SeaWaves Today in History May 27, 2009

 

Turkey - Freedom and Constitution Day. Visiting warships Dress Ship overall

1534 - Jacques Cartier 1491-1557 enters the Baie des Chateaux - the Strait of Belle Isle - then follows the south coast of Labrador; may have been there already with Verrazano; his second voyage to Canada
1813 - 6000 American troops land to the west of Ft. George (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.). The few hundred Canadian defenders posted at the landing site put up stiff resistance but are compelled to retire and abandon the fort
1818 - British government declares Saint John, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, to be free ports
1863 - Sailing ship Anglo Saxon wrecked off Cape Race, with a loss of 237 lives
1905 - King Oscar II refuses to sanction the consular service bill. The members of the Norwegian Government submit pre-drawn up resignations, which the King does not accept
1907 - Rachel Carson, the American biologist whose books helped inspire the environmental movement, was born
1918 - Minesweepers USS Sanderling & Thrush laid down
1918 - Minesweeper USS Kingfisher commissioned
1918 - Minesweeper HMC TR 6 commissioned Port Arthur ON
1918 - Minesweepers HMC TR 7 & TR 24 commissioned Collingwood ON
1919 - Navy NC-4 completes Trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Lisbon, Portugal
1919 - Destroyer HMS Sardonyx launched
1919 - Destroyer USS Bainbridge laid down
1931 - Submarine HNLMS O-15 launched
1936 - Minesweeper HMS Hazard laid down
1936 - The Cunard liner Queen Mary left England on its maiden voyage
1937 - The Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County, Calif., was opened to the public
1937 - Destroyers USS Blue & Helm launched
1940 - AA cruiser USS Juneau laid down
1940 - Corvette HMCS Galt laid down Collingwood ON
1940 - Patrol vessels HMCS Caribou (ex-yacht Elfreda), Reindeer (ex-yacht Mascotte) & Renard (ex-yacht Winchester) commissioned
1940 - Destroyers HMCS Restigouche, Skeena & St Laurent were engaged in Operation DYNAMO, the Dunkirk evacuation
1940 - Following the decision the previous day to evacuate from Dunkirk, the first of the flotilla of ships and small boats arrived to start taking off the thousands of troops
1940 - The first assault wave of Legionnaires and Norwegians embarked well inside Herjangs Fjord, which was concealed from Narvik by high ground behind the town of Oyjord. While every available warship pounded the Narvik-Ankenes area, the first wave swept into and across Rombakken Fjord. Legionnaires poured ashore and cleared a beachhead. HMS Glorious remains off Narvik. HMS Ark Royal remains at Greenock loading stores, ordnance, and ammunition
1940 - US Navy orders that six Fletcher-class destroyers, Pringle, Stanly, Hutchins, Stevens, Halford & Leutze be equipped with catapult and plane handling equipment. While escorting Halifax-bound Convoy ON-154 in the Atlantic in January 1943, USS Pringle becomes the first US destroyer to launch an aircraft with a catapult. Shortcomings in the plane hoisting gear led to removal of the aviation equipment for the first three ships in late 1942/early 1943. In October 1943, after limited aircraft operations by USS Stevens and USS Halford, aviation equipment was ordered removed from them and plans for installation on Leutze were canceled
1940 - HMS Grafton ferried 860 men to Dover and returned the following day to pick up another 800. On passage back to England, Grafton stopped to assist with the rescue of survivors from another destroyer that had been sunk, but whilst doing so was herself torpedoed by a U-Boat. Despite being packed with troops, Only 4 people were killed and other vessels took on the remaining troops and ship's company. Grafton was scuttled by gunfire
1940 - At 1551, the unescorted Sheaf Mead was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-37 and sank capsizing after a boiler explosion at 1554 about 180 miles from Cape Finisterre. The Germans tried questioning the survivors on a raft, but they did not answer the questions. The master, 30 crewmembers and one gunner were lost. Five crewmembers were picked up by Frangoula B. Goulandris and landed at Queenstown, Cork on 31 May
1940 - SS Uruguay sunk by U-37
1940 - U-379 laid down
1941 - Corvette KNM Montbretia (ex-HMS Montbretia) launched
