Please Note
Weekend !!!!!!!!!!!
Regards
Snooper
-------------------------------------
THE ZAC SUTHERLAND UPDATE
Zac's Blog
My name is Zac Sunderland and I am 17 years old. I departed 14th June 2008 from Marina del Rey, California in an attempt to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone by yacht.
====================
Further tales from our long haired solo sailor !
Site Last Updated: Jan 16 2009 9:29AM
Teen on world voyage aims for new record
SUN, SEA AND SAIL: American Zac Sunderland, 17, left California seven months ago and is hoping to be the youngest solo yachtsman to circumnavigate the Earth. He aims to arrive back in the US in five months’ time. Picture: ALAN EASON
2009/01/16
A PLUCKY teen from Southern California is determined to break the record for the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
Seventeen-year-old Zac Sunderland used his own savings and help from sponsors to embark on a once- in-a-lifetime adventure.
“This is something that I’ve always wanted to do in my life, now I’m excited that it’s really happening,” said Sunderland.
Travelling in his trusty boat, Intrepid, he made a stop at the East London harbour on his way to Cape Town from Durban.
Sunderland told the Daily Dispatch that his trip began last year in June, when he set sail from Marina Del Rey in California. He has another five months ahead to sail back to where he started.
Along the way, he has stopped in eight countries so far, including Australia and Mauritius.
“I’ve never crossed oceans before. I am making history, and so far so good,” said Sunderland. He said sometimes it became “ freaky” when seas were rough but he always managed to pull through.
On his way across the Indian Ocean, he faced a few challenges like a broken boom, broken tiller, torn headsail and a time when the forestay ( rigging that keeps a mast from falling backwards) parted.
“Windy conditions caused them to break but they were all fixed to enable me to continue this expedition,” said Sunderland.
Another obstacle has been network problems. He needs to keep in touch with his mother, who helps him to research the next point and weather conditions.
“My mother is very supportive and people around the world keep in touch with me via blogs,” said Sunderland.
He said the hardest part was being away from his family for so long.
In February 1996, Australian David Dicks became the youngest person to sail solo around the world, finishing at 18 years and 41 days.
Sunderland aims to break Dicks’ record and if he succeeds, he will be the youngest American sailor since 1965 to attempt a solo global circumnavigation. - By XOLISA MGWATYU
Lifestyle Reporter
http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=286385
Auction to Help Support Teen Sailor Zac Sunderland
By: Ambrosia Sarabia | Thursday, January 15, 2009 12:00:00 AM
Last updated: Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:43:00 AM
Online bidding ends Jan. 18.
The general public can help support teen solo-circumnavigator Zac Sunderland in his cruise around the world, while acquiring items that might be worth something when the teen completes his feat -- during an online auction that closes Jan. 18.
The seven-day auction will allow Web visitors to bid on items, with the proceeds helping to pay cruise expenses.
Items in the auction include: a set of four Polymeric Jump Boxes that are used for strength training; a digital fine art watercolor reproduction of Sunderland aboard his 36-foot sloop Intrepid and a 60th anniversary In-N-Out Burger T-shirt signed by Sunderland.
The teen set out to complete a record-setting solo-circumnavigation before the age of 18, leaving from the Marina del Rey Boat Show Docks on June 14, 2008. He intends to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world alone, breaking the current record held by Australian David Dicks, who completed the goal at age 18.
To view the items, visit www.barstools4u.com/zac.htm. To place a bid, send an e-mail to bill@barstools4u.com or zacsworldadventure@yahoo.com. The auction ends at 6 p.m. Jan 18.
http://www.thelog.com/news/logNewsArticle.aspx?x=8956
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Heading In + Q & A
A quick update from homebase before we head off to bed for the night...
Zac is about 20 miles from Port Elizabeth and has about 15 knots out of the SW. He has hopped off of the current and is heading in to the bay hoping to break some of the opposing wind behind Cape Recife. He is well though very tired after a night with little sleep. Looks like he'll have at least a few days before he can even think about heading on towards Mossel Bay and or Cape Town.
A nice photo and interview from East London (Thanks Will!)
http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=286385
From Marilyn:
Here is another group of questions and answers from Zac, Marianne and Laurence, as we try to catch up on questions that our dedicated bloggers asked in the blog comments. Be sure and check Zac’s FAQs for previously answered questions.
Q Do you ever run into fog out there?
A Yes, it’s sometimes foggy, and I just work off my radar. I had an unusual situation in Papua New Guinea where it was not only foggy, but very windy at the same time, which is not common.
Q Is it hard to find food provisions for restocking that you find appealing?
A Yes, it’s very hard to find good food that I like in remote countries. I bought some canned curried meat in Mauritius, which was horrible! I’m saving that for my dad, since he likes curry. I also tried some canned Mac ‘n Cheese, which was so bad, I couldn’t eat it! The chocolate is nothing like the chocolate in the US; but worst of all I couldn’t find any jerky, which has become pretty much a staple of mine until I arrived in South Africa.
Q What are you reading/studying when seas are calm?
A I’ve been reading Singlehanded Sailing by Richard Henderson and I've been rereading Tania Aebi's book Maiden Voyage. It is interesting how the book reads so much different now that I am out here. I'm also reading a book that was sent to me by Mike Williams called The Chronicles of the Schooner Lusty I. It is great to read about other circumnavigators.
Q Are you in contact still with any of the cruising folks you've met along the way?
A Not too many. Mom & Dad are in touch with Karen and the other cruisers from the Marshall Islands. I spoke to Chris and John (from Moana) who are back in Australia, and I hope to reach them on their land line when I return. I lost contact with Lady Sara.
Q At this point are you behind, ahead or just about right on your originally planned schedule?
A I’m pretty much on schedule.
Q Just wondered if you'd ever tried using that Dryel dry cleaning product while at sea?
A No I haven’t. Perhaps it’s something I should look into.
Q Does sailing with only the genoa actually reduce your speed?
A Not necessarily. It depends on the wind direction and speed.
Q Can’t you use the microwave when you can’t get your alcohol stove to work?
A Yes, but it isn’t mounted and easy to just pop something in and turn it on. I have to move a bunch of stuff, get it out, and it takes up a lot of space while I’m using it. Then, I have to store it away after I use it. It’s quite a hassle, especially when I don’t feel much like cooking.
Q Will you have to motor through the Panama Canal?
A Here are some interesting links about traversing the Panama Canal. http://www.czbrats.com/PanCanal/Canal_Transit.htm
http://www.cruisingconnections.co.za/sailinglogs7.htm
http://www.karlbuhl.com/Central%20America%20Logs/Log39_PanamaCanal.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Panama-Canal-Transit-by-Sailboat&id=1418314
http://www.noonsite.com/Members/doina/R2008-03-21-1
http://www.pmbc.ws/htmls/brokenboat.html
Q How long should the whole voyage take?
A A little under a year
Q Do you have a thermos on board?
A No, I don’t
Q Did you talk via radio with the other sailing boats you met in Cocos Keeling as they sail toward Mauritius?
A I didn’t. Most of them left several days before I did, because it took so long to fix the boom, so because of the delay, I lost touch with them.
Q That's cool that you can hold your breath longer in warm water... have you any idea why?
A Body temperature plays a big part in the use of oxygen. If you are cold or shivering you heart must beat faster and use more oxygen to keep you warm. In warm water, your heart beats slower, and therefore you require less oxygen, so you don’t need to take breaths as often.
Q What was the main problem with the engine? How was it fixed?
