SeaWaves Today in History May 3, 2009 1699 - Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville 1661-1706 leaves Louisiana for France, puts colonists under command of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville 1680-1767 and Ensign Sauvole (d1701) 1744 - Joseph Du Pont Duvivier 1707-1760 appointed by Duquesnel, Commandant of Louisbourg, to capture British fishing station at Canseau; closest British settlement to Louisbourg 1802 - Washington DC was incorporated as a city 1815 - Polish Kingdom is established. According to the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna, it becomes part of the Russian Empire 1850 - Horatio Austin 1801-1865 sails from London with fleet of four ships to search Wellington Channel for signs of the Franklin expedition 1861 - USS Surprise captures Confederate privateer Savannah 1867 - Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island 1898 - Marines land at Cavite, Philippines, and raise US flag 1915 - Submarine HMS J2 laid down 1918 - Destroyer HMS Vanity launched 1927 - Heavy cruiser FS Suffren launched 1932 - Destroyer HMS Dainty launched 1934 - Minesweeper HMS Skipjack commissioned 1936 - Italian submarine Matrozos launched 1937 - Destroyer HMS Icarus commissioned 1937 - Destroyer HMCS Fraser arrived Esquimalt for first time 1938 - Destroyer HMS Afridi commissioned 1939 - Maxim Litvinov, people's commissar of foreign affairs, is dismissed from his post. Vyacheslav Molotov is appointed to the post 1939 - Boom defense vessel HMS Signet launched 1940 - U-378, U-701 laid down 1940 - ASW trawlers HMS Aston Villa, Gaul & St Goran bombed & sunk off Norway 1940 - Retiring NW from Namsos, destroyers HMS Afridi & FS Bison are sunk by JU-87s. The destroyers were protecting a convoy transporting troops withdrawing from Namsos. None of the troop transports are hit and two German planes are shot down. A large number of both crews are rescued, including Captain P L Vian of the Afridi. Previously he was captain of her sister ship, HMS Cossack, of Altmark rescue fame 1940 - All Allied troops are evacuated except for a small force at Narvik 1940 - Royal Navy carriers arrive at Scapa at 1030. HMS Glorious hastily refuels and then departs at 1630 bound for Greenock, flying off 803 Squadron enroute (including the single unused Roc she had acquired on 30 April). While HMS Ark Royal refuels and reprovisions, she sends off her five Rocs to RNAS Hatston 1941 - U-205, U-451 commissioned 1941 - U-116, U-654 launched 1941 - SS Wray Castle sunk by U-103 at 06.48N, 13.55W 1941 - MS Taranager sunk by U-95 at 61.07N, 25.20W. On May 5 the Icelandic motor boat Sigurfari MB 95 saved 17 men of the Norwegian freighter that had been torpedoed 2 days before. The men had manned two lifeboats that and all survived except the captain who had been hit during the attack 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Alberic sunk in collision off Scapa Flow 1941 - Submarine HMS Usk sailed from Malta for a patrol off the NW coast of Sicily on 19 April 1941. ASW activity was intense and Usk was ordered to alter her position. What happened to Usk is not known but she is most likely mined in the vicinity of Cape Bon sometime after 25 April 1941. She was reported overdue on 3 May 1941 1941 - HMS Triumph sinks the Italian auxilary patrol vessel V 136/Tugnin F. with gunfire about 10 nautical miles west of Marsa el Brega, Libya 1941 - Minesweeper HMAS Broome laid down 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Rosalind launched 1941 - Submarine HMS P-32 commissioned 1941 - Liverpool's worst night of bombing leaves the city center a field of brick and rubble, killing over 400. An ammunition ship, the Malakand, loaded with 1,000 tons of bombs and shells intended for the Middle East, was set on fire by a blazing barrage balloon that fell onto her decks. The resulting explosion blew Huskisson Dock to pieces and sank six other ships. Parts of the ship's plates were found over two miles away. An ammunition train also caught fire and was shunted to a siding by railwaymen as the ammunition was exploding 1941 - SS Europa (10,224 GRT), Canadian Government passenger-freighter an ex-Danish registered ship, was sunk by Luftwaffe bombers while alongside in Liverpool, England. There were no casualties. Europa was being employed as a troopship at the time of her loss. The vessel was raised and moved to a drydock for repairs. A few days after entering the dock, she was hit by bombers again and totally destroyed, along with the dock. The ship