1941 - Corvette HMS Vetch launched
1941 - ASW trawler HMS Coverley launched
1941 - Rescue tug HMS Frisky launched
1941 - Corvette HMCS Louisburg launched Quebec City PQ
1941 - The first catapult equipped merchantman, the steamship 'Michael E' puts to sea, with its complement of two Hurricanes. It is later sunk by torpedo
1941 - The Home Fleet caught the German battleship Bismarck, damaged the previous day by Ark Royal's Swordfish torpedo-bombers, and avenged the loss of HMS Hood. The cruiser Norfolk relocated Bismarck, and the battleships Rodney and King George V engaged Bismarck for over two hours, leaving her wrecked from stem to stern without suffering a single hit in return. HMS Dorsetshire’s torpedoes delivered the coup de grace. However, a massive air and sea search failed to locate Bismarck's erstwhile consort Prinz Eugen, which succeeded in joining Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest. HMCS Saguenay & Assiniboine played minor roles in the Bismarck chase. Saguenay was attached to the Home Fleet but had to be detached to refuel at Hvalfjord, Iceland, & could not rejoin the force in time for the action. Assiniboine was with the Renown battle group (Force H) but also had to be detached on 25 May 41 to refuel in Iceland. This little-publicized aspect of a momentous event was a major test of the RCN's concept of operations. Having built its force structure on destroyers as an economical but effective deterrent to raiding warships and converted merchant cruisers, when the 'moment of truth' arrived for the RCN, it proved to be ineffective for want of adequate endurance to pursue the enemy to destruction. The low endurance of British fleet destroyers proved to be a design weakness of operational significance. Both the Home Fleet task force and Force H outran their destroyer screens and pressed on to engage Bismarck without them. The destroyers that did eventually take part in the engagement were detached from passing convoys. The Bismarck chase caused major consternation in the Admiralty over the low endurance of both its capital ships and fleet escorts. Only its pre-war heavy cruisers and sloops, originally designed for the protection of trade role, proved adequate for global warfare at sea. War-built frigates, the 'twin screw corvettes', and Castle-class corvettes were designed with substantially increased bunkerage. The endurance deficiencies of the battle fleet were not addressed until after the war
1941 - President Roosevelt proclaimed unlimited national emergency 
1941 - The Vichy vice-premier, Admiral Darlan, signs the "Paris Protocols", giving Germany access to Syrian and Lebanese military facilities and naval bases at Tunis and Dakar
1941 - The Allied commander General Freyberg receives orders to evacuate Crete. As HMS Barham covers a supply mission, she is hit to the NW of Alexandria
1941 - HMCS St Clair (ex USS Williams) and HMS Mashona attacked by 5 German bombers, west of Galway Bay, Ireland. Mashona capsized and sunk, survivors picked up by St Clair
1941 - At 0101, the Colonial, dispersed from Convoy OB-318, was hit by one torpedo from U-107 and sank after a coup de grâce at 0146 about 200 miles WNW of Freetown. The master, the convoy commodore (Rear Admiral W.B. Mackenzie RN), 88 crewmembers, six naval staff members and four gunners were picked up by target ship (ex-battleship) HMS Centurion and landed at Freetown
1942 - Minesweeper USS Swerve laid down
1942 - Destroyer USS McCalla commissioned
1942 - Minesweeper HMS Parrsborough commissioned
1942 - Minesweeper HMS Cadmus launched
1942 - Destroyer HMS Myngs laid down
1942 - HMC ML 079 & ML 082 commissioned
1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Lockeport commissioned
1942 - Japanese Invasion Fleet sails from the Marianas toward Midway. A second invasion force heads for the Aleutians from Ominato
1942 - USS Yorktown arrives at Pearl Harbor from the South Pacific for drydocking
1942 - Japanese submarine HIJMS I-19 is preparing to launch a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane, Allied Code Name "Glen," for a reconnaissance mission over Bogoslof Island, located in the Bering Sea about 60 miles west of Unalaska Island, when a US destroyer is sighted. The sub submerges causing irreparable damage to the aircraft. 