A The problem wasn’t the engine, and I still have a few unresolved issues. The problem is in the fuel tanks. They used to hold gasoline fuel, and we switched to diesel when we installed the new engine. There may be a coating in the tank left by the gasoline that the diesel is dissolving, and it clogs in the fuel pick-up line. This is very difficult to access. The ideal repair would be to take the tanks out and replace them, but that’s very time-consuming and expensive because they are underneath the engine which would need to be removed as well. Another potential fix is to cut a hole in the tanks and clean them completely, and then seal the hole. This also is not easy to accomplish, given my schedule.
Q Do you think the top decking is alright or did the furling motor damage it when it got loose?
A It’s fine but the pulpit (stainless steel on the bow) needed a major repair in Mauritius.
Q Does the genoa have any hardware at the ends which get fatigued or can damage the boat when its whipped around in the wind?
A The roller furling drum at the end of the forestay damaged the stainless steel pulpit. That was repaired.
Q So what do the Rodriguens do on their little seamount?
A The main occupations are farming, fishing and handicrafts. The island is heavily impacted by climate change--farming and fishing in particular. Local people report less rainfall, with winters becoming colder and summers becoming hotter. Soil fertility is decreasing, and livestock growth and food crop production have been negatively affected. There is a noticeable loss of biodiversity, while formerly eradicated insects and parasites have returned, all combining to increase farmers’ poverty. As for fishing, there are reports of rougher seas which hamper fishing, cooler waters, and more energy and money expended on smaller catches. They complained that the sea is more polluted, and that the island’s major lagoon is virtually without fish, while some fish species have disappeared from the seas. They also note that the sea level is rising.
Q What is it like when you get off the boat? Do you still feel like you’re still on the water?
A Yes, I have a little vertigo for a few days.
Q Your tiller pilot burned up? How did that happen?
A The gears inside were stripped. In Cape Town, I’ll get a mechanical auto pilot that steers using the wind vane rudder and uses less power.
Q Are you going to get a cat?
A No, unfortunately, I have decided not to have a pet on board. I’m thinking more of the comfort of the cat than of my own pleasure and companionship. Reportedly, most cats really don’t like being at sea. In addition, there are quarantine issues when stopping in ports and the messes that result when the boat gets knocked around (the kitty litter, too) in heavy seas.
Q When you get back, we would love to have the opportunity to hear you speak. Any chance to Skype or other videoconferencing?
A I will definitely be doing interviews, video conferences and connecting in all sorts of ways with all of the people who have followed my journey.
Q Does Zac ever need to shave?
A Yes, I shave every few days.
Q Marianne, How has Zac changed in your eyes at this juncture and are you surprised at how great he looks or did you expect differently?
A He is much wiser. He looks great, and has matured nicely in the months he’s been gone. His face has changed and is quite manly, as opposed to the boyish look he had when he departed. He still maintains his sense of humor, however, and he catches me being gullible when he makes “off-the-wall” remarks from time to time.
Q Will Zac be anchoring in different places along the coast of Africa during those legs you mentioned?
A The passage from Durban to Cape Town is a bit under 800 miles and will be broken into legs in an effort to time his time at sea around the regular storm activity in that area. The possible legs are: Durban to East London, East London to Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay and Mossel Bay to Cape Town with various small hideouts along the way just in case of sudden bad weather. With meteorologist David Morris watching the weather, he should be able to sneak in and out of port without getting too thrashed. Whether he does stop, depends on the weather and storms. It’s usually best to stay further at sea, because the waves increase in size in more shallow the water, closer to shore.
Q How did he celebrate Thanksgiving?
A Zac spent Thanksgiving alone at sea, but he had some good discussions with all of the family, as we passed the phone around.
Q Do you think the last half will take as long as the first, or longer?
A It should be about the same.
Q Didn't your parents think at least one additional language would be extremely beneficial on a trip around the world?
A Yes, that’s why I’m studying my French tapes. I took two years of Spanish in school, but knowing a little French has definitely been more useful on this trip so far.
Q At night being out in the middle of the ocean with no lights around, do the stars and the moon seem larger than they seem back home?
A No, it’s just the opposite. The moon, when closer to other objects, appears larger, so actually, it seems smaller at sea (except when near the horizon), because there are no close reference points. However, the stars are a lot brighter, because there’s no ambient light.
Q Do you think you will complete your trip by March, 2009?
A It’s looking like it will be closer to sometime in May or June, 2009
Q So are you keeping up with all of your exercises? What is your regime?
A It depends on the condition of the waves and wind. If I have time, and the boat is pretty stable, I do some push-ups and other simple exercises. If there are rough seas, or little wind with heavy waves, it’s just too hard to do anything other than concentrate on keeping the boat going in the right direction.
A Laurence took it to British Airways cargo terminal before hopping on his plane in Los Angeles. The boom went directly to Mauritius. Then, in England, he had to take the new forstay and roller furling system in the baggage compartment on the plane to Mauritius, which was quite expensive, but not as much as had he sent it on a cargo plane.
Q Is the Didgeridoo difficult to play? Do you play other musical instruments?
A It was somewhat difficult to learn at first. I also play the bass guitar.
Q After you circumnavigate the globe at 17 years of age in stormy dangerous conditions can your parents still give you a curfew or ground you when you return?
A Good question! I guess we’ll have to wait and see on that one!
Q Did you visit a doctor while you were in Mauritius? Do you have antibiotics?
A No, I didn’t visit a doctor, and yes, I have a pretty comprehensive medical kit including various kinds of antibiotics.
Q Can you explain what a sea anchor is and why you need it? Why do tires make the best ones?
A The term sea-anchor refers to the "parachute-style" anchor; but can also mean a tire, bucket, or any drag designed to slow boat in heavy winds and waves. It seems easier to set up and deploy the tires, than my fancy cloth sea anchor with all of its ties and strings.
Q I lived in Thousand Oaks previously for four years and went to some of the sailing camps at Westlake Yacht club. Did you ever do any of those, or were you focusing on larger boats?
A I only did ocean sailing, but Toby and Jessie, my brother and sister, will go to the Westlake Yacht Club sailing camp this summer.
Q I was wondering how much it cost to fund such an adventure and will you still owe money after the trip is over? Will the book deals and such be enough to cover it all?
A Besides the boat expenses, there’s re-provisioning, fuel costs, repairs (which have been significant), family travel (Laurence and the photographer to meet in ports) and other incidentals that add up fast. I don’t have a book deal or movie contract yet, but I certainly hope I will and that they will cover the costs.
Q By the way, are you still doing some fishing from time to time?
A No, I’m not.
Q What model is your new camera? Is it waterproof?
A It’s a Lumix 10 mega pixel, and it’s not water-proof, so I have to make sure I don’t accidentally drop it in a sink full of water!
Q What flavor was your birthday cake?
A Chocolate and peanut butter
Q Does it have frosting?
A Yes, A fudge-like topping
Q Do you have candles?
A Yes, two candles, one in the shape of a “1” and one in the shape of a “7.” Together, they equal 17.
Q Are you still wearing shorts?
A Most of the time, it’s still warm enough. In fact, I wore nothing but a bathing suit the entire trip from Mauritius to Durban!
Q As you head into Durban, what are your plans, what sights of SA do you want to see?
A I definitely want to go to Kruger Park, a wildlife preserve. A lot of locals have volunteered to take me around to do sight-seeing. I’ll probably sleep on Intrepid rather than bunk at someone’s home or at a hotel.
Q All money problems aide, what would you like to do there?
A I just can’t imagine that I’ll be in Africa! I’ve obviously never been there, and I want to see whatever there is to see, and perhaps do a little surfing.
