SeaWaves Today in History March 8, 2008 ********************************************************************* March 8 1702 - England's Queen Anne ascended the throne upon the death of King William III 1803 - Death of the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, canal builder 1854 - Commodore Matthew Perry opens treaty negotiations with Japan 1859 - Birth of Kenneth Grahame, author of "Wind in the Willows" and advocate of "messing about on the water" 1862 - The Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia destroyed the Union sloop USS Cumberland by ramming and the frigate USS Congress by gunfire in Hampton Roads, VA. In Washington, D.C., many of senior officials panicked, convinced that Virginia posed a grave threat to Union sea power and coastal cities. They were unaware of Virginia’s serious operational limitations. Her deep draft, weak power plant and extremely poor sea keeping characteristics restricted her use to deep channels in calm, inland waterways. Union worries were alleviated the next day, when Virginia returned to Hampton Roads to attack the grounded steam frigate USS Minnesota. There she found the Union's own pioneer ironclad, USS Monitor waiting. A second historic battle ensued, with the two opponents firing away, without mortal effect, until the action ended in a tactical draw in the early afternoon of 09 Mar 1862 1916 - Battleship HMS Warspite commissioned 1917 - Russia's February Revolution (so called because of the Old Style calendar being used by Russians at the time) began with rioting and strikes in St Petersburg 1919 - Destroyer USS Mason launched 1920 - Submarine USS S-15 launched 1921 - Submarine HNLMS K VII launched 1926 - King County transfers 413 Sand Point acres to the United States Navy 1935 - Submarine HMS Salmon commissioned 1939 - U-48 launched 1940 - SS Counsellor, flagship of the convoy commodore in Convoy HX-22, struck a mine laid on 6 January by U-30 six miles 280° from Liverpool Bar Lightship & sank the next day. The master, the commodore (Rear Admiral H.G.C. Franklin RN), seven naval staff members and 69 crewmembers were picked up by HMS Walpole & landed at Liverpool 1940 - Submarine HMS Tarpon commissioned 1940 - Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine & cruiser HMS Dunedin capture German SS Hanover near Jamaica. Hanover later rebuilt as escort carrier HMS Audacity. The effort expended to capture Hanover, however, allows German freighters SS Mimi Horn & SS Seattle to escape the Caribbean and make a break for Germany. Mimi Horn is scuttled to avoid capture in the Denmark Strait on 28 March. Seattle is lost during the early phases of the invasion of Norway on 8-9 April 1941 - U-204 commissioned 1941 - Convoy SL-67 escapes attack from the German battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau because the battleship HMS Malaya is present. Hitler has ordered that no risk of damage to the ships is to be run if this can be avoided 1941 - Plymouth suffers a major air raid. Devonport dockyard 1941 - US Senate passes the Lend Lease bill by a vote of 60 to 31. The House of Representatives had passed the bill by a vote of 260 to 165 on 8 February 1941 but there are differences in the two bills and it is sent to a joint committee to resolve the differences 1941 - U-372 launched 1941 - U-463 laid down 1941 - Soviet submarine K-54 launched 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Quinte launched North Vancouver BC 1941 - At 0341, SS Harmodius in Convoy SL-67 was torpedoed & sunk by U-105 NNE of the Cape Verde Islands. 13 crewmembers & one gunner were lost. The master, 59 crewmembers & one gunner were picked up by destroyer leader HMS Faulknor, transferred to HMS Forester & landed at Gibraltar on 16 March 1941 - Between 0547 & 0608,U-124 fired six single torpedoes at Convoy SL-67 north of the Cape Verde Islands and observed four ships going down. Schulz reported five ships with about 33.000 tons sunk and another ship damaged. In fact four ships were sunk in the attack, the Nardana, Hindpool, Tielbank and Lahore. The master and 27 crewmembers from Hindpool were lost. Six crewmembers were picked up by destroyer leader HMS Faulknor & landed at Gibraltar on 16 March. The Guido rescued four crewmembers and two gunners. Lahore caught fire, was abandoned the next day and sank in 21°03N/20°38W. The master and 81 crewmembers were picked up by destroyer HMS Forester & landed at Gibraltar on 16 March. 