was buried when the dock was filled in with rubble and abandoned. Luftwaffe night raids on Liverpool began on 01 May and continued for the next seven nights. Seventy-six thousand people are made homeless and 3,000 were killed or injured, leading to charges of terror bombing and retaliation by the RAF. However, the docks, which were the actual target, did suffer extensive damage. Sixty-nine out of 144 deep water berths were put out of action, and the total tonnage of cargo landed was down by 75 percent by the end of the seventh night, an impressive result considering the accuracy of such attack at the time. German naval analysis of the British economic dependence on imported goods had identified port infrastructure and distribution systems as critical vulnerabilities, in addition to the shipping itself. The Luftwaffe did assign some assets to attack these targets early in the war and scored some significant successes. The pressure was not maintained and the effects were only transient. Herman Goering had a strong dislike for the Kriegsmarine and resisted any efforts at joint target co-ordination. Luftwaffe support to Kriegsmarine operations was poor throughout the war, despite the obvious accuracy of naval staff assessments 1942 - At 1054, the unescorted Laertes was hit by one torpedo from U-109 SE of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The ship was hit on the port side and the crew began to abandon ship. The starboard lifeboat was lowered without problem, but just as the port lifeboat reached the surface, a second torpedo struck the vessel just beneath the boat, killing all 17 occupants. The first mate was blown overboard from the boat deck and drowned. The British sailor Jones was also blown overboard, but was later picked up by a USN flying boat. The survivors in the starboard lifeboat landed at Cape Canaveral about six hours later 1942 - At 1723, the unescorted San Rafael was hit near the bridge by one torpedo from U-125 and was sunk with 32 rounds from the deck gun after the crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats and two rafts 1942 - At 0014, the abandoned Jutland was torpedoed and sunk by U-251 1942 - At 0638, the British Workman, which was straggling from Convoy ON-89 due to engine troubles, was torpedoed & sunk by U-455 SSE of Cape Race. Six crewmembers were lost. The master, 39 crewmembers and seven gunners were picked up by HMCS Assiniboine & Alberni and landed at St John's 1942 - Banana boat Samana sunk by U-506 at 25.04N, 79.45W 1942 - At 0824, the unescorted Ocean Venus was torpedoed & sunk by U-564 about 12 miles ESE of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Five crewmembers were lost. The master, 37 crewmembers and four gunners rowed to shore and landed at Cape Canaveral 1942 - Motor tanker Geo W McKnight damaged by U-66 at 11.18N, 61.19W 1942 - Destroyers USS Fletcher, Mervine, Quick & Radford launched 1942 - Submarine HMS Unrivalled commissioned 1942 - Japanese land at Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. They intend to set up a seaplane base in the harbor 1942 - USS Spearfish slips into Manila Bay and picks up 27 Army and Navy officers, including nurses, from Corregidor Island to be evacuated to Fremantle, Western Australia. She is the last American submarine to visit Corregidor before the island is surrendered 1942 - Japanese troops land on the north coast of Mindanao Island in the Philippines 1942 - On this, the first day of the first modern US naval engagement in history, called the Battle of the Coral Sea, a Japanese invasion force succeeds in occupying Tulagi of the Solomon Islands in an expansion of Japan's defensive perimeter. The United States, having broken Japan's secret war code and forewarned of an impending invasion of Tulagi and Port Moresby attempted to intercept the Japanese armada. Four days of battles between Japanese and American aircraft carriers resulted in 70 Japanese and 66 Americans warplanes destroyed. This confrontation, called the Battle of the Coral Sea, marked the first air-naval battle in history, as none of the carriers fired at each other, allowing the planes taking off from their decks to do the battling. Among the casualties was the American carrier Lexington which suffered such extensive aerial damage that it had to be sunk by its own crew. Two hundred sixteen Lexington crewmen died as a result of the Japanese aerial bombardment. Although Japan would go on to occupy all of the Solomon Islands, its victory was a Pyrrhic one - The cost in experienced