Q Is there a good chance that you and Mike Perham will pass each other when in the Atlantic Ocean?
A Perhaps, because our route will “cross” at some point He will probably be further out to sea, whereas I’ll be closer to shore, so if we are in the same ocean, going in opposite directions, the chances that we would see each other would be very slight.
Q Have you started planning how your book will be organized?
A I’ve thought about it, but have no real plans as far as organization yet. Those ideas will probably surface once I complete journey.
Q Why do you always say “Cheers” at the end of all your blogs?
A I picked that up from my dad. He always says it. I’m not sure if it’s an Australian or English thing.
Q Why didn't you get a bigger boat?
A I thought this one was big enough. If there were a next time, I would probably get one that’s a little bigger, because it would go faster and have more storage space.
Q What's your favorite thing about sailing around the world?
A I think it’s the people I have met. They have all been so interesting and generous.
Q If you could have one thing on your boat that you don't have, what would it be?
A Definitely it would be a friend! But realistically, since I’m doing this alone, it would probably be a refrigerator or water-maker.
Q Do you ever miss your mom?
A Are you serious?! Of course I do!
Hope to have good news of Zac's arrival on Friday morning.
Good Night!
posted by Zac at 9:25 PM
--------------------------------------
Visit www.zacsutherland.com
YouTube Videos http://www.youtube.com/zacsvideos
Blog http://www.zacsunderland.com/blog/
Email zacsworldadventure@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------
Mike Perham aged 16, the youngest person to sail across the atlantic solo now has his eye's on an even more adventurous challenge.
To become the youngest person to sail around the world solo in an open 50 racing yacht.
Blog, Interrupted - 16 01 09
Another busy day on Totallymoney.com…I've spent most of it in the forepeak (the storage area at the front of the boat) as it needed a good clean out and, after removing both spinnakers to create some room, I set about bailing out all of the water which had collected in the lowest parts of the forepeak, either side of the forward ballast tanks.
After completing this I had half an hour’s break and wolfed down an 800-calorie freeze-dried curry. Then it was back into the depths of the forepeak once again. This time I tidied up some of the fenders and mooring ropes and made sure the spare rudder was still securely lashed to the hull. I also hoisted one of my spinnakers, just so that I could drop it again and lash it up a little tighter, this way it takes up less room down below.
Uh oh... I've been interrupted and had to dash to the helm to save Totallymoney.com from gybeing. It was the auto-pilot and it had cut off – twice. Oh gee, will my pilot problems ever end?!? I can't write any more as the pilot now needs my complete attention...
Visit : http://www.totallymoney.com/sailmike/
Blog : http://www.totallymoney.com/sailmike/?cat=5
===================
US container imports decline for 17 consecutive months
The US witnessed the seventeenth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in import volumes at the end of 2008.
According to the latest Port Tracker report quoted in the Shipping Gazette, overall container import volumes to the US were down 7.1% last year as throughput declined from 16.5-million TEUs in 2007 to 15.3-m in 2008.
This was the lowest turnover since 2004 when container traffic at US ports totaled 14-m TEUs.
Story By : Alan Peat
Date :1/16/2009
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7212
----------------------------------
Last modified Wed., January 14, 2009 - 04:23 PM
Originally created Thursday, January 15, 2009
RGB Makes Port Visit in Mindelo, Cape Verde
By ENS Rajiv Seth, USS Robert G. Bradley
USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) arrived at its first African port visit in Mindelo, Cape Verde on Dec. 9.
The ship visited the port to support the Africa Partnership Station Theater Security Cooperation mission initiated by the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet. Here, the crew performed community relations projects, provided training to the Cape Verde military, engaged in sporting events with locals, and hosted a luncheon and many special guests throughout the stay.
On Wednesday, 28 members of the crew visited the Ribeira de Julia Primary School. As the vans arrived on scene, the Sailors were greeted with big smiles from the school's 55 students ranging from 6 to 12 years old. The children wasted no time as they began playing with the different toys and sporting equipment handed out by the Sailors.
As they were already avid soccer players, Sailors like Aerographer's Mate 1st Class (AW) Joseph Beccera took the initiative to teach the children how to play American sports such as baseball and football.
Once play time was over, the crew donned coveralls and went to work painting the school. The entire exterior of the building was painted yellow with white trim.
The superintendent, Paula Brita, was in attendance and thanked all of the Sailors for their hard work. Also, the crew delivered supplies on behalf of Project Handclasp, a U.S. Navy program which coordinates transportation and delivery of humanitarian, educational, and goodwill material to recipients in foreign countries.
Hygiene and basic first aid products were carried and stored inside the school by the crew. Before departing, the children gathered together and showed the Sailors their appreciation by saying "Thank you" and other phrases they had learned in English. The community relations event was a fun and enjoyable experience for all of the Sailors in attendance.
Later that evening, 18 members of the crew visited the Institute Caboverdeano for Children and Adolescents Orphanage. Here, Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Jamal Battle wore a Santa costume and handed out Christmas presents to the children who ranged from 6 months to 16 years old.
"Being Santa for the kids made me feel good since I'm not there for my son. I love to help out in any way possible. If I have a chance, I will do it again," said Battle.
As they all received their gifts, the children began unwrapping their presents and playing with the various toys they were given. The Sailors in attendance played with the children and their new skateboards, helmets, toy trucks, and dolls. The Sailors also delivered supplies on behalf of Project Handclasp.
These items included hygiene and basic first aid kits. Before the Sailors departed, the members of the orphanage invited everyone to eat authentic Cape Verdean food afterwards. Their appreciation for the Sailors' visit was overwhelming.
In addition to community relations projects, Robert G. Bradley helped train the Cape Verdean military on Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure, small engine repair, and damage control subjects. VBSS team members focused their training on proper boarding techniques. The team used a Cape Verdean Coast Guard vessel as well as Robert G. Bradley to conduct simulations. The Cape Verdeans were very receptive to the training and asked many questions. EN3 Justin Guyton conducted small engine repair training on Wednesday. Many types of common engineering practices were covered. However, the Cape Verdeans were most interested in the Preventative Maintenance System which is the primary method the U.S. Navy uses in order to ensure all maintenance requirements are met. The following day, EN3 Guyton inspected the Cape Verdean Coast Guard's equipment and gave them recommendations on how to keep their equipment running smoothly. The training was enjoyed by both parties. Chief Damage Controlman(SW/AW) Stephen Henrick conducted the firefighting training which included topics such as hose handling, fire fighting tactics, damage repair, and procedures. The Cape Verdeans learned quickly.
"I was impressed with how quickly they adapted to the various procedures," said Henrick.
Robert G. Bradley also hosted a luncheon for Cape Verdean officials. Guests included Lt. Col. Carlos Rodrigues, Maj. Antonio Monteiro, 2nd Sgt. Sandro Livramento, the Maritime Institute President, Mr. Zeferino Fortes, the Harbor Master, Adriano Soares, the National Director of National Fishing Institute, Mr. Oscar Melicio, and the Regional Director of Institute for Children and Adolescents, Mr. Jandir Oliveira. Everyone was served a classic American meal; roast beef, soup, salad, wild rice pilaf, homemade dinner rolls, mixed vegetables, and American apple crisp with Cape Verdean mango garnish for dessert. Afterwards, the guests were given a tour of the ship.
"The luncheon was a great opportunity to conclude our visit and discuss our common interest in maritime security," said commanding officer, Cmdr. Clint Carroll.