Meanwhile, the submarine HIJMS I-25 launches a "Glen" to fly a reconnaissance mission over Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska
1942 - US Marines and Navy Seabees occupy the Wallis Islands in the SW Pacific Ocean in position 13.18S, 176.10W
1942 - ASW trawler HMS Arctic Pioneer sank after collision with battleship HMS King George V off Portsmouth
1942 - At 2000 hours on 26 May, the unescorted Atenas spotted a periscope one point off the port beam about 175 miles south of the entrance to the Mississippi River. It moved slowly toward the vessel, so the master changed course so that the 4in stern gun (the only other guns on the ship were two .30cal guns) could be cleared and fired. After four shots on the periscope, it disappeared. The Atenas proceeded with southerly course in a zigzagging pattern. At 0400 on 27 May, U-106 began rapidly shelling the Atenas from about 2000 yards for about two minutes. Rasch tried unsuccessfully to bring down the radio antenna. Seven shells hit the port side and started two small fires but did little damage. There were no casualties among the eight officers, 46 men, eight armed guards and ten passengers. Again the master changed course and the stern gun fired at the U-boat. After the first shot, U-106 submerged and left the area. At daylight, the Atenas hove to while the holes in the hull were plugged. She continued on her voyage zigzagging constantly and arrived safely
1942 - At 0319, the Athelknight, dispersed from Convoy OS-28, was torpedoed and sunk by gunfire by U-172 SE of Bermuda. Four crewmembers and five gunners were lost. The master, 39 crewmembers and three gunners were rescued - the master and 24 survivors after 28 days by the British merchantman Empire Austin and landed at Capetown; the second officer and 17 survivors landed on St. Bartholomew Island, Leeward Islands on 23 June, after sailing in a lifeboat for about 1200 miles
1942 - At 1051, the unescorted USAT Jack (Master Serge Burrack) was hit by one torpedo from U-558 about 100 miles SW of Port Salut, Haiti. The torpedo struck on the starboard side between the foremast and #2 hold. The explosion opened a large hole in the hull, blew the hatch covers off, stopped the engines, and damaged the radio, the starboard lifeboat and a raft. The ship sank quickly within four minutes and the suction swamped the port lifeboat, which had been successfully launched. The badly damaged starboard boat was launched with two men. 14 survivors transferred into this boat from a raft. These survivors were picked up by submarine USS Grunion on 31 May and landed at the submarine base in Coco Solo on 3 June, after the submarine conducted a fruitless search for other survivors. Two armed guards and five crewmembers spent 32 days on a raft before being picked up. Five others on a makeshift raft were never seen again. 27 crewmembers, three armed guards and seven passengers of her complement of 43 crewmembers, nine armed guards and eight passengers (US Army personnel) were lost, including the master
1942 - At 0018, the unescorted Polyphemus was hit in the stern by two torpedoes from U-578 about 340 miles north of Bermuda and sank by the stern at 0101. On 25 November, the ship had picked up 14 survivors from a lifeboat of Norland, which had been sunk by U-108 five days earlier. 15 Chinese crewmembers were killed in the explosions and the survivors abandoned ship in five lifeboats. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the first officer H. Brandenburg. He gave information about the name of the vessel and the cargo, but not the name of the port of destination. Some cigarettes and the heading for New York were given to the survivors before the U-boat left. Rehwinkel obviously did not like the Dutch master, because he wrote in the KTB “ein typisch vollgefressener Holländer." The survivors in three lifeboats landed at Nantucket Island, Connecticut. The men in the two remaining boats were rescued by a Portuguese ship after one week and landed at New Bedford. One of these lifeboats had been spotted in grid CB 5757 on 29 May by U-566 and was provided with water and the actual position
1942 - At 1103, the unescorted Hamlet was hit by one torpedo from U-753. The torpedo struck in the front part of the #10 tank. The engines were stopped and the guns manned, while the lifeboats were made ready for lowering. But the tanker did not sink and they tried to bring her to port. The radio antenna had been destroyed, so they had to rig up an emergency antenna, but before the work could be finished another torpedo hit at 1128. The ship now started to sink quickly and all crewmembers abandoned ship in the lifeboats. The men observed U-753 on the surface at this time. At 1142, a third torpedo struck between #13 and #15 tank, causing her to sink down to the poop deck. The boats stayed alongside the ship until daylight two hours later to make sure no more men were in the water, whereupon course was set for closest land. The poop of the tanker could still be seen in a 45° angle above the water. Three hours later, some fishing vessels took the lifeboats in tow and arrived Morgan City, Louisiana in the late evening
1942 - U-631 & U-632 launched
1943 - Submarines USS Besugo, Blackfin & Spadefish laid down
1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Amick & Atherton launched
1943 - Destroyer HMS Grenville commissioned
1943 - Minesweeper HMAS Cowra launched
1943 - Minesweeper HMS Middlesex launched
1943 - Patrol vessel HMS Kilchatten launched
1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Lavallee launched Vancouver BC
1943 - Destroyer FS Leopard stranded & wrecked North of Benghazi. The wreck was destroyed on 19 June 1943
1943 - At 0611, the Sicilia was stopped by U-181 by shots across her bow and was sunk by torpedo at 0829 after the crew had abandoned ship