19 crewmembers from Nardana were lost. The master, 104 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by Faulknor & Forester & landed at Gibraltar on 16 March. No record of Tielbank survivors 1941 - At 0109, SS Dunaff Head in Convoy OB-293 was torpedoed & sunk by UA south of Iceland. Five crewmembers were lost. The master, 34 crewmembers & four gunners were picked up by destroyer HMS Verity & landed at Loch Ewe 1942 - About 0900, the unescorted tanker Esso Bolivar was attacked by U-126 with gunfire about 30 miles SE of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Shells struck the after house, wheelhouse and the midship house. The third shell exploded in the afterhouse starting a fire in the galley which soon spread and blazed upward like a flaming torch driving the gun crew from the after gun. Bulkheads caved from the intense heat. About one hour later the engines were stopped because the steering gear was shot away and the deck cargo was set on fire. At 1117 hours, a torpedo struck on the starboard side blowing part of the deck cargo several hundred feet into the air and making a hole 50 x 35 feet next to the pumproom. She took a heavy list to port but stayed afloat. Of the 44 crewmembers & six armed guards on board (the ship was armed with one stern gun and four .30cal guns), seven crewmembers, including the master and chief mate and one armed guard died and ten crewmen and four armed guards were injured. The survivors abandoned ship in four rafts and one lifeboat, which picked up the men swimming in the water. All were picked up by minesweeper USS Endurance and taken to Guantanamo Naval Base. The abandoned tanker was towed to Guantanamo Bay and left on 25 March under her own power with a Naval escort, arriving Mobile five days later. The permanent repairs were completed on 24 July and the ship returned to service on 6 August, when the tanker left Corpus Christi with a full cargo for New York. The chief mate Hawkings Fudske was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal (MMDS) posthumously and a Liberty ship was named after him. The chief engineer William McTaggart, Fireman Arthur Lauman and AB Charles Richardson also awarded the MMDS for bravery in the attack on this ship 1942 - At 1917, the unescorted SS Hengist was torpedoed by U-569 NW of Cape Wrath and sunk by a coup de grâce at 2004. Two crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The master, 24 crewmembers & four gunners were picked up by French trawler Groenland & landed at Loch Ewe 1942 - ASW trawler HMS Northern Princess was torpedoed & sunk by U-587 off Newfoundland. The vessel was reported missing after she was seen for the last time at 2043 hours on 7 March in 45°22N/55°59W 1942 - At 1241, the unescorted SS Baluchistan was torpedoed & damaged by U-68 30 miles SW of Grand Cess, Liberia. At 1328 & 1409, the vessel was hit by two coups de grâce & was finally sunk by gunfire between 1431 & 1440 with 21 high explosive and 14 incendiary shells. Three passengers were lost. The master, 61 crewmembers, four gunners & two passengers landed near Cape Palmas, Liberia 1942 - ASW trawler HMS Notts County torpedoed & sunk by U-701 south of Iceland 1942 - Minesweeper HNLMS Eland Dubois scuttled near Gili Genteng after suffering water leakage making escape to Australia hopeless. The crew was transferred to the sister ship Jan van Amstel, but she was sunk by Japanese destroyers with heavy loss of life the same day in the Madoera Strait 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Wagga laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Franks laid down 1942 - RAF Bomber Command dispatches six Blenheims to attack the port area at Ostend during the night of the 8th/9th; four aircraft bomb the target. 3 Wellingtons and Stirlings bomb the port area at Le Havre; three Manchesters lay mines off Lorient 1942 - A Japanese convoy arrives in Huon Gulf during the night of the 7th/8th and under cover of a naval bombardment lands assault forces at Salamaua and Lae without opposition. The 2nd Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force and 400-men of a naval construction battalion land at Lae while a battalion group of the 144th Regiment lands at Salamaua. RAAF 32 Sqn Hudson based at Seven Mile Airstrip, Port Moresby attacks the transports and scores a direct hit on an 8,000-ton ship, which is later seen to be burning and listing 1942 - Submarine HIJMS I-25 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane (later assigned the Allied Code Name “Glen”) to reconnoiter Wellington 1942 - CG plane located lifeboats of SS Arubutan off North Carolina coast & directed USCGC Calypso to them 1942 - Japanese land troops at Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea 1943 - At 2020, the unescorted Liberty Ship James B. Stephens was torpedoed by U-160 about 150 miles NE of Durban, while steaming a nonevasive course at 11.5 