After all of the community relations and training events, the crew did manage to have a little fun with the Cape Verdeans. Sailors from Robert G. Bradley played in two soccer games on Thursday: one against the Cape Verdean national team and one against their Coast Guard team. Even though both of the games were won by the Cape Verdeans, everyone had a great time and smiles were seen all around. Later that evening, Robert G. Bradley MWR committee held a cook-out with hot dogs and hamburgers on the pier for the crew as well as the Cape Verdean Coast Guard. Everyone mingled and reminisced about the different training and community relations projects undertaken during the week.
The port visit was a success as the partnership between Cape Verde and the United States was reinforced due to the efforts of the Sailors of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49).]
http://www.mayportmirror.com/stories/011509/may_ussrgbcapeverde_001.xml.shtml
----------------------------------
Last modified Thu., January 08, 2009 - 10:16 AM
Originally created Thursday, January 8, 2009
USS Robert G. Bradley Visits Sierra Leone
By Ensign Rajiv Seth, USS Robert G. Bradley PAO
USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) made a two-day Theater Security Cooperation port visit to Sierra Leone beginning on Dec. 17.
The commanding officer, Cmdr. Clint Carroll, visited with several of the Sierra Leonean military officials and American embassy personnel upon arrival.
Additionally, ten members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) Maritime Wing embarked the ship for two days and received familiarization in damage control, engine maintenance, and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) from the Sailors of the USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49).
Chief Damage Controlman (SW/AW) Stephen Henrick conducted basic firefighting and damage control familiarization for the Sierra Leonean riders. Topics included hose handling, fire fighting tactics, procedures, pipe patching, plugging, and shoring. A pipe patch mock up was set up and the Sierra Leoneans were shown how to apply soft patches to pipes.
"Mending pipes and sealing leaks was very beneficial to my men. This will help us in the future. I really appreciate the familiarization we received on damage control," said Sub-Lieutenant Adonis Koroma of the RSLAF Maritime Wing.
The riders were provided demonstrations on VBSS techniques. The RSLAF Maritime Wing Sailors were already proficient on boarding topics. This allowed the crew to discuss more advanced levels of training that included weapons handling, tactical team movements, space clearing, and search techniques.
Robert G. Bradley's VBSS team demonstrated how to properly board compliant and noncompliant vessels. A combined exercise will be held tomorrow with an RSLAF Maritime Wing vessel where the crew can properly simulate all the facets of an actual boarding.
"The demonstrations on how the US Navy conducts these procedures is very exciting and interesting. Our morale is high after receiving knowledge and demonstrations from the U.S. Navy. We are very grateful for this opportunity," said Seaman Ahmed Kumara.
An awards ceremony was held on the flight deck and the Sierra Leonean Sailors were each presented an "honorary crewmember" certificate and photo of the ship along with a USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) ball cap by the commanding officer, Cmdr. Clint Carroll.
Afterwards, a "steel beach picnic" was held to further camaraderie. Hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, and condiments decorated tables set up on the flight deck. The Sierra Leonean riders received a chance to socialize with the crew and learn how life is like in each other's Navy.
"They came eager and ready to experience how we operate. It was an enjoyable experience for all involved," said Electronics Technician 2nd Class Robert Tiner.
The discussions between the American and RSLAF Sailors provided many unique opportunities that will be remembered by all.
"It was professionally and personally rewarding to work with the RSLAF Maritime Wing. It is very clear we have common interest in ensuring safety and security in the maritime domain," said Carroll.
http://www.mayportmirror.com/stories/010809/may_ussrgb_001.xml.shtml
----------------------------------
RGB Conducts TSC Mission in Cotonou, Benin
By Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa Public Affairs
USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) conducted part of a Theatre Security Cooperation mission Jan. 6-7 while visiting the African port of Cotonou, Benin.
Sailors of Bradley and the Beninese Navy reviewed and practiced Search and Rescue (SAR) techniques, Automated Identification Systems (AIS), Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) tactics, antiterrorism force protection (ATFP), as well as small engine repair and maintenance.
During the SAR portion of the interactive mission, Sailors from both countries demonstrated different searching patterns, maneuvering techniques, and environmental factors.
"The Beninese Sailors enjoyed discussing SAR techniques with us," said Chief Operations Specialist(SW) Marvin L. Barnes. "They were very interested in the way we conduct operations."
Further techniques of VBSS and ATFP followed during the TSC mission as both navies simulated multiple scenarios in different spaces aboard Bradley. Basic VBSS subjects were covered such as weapons handling, tactical team movements, space clearing and searching techniques.
Bradley's ATFP team and fourteen members of the Beninese Navy covered bomb threats, searching techniques, and dealing with improvised explosive devices. A car was driven onto the pier so the group could get hands-on experience with bomb searching procedures, and an exercised simulating a live bomb on the pier as well.
Another integral aspect during the TSC visit was the topic of AIS, a tool that aids in the identification and location of different types of vessels to help improve maritime safety and security. Benin's Chief of Naval Operations, Maxime Ahoyo, participated in reviews and discussions of AIS.
The U.S. Navy's Preventative Maintenance System (PMS) was also reviewed and practiced with Beninese Sailors as part of the hands-on small engine repair and maintenance section of the mission. Both navies demonstrated and compared their procedures and discussed the benefits of each.
As an added benefit during the TSC visit, tours of Bradley were given to the Beninese Sailors, and groups of Bradley Sailors volunteered for community relations projects at the Hubert K. Maga National Hospital and the Terres de Hommes, an orphanage for trafficked children. Sailors painted facilities at both locations and donated needed supplies.
"We had a lot of fun painting the hospital and delivering supplies," said Ensign Ryan Darrow, Bradley crewmember. "Their appreciation for it was overwhelming."
Bradley's TSC visit to Cotonou concludes Jan. 9. Bradley is on a regularly scheduled deployment in the Sixth Fleet area of responsibility to help improve maritime safety and security and strengthen ongoing maritime partnerships.
http://www.mayportmirror.com/stories/011509/may_ussrgbmission_001.xml.shtml
----------------------------------
Cape Town to sink into the seas?
In another of those “believe it or not” predictions from a climate change observer, it was suggested that Africa's harbour cities of Cape Town, Lagos and Alexandria are under threat from rising sea levels which could displace millions and cause massive economic losses, reports Fin24.
Speaking at an international climate change conference in Cape Town, Geoff Brundrit of the Global Ocean Observing System in Africa said even a slight increase in sea levels could wreak havoc on some countries.
“Disaster risk is high when the chance of occurrence of a hazard is high, when the vulnerability to damage from that hazard is high and when the capacity to cope with the consequences of the occurrence is low,” he said.
Story By : Alan Peat
Date :1/16/2009
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7214
----------------------------------
Russia Defense Watch: Warship sales soar
by Martin Sieff
Washington (UPI) Jan 15, 2009
The world may be in recession, but the Russian naval shipbuilding industry is still booming.
RIA Novosti reported Tuesday that naval shipbuilding last year accounted for $7 billion of Russia's record $8.5 billion in arms sales around the world funneled through the state-owned Rosoboronexport arms export corporation.
"This sum relates to the Rosoboronexport portfolio of orders. This is the maritime share of the portfolio of orders," Rostekhnologii First Deputy General Director Alexei Alyoshin told the news agency.
RIA Novosti said Russian arms exports soared in 2008 to $8.5 billion -- double the figure of nine years ago. That allowed Russia to shoot ahead of Britain to become the world's second-largest arms exporter after the United States. Rosoboronexport currently has on its books arms exports worth $33 billion, the report said.