1943 - U-980 commissioned
1944 - Destroyer USS Southerland laid down
1944 - Submarine USS Toro laid down
1944 - Escort carriers USS Attu & Munda launched
1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Halloran & Hodges commissioned
1944 - Frigates USS Pueblo & Grand Island commissioned
1944 - Submarine USS Becuna commissioned
1944 - Minesweeper USS Counsel commissioned
1944 - Frigate HMS Enard Bay laid down
1944 - USS PT-339 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture near Pur Pur New Guinea 
1944 - United States forces landed on Biak Island in the Shoutens Group, 900 miles from the Philippines
1944 - HMCS Rosthern departed Londonderry to begin training ship duties in Halifax
1944 - Frigate HMCS Fort Erie (ex-HMCS La Tuque) launched Levis PQ
1944 - Tug HMCS Beaverton commissioned Montreal PQ
1944 - Corvette HMCS St Lambert commissioned
1944 - Tug HMCS Luceville assigned to Pictou NS
1944 - Tug HMCS Colville assigned to Sydney NS
1944 - Corvette HMCS Rosthern departed Londonderry for training ship duties Halifax
1944 - U-292 sunk west of Trondheim, in position 62.37N, 00.57E, by depth charges from an RAF 59 Sqn Liberator. 51 dead (all hands lost)
1944 - U-24 fought a surface battle with 2 Soviet patrol boats, losing 1 man dead and 2 wounded. [Matrosenobergefreiter Johann Wölbitsch]
1944 - U-3003 laid down
1944 - U-327 launched
1944 - U-881 commissioned
1944 - Coast Guard manned Army vessel FS-178 was commissioned. On 1 August 1945, she had finished discharging a cargo of chemical warfare equipment from Morotai, and was ordered dry-docked in ARD-9, Humboldt Bay, Hollandia, New Guinea, to clean and paint the hull. She departed drydock on the 3rd and on the 8th was underway for Milne Bay, New Guinea, where she arrived on the 12th and loaded 39 tons of life rafts for Finschaven and Hollandia arriving at the former place on the 14th to discharge 20 rafts and pick up mail and at the latter place on the 18th to unload the remainder before anchoring until the 28th at Challenge Cove, Hollandia. On that date she received a cargo of mail for Biak and proceeded there independently arriving at Sorido Lagoon on the 30th to discharge mail and load ammunition for Zamboanga, Philippine Islands. She departed next morning for Zamboanga, Philippine Islands. (The above is believed to furnish a fairly representative cross section of the day-to-day operations of Coast Guard manned FS's in the Southwest Pacific area.) The FS-178 was decommissioned on 16 October 1945
1945 - HMS Dipper, RNAS Henstride, 761 RN Sqn Seafire a/c, S/Lt (A) Wilfred Adris "Nip" Owen RNVR, Canadian, Lost, flying accident, dove into ground SE, of Abbotsbury, Dorset, UK, Interred, Kempston Cemetery, UK.
1945 - HMCS Lockeport departed Canada for UK
1945 - Destroyer USS Sarsfield launched
1945 - HMCS Nene arrived Sheerness in preparation for return to RN
1945 - Departed UK, with ON-305, last westbound convoy WW.II. a. HMCS Jonquiere and HMCS St Stephen
1945 - Departed St. John's with convoy HX-358, for UK. Last eastbound convoy of WW.II - a. HMCS Arrowhead, Eastview, Hepatica, Trillium, Peterborough & St Lambert
1945 - Off Okinawa, Japanese suicide craft damage nine US Navy vessels - - two suicide planes hit destroyer USS Braine in quick succession. The first hits forward seriously damaging the bridge and the second hits amidships blowing number two funnel overboard and demolishing the amidships superstructure. Braine retires to Kerama Retto for emergency repairs. - The destroyer USS Anthony is slightly damaged by a kamikaze. - The destroyer escort USS Gilligan is hit by a dud torpedo from a kaiten carried by submarine HIJMS I-357. - High-speed minesweeper USS Southard is slightly damaged by a kamikaze which crashed 15-yards ahead of the ship. - Minesweeper USS Gayety is damaged by a near miss from a 500-pound bomb that explodes just astern. Five men were killed and two wounded by flying debris, and the fantail bursts into flames. The fire is extinguished and the ship heads to Kerama Retto for repair. - High-speed transport USS Loy shoots down three suicide planes during two attacks. The third aircraft exploded close aboard the starboard beam and sprayed the ship with fragments and 18 of her crew are wounded and there is some internal damage. - High-speed transport USS Rednour is struck by a kamikaze on the stern, starting fires and blowing a 10-foot hole in her main deck killing three and wounding 13 of her crew. After driving off yet another suicide plane, Rednour entered Kerama roadstead for temporary battle damage repairs. - Surveying ship USS Dutton is struck by a Japanese plane which crashes the ship, carrying away part of the bridge, blowing one of her crew overboard, and holing her, fortunately above the water line. She heads for Kerama Retto for repairs. - Large support landing craft LCS-52 is damaged by kamikaze that misses
1945 - Nine B-29 Superfortresses drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait and in the Moji area of Japan; one B-29 is lost
1945 - Minesweeper HMCS Lockeport departed Canada for UK
1945 - Corvette HMCS Norsyd commenced refit Halifax NS
1946 - HMC ML 059 paid off
1946 - HMC ML 062 returned from duty with Free French at St Pierre & Miquelon & paid off
1947 - The former German U-boats U-18 & U-24 were scuttled south of Sevastopol by Soviet submarine M-120 with torpedoes
1947 - VP-HL-5 ex VP-143 disestablished 
1952 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan becomes flagship of Canadian ships in Korean waters
1965 - US warships begin bombardment of Viet Cong targets.  Augmenting the vital role now being played by US aircraft carriers, whose planes participated in many of the raids over South and North Vietnam, US warships from the 7th Fleet begin to fire on Viet Cong targets in the central area of South Vietnam. At first, this gunfire was limited to 5-inch-gun destroyers, but other ships would eventually be used in the mission