pilots and aircraft carriers was so great that Japan had to cancel its expedition to Port Moresby, Papua, as well as other South Pacific targets 1943 - U-485 laid down 1943 - LCT(5)-23 sunk at Algiers 1943 - Frigate HMS Bickerton laid down 1943 - Submarine HMS Upshot laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Cushing laid down 1943 - Escort carrier USS Kitkun Bay laid down 1943 - U-364 commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Micka & Reybold laid down 1943 - MAC ship Empire MacAndrew launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Colahan launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Decker commissioned 1943 - Rescue tug HMS Aspirant commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Border Cities launched Port Arthur ON 1944 - U-852 scuttled in the Arabian Sea off the east coast of Somalia, in position 09.32N, 50.59E, after running aground during an attack by six RAF 621 & 8 Sqn Wellingtons. 7 dead & 59 survivors 1944 - U-278 shot down an RN Martlet 1944 - U-1277 commissioned 1944 - U-371 was spotted recharging her batteries on the surface off Djidjelli on the Algerian coast. The area was swamped with six escorts from Convoy GUS-38 and three aircraft squadrons. At 0118, the U-boat managed to hit USS Menges with a Gnat in the stern. The explosion severely damaged the stern, blew off both propellers and the rudders. 31 men were killed and 25 wounded, but the destroyer was towed to port and repaired. The other vessels hunted the U-boat until the early morning of 4 May when Fenksi had to surface his boat and save his crew, but at 0404 he still fought back and also damaged the Senegalais (T 22) with a Gnat before scuttling the U-boat 1944 - USS Donnell was on her fifth transatlantic voyage, when she made a sound contact and sighted a periscope 450 miles SW of Cape Clear, Ireland. She prepared for a depth charge attack but was hit at 1200 by one torpedo that hit the after part and the explosion of her own depth charges blew of the stern. 29 men were killed and 25 wounded. The vessel was towed by destroyer escorts USS Reeves & Hopping & the tug HMS Samsonia to Dunnstaffnage Bay, Scotland, arriving on 12 May. The damage was to extensive, so the ship was placed out of commission, reclassified IX-182 and was used as accommodation ship at Lisahally. Later towed via Plymouth to Cherbourg where she supplied electric power to shore. 1945 she laid in Portland and Plymouth and was then towed back to the States and was decommissioned. 1946 she was sold for scrap 1944 - U-927, U-1023, U-1024 launched 1944 - Destroyer escort USS McGinty laid down 1944 - Aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Carter commissioned 1944 - Escort carrier USS Windham Bay commissioned 1944 - Tug HMCS Marysville foundered on a rock, & sank. Refloated next day 1944 - Admiral Toyoda is named Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. This appointment is to replace Admiral Koga who was killed in an air accident on March 31 1944 - Pro-Nazi Spain bent under Allied pressure today and agreed to cut by a sixth its exports of Wulfram - the steel-hardening element - to Germany. General Franco, the Spanish dictator, has succumbed to British and US demands for the release of Italian ships held in Spanish ports, the withdrawal from the eastern front of his "Blue" division of 14,284 men and "Blue" air squadron, and the closure of the German "spy" consulate at Tangiers 1944 - Tug HMCS Marysville foundered on a rock & sank. Refloated the next day 1944 - Corvette HMCS Orillia completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS 1944 - HMS Tantalus torpedoes and sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Amagi Maru about 40 nautical miles south of Port Blair, Andaman Islands 1944 - HMS Unswerving sinks two sailing vessels with gunfire in the Gulf of Nauplia, Greece 1945 - Destroyer USS Little sunk after being hit by four Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa 1945 - U-2524 RAF 236 & 254 Sqn Beaufighters attacked the boat killing 1 man and damaging the boat. The boat was scuttled later that day. The LI refused to leave the boat and perished with it. [Oberleutnant(Ing) Werner Braun] 1945 - During an attack from a Beaufighter aircraft on a rocket penetrated into the control room of U-2503 killing the commander and 12 of his men. She was scuttled the next day 1945 - Destroyer USS Little sunk after being hit by four kamikazes off Okinawa, 30 of her crew were lost with the ship 1945 - U-802 sailed from Bergen on her final patrol 1945 - U-446 scuttled near Kiel, in position 59.19N, 10.10E. Wreck broken up in 1947. 