Russia currently sells weapons to no less than 80 nations around the world, RIA Novosti said. While sales are slowly growing in Africa and the Middle East, the main success stories are with the major nations of Asia: India, China, Vietnam and Indonesia all are buying large quantities of Russian-built warships and submarines.
RIA Novosti noted that India and China have continued to buy Russian submarines, frigates and destroyers. Vietnam has signed a contract for new Svetlyak-class fast attack boats and frigates, and Indonesia has ordered corvettes from Russia to be built with the help of Spanish shipbuilding companies.
As we have monitored in these columns, India's much-touted strategic relationship with the United States during the eight years of the Bush administration never translated into any significant conventional arms purchases from American companies. This was especially the case with the Indian navy, which showed no interest in receiving the old U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk in return for agreeing to buy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet combat aircraft to operate from it.
Instead, the Indians patiently renegotiated their troubled contract with Russia to refurbish the old Soviet-era aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov for the Indian navy, even though Russia's Sevmash shipyard was hundreds of millions of dollars and years behind schedule on the project.
Russia remains reluctant to sell state-of-the-art ground forces weaponry, transportation systems and tactical close air support weapons to China, a reluctance that has put a serious strain on Sino-Russian relations in recent years. However, this reluctance has not translated into selling to Beijing warships, Kilo-class diesel submarines and lethal Mach 2.8 state-of-the-art sea-hugging anti-ship cruise missiles that could devastate U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
Meanwhile, Rosoboronexport officials remain optimistic about their sales prospects, even in the current troubled global economic climate. They project their foreign weapons exports to soar by no less than 8 percent to 10 percent per year over the next three to four years, RIA Novosti said.
Russia's arms export successes certainly have not been limited to naval surface warships and submarines. RIA Novosti also noted that Sukhoi and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG combat aircraft, air defense systems, helicopters, battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles have all proved popular, highly successful export items.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_Defense_Watch_Warship_sales_soar_999.html
----------------------------------
Submarine - Virginia In The Pacific
January 15, 2009: The U.S. Navy plans to base most of its new Virginia class SSNs (nuclear attack submarines) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Currently, fifteen SSNs are based at Pearl Harbor, almost all of them the older Los Angeles class boats. The navy is building 30 Virginias, and will initially base them at either Groton, Connecticut, or Pearl Harbor. This is to make it easier to stock spare parts and operate maintenance facilities. Eventually, Virginias will be sent to other bases, to replace retiring Los Angeles class SSNs. The navy now has 60 percent of its SSNs in the Pacific (and adjacent waters), and 40 percent in the Atlantic.
Currently, the U.S. has six Virginias in service, four under construction and nine on order. The United States has three classes of SSN. The mainstay of the American submarine force is still the 6,100 ton Los Angeles-class SSN. Sixty-two of these submarines were built, 45 of which remain in front-line service, making it probably the largest class of nuclear submarines that will ever be built. With four 21-inch (533-millimeter) torpedo tubes, it carries twenty-six weapons (either the Mk 48 ADCAP, the UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile, or the BGM-109 Tomahawk). The last 31 Los Angeles-class SSNs add the Mk 45 vertical-launch system (VLS), which carries another twelve Tomahawks, making them closer to guided-missile submarines (SSGN).
The Seawolf-class of nuclear attack submarines stopped at three from a planned class of twenty-nine. The 8,600 ton Seawolf was designed as a super-submarine, designed to fight the Soviet Navy at its height. Carrying fifty weapons, and with eight 26-inch (660-millimeter) torpedo tubes, the Seawolf was designed for maximum performance. It delivered, posting a top speed of over 60 kilometers an hour, and remaining much quieter than the Los Angeles-class submarines. Reportedly, it is quieter at twenty-five knots than the Los Angeles-class submarines are at pier side.
With the cutback of the Seawolf to three ships, the Navy has gone with the Virginia-class submarine. Less-capable than the Seawolf (it is much like the Los Angeles-class attack subs, but with a lot of the more-advanced systems from the Seawolf-class subs, particularly the quieting and sonar systems), it was less expensive. The 7,700 ton Virginia-class submarines initially had a unit cost of $2.1 billion, but found a way to get the first six built for a total cost of $8.7 billion ($1.45 billion each). Like the Los Angeles-class, the Virginia-class submarines will be improved as the class is built. The most recent eight ordered are "Block III" boats, with over a hundred design changes, most of the major, some (in the vertical launch system and the bow sonar) are major.
Britain, France, Russia and China are all building new classes of SSNs that compete with the Virginias. The 7,800 ton British Astute class boats comes closest. The U.S. and Britain have long cooperated in the development of SSN technology. The moment, the U.S. has more of these "third generation" SSNs in service and on the way.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/articles/20090115.aspx
----------------------------------
Design & Preparations Continue for the USA’s New CVN-21 Super-Carrier
15-Jan-2009 17:24 EST
Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t (British) – 74,000t (French), while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at around 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class, in contrast, fall in the 90,000t-105,000t range. Hence the unofficial designation “super-carriers”. Just one of these ships packs a more potent air force than many nations.
As the successor to the 102,000 ton Nimitz Class super-carriers, the CVN-21 program aims to increase aircraft sortie generation rates by 20%, increase survivability to better handle future threats, require fewer sailors, and have depot maintenance requirements that could support an increase of up to 25% in operational availability. The combination of a new design nuclear propulsion plant and an improved electric plant are expected to provide 2-3 times the electrical generation capacity of previous carriers, which in turn enables systems like an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS, replacing steam-driven catapults), Advanced Arresting Gear, and a new integrated warfare system that will leverage advances in open systems architecture. Other CVN-21 features include an enhanced flight deck, improved weapons handling and aircraft servicing efficiency, and a flexible island arrangement allowing for future technology insertion.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/design-preparations-continue-for-the-usas-new-cvn21-supercarrier-01494/
----------------------------------
Legal Battles Over US Navy’s Marine Mammal Protection Measures
15-Jan-2009 12:29 EST
The global proliferation of advanced, ultra-quiet diesel electric submarines has prompted a number of responses around the globe, from initial-stage efforts to mimic a shark’s senses in the USA, to the most obvious route of using more powerful active sonars. In Western countries, concerns have been expressed that these sonars may disorient or scare marine mammals, leading to decompression sickness or disruption of their biological sonar navigation systems. This has led to (unsuccessful) lawsuits aimed at curtailing submarine exercises by Western navies.
In December 2007, USN Rear Adm. Lawrence S. Rice, director of Naval Operations Environmental Readiness, discussed some of the measures that are being taken to investigate the issue, and also mitigate any possible effects. In January 2008, a court battle erupted over undersea training off the coast of San Diego, CA, throwing the issue back into the limelight and potentially crippling Navy training before a dangerous deployment to the Persian Gulf. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ follow-on ruling was predictable, but in November 2008, the US Supreme Court issued its ruling.
In light of that favorable ruling, a settlement has now been reached on the Navy’s terms. The Navy has just been given permission to conduct exercises near Hawaii, and this, too, is likely to end up in court, along with its planned training near Florida…
Sonar and Marine Mammals
The central tenet of the USA’s Marine Mammal Protection Act states that no one may “take” a marine mammal without prior permission from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). “Take” includes hunt, capture, kill, or “harass” Animal rights groups have sued regulators to take a particularly strict interpretation of the harassment provision, and that effort has collateral effects beyond the US Navy. Key scientific research into whales and their behavior has been forced into extensive permit reviews that have resulted in multi-year delays, or even canceled research entirely. People have even been prosecuted under restrictive harassment provisions for trying to save marine mammals that have been stranded, or which were in danger of becoming so.