knots. A torpedo struck one the port side between the #2 & #3 hatches. The explosion set the fuel oil in the double bottoms on fire and the ship settled rapidly by the bow. At 2032, a coup de grâce was fired, which struck on the port side at the #4 hatch and broke the ship in two. Both sections remained afloat, but the ship burned until the following morning. An Allied warship sank the stern section by gunfire and a British warship tried to tow the fore section to Durban, but it sank under tow in heavy seas. The eight officers, 35 crewmen and 20 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and four 20mm guns) began abandon ship after the first hit in four lifeboats and three rafts. The explosion of the second torpedo overturned the motor lifeboat and also blew three men from another boat into the water. The other lifeboats picked up all men with exception of one armed guard who drowned because he did not have a life jacked and could not swim. On 11 March, an aircraft spotted one of the boats & directed armed trawler HMS Norwich City to it. 19 survivors were picked up by the trawler and taken to Durban. 30 survivors were picked up by cruiser HMS Nigeria the next day & taken to Durban. Six days after the attack, the remaining 13 survivors were rescued by a SAAF crash boat one mile off Durban, after an aircraft spotted them 1943 - At 2155, SS Empire Lakeland, a straggler from Convoy SC-121, was sunk by two torpedoes from U-190 NW of Rockall. The master, 55 crewmembers and eight gunners were lost 1943 - At 1823, SS Fort Lamy, a straggler from Convoy SC-121, was torpedoed & sunk by U-527 SE of Cape Farewell. The HMS LCT-2480 on board was lost with the vessel. The master, 39 crewmembers and six gunners died. Three crewmembers and two gunners were picked up after 12 days by the HMS Vervain & landed at St John's 1943 - SS Vojvoda Putnik in Convoy SC-121 sunk by U-591 at 58.42N, 31.25W 1943 - At 0855, SS Guido was torpedoed & sunk by U-633 about 450 miles ESE of Cape Farewell. The vessel was a romper 10 miles off the starboard bow of the convoy SC-121. Eight crewmembers and two gunners were lost. The master, 28 crewmembers & six gunners were picked up by USCGC Spencer & landed at Londonderry 1943 - At 2303, SS Leadgate, a straggler from Convoy SC-121, was hit by one torpedo from U-642 & sank west of the Hebrides. The master and 25 crewmembers were lost 1943 - U-156 sunk at 1315 east of Barbados, in position 12.38N, 54.39W, by depth charges from a USN VP-53 Catalina. 53 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-1060 launched 1943 - U-489 commissioned 1943 - Boom defense vessel HMS Barnaby launched 1943 - Frigate HMS Glenarm launched 1943 - Salvage vessel HMS Prince Salvor launched 1943 - Destroyer HMS Urchin launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Amesbury & Joyce laid down 1943 - USS Sable had been launched in 1923 as SS Greater Buffalo commissioned today. The conversion consisted of removing the old superstructure and building a flight deck of 500 to 535 feet (152.4 to 163.1 meters) over the hull. A small island was built on the starboard side and smokestacks were placed behind the island to vent the gases. USS Sable's flight deck was steel, the first US aircraft carrier to be constructed of that material. The Sable was one of two paddlewheelers used on the Great Lakes for training 1943 - Destroyer USS Knapp laid down 1943 - Light cruiser USS Dayton laid down 1943 - Minesweeping trawlers HMS Proof, Sir Lomorack commissioned 1943 - Destroyer HMS Troubridge commissioned 1943 - Submarine HMS Universal commissioned 1943 - Escort carrier USS Block Island commissioned 1943 - Admiral Standley, United States Ambassador to Russia, made statement in Moscow that news of important American aid was being kept from Russian people. "It is not fair to mislead Americans into giving millions from their pockets, thinking that they are aiding the Russian people, without the Russian people knowing about it" 1944 - Boom defense vessel HMS Prefect launched 1944 - Submarine USS Sea Lion commissioned 1944 - Submarine HMS Achates laid down 1944 - Submarine USS Sennet laid down 1944 - U-955, U-1232 commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Douglas A Munro launched 1944 - Destroyer HMS Zebra launched 1944 - Minesweepers HMCS Minas, Blairmore, Fort William, Milltown, Wasaga, Canso, Lempra & Guysborough join invasion Minesweeping Flotillas Devonport 1944 - Frigate HMCS Monnow commissioned 1945 - At 1055, SS Lornaston in the combined Convoy OS-115/KMS-89 was torpedoed & sunk by U-275 NW of Fecamp. The master, 40 crewmembers & seven gunners were picked up by frigate HMS Holmes & tug