23 dead and 18 survivors 1945 - U-1210 sunk near Eckernförde, in position 54.28N, 09.54E, by USAAF bombs. 1 dead, unknown number of survivors 1945 - U-2521 sunk in the Flensburg Fjord, in position 54.49N, 09.50E by rockets from RAF 184 Sqn Typhoons. 44 dead, unknown number of survivors 1945 - U-3032 sunk east of Frederica, in position 54.26,5N, 11.32,2E, by rockets from RAF 184 Sqn Typhoons. 36 dead and 24 survivors 1945 - U-3505 bombed & sunk at Kiel 1945 - Destroyer USS Gearing commissioned 1945 - Off Okinawa, kamikazes sink the destroyer USS Little and a medium landing ship (LSM); kamikazes also damage destroyer USS Bache, high-speed minesweeper USS Macomb, light minelayer USS Aaron Ward and a large support landing craft (LCS). A Japanese assault demolition boat damages the cargo ship USS Carina 1945 - USS Lagarto is sunk by a Japanese minelayer in the Gulf of Siam. All hands lost 1945 - Submarine USS Lagarto sunk by Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka in the Gulf of Siam 1945 - USS LSMR-195 sunk by Kamikaze attack off Okinawa Ryukyu Islands 1945 - Destroyer USS Luce sunk after being hit by two Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa 1945 - Phase II of Operation STARVATION, the aerial mining of Shimonoseki Strait, Japan by B-29s, begins. On this night, 97 Twentieth Air Force B-29s based in the Mariana Islands drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait and the waters off Kobe, Osaka and Suo Nada 1945 - Tug HMCS Gleneagle commissioned 1945 - SS Green Hill Park (7,168 GRT) Canadian merchantman was damaged in Vancouver by an explosion & fire. The ship was sold, repaired, and renamed Phaeax II 1945 - Indian forces captured Rangoon, Burma, from the Japanese 1946 - Sloop HMS Nereide commissioned 1946 - HM tug Crocodile wrecked by grounding off Sind coast 1946 - Submarine USS Corsair launched 1946 - Designation, "Royal Canadian Naval Air Arm" officially adopted 1949 - First Navy firing of a high altitude Viking rocket at White Sands, NM 1951 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan departed Korean War zone for Esquimalt 1954 - Minesweeper HMCS James Bay commissioned 1963 - Over 1,600 residents of Hay River and Fort Simpson airlifted to safety after towns struck by flooding 1965 - USS Yorktown port call Yokosuka 1967 - Submarine HMS Acheron departed Halifax following ASW training 1968 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Subic Bay 1970 - USS Shangri-La port call Cubi Point 1975 - USS Hancock port call Subic Bay 1979 - Yukon River submerges Dawson under more than two meters of water; downtown declared a disaster area 2003 - USNS Antares laid up Baltimore 2003 - The captain of a Malaysian chemical tanker has sent out a distress signal in the South China Sea, warning that nearly half his crew has fallen ill with what the captain described as SARS 2003 - Destroyer USS Oldendorf decommissioning ceremony at San Diego 2004 - Francki Place in Cowes - This is the name of one of the Cowes (Great Britain) streets given by local community to honor Capt(N)Wojciech Francki- the WWII "Blyskawica" Polish destroyer commander (1940-1942). The ship under his command defended Cowes against Nazi air raids in May 1942. The naming ceremony took place on 3 May this year, at 1200 with the participation of local authorities, citizens, members of Francki's family and his friends, and members of the British "Blyskawica" Society. Earlier this year, on Friday 30th of April, in Ryde (Isle of Wight) a concert devoted to Capt(N)Francki took place, with his granddaughter Anna Maria Doroszkowska as a soloist. Next day in the Royal London YC in Cowes a commemorating plate unveiling took place. The plate pictures an ORP "Blyskawica" pennant number with a Virtuti Militari Cross. The story had begun just in Cowes, the town located on the Isle of Wight, West of Portsmouth. The ship was built in 1936 in the J. Samuel White & Co. Ltd. Shipyard, and she commenced her combat patrols on the North Sea in September 1939. In April and May 1940, the ship supported allied troops fighting in Norway. The crew shot down two Nazi aircraft and destroyed artillery positions. Sometime later she screened the British Corps evacuation from Dunkirk. During the following years she escorted Atlantic convoys. In 1942 she was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to participate in the North Africa operation fleet. After her