Rear Adm. Rice claims that sonar is implicated as a contributor to 50 strandings over 10 years, or 5 per year on average, vs. an average of 3,600 standings per year due to natural causes, and about 600,000 per year linked to the commercial fishing industry (!).
Over the past couple of years, the Navy spent between $10-14 million per year on research by universities and nonprofit organizations into the locations and abundance of marine mammals, physiological and behavioral effects of sonar, and protective tools the Navy can use to manage its impact. Rear Adm. Rice notes that the navy currently funds ”...about 50% of marine mammal research worldwide,” and that funding is scheduled to rise to $18 million annually over the next 5 years.
The US Navy is also employing 29 new mitigation measures during sonar exercises, designed to lessen any potential impacts. These efforts have reportedly been successful in their goal, and have just been shared with NATO; a move is afoot to incorporate them into a NATO planning document. These measures include, among other things, stationing specially trained lookouts to look for marine mammals, passive acoustic monitoring for marine mammals, establishing safety zones around ships where sonar power is reduced or shut down if marine mammals are sighted, and employing extra precautions during chokepoint exercises.
Updates and Key Events
Jan 5/09: The National Marine Fisheries Service issues a 1-year authorization for the Us Navy to train in Hawaiian waters, so long as they use their established mitigation measures, exercise extra caution near Maui where humpback whales breed and calve, and avoid detonating explosives within certain areas.
The fisheries service said Monday plans to reissue the permit each of the next 5 years, so long as the Navy follows these measures. The US Navy must reapply to train with sonar after 2014, and of course more radical environmental groups are contemplating lawsuits. Associated Press.
Dec 27/08: US Navy:
“The Navy and several plaintiffs, including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Cetacean Society International, the League for Coastal Protection, the Ocean Futures Society, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a worldwide challenge to the Navy’s testing and training with mid-frequency active sonar.
The settlement essentially adopts the long range program for environmental analysis and research that the Navy undertook in August 2005, months before this lawsuit was originally filed…. The settlement agreement additionally highlights the Navy’s investment program in marine mammal research – $26 million in fiscal year 2008. As part of the settlement, the Navy has agreed over the next three fiscal years to direct $14.75 million of its research dollars to marine mammal topics of mutual interest to the Navy and the plaintiffs.”
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/us-navy-reviews-research-marine-mammal-mitigation-measures-04487/#more-4487
----------------------------------
India’s Mid-Tier Maritime Patrol Aircraft Competitions
14-Jan-2009 16:16 EST
India’s growing power is creating growing naval responsibility around the Indian Ocean, from the strategic chokepoint and shipping channel represented by Indonesia’s Straits of Malacca in the east, to anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and basing agreements with Madagascar in the west. Hence the January 2009 deal for 8-16 of Boeing’s 737-derived P-8i Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which will replace Russian-built TU-142’s as India’s long-range patrol aircraft.
Closer to home, however, India has its own long coastline to patrol, and nations like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan that represent existing or potential trouble spots along its borders. The P-8i will work those problems, too, but less-expensive and shorter-range aircraft will be needed to supplement their coverage – and to replace India’s aging Britten-Norman Islander and Dornier Do-228 aircraft. UAVs will also play a role, and India’s Israeli-built Searcher and Heron UAVs are already doing so. Their role does not exclude smaller manned aircraft, however, which will still have a job to do in India’s Navy and its Coast Guard.
In January 2009, India began a pair of follow-on competitions in order to fill exactly these roles…
Reports indicate that India’s Ministry of Defence has issued an RFP for 6 medium-range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft. They will replace the aging Islander fleet, which may be shifted to a training role, handed over to the cost guard, or even gifted to other countries like the 2 that were given as a gift to the Myanmar junta.
The coast guard’s requirements also involve 6 aircraft, but they will require less sophisticated equipment. The aircraft will need to have a range of over 500 nautical miles, and an endurance of around 6 hours.
These are easy criteria to meet, and there are a number of contenders. At least 2 of the rumored Navy contenders participated in India’s previous maritime patrol aircraft competition.
There are rumors that Boeing would offer a modified version of the P-8i for the medium range role as well. A modified P-8i would offer commonality, handle required industrial offsets smoothly, and may include some savings due to a larger order volume, but the platform itself is not cheap. Cost is likely to be the biggest stumbling block for this option.
The other MPA holdover is a maritime patrol version of Dassault’s Falcon 900, which was reportedly submitted by Israel’s IAI Elta. The tri-engined aircraft offers more attractive operating costs than a P-8, and its 4,100-4,500 nautical mile/ 7,600-8,330 km unrefueled range would allow for both long patrols of India’s coastline and deployments across the Indian Ocean. Israel has a good reputation for delivering capable and reliable military equipment, and a MRMR aircraft that can also fill high-end roles may be attractive, but the Falcon 900 will be more expensive than several of the other rumored contenders.
In a similar vein, Brazil’s Embraer modifies its own EMB-145 regional jets into sophisticated surveillance platforms. The P-99 MPA has been ordered by Mexico (2), and is rumored as a contender for India’s MRMR as well. At 1,876 miles/ 3,019 km, its range is less than the Falcon’s but still more than adequate for the requirement. Embraer, like Canada’s Bombardier, is working to make inroads into India’s civil aviation industry, and this could help position it well for industrial offset requirements.
The next 2 rumored contenders are both turboprops. They offer more economical low-level flight costs, in exchange for shorter ranges and slower transit time to patrol areas or emergency situations.
EADS subsidiary ATR and Alenia Aeronautica have crated the larger ATR-72, which has been ordered by Turkey and Italy to fulfill maritime patrol requirements. The ATR and its smaller ATR-42 are both regional civil transport aircraft. Alenia’s modifications include sophisticated surveillance gear and, in the case of the ATR-72 ASW, a long Magnetic Anomaly Detector in the back that helps it find submarines, and pylons/launchers for weapons.
The ATR-72 ASW is rumored as a candidate for the Indian Navy’s MRMR, while the smaller ATR-42MP Surveyor, which has been ordered by Italy, Nigeria, and Libya, and has attracted interest from Pakistan, is a rumored candidate for the Coast Guard’s MRMR.
EADS other subsidiary EADS-CASA has carved out a leading role for its maritime surveillance turboprops. The CN-235MP Persuader is in service with a number of countries, including the US Coast Guard, and has just been ordered by South Korea’s Coast Guard. Unsurprisingly, it’s a rumored candidate for India’s Coast Guard MRMR. If so, it’s likely to be a leading candidate, and the affiliation with Airbus gives them good industrial benefits options.
The larger C-295MP has been ordered by Chile, and modified C-295 light transport aircraft already serve in a search and rescue role with a number of countries.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Indias-Mid-Tier-Maritime-Patrol-Aircraft-Competitions-05247/#more-5247
----------------------------------
UK’s Procurement Programmes (Part 1 of 2)
UK will buy nine MRA4 aircraft for € 4 billion (defpro.daily)
A400M, Eurofighter, MRA4, FRES and Future Lynx helicopters
14:35 GMT, January 15, 2009 On January 12 British State Secretary for Defence John Hutton, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Quentin Davies together made statements on several major defence procurement programmes and on military operations during a debate in the House of Commons.
On the A400M Hutton said: “The A400M programme is now likely to be subject to considerable delay because of problems that EADS is having in producing the aircraft, not because of any policy decision made by the UK Government or any other partner nations involved in the project.” He also stated that UK cannot accept a three or four-year delay in the delivery of those aircraft. “That would impose an unnecessary, unacceptable strain on our air assets,” he added. He also pointed out that together with the Ministers of the A400M nations, he will consider very carefully what the right response to the problem is.