1970 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Subic Bay
1974 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Hong Kong
1975 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Pearl Harbor
1982 - QE2 and Canberra and Norland rendezvous in South Georgia
1985 - Destroyer HMCS Saskatchewan commenced DELEX refit Esquimalt BC
1995 - HDMS Y 375 sank after fire in the Kattegat. Salvaged & scrapped
2002 - Frigate HMCS Toronto returned to Halifax from Arabian Sea
2004 - USCGC Sundew decommissioned at Duluth MN. May be assigned to City of Duluth as a museum. If not, will be placed in storage at Curtis Bay MD for foreign transfer
2004 - Lockheed Martin Corporation ¬ Maritime Systems & Sensors, Moorestown, NJ ($46,501,821) and General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ($78,798,188) are each being awarded contract options for final system design with options for detail design and construction of up to two Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)
2005 - was on fire off Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. The initial call to Clyde Coastguard was at just past 5.00 p.m. this evening. The blue hulled 49 foot converted trawler with a teak top rail could be clearly seen from the town ablaze with black smoke pouring from the exhaust outtake. Tobermory lifeboat was asked to launch and the Coastguard Rescue Team was also sent to the shoreline. At the time the engine was still running, but fortunately the vessel at anchor in the bay. All six people who had been on board were taken to safety by the Glen Rivesdale ferry which had been in the vicinity and had seen the emergency. No injuries have been reported and all six are safe and well when taken to the shoreline. The stricken vessel had been on passage from Ardfern to Tobermory. The Coastguard then began to consider how to deal with the full gas cylinders which were reported to be on board plus concerns about additional fuel on board, and the 200 gallons remaining in the tanks. The Strathclyde Fire Service were alerted and the Coastguard placed a 200 meter exclusion zone around the vessel and began broadcasting an emergency signal warning other harbor users of the zone. The Oban Police were also alerted. In the meantime the skipper had made his way back to the vessel and had managed to remove the cylinders and extra fuel from the vessel reducing the immediate risk of further fire or an explosion. The Tobermory lifeboat then managed to place the still smoldering vessel under tow and discussions are still ongoing as to where to tow the vessel to lessen any further risk to nearby fish and mussel farms. The Harbor Masters permission is now being sought to place the vessel alongside Fisherman's Pier in Tobermory after the skipper and a member of the lifeboat crew managed to douse any further sign of fire on board. The Agency's Counter Pollution team have been alerted and are in discussions with the Coastguard about tidal drift and winds and mitigation plans if any of the fuel is released into the water column
2005 - Gerry Byrne, Member of Parliament for Humber - St. Barbe - Baie-Verte, announced today, on behalf of Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the federal government is funding approximately $2.7 million in harbor improvement projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. Fleur de Lys - The wharf near the community stage does not have adequate facilities to accommodate the increased vessel traffic and congestion experienced during the fishing season. This two-year project will increase the length of the finger pier adjacent to the community stage to provide additional berthage for larger longliners.  La Scie - The outside of the finger pier at this site is not currently useable for berthage in most weather conditions. Planning, environmental and design work will commence this year on a project to construct a new breakwater which will protect the finger pier, allowing vessels to safely use the outside of it for tie-up. Actual construction work will be undertaken next year. Pacquet - Severe structural deterioration in the slipway is resulting in unsafe conditions for fishers during vessel launching operations. This project will see the reconstruction and widening of the toe of the slipway with treated timber cribwork and decking. The project is expected to be completed by early fall this year. Triton - A four-year major capital project to construct new harbor facilities is in the design stage with construction expected to begin in 2006. The proposal is to construct an ell-shaped breakwater wharf and upland storage area with provision for a future floating dock development. The new facilities will augment the limited wharf space now available to area fishermen
2005 - Gerry Byrne, Member of Parliament for Humber - St. Barbe - Baie-Verte, announced today, on behalf of the Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the federal government is funding approximately $6.1 million in harbor improvement projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. Anchor Point - This two-year project will repair and upgrade the wharf on the south side of the harbor. Voids in the substructure, where fill has been washed out by sea action, will be re-filled to stabilize the structure and the wharf will be extended to provide additional berthage and service area for users. Cook’s Harbor - Planning and design are underway for a three-year major capital project to reconstruct and extend the breakwater wharf which has deteriorated with age and use. Repairs to the wharf approach started last year will be completed and new work will be undertaken to repair and improve the upland area by placing and leveling fill in the area behind the marginal