return to England, she operated in the convoys again. During the operation "Overlord" she operated on the English Channel in a British-Canadian-Polish destroyer group. In June 1944 participated in a victorious battle at Quessant and later against Nazi convoy at Lorient. The Cowes citizens remember the spring of 1942. At the end of April Nazi aircraft raided Cowes, against which the "Blyskawica", undergoing repairs in the local shipyard’s dock, defended effectively herself and the city against barbaric attacks - conducting fire, arranging smokescreens, and assisting the Cowes citizens to extinguish numerous fires in the city. The crew was honored with a medal of Cowes to commemorate those hard days and their effort and dedication.. Today at Cowes exist the "Blyskawica Friend Association" gathering local citizens, whose relatives participated in building "Blyskawica", and young people who know the history of the ship from their parents. The Association cooperates with the Polish Navy Museum. The ORP "Blyskawica" covered the distance of 150 000 nautical miles, escorted 83 convoys, participated in 108 patrols and operations, had her share in sinking two and damaging six surface naval ships and destroying two merchant ships, damaged three submarines, shot down six aircraft. This is the oldest ship of this class in the world 2004 - Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully redelivered the nation's newest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan to the USN after a post shakedown availability (PSA) 2005 - US Merchant Marine Academy is saluting the Royal Canadian Navy's efforts during World War II by hosting Marc Milner in Samuels Hall 227. Milner will be discussing the RCN's "secret war" in US waters from 1939-1942 2005 - The Arctic navigation season opened in the Russian Far East. The Vasily Golovnin vessel of the Far Eastern Sea Shipping Company delivered 6,000 tonnes of construction materials and equipment to the Chukotka village of Khatyrka for building a secondary school and apartment houses. The vessel will make three trips to Chukotka before the end of June and deliver freight to Anadyr, Egvekinot and the port of Providenia. All in all, 12 vessels of the Far Eastern Sea Shipping Company will take part in the 150-day navigation. 300,000 tonnes of coal will be shipped to northern areas of the Russian Far East from the Vostochny port before September. This year’s Arctic navigation began nearly 1.5 months ahead of time. The navigation season has also begun in the Amur River. Over 80 passenger vessels and freighters are ready to work. Contracts have been signed for the delivery of cargo to northern areas and timber exports to China and other countries. The freighters will supply construction materials, equipment and instruments to De-Kastri, where the Far Eastern largest terminal is being built for the transshipment of Sakhalin crude oil to sea tankers. Passenger traffic caused 30 million ruble losses last year, but the shipping company will not close long-range and commuter routes. Fuel suppliers to northern areas have been chosen in the Irkutsk region. The Osetrovskaya Shipping Company will deliver 55,000 tonnes of coal, and Naftasib-Irkutsk will carry over 2,000 tonnes of diesel fuel, gasoline and aviation kerosene. It is planned to bring 158,000 tonnes of oil and 41,000 tonnes of petroleum products to the Bodaibo, Katanga, Kirensk and Mamsko-Chuisky districts of the Irkutsk region. The regional budget has assigned 509 million rubles for the deliveries. The navigation season has also opened on the Volga-Baltic route. Two vessels departed on Tuesday, one for Vytegra and the other to Cherepovets. All in all, about 100 dry cargo vessels, oil tankers and other ships are engaged in the passenger and cargo traffic on the route that connects the Gulf of Finland and the Volga River. The Astana tanker flying the flag of Kazakhstan and built in Vyborg has passed through the Neva, Ladoga and Svir and is about to enter the Onega Lake. The lake is still covered with ice, so the Kapitan Plakhin icebreaker will lead the Astana through it. The ice is also thick, up to 40 centimeters, in the White Sea 2005 - Pan-Ocean Energy Corporation Limited together with its Etame co-venturers today announced that it has received approval from the Government of Gabon to proceed with the development of the Avouma offshore field, which was discovered in July 2004. The Avouma EAVOM-1 well tested 6,600 barrels per day on a 40/64 inch choke from the Gamba sandstone. The