On the Eurofighter Quentin Davies said that discussions with the partners are continuing on the shape, size and timing of tranche 3.
On the Nimrod Maritime Reconnaissance and Attack (MRA4) Davies said: “The MRA4 aircraft is being procured to provide maritime patrol, anti-shipping, anti-submarine and search and rescue capability. It will take over from the Nimrod Maritime Reconnaissance (MR2) aircraft.” He said that the cost of the programme for the nine MRA4 aircraft currently on order is some € 4 billion (£3.6 billion/ $ 5.2 billion).
“When it comes into service, the MRA4 will carry Stingray torpedoes but through life it can be adapted to carry an extensive range of weapons and equipment including anti-ship and anti-submarine weapon systems,” Davies said.
On Armoured Fighting Vehicles Davies confirmed that expenditure on the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) Utility Vehicle by variant up to the end of November 2008 was some € 147 million (£132 million / $ 193 million). “Our plan for a new fleet of reconnaissance vehicles will form part of the FRES. Outline plans for this requirement were stated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence in his recent written ministerial statement on 11 December 2008, Official Report, column 65WS,” he pointed out.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence also confirmed that the MoD plans to buy 34 Future Lynx helicopters for the Army and 28 for the Royal Navy. These new arrangements will provide increased commonality leading to greater versatility and flexibility. The In-Service dates remain as 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Part 2 of 2 will follow soon.
http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/220/
----------------------------------
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
China's Motives for Being Off Somalia -"Localized Strategic Combat"
One view of why China decided to play in the anti-piracy effort off Somalis found here:
In the same vein, China's posture in the Horn of Africa since the 1970s demonstrates a longstanding appreciation of the aforementioned fusion of Horn of Africa-Gulf area geopolitical dynamics. Middle Eastern and Arab Gulf countries have consistently armed and supported the Islamist cause in the Horn by supplying Eritrean separatists, helping Somalia back Ogaden nationalists in Ethiopia and providing diplomatic leverage to Sudanese hardliners whenever the latter have had to confront growing Western and local "bourgeois" pressure, not even to mention the Mombasa/Zanzibar sort of Arab engagement with Africa's evolving inter-religious mosaic. Not once did China waver in its commitment to be relevant.
Declassified files of the US diplomatic/espionage outpost in Asmara, Eritrea, depict a fascinating level of Chinese activity during the 1970s, especially around the period when political and inter-ethnic strife succeeded in ripping Eritrea from Ethiopia. In the decade that followed, China eventually displaced both the Soviet Union and the US in another high-activity zone in the region, Somalia.
During the last years of the regime of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Beijing was virtually the strongman's only trusted geopolitical handler. Even then China had perfected the formula of arms for natural resources. In exchange for the right to trawl in Somalia's seas, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) set about the task of crafting an air force for the increasingly beleaguered Barre, who was ousted in 1991.
***
Norinco for instance has grown adept at using its more innocuous operations to mask its core interest in arms commerce by initiating civil joint ventures in Ethiopia, Kenya and even, as the above incident illustrates, in the highest-risk environments where Chinese interests require the direct reshaping of local realities.
Indeed, only in this latter sense does China's persistence in considering investments in Puntland, Somaliland and elsewhere in Greater Somalia make sense - that is it involves a willingness, if need be, to engage in "localized strategic combat".
The phrase, "localized strategic combat" is inherently related to "global concentricity of risk". By "strategic combat", the reference is to a concept of great power competition in which persistent escalation of the stakes of conflict occurs in tandem with an indefinite postponement of actual armed conflict.
The battle defines the war in a long drawn-out process in which the great powers, in this case China and the US, contend for the spoils of war without concluding the battle. Rather than a series of skirmishes with alternating victors, strategic combat consists in continuous, increasingly harmonized contention with every resource, interest and position at play: any hint of "victory" for one side at any point has implications too severe to be contemplated.
Any localized variant of this kind of battle formation has integrity only in relation to the structure of the strategic theater. Readers skeptical about the connection of this worldview with the Horn of Africa situation may be well advised to pay close attention to the testimony of David Shinn, former US ambassador to Ethiopia, to the US Congress in the summer of 2005.
Ambassador Shinn's remarks can be found here:
What does China want for all of its effort in Africa? It wants access to natural resources, especially oil but also gas, copper, iron, fish, timber, etc. It wants to sell goods and services in a market that totals more than 870 million people and is growing rapidly. It wants legitimacy, support for its one China policy, understanding for its approach to human rights, and votes in organizations like the UN and its specialized agencies, IMF and WTO. It wants to be a major player on the world stage on its own, not Western, terms. One way to achieve this is to develop geopolitical clout among Africa's fifty-three nations.
Posted by Eagle1 at 1/14/2009 11:05:00 AM
http://www.eaglespeak.us/
----------------------------------
Jan 15, 2009
Masked motives in China's anti-piracy push
By Bright B Simons
ACCRA, Ghana - Chinese Rear Admiral Du Jingchen's Lushan naval contingent is settling into the Gulf of Aden, where its objective is ostensibly to secure the shipping lanes straddling the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean as part, presumably, of an international effort to sustain vital commerce in an important corridor of world trade.
Some analysts, however, are drawing broader inferences from this new development, viewing it in the light of China's relative inactivity in the regional effort to combat piracy across the Pacific, in the Malacca Strait, the Mekong Delta and elsewhere.
A new lens is being trained on China's actions, one that is preset to reveal previously under-highlighted links to the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia (recall that the first public statement of the naval deployment came during a Chinese donation of a reported US$400 million to Uganda for peacekeeping operations in Somalia), the security of the Sudanese oil crescent, the latent Eritrean terror connection, and above all America's late but conclusive movement to the view of the Horn of Africa as a geostrategic shelf of the post-September 11, 2001, world.
To the last point one must hasten to add in clarification that the United States has always considered the Horn of Africa in somewhat idiosyncratic terms, which is certainly why the region, together with Egypt, was placed under the charge of US Central Command, while the rest of continental Africa endured the benign neglect of the US European Command.
And since at least 2002, when the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was established, the principle has been to consider the Horn of Africa as contiguous with the Middle East in the assessment of operational options. But there is no doubting the growing clarity within the corridors of power in Washington of the importance of that idiosyncrasy as a factor in the new conception of inter-regional security in which the Middle East is merely at the core of a "global concentricity of risk".
In the same vein, China's posture in the Horn of Africa since the 1970s demonstrates a longstanding appreciation of the aforementioned fusion of Horn of Africa-Gulf area geopolitical dynamics. Middle Eastern and Arab Gulf countries have consistently armed and supported the Islamist cause in the Horn by supplying Eritrean separatists, helping Somalia back Ogaden nationalists in Ethiopia and providing diplomatic leverage to Sudanese hardliners whenever the latter have had to confront growing Western and local "bourgeois" pressure, not even to mention the Mombasa/Zanzibar sort of Arab engagement with Africa's evolving inter-religious mosaic. Not once did China waver in its commitment to be relevant.
Declassified files of the US diplomatic/espionage outpost in Asmara, Eritrea, depict a fascinating level of Chinese activity during the 1970s, especially around the period when political and inter-ethnic strife succeeded in ripping Eritrea from Ethiopia. In the decade that followed, China eventually displaced both the Soviet Union and the US in another high-activity zone in the region, Somalia.