wharf. In addition, improvements to the lighting services will provide additional safety for fishers. Cow Head - While facilities in and around this harbor are generally in good condition, water depths need to be improved for safe usage of the site and various operational services need repair. The basin and channel will be dredged to provide safe access for fishing vessels. Additionally, there will be repairs made to the upland area and repairs and improvements made to the lighting and electrical services around the site. Eddies Cove West - Wave action is causing an unacceptable flow underneath the wharf resulting in severe agitation to vessels berthed along the inside and damage to some vessels. This project will fill the visible voids between the wharf and the harbor bottom and place armor stone along the outside of the structure. When completed, the small open boats using this facility will have greater protection for off-loading and berthing. Port Saunders - A three-year capital project to construct a new breakwater wharf on the seaward side of the existing marginal wharf is in the design stage with construction expected to begin in 2006. When completed, the new facility will augment the limited wharf space now available to area fishers, giving them a more protected site to land their product and berth their vessels. A second project this year will upgrade the new access to the harbor by further grading and paving the new road and providing an adequate parking area for harbor users by infilling the tidal area behind the road. Reef’s Harbor - The breakwater wharf in this harbor has reached the end of its useful life and is currently barricaded from vehicle traffic. A two-year project will involve demolishing the existing unsafe structure and reconstructing the facility so the harbor can continue to serve the needs of area fishermen. Trout River - A launching ramp will be installed for easy entry and removal of vessels. In addition, the upland area will be repaired and improved for use by vehicular traffic during the fishing season and for boat storage in the off-season. Repair and reconstruction works started last year at Green Island Brook, River of Ponds, and Straitsview (Spillars Cove) will be completed this year
2005 - Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Jean-C. Lapierre, Minister of Transport, Stephane Dion, Minister of the Environment and John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, today announced a $28 million investment in Phase I of Canada’s Oceans Action Plan (OAP). The OAP will further strengthen the federal government’s ability to protect Canada’s fragile marine ecosystems while promoting opportunities for sustainable development for the benefit of Canadians and our coastal communities. This investment is a first step toward realizing the commitments made by the Government of Canada in both the 2004 Speech from the Throne and the 2005 Budget Plan. Phase I will be implemented over the next two years and is part of the government’s longer term oceans agenda. The OAP advances Canada’s international leadership and recognizes the need to work together domestically and globally to truly make a difference on oceans issues. At an international conference held May 1-5, 2005 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prime Minister Paul Martin spoke to the environmental, economic and human toll global over-fishing has on Canada. Dealing with these issues is one of our key challenges under the Oceans Action Plan
2005 - Indonesia and Singapore, boosting efforts to avoid a terrorist attack on ships passing through the world's busiest waterway, unveiled new ship-tracking technology on Friday. The Singapore-developed radar systems - which also use satellites and radio- tracking technology - let authorities in both countries see ship traffic movements, as well as real-time information about the vessels. The technology can track ships as small as 30 meters long and is part of an agreement between the two neighboring countries to protect the Singapore Strait, which leads toward the Malacca Strait - one of the world's most pirate-infested waters
2005 - Russia and Japan commemorate 100 year anniversary of the Tsushima battle, which played the decisive role in the Russian defeat in the war of 1904-1905. In Russia all warships will hoist St. Andrew’s flag to commemorate the navymen killed in the battle on May 27-28, 1905 in the Korea Strait. The crews will line up to honor the dead, the press service of the Russian Navy said. In St. Petersburg cadets of the Nakhimov Navy School will lay wreaths to the monument to the destroyer Stereguscshy. In Kronstadt a mourning ceremony will be held in central Anchor Square. Besides, prayers will be held on the Northern, Pacific, Baltic, Black Sea fleets and the Caspian flotilla. In Moscow a prayer will be devoted to all those killed in sea battles. In Vladivostok tribute will be paid to the navymen killed in the 1904-1905 Russian-Japanese war at the local Marine cemetery. Japan will also mark the date. Japanese warships will sail to the Korea Strait to commemorate the dead with a gun salute and wreaths. The heads of the Nagasaki prefecture and Tsushima City, as well as representatives of the Russian embassy in Japan will participate in the ceremony. A memorial complex will be opened on the Tono Cape where navymen from the destroyed Vladimir Monomakh cruiser landed. The place will be named the Hill of Japanese-Russian friendship. Another event will be held in the port of Yokosuka near Tokyo at the Japanese flagship Mikasa that was badly damaged in the Tsushima battle, in which 30 Russian warships fought against 121 Japanese warships
2005 - Destroyer USS Cushing makes the first ever US Navy port visit to Petropavlavsk-Kamchatsky. She will be anchored in the Avacha Roadstead until May 31st