Avouma field was an extension of the previously discovered South Tchibala field found by Gulf Oil in 1978. With the additional reserves discovered by the EAVOM-1 well, the combined accumulation was deemed commercial. Plans call for the installation of a platform and drilling of two development wells to produce the South Tchibala/Avouma accumulations. The platform will be tied back via a pipeline to the floating production, storage and offloading facility ("FPSO"), which is currently servicing the Etame field. The estimated cost of the development is approximately $65 million for the platform, wells and pipeline ($20.4 million net to PanOcean). Production from the development is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2006. To ensure the availability of the FPSO to produce Etame, South Tchibala and Avouma, the operator on behalf of the Etame co-venturers signed a contract extension with the FPSO owners. The extension allows the Etame consortium to keep the FPSO through 2012, and gives the consortium the option to purchase the FPSO at the end of the contract on favorable terms. The contract extension provides for annual reductions in the day rate for the FPSO in each year of the term. As a result of signing the extension, the consortium has commenced certain modifications of the tanker to allow for gas lifting of the Etame wells, and will perform future activities to expand the capacity of the tanker to handle additional production. Separately, the Company has spudded the EAVSM-1 wildcat well on the South Avouma prospect located approximately two kilometers south of the Avouma field. The well will test a separate Gamba sandstone structure adjacent to the existing Avouma discovery. Total depth of the well is anticipated to be approximately 2,700 meters, and is expected to take approximately 30 days to drill. Upon completion of the exploration well, the rig will move to the Etame field to drill and complete the Etame ET-6H development well. Production from that well should commence in July 2005 2005 - Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd announced that it has taken physical delivery of two Panamax bulk vessels, MV Elinakos at Taichung, Taiwan and MV Happy Day at Kohsichang, Thailand. MV Elinakos is a Panamax dry bulk carrier of approximately 74,000 dwt, built in 1997 in Japan; MV Happy Day, also a Panamax dry bulk carrier, is approximately 72,000 dwt built in 1997 in Japan. The Company agreed to acquire both on March 23, 2005 2005 - ChevronTexaco Corp announced that it has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Samsung Heavy Industries of South Korea to support the planned growth in the company's LNG business. The new LNG carriers will have a capacity of 154,800 cubic meters each. Both carriers will be of membrane-type design and equipped with dual fuel diesel-electric propulsion. The two carriers are planned for delivery in 2009 2005 - The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced second quarter (Q2) operational metrics for fiscal year 2005. On a macro level, the Canal continues to experience record business, with Panamax transits rising dramatically and setting record levels of tonnage. This quarter, Panama Canal/Universal Measurement (PC/UMS) tonnage increased, along with transits of Panamax vessels, the largest vessel that can pass through the Canal. Booked transits increased while overall transits slightly dropped. Canal Waters Time (CWT), the average time it takes a vessel to transit the Canal including waiting time for passage, slightly increased because of the continued growth of Panamax vessel transits. These metrics are based on the second quarter of the ACP's 2005 fiscal year, from January through March of 2005. During Q2, PC/UMS tonnage increased 3.9 percent -- to 70.9 million PC/UMS tons from 68.2 million PC/UMS tons. There was also an increase in transits of Panamax vessels. Transits of these larger vessels increased 6.6 percent -- to 1,396 transits from 1,310 transits, while the number of overall transits decreased in Q2 by 2.9 percent -- to 3,730 from 3,842. "Our business continues to grow significantly. More tonnage is transiting the waterway than ever because of a surge in transits by Panamax-sized ships. Our ability to attract and accommodate this traffic is a testament to our world-class workforce, who ensures safe, reliable and uninterrupted transits for our customers," said ACP Maritime Operations Director Jorge Quijano. The percent of booked transits to total transits increased 5.9 