HMS Palencia & landed at Newhaven 1945 - Destroyer USS Strong commissioned 1945 - Corvette HMCS Hespeller departed Londonderry as escort for Convoy ON-289 1945 - Lighter, Covered (Self-propelled) YF-926 lost enroute to Pearl Harbor 1945 - Frigate HMCS Kirkland Lake departed Halifax for Londonderry to join EG-16 1945 - HMC MTB 486 paid off 1945 - Minesweeper HMCS Stratford completed workups at Bermuda 1945 - Phyllis Daley becomes first African-American Ensign, Navy Nurse Corps 1945 - U-3039, U-3040 commissioned 1946 - Frigate HMS Porlock Bay commissioned 1946 - Destroyer USS Rupertus commissioned 1946 - Destroyer USS Shelton launched 1946 - Corvette HMCS Petrolia paid off Liverpool NS 1952 - Destroyer HMS Sioux arrived Esquimalt from Korean War 1954 - Defense Minister Brooke Claxton announces in the Canadian House of Commons that approval has been given for immediate implementation of a new plan to procure and train junior officers for the RCN. Dubbed the "Venture" plan, it offers a seven-year short service appointment to qualified young men between 16 and 19 years of age. Qualifications include Junior Matriculation, or the equivalent 1958 - Battleship USS Wisconsin is decommissioned, leaving the Navy without an active battleship for the first time since 1895 1959 - Minesweeper HMS Serene (ex-HMCS Leaside) arrived Rees, Llanelly for scrap Light cruiser HMS Blake commissioned 1965 - Seventh Fleet lands first major units (3,500 Marines) in South Vietnam at Danang 1973 - The first "Coast Guard-controlled drug seizure" took place when the cutter Dauntless seized the sport-fishing vessel Big L that was carrying an illicit cargo - one ton of marijuana 1973 - USS Oriskany port call Subic Bay 1991 - Naval forces continue conducting defensive counter-air, surface surveillance, maritime interceptions and minesweeping operations. After two weeks of non-stop minesweeping operations, the port of Kuwait City is safe enough to reopen. The Federal Republic of Germany is sending minesweepers to the Arabian Gulf to assist the Navy in clearing Iraqi mines from Kuwaiti waters 2004 - Tug INS Binh commissioned at Chennai 2004 - Amphibious ships USS Anchorage, Portland & Mount Vernon stricken from NVR 2005 - Replenishment ship JDS Oumi commissioned at Sasebo. Replaced retired JDS Sagami 2005 - At a hearing today in Dumbarton the skipper of a speedboat used as a water taxi was sentenced after entering a plea of guilty at earlier hearing. This followed an incident on Loch Lomond involving the speedboat Plastic Dreams which collided with another speedboat causing serious injury to a passenger. Allan Davie (24) had pleaded guilty at Dumbarton Sheriff Court to a charge brought under section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 at an earlier hearing. This section deals with conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals. On 24th August 2003, three families traveled to Loch Lomond side at Luss for a picnic on a fine Sunday evening. They observed two speedboats that they learned were for hire. The three families, which included five children, split up between the two boats, with most of the children boarding the Plastic Dreams. The main purpose of the trip was to travel round the islands, but the skippers agreed to make the trip more exciting by making a big splash with the propellers of the lead boat `Blue Monday' which would wet the children in the following boat. The lead boat stopped about 200 yards from the shore and tilted the outboard motor until the propeller was close to the surface and created a big splash. The following boat `Plastic Dreams' missed his approach and crashed through the water spray mounting the lead boat `Blue Monday' at the stern and rolling along the length of the boat before falling back into the water. A witness stated "It was like a scene from jaws as the boat appeared over the back and landed on top of us". On the 'Blue Monday', one woman passenger suffered serious head injuries and the skipper suffered slight back injuries 2005 - Military Sealift Command has awarded a contract of up to $139 million to Keystone Prepositioning Services of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a certified small business. The contract is for the operation and maintenance of three Maritime Prepositioning Force Enhanced ships, or MPF(E) ships. These massive roll-on/roll-off cargo ships -- 1st LT Harry L. Martin, USNS Gunnery Sgt. Fred W. Stockham, and USNS Lance Cpl. Roy M. Wheat -- preposition US Marine Corps supplies and equipment at sea in strategic locations around the world 2005 - A group of divers have discovered a submerged hoard of Bronze Age artifacts off Salcombe, Devon. The