2005 - Incheon maritime police, investigating an attack on its officers by Chinese fishermen, captured three boats from China in South Korea's waters on Friday, but said they did not seem to be the ones responsible for the attack. Four police officers were severely injured by Chinese fishermen on Tuesday while trying to seize their boats, which were operating inside South Korean territory on the West Sea. In one of the two boats, 18 Chinese fishermen with iron pipes beat police officers and threw one of them into the water. As other officers dashed to rescue him, the Chinese boats left the area. The authorities said the boats captured were operating 1.5 nautical miles into South Korean territory, but their serial numbers were not the same as the boats in question
2005 - After sustaining serious damage May 9, 2005, by a cross-channel vessel operated by Catalina Classic Cruises, the popular Two Harbors pier reopened for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. After the accident, the pier was closed, and a panel of experts was brought in to assess the damage. They implemented a plan to repair the boating amenity before the busy holiday weekend. Crews from Connoly-Pacific worked feverishly to repair the damage caused by the large cross-channel vessel. While the pier will be fully operational by the weekend, the corner of the pier, as well as the hoist and stairwell leading to the Harbormaster's Office, will remain closed until a scheduled renovation takes place in the fall
2005 - A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued a Cordova man from his disabled vessel east of Cape Hinchinbrook early this morning. The Coast Guard received a call reporting the 25-foot bow picker Fireweed disabled and adrift near the entrance buoy to Strawberry Channel with one person aboard. The operator, Ronald Titterington, attempted to snag the buoy as he drifted by and tried to anchor. His efforts proved unsuccessful. While attempting to stop his drifting boat Titterington fell into the water, but quickly climbed back aboard his vessel. Cordova's Coast Guard Aviation Support Facility launched a Jayhawk helicopter crew to Titterington's location. Once on scene, the Jayhawk crew unsuccessfully attempted a basket rescue due to 20-to-25 knot winds. The Jayhawk crew then lowered their rescue swimmer and instructed Titterington to enter the water. The helicopter crew recovered both the rescue swimmer and Titterington. The Jayhawk crew transported Titterington back to Cordova
2005 - The Coast Guard has opened two search and rescue detachments to provide emergency services on the Coquille River in Bandon, Ore. and the Rogue River in Gold Beach, Ore. The detachments open seasonally due to increased boating traffic during the summer months and hazardous river bar conditions. The stations will remain open until Labor Day, 2005
2005 - While patrolling Friday, a Homer Coast Guard Auxiliary boat crew rescued two people whose sailboat capsized near Sadie Cove, nine miles south of Homer. High winds are blamed for the 22-foot boat's capsizing. Neither of the two rescued, unidentified sailors suffered any injuries. The Auxiliarist rescuers reported that both boaters wore personal flotation devices. After retrieving the people from the water, the Auxiliary crew assisted them in righting the boat and mooring it safely at the owner's home in Sadie Cove. Southeasterly winds topped 30 knots with one foot seas and a water temperature of 42 degrees
2005 - VT Shipbuilding completed the initial stage in the movement of a huge block for the first-of-class Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer as it starts its journey from Portsmouth to Glasgow. VT is building the bow sections, funnels and masts for all the six Type 45 destroyers so far ordered, working under sub contract to prime contractor BAE Systems. The 1000-tonnes steel bow structure was carefully lifted on transporters, moved out of the main assembly hall at VT Shipbuilding’s Portsmouth Ship Factory and maneuvered onto keel blocks positioned on a barge moored in the adjoining basin at Portsmouth Naval Base. The demanding two-hour operation was a complete success and reflected several weeks of detailed planning to achieve the latest milestone in the construction of the first-of-class Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring. Having loaded the block on the VT barge Woolston, the HMS Daring bow will be fastened in place ready for the sea voyage to Glasgow, which will take place in about ten days time. The barge will initially transit canalling locks within the Naval Base before being hooked up to an ocean-going tug for the tow to BAE’s Scotstoun yard. The voyage via the English Channel and Irish Sea is expected to take 4/5 days. Once it arrives in Scotland, the steel section will be off-loaded and moved by transporters for consolidation with the rest of the ship under construction at BAE Systems Naval Ships facility at Scotstoun on the Clyde. HMS Daring is scheduled for launch early next year
2006 - World Vision dispatched relief supplies today for survivors of the earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Java yesterday, leaving 2,700 dead and thousands injured
1006 - Belfast Coastguard received a 999 call reporting a semi-conscious man half in and half out the water, on rocks, in a remote location of Browns Bay, East Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland and in need of immediate medical assistance. The alarm was raised by his wife by mobile phone, and her son was sent from the scene to direct the Portmuck Coastguard Rescue Team who were immediately sent to their assistance. The Coastguards on foot accessed the area across an open field leading down to the rocks. Ambulance personnel were also sent to the scene and accompanied them down to the casualty. After appraisal by the Coastguard Station Officer on scene, it was decided to place the casualty in a stretcher and evacuate him by Larne RNLI Inshore Lifeboat from the rocks to a safer landing area along the Bay. The Larne all weather lifeboat assisted in the illumination of this remote location bringing the operation to a swift and successful conclusion