percent -- to 48.3 percent from 45.5 percent. Booked transits are those reserved by vessels to transit on a specific date. Use of the booking system increased 2.9 percent -- to 94.9 percent from 92.3 percent. In March, a new record for the most booked transits was achieved -- to 640 transits from the previous record of 599, set in January 2005. Overall CWT remained reasonable during Q2, compared to last year, with a slight increase of 5.8 percent -- to 25.98 hours from 24.56 hours. CWT for booked transits did not materially change; it increased just 1.7 percent -- to 16:31 hours from 16.03 hours. The official accident rate remained steady, with a minimal increase of three percent -- to 1.07 accidents per 1,000 transits from 1.04 accidents per 1,000 transits in Q2 FY2004. An official accident is one in which a formal investigation is requested and conducted 2005 - Forth Coastguard coordinated the airlift of a person from beneath cliffs following a call from police. The Coastguard received the report from Tayside Police at 1315 this afternoon. The Arbroath Lifeboat was launched and an RAF rescue helicopter was scrambled. Montrose Coastguard Rescue Team and Montrose Coastguard Sector Manager also attended. The casualty was found at the bottom of Arbroath Cliffs and was airlifted with spinal injuries and head trauma to Nine Wells Hospital in Dundee 2005 - The Coast Guard responded to a 15-gallon oil spill in the Washington Ship Canal near the Ballard Bridge. The spill was reported at 0730 by the operators of the Fishing Vessel Blue Ace. The spill occurred when the Blue Ace was conducting an internal diesel fuel transfer while moored at the Barnacle Point ship yard. Investigators from Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Puget Sound responded and directed the operators to deploy absorbent boom and pads around the Blue Ace. All the diesel fuel that entered the ship canal was contained within the absorbent boom. The cause of the spill is under investigation 2005 - Portland Coastguard advised a man was rescued from the sea, off Ringstead. The 28 year old Weymouth man, whose dinghy had dismasted, had been drifting at sea for three hours. He was approximately one mile off shore, when a member of the public spotted him and called 999, reporting that he was heading towards some rocks. Portland Coastguard launched the Weymouth Inshore Lifeboat and Wyke Coastguard Rescue Team was requested to attend the scene. A nearby yacht attempted to help the man but was unable assist. When the lifeboat arrived on scene it attached a line and towed the dinghy into Weymouth 2005 - Naval Commanders Conference is being held from 03 to 05 May 05 at Mumbai. The conference is highest decision making body of the navy that deliberates upon major operational issues with regard to the defense of maritime interests, operational planning, coastal security including defense of national assets at sea, naval strategy and review of weapons & platforms for achieving operational plans. The conference is being attended by top brass of the navy, from the Integrated Headquarters at New Delhi, the Command Headquarters and Fleet Commanders 2006 - Stormy weather is the most likely cause of a jet crash off the coast of Russia in which 113 people died, according to airline and Russian emergency officials. The Airbus A-320, belonging to the Armenian airline Armavia, disappeared from radar screens as it approached the Black Sea resort of Sochi in heavy wind and rain. Russian officials said the 105 passengers and eight crewmembers aboard the plane flying from the Armenian capital Yerevan, including six children, were all killed. Airline officials said they believed the crash was caused by stormy weather 2006 - South Korea launched a locally developed unmanned submersible capable of descending to 6,000 meters below the ocean surface. The vessel was launched at Geoje Island, about 406 kilometers south of Seoul, in a ceremony attended by about 100 guests, including Vice Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Minister Kang Mu-hyun 2006 - Russian-made equipment to tackle a potential oil spill has been delivered to the island of Sakhalin in Russia's Far East on the order of the operator for a massive energy project. Sakhalin Energy, the operator of the Sakhalin II oil and gas project, said it had received 10 emergency complexes. A spokesman said it planned to locate two of them in the north east of the island and other eight along the oil and gas pipeline 2006 - Dubai Ports Authority has announced