Hy-Line and Steamship Authority vessels in Nantucket Harbor were evacuated and swept for suspicious objects and explosive devices in accordance with security plan procedures, now required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act. No explosives or suspicious objects were found. Other ferry vessels operating in the immediate area were put on alert to take appropriate precautions 2005 - A US Navy sailor died when he was struck by a trolley near Otay Mesa (San Diego) a medical examiner investigator said. The accident happened in the 2700 block of Iris Avenue at about 0005 medical examiner Investigator Michael Ellano said 2005 - USS Laboon, operating in the Atlantic in support of USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group's Joint Task Force Exercise, assisted a stranded civilian sailboat. Laboon received a bridge-to-bridge radio telephone request for assistance from the sailing vessel Long Wei at 1430. Long Wei was low on fuel, and her engine would not run for more than a few minutes. Long Wei had been adrift for more than 24 hours and was about 125 miles off the coast of Georgia. Laboon proceeded to Long Wei's location and dispatched a damage control assistance team 2006 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that his country and Norway unite efforts in developing the Barents Sea deposits. The Barents Sea has substantial mineral resources, including major oil fields, but the status of the Arctic shelf remains to be settled 2006 - Ceremonial transfer of air defense frigate HNLMS Witte de With to Chile at Den Helder. Chilean Minister of Defense Vivianne Blanlot Soza and Undersecretary of Defense Cees van der Knaap will be present. A delegation of the Chilean Navy, led by Admiral Rodolfo Codina Diaz will also attend the ceremony. From the moment of transfer on HNLMS Witte de With will be named Capitan Prat. She is the third of four frigates being transferred to Chile. In 2005 another air defense frigate (Jacob van Heemskerck) and a multi-purpose frigate (Abraham van der Hulst) were transferred to Chile. The last frigate will be transferred in April 2007 2006 - USN has initiated discharge proceedings against a 10-year veteran who attended a June 3 rally in support of same-sex marriage on New York's Brooklyn Bridge. Rhonda Davis, a petty officer first class journalist in the Navy, attended the rally and subsequently gave an interview to local radio station 1010WINS where she identified herself as a member of the Navy. Davis also endorsed same-sex marriage and indicated in her interview that she was looking forward to someday marrying her partner of more than three years. On June 5, Davis' command informed her that, after being made aware of the interview by callers to the office where she is stationed, they were forced to discharge her under the law, which prohibits openly lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel from serving in the armed forces 2006 - Foss Maritime Company is expanding into the Boston area with the acquisition of Constellation Tug Company of Charlestown MA 2006 - SeaBird Exploration Limited (BVI) (SBX) has acquired the remaining 50 percent ownership in the Joint Venture entity Sana Navigation Company Limited (Sana) which charters the M/ V Northern Explorer from Russian owners on a long term bareboat charter 2006 - Norfolk-based destroyer Gonzalez ordered off the coast of Lebanon to serve as an escort to a cruise ship being diverted there to evacuate refugees from the embattled nation 2006 - Pirates in Somalia who kidnapped about 20 seamen in March have released them, according to official reports. The kidnapped Filipinos were on their way home, officials for the Philippines said 2006 - At least 69 people have died and 77 are missing after a tsunami struck Java island, a Red Cross official said. A two-meter-high (six-foot-high) tsunami crashed into beach resorts and fishing villages on Indonesia's Java Island 2006 - Alcatel announced that its Maersk Defender cable ship is about to start laying a regional submarine cable network for Kodiak Kenai Cable Company -- a subsidiary of the Alaskan Old Harbor Native Corporation -- in Seward, Alaska. The turnkey deployment of the new Kodiak Kenai Fiber Link (KKFL) will provide the first fiber optic connections from Anchorage and Seward to communities on the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island. It will serve the communications requirements of approximately 60,000 citizens as well as for the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation Launch Complex on Kodiak Island 2006 - Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. agreed to acquire its tenth Suezmax vessel, a 150,000 dwt double-hull tanker built in a first class Far Eastern shipyard in 2003, for $80.9 million. The vessel is expected to be delivered from the seller no later than November 2006 2006 - Frederick A. Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service of Bahamas, begins an official visit to Cuba 2006 - An Italian ferry carrying 49 Swedes evacuated from Lebanon arrived in Cyprus 2006 - In view of the serious situation in the Lebanon, Dr Kim Howells MP, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, informed the House of Commons that, as a prudent precaution, HMS Illustrious and Bulwark have been redeployed to the Eastern Mediterranean while other ships including HMS Superb, York and Gloucester are being repositioned. The scale of the potential task of helping British Nationals to leave should not be underestimated. Some of the most vulnerable British nationals have already been evacuated to Cyprus using British helicopters 2006 - UK Ministry of Defense is appealing against a ruling that a WWII merchant ship wreck should be considered for war grave designation. Families of the men who went down with the SS Storaa, off the East Sussex coast in 1943, want it protected. They were told it did not qualify, as it was not "in military service” 2006 - USCG conducted a joint boarding of MV Malaga Carrier with US Customs & Border Protection (CBP), and US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). Malaga Carrier, a Bahamian flagged vessel, arrived from Costa Rica and was meet by the joint boarding team. A total of five stowaways were apprehended following the boarding and are now in federal custody 2006 - The Israel Navy began evaluating the possibility that guided missile vessels could be deployed around Haifa Bay to provide a defensive shield against rockets fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon. The vessels would be equipped with the Barak anti-missile system normally carried by ships such as the Saar-5 and Saar-4.5 class corvettes. The Navy's department for armaments and the Defense Ministry's Weapons Development Authority are responsible for the evaluation 2006 - Singapore's Coast Guard ordered ten new maritime patrol craft as part of a USD$ 135 million contract. The new ships will be faster than the current fleet and will be equipped with night vision equipment and a new gun system. The first ships are expected to enter service in 2008. The new ships will replace current vessels in service, which were built more than 25 years ago 2007 - Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen speaks at the 35th National Naval Officers Association Professional Development and Training Conferences Club Coronado San Diego Naval Amphibious Base 2007 - MARAD announced that North American Ship Recycling is buying the World War II-era vessel Hoist for $61,000. The ship will soon be leaving the James River, headed for the firm’s facility at Sparrows Point, near Baltimore 2007 - Barrow’s new £1.2bn nuclear submarine Astute evacuated in a simulated radioactive leak. The BAE workers and Royal Navy crew beat an orderly retreat from the labyrinthine decks of the 8,400 tonne sub in Exercise Indigo 2007 - A boat lost overboard from the new HMNZS Canterbury during violent storms has been handed back to the navy after it was found washed ashore by a Great Barrier Island farmer 2007 - Rosyth Dockyard won the contract to overhaul HMS St Albans, the newest of the Royal Navy type 23 "submarine-hunter" frigates 2007 - Portsmouth-based warship HMS Richmond steamed into the Northern Arabian Gulf to take over Iraqi oil platform protection duties from HMS Cornwall 2007 - Rear Adm. Garry E. Hall USN relieved Commodore Nick Lambert RN as commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 158 and Capt. Paul Severs USN relieved Capt. Bob Sanguinetti RN as commander of Combined Task Group (CTG) 158.1 aboard Ocean 6, an afloat forward operating barge in the north Persian Gulf 2007 - In a basic towing exercise, destroyer USS James E. Williams was set to take destroyer USS Forrest Sherman under tow when a nine-inch nylon line became disconnected and somehow wrapped around James E. Williams’ starboard shaft 2007 - Two sailors who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom died as a result of enemy action while conducting combat operations in Salah Ad Din Province, Iraq. The sailors were assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eleven, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. Killed were: Chief Petty Officer Patrick L. Wade, 38, of Key West, Fla. Petty Officer First Class Jeffrey L. Chaney, 35, of Omaha, Neb 2007 - The chief of the 8th Indonesian Naval Base in Manado, North Sulawesi, Commodore Edy Yusuf, closed the 2007 Indonesia-Philippine Coordinated Navy Patrol exercise 2007 - Latvian President Dr. Valdis Zatlers visited NATO Headquarters 2008 - US Navy Capt. Stephen H. Kelley accepted command of Sealift Logistics Command Central from Navy Capt. Anthony H. Dropp, who has held the position since July 2007 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. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-968-7447