find includes swords and rapiers, palstave axe heads, an adze, a cauldron handle, and a gold bracelet. The artifacts have been reported to English Heritage and declared to the Receiver of Wreck at the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, as it is believed that these relics come from an ancient shipwreck. The artifacts are currently being studied at the British Museum, which also holds the finds from the nearby 'Moor Sands' Bronze Age wreck site. The South West Maritime Archaeology Group (SWMAG) had been diving under license from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, on the shipwreck known as the Salcombe Cannon site last summer, (where they discovered a hoard of gold coins in 1995), when they found evidence of a far older wreck. The new site falls within the protected area of the Salcombe Cannon shipwreck site, which is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. This means that this area is already protected from unauthorized and illegal diving. The finds from 'Moor Sands' and the new site belong to exactly the same phase of the Bronze Age, dating to around the 13th century BC, and archaeologists are wondering if they all came from the same vessel. The blades of swords and rapiers dominate the find, but axes, tools and ornaments are also present. The swords are amongst the earliest found in northwest Europe. Some of the objects are of north French origin and are types, which are rare in this country. The Bronze Age was a time of considerable trade in metals, right across Europe but it is exceptional to find material, which has actually been caught in transit 2005 - The historic warship HMAS Brisbane faced another battle this morning when a blaze broke out in a boiler room. Firefighters were kept busy early today attending two major incidents. The decommissioned Navy vessel has been in drydock at the Brisbane suburb of Morningside since the middle of last year and will eventually be sunk off the Sunshine Coast where it will be used as a dive wreck. A fire broke out around 0830 in a boiler room where workmen were using welding equipment 2005 - The Indonesian Navy withdrew five of its seven warships from the disputed water territory with Malaysia in Indonesia's Sulawesi Sea 2005 - Scientists from Canada and the US are on a ship off the coast of Vancouver Island hoping for a closer look at the latest earthquake action in the region. Last week, shifting plates on the ocean floor triggered nearly 4,000 relatively small earthquakes along the Northern Juan de Fuca Ridge, about 250 kilometers south and west of the island. A team of researchers from Canada, Hawaii, Oregon and Massachusetts left Seattle on Saturday to investigate 2005 - Northrop Grumman reached a construction milestone by lowering the final keel section of the George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier into place. The 700-ton lower bow unit was joined to the other keel sections in the dry dock and completes the length of the carrier, which is as long as the Empire State Building is tall 2005 - A vessel that was disabled in yesterday's harsh weather conditions is making its way back to port after an intense cooperative effort between several fishing vessels and Coast Guard crews. The vessel Mar-Cin, a 78-foot scalloper homeported in Hampton, Va., was left floundering 60-miles off of Cape May, NJ, after a rogue wave washed over the pilot house knocking out the vessel's electronics, compass, global positioning system and partially damaged the vessel's steering. The vessel Carolina Girl III, another fishing vessel in the area, noticed that the Mar-Cin was in trouble. The Carolina Girl III notified the Christina Ann, A 72-foot troller homeported in Oriental, N.C., and requested they contact the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard received notice of the disabled vessel at 8:15 p.m. A Coast Guard rescue helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City arrived on scene to assess the situation. Braving winds with gusts up to 62 miles-per-hour and 30-foot sea swells, the crewmembers of the rescue helicopter lowered a marine radio down to the Mar-Cin. The Mar-Cin was then able to establish limited communications with vessels near her. Crewmembers on the Mar-Cin indicated that all of the windows in the pilothouse had been broken out, but they were all wearing dry suits. Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light deployed two 47-foot rescue boats that arrived on scene this morning at 8:49 a.m. and began to escort the Mar-Cin back towards land. Shamrock Towing was called to finish towing the Mar-Cin back in 2005 - Federal investigators examining the fatal crash of a Staten Island ferry in 2003 issued a damning assessment Tuesday of the New York City Department of Transportation, saying its oversight of the second busiest ferry system in the country was compromised by inadequate training and the nearly nonexistent enforcement of basic safety rules. The National Transportation Safety Board, which took 16 months to investigate the crash, was unsparing in its criticism of the city's management of the ferries, and depicted its operation as beset by an almost reckless lack of proper procedures 2006 - More than ten disadvantaged Melbourne children will join members of the Royal Australian Navy and a youth crew for a unique sailing experience in Port Phillip Bay the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defense Bruce Billson, said from aboard the Young Endeavour 2006 - Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Boston are overseeing the clean-up of 1500 gallons of high sulfur diesel that was spilled into the Chelsea Creek at the Irving Oil Terminal in Revere, Mass. Irving Oil Terminal has claimed responsibility and is working with Clean Harbors to contain and clean up the spill. The cause of the incident was reported to be a faulty valve on a pipe on the terminal's pier manifold 2006 - The Nahang 1 ("Whale") submarine has joined the navy of the Iranian Army. This submarine was designed and manufactured with Iranian knowledge, and it is one of Iran's largest defense programs 2007 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen and Inspector General Richard Skinner testify before House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and maritime transportation for FY 2008 Coast Guard authorization, budget and Deepwater 2007 - HMAS Newcastle came to the aid of a yacht in distress off the southern NSW coast. Newcastle was conducting an exercise in the area when it responded to a call for assistance from yacht Medina. The yacht had three crew members and was taking on water. Newcastle transferred an engineering team to the yacht to assist her crew to pump water and repair damage to the hull of the vessel. Once the situation on board was stable, Newcastle handed responsibility of the yacht to a police launch and returned to operations 2007 - Explorer, RiverQuest's newly constructed, 90-foot, 150-passenger vessel leaves Freeport, Florida today for its homeport on the North Shore in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The $3.5 million boat is a state-of-the-art environmental classroom, a world benchmark "green" commercial vessel and a tourist attraction that is the first of its kind 2007 - Hon Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and MP for Central Nova, on behalf of Hon Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, announced that Canada’s New Government will invest $6 million in four Nova Scotia fishing harbors 2007 - Pickets started going up at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, halting work at the company that is Mississippi's largest private employer 2007 - Royal Boskalis Westminster nv announces that at around 1400 local time a container vessel ran into its trailer suction hopper dredger WD Fairway during dredging operations in Tianjin, China. There were no personal injuries. The vessel is currently stable and the crew is on board. The cause of the collision and the level of damage are not yet known and are being investigate 2007 - The Grimaldi Lines Ro-Ro Repubblica Di Genova is reported to have capsized during loading in the port of Antwerp The cause of the incident is not yet clear but a port spokesman said the ship had rolled onto its starboard side in dock and had taken in water before the crew were ordered to evacuate. The vessel carries containers and cars and is also used for freighter cruises and has accommodation for passengers. Karel Verbeke of Grimaldi Belgium told VRT radio network that about 100 containers and cars had fallen overboard. According to VRT the ship had just finished loading in Verrebroek dock when containers on the vessel slipped. Port traffic in the dock has been stopped and Mr Verbeke said that the authorities would be working hard to normalize the situation 2007 - Batteries from Canadian Oberon-class submarines placed on sale by Crown Assets 2007 - Greek-based shipping company Kassian Maritime Navigation Agency Ltd. and a crew member of the MV North Princess, an ocean-going bulk cargo ship traveling to ports in the United States, were charged in a three-count indictment related to the operations of the ship ============================================================= 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.