major expansion and modernization of the Al Hamriyah Port in Dubai, in line with its strategy to ensure continual development of all ports under its management in the UAE, in order to meet the rapid growth in domestic and regional trade. The project will lead to increased storage and general cargo capacity at the Al Hamriyah Port 2006 - Twenty-nine dead dolphins were found on Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coastline May 2 & 3 the government's environmental office said 2006 - Coast Guard aircrews out of Mobile, Ala., worked together to locate and rescue a 59-year-old man deep in the Gulf of Mexico and have safely transported him to a Mobile hospital. A rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile airlifted Charles Patten from the Carnival cruise ship Holiday, located about 280 miles south of Mobile, and transported him to Providence Hospital. Doctors aboard the cruise ship recommended a medical evacuation for Patten who was reportedly suffering from internal bleeding and a high fever. After the ship contacted the Coast Guard, an HU-25 Falcon rescue jetcrew was launched to locate the ship. Once radio communications were established with the ship's crew, they were instructed to prepare the patient for hoist by the HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew, which occurred at about 1330 2006 - Keppel FELS Limited and Keppel Verolme BV have each clinched a contract from Transocean Inc. worth a total of US$140 million. Each contract is for the upgrading of a Sedco 700-series semisubmersible drilling rig. The two Keppel yards reap substantial synergy with respect to engineering, purchasing and pre-fabrication works for the project 2006 - Russian Navy left with no satellite reconnaissance as the 2004-launched US-PU left orbit 2006 - Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara, previously the Director of Reserve and Training at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C., will assume the responsibilities from Rear Adm. Charles D. Wurster, as Commander of the Fourteenth District. Rear Adm. Brice-O'Hara, of Annapolis, Md., is one of only three women flag officers in the Coast Guard 2006 - RasGas has named its eighth LNG ship Simaisma at a ceremony held at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Company, South Korea. RasGas has a long-term charter agreement with the Maran Gas Maritime Inc and Qatar Gas Transport Company, which owns the vessel. Under the terms of the time charter agreement, RasGas will charter the ship for a firm period of 20 years 2006 - Franz Willum Sørensen appointed Vice President Maersk Group 2006 - B. Lynn Pascoe, US ambassador to Indonesia, and several officials from the Indonesian government and military flew aboard USS Abraham Lincoln for a brief visit 2006 - A federal jury has spared Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th 9-11 hijacker from execution, deciding he will spend the rest of his life in prison 2006 - Eastern Naval Command of the Nigeria Navy Wednesday paraded some militant youths for allegedly attempting to blow up oil platforms at Mkpanak Ibeno in Akwa Ibom. Parading the culprits in Calabar, the Commanding Officer, NNS Victory, Capt. Benjamin Coker, said six of the 15 youths were arrested in the act. Coker said the attempt by the youths to blow up a platform belonging to Mobile Producing Nigeria Unlimited, was foiled by vigilant naval personnel 2006 - HDMS SKA 11 sank after grounding in Arsuk Fjord, Greenland 27 Apr 2006 2007 - Royal Caribbean International’s new Liberty of the Sea maiden arrival at New York City 2007 - Bourbon Offshore and Damen Shipyards Gorinchem signed a contract for the construction and delivery of four Damen ASD Tugs 3213 2007 - The Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee will mark up the following legislation: H.R. 1585 - To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2008, and for other purposes 2007 - Bucking a tradition of providing free dock space for warships during Fleet Week, Port Everglades this year is charging the US Navy to tie up its vessels 2007 - Western Marine Shipyard at Chittagong, has won a $ 4.25 million order to build a 4,800 horse power anchor handling tug supply vessel for a Singapore based company 2007 - VAdm Barry M Costello relieved by VAdm Samuel J Locklear III as Commander of US 3rd Fleet 2008 - Submarine USS North Carolina commissioned at Wilmington NC Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. 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