2006 - A United Nations conference in New York has accepted British calls for more urgent action to conserve global fish stocks
2006 - Solent Coastguard were called just after midday when more than 15 sailing dinghies capsized in strong gales. About 30 - 40 boats from the Hayling Island Sailing Club were racing in Chichester off Hayling Island, Hampshire, when some were pushed over by the strength of the seas and winds. Coastguards were alerted to problems with the race after the wind suddenly picked up to between forces five and six. Eye witnesses to the incidents saw individuals standing on the hulls of their craft whilst other crewmembers fell overboard into the sea, The RNLI's Hayling Island inshore lifeboat was immediately launched and Solent Coastguard then began working with the Sailing club and its safety boats to ensure everyone was safe and accounted for. The racing was abandoned at this point. Hayling Island Coastguard Rescue Team began a watch from the shore and identified various craft which required assistance. Some dinghies were beached ashore and individual's names were collected by the Coastguard of crews for a final tally by the Club. Paramedics also attended the scene and one man was treated for severe hypothermia and taken to hospital. By 1400 all crew were accounted for and the lifeboats and Coastguard teams were stood down
2006 - For more than two centuries, the cannon rested on the river bottom near the foot of High Street. Then during construction of the Admiral's Landing condos, the Revolutionary War weapon was pulled from its muddy grave. Historians think the cannon was abandoned by Lord Charles Cornwallis and the British in 1781. Ordered to evacuate to Yorktown, the cannon was spiked so Portsmouth's patriots couldn't make use of it. Now they can. The weapon is a highlight of a permanent exhibit that opens at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum in time for the city's Memorial Day weekend celebration. It was mounted this week on a $12,400 reproduction of a British cannon carriage. The carriage was funded by the Friends of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, an auxiliary organization that contributed almost $25,000 toward the exhibit and its opening, according to Alice Hanes, the museum's curator. The exhibit is the first step in a long-term effort to better tell the story of Portsmouth and its shipbuilding heritage. This first phase begins in 1584, when the riverfront was inhabited by American Indians and continues through the Colonial and Revolutionary War era
2006 - ASMAR and the Fishing Company HVLANES, from Faroe Islands, entered into a contract for the shipbuilding of a modern pelagic vessel. Having a length of 83.5 meters, she was designed by Rolls Royce Marine in Norway for the pelagic fishing activity and will be built by ASMAR Shipyards in Talcahuano, Chile, to be delivered mid 2008
2007 - Russian manufacturers of armaments are demanding more money from India in the sale of aircraft carrier Gorshkov and SU-30 fighter aircraft due to depreciation in dollar value
2007 - A Palestinian who escaped from Italy while on parole for 1985 hijacking of cruise ship Achille Lauro holed up in a Lebanon refugee camp where the army is besieging Islamist militants
2008 - North Korean patrol boat crossed into South Korean waters
2008 - USCG backed away from negotiations with its main contractor over compensation for the botched conversion of eight patrol boats so that the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security can finish their own investigations of what happened
2008 - HMS Alliance, the only surviving World War 2 submarine in the UK, is going to be restored to her former glory thanks to the support of systems and engineering technology consultancy Frazer-Nash. The ‘A’ class submarine is a key exhibit at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Hampshire. However over the years she has suffered from corrosion and degradation, which has left her in need of restoration
2008 - Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota rejected claims that the South African Navy only had enough qualified crew to operate one of its new state-of-the-art submarines
2008 - Her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, announced the awarding of Decorations for Bravery to Petty Officer 1st class Alain Baillargeon, M.B., C.D. (deceased), Gatineau and Granby, Quebec Martin Baillargeon, M.B., Sherbrooke, Quebec, Marco Bédard, M.B., Matagami, Quebec Medal of Bravery. On December 27, 2006, during a hunting trip at reservoir Laforge, in James Bay, Quebec, these three men rescued their traveling companion twice from drowning after their snowmobiles broke through the ice. The late Petty Officer 1st class Alain Baillargeon was the first to get back onto the thin surface, and held onto the victim until Mr. Bédard arrived with a rope to help pull her to safety. Moments later, the woman found herself in the water again, this time with Mr. Bédard, when the snowmobile they were travelling on broke through the ice. Mr. Bédard crawled onto the ice on his own and held onto the woman until Martin Baillargeon arrived and assisted in pulling her out of the water. While Alain Baillargeon, Marco Bédard and the woman walked to the nearest shore to await rescue, Martin Baillargeon drove his snowmobile some 20 kilometers to get assistance, which arrived 90 minutes later





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