During the last years of the regime of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Beijing was virtually the strongman's only trusted geopolitical handler. Even then China had perfected the formula of arms for natural resources. In exchange for the right to trawl in Somalia's seas, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) set about the task of crafting an air force for the increasingly beleaguered Barre, who was ousted in 1991.
It is intriguing how the pattern continues, even as the individual pieces alter in shape, position and direction.
In June of last year, police in the breakaway region of Somaliland in Northern Somalia made an arrest that suggests strongly that Chinese operatives of uncertain affiliation were working with Yemenis in shadowy activities that may involve espionage-related gun-running.
There have similarly been reports of a Chinese presence through Eritrean proxies in peace-building operations in the Eastern Sudan with the obvious aim of securing the 1,500-kilometer oil pipe that feeds Sudan's oil through the Red Sea into Chinese chimneys in Guangdong. (Contrast this with the US's persistent condemnation of Eritrean elements of fueling the Islamist insurrection in Somalia, and its dismissive attitude towards engagement with the Asmara elite.)
Unconfirmed reports also suggest a major expansion of Chinese installations in another Red Sea state, Djibouti, even as tensions between the latter and brigand elements in Somalia rise.
Incidents of this sort are even more interesting because, for several years now, PLA-dominated "multinationals" like Norinco and the Poly Group have been sharpening the capacity of Beijing to match the flair the West once showed in intermixing commerce, investment, arms trading and influence-peddling to minimize the scope for nationalist repercussions (the Horn of Africa receives roughly 70% of China's direct investment into Africa).
Norinco for instance has grown adept at using its more innocuous operations to mask its core interest in arms commerce by initiating civil joint ventures in Ethiopia, Kenya and even, as the above incident illustrates, in the highest-risk environments where Chinese interests require the direct reshaping of local realities.
Indeed, only in this latter sense does China's persistence in considering investments in Puntland, Somaliland and elsewhere in Greater Somalia make sense - that is it involves a willingness, if need be, to engage in "localized strategic combat".
The phrase, "localized strategic combat" is inherently related to "global concentricity of risk". By "strategic combat", the reference is to a concept of great power competition in which persistent escalation of the stakes of conflict occurs in tandem with an indefinite postponement of actual armed conflict.
The battle defines the war in a long drawn-out process in which the great powers, in this case China and the US, contend for the spoils of war without concluding the battle. Rather than a series of skirmishes with alternating victors, strategic combat consists in continuous, increasingly harmonized contention with every resource, interest and position at play: any hint of "victory" for one side at any point has implications too severe to be contemplated.
Any localized variant of this kind of battle formation has integrity only in relation to the structure of the strategic theater. Readers skeptical about the connection of this worldview with the Horn of Africa situation may be well advised to pay close attention to the testimony of David Shinn, former US ambassador to Ethiopia, to the US Congress in the summer of 2005.
Along such a line of reasoning, even the choice of the South Sea Fleet in the ongoing expedition in the Gulf of Aden attains a certain sort of importance.
The South Sea Fleet is, from a close reading of literature, that component of the PLA Navy most specialized in dealing with hot geostrategic deadlock (strategic combat) by virtue of its present and historical orientations towards Vietnam, Cambodia and Taiwan, and to a lesser extent Malaysia and the Philippines, all of which, particularly with regards to the Philippines, bring into play America's South China Sea posture. Japan is another matter altogether.
When all is said, it is far from difficult to lay out the pieces in the Gulf of Aden with respect to a "strategic combat" configuration.
China considers the Middle East treacherous and apparently prefers to undertake its penetration by circumnavigation, and Africa offers favorable currents for its choice of trajectory, which is not to say that the continent in and of itself is not a destination.
Readers may recall that for several years, well into the Dengist reform era, Beijing preferred to use Hong Kong, Macau and the intermediation of guanxi - defined loosely as personal connections - to effect an entry into the global capitalist regime, even while it consolidated its holds on these Asian outposts of economic freedom.
Observers may call this "expansionism by a thousand strides" (in obvious reference to the more macabre phrase, "death by a thousand cuts") without too much loss of accuracy. Rear Admiral Jingchen's Lushan navy will hunt a few pirates for sure, but only because prudence requires that they not draw too much attention to their greater and broader focus well beyond the rugged Somali coast.
One wonders though whether Washington is braced for this latest escalation of the strategic stakes.
Bright B Simons is acting convener of the upcoming Sino-African Virtual Institute at IMANI Center for Policy and Education, in Accra, Ghana, and a freelance contributor to Asia Times Online.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KA15Ad01.html
----------------------------------
A Weapon to Stop Pirates - from the Air
The program, referred to as Boat Trap, involves dropping an entangling net from a helicopter into the path of a boat. The net entangles in the boat’s propeller, forcing the vessel to a safe stop.
Dropping a Hellfire missile on a boat will also slow it down, though you lose that "non-lethal" thing.
http://marinelink.com/en-US/News/Article/Non-Lethall-Weapon-to-Stop-Small-Boats/329319.aspx
----------------------------------
"Fatigue" signs observed in the dry bulk market after recent rally
Friday, 16 January 2009
After a good rally during the previous – almost – couple of weeks, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which tracks the cost of hauling commodities like iron ore, grain and coal in ships, showed its first signs of fatigue, retreating by 12 points, ending yesterday’s session at 908 points. This development can be attributed – once again – at the capesize market, which had also led the latest rally. The capesize index shed 38 points closing at 1850 points, according to the Baltic Exhange. The panamaxes also continued posting losses, edging further down by 11 points at 502, but the surprise came from the smaller types of vessels, such as the supramaxes and the handysizes, which managed to post small gains, ending at 413 and 279 points accordingly.
According to data from the Baltic Exchange the daily average time charter for a capesize is now standing at $15,385, which is deemed enough to break even. The same can’t be said for smaller vessel types with the market “paradox” of supramaxes earning more than their larger “sisters” i.e. the panamaxes continuing. The average daily time charter for a panamax has dropped below $4000 at $3995, while the relative earnings for a supramax now stands at $4321. Similarly, a handysize can fetch an average of $4121 on a daily basis.
Nevertheless, the capesize rally of the previous days brought back some smiles in the market. Fearnley’s latest report commented that the Atlantic is tigher for tonnage and rates are increasing. “Vale continues to be the market-leader in the Brazil/China trade and rates were hovering at usd 13.50 pmt level. Clearly market-players expect better rates ahead and several Capers were fixed for 1-2 yrs tc: 165,000 dwt/97, 12 mos, at $21,000 and NB 180,000 dwt did 2 yrs at around $23,000 with 2q09 delivery” said the broker.
Things are different in the Panamax market. According to Fearnley’s Atlantic rounds are now concluded in the $4,000-5,000 range. “. In Southeast Asia 40-45,000 dwt vessels are seeing between $3500 and $4000 for trips via Indonesia redely India or China. India activity has reduced somewhat with less iron ore stems. The Navios Mercator 53,000 dwt fixed usd 5000 dely PMO via India to China (the last weeks saw rates at usd 9000 for similar delivery). The voyage rates are around $9.50 for iron ore ex India. Petcoke, grains and coal are the main driving forces in the Atlantic and a 36,000 dwt was reportedly fixed at$6500 for 2 ll within the Atlantic basis dely Santos. The USG and Continent are still affected by dull markets” said Fearnley’s.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32333&Itemid=94
----------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Said to Seek Supertanker to Store Crude Oil
Friday, 16 January 2009
Morgan Stanley is seeking a supertanker to store crude oil, joining Citigroup Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in trying to profit from higher prices later in the year, four shipbrokers said. The bank has yet to find a suitable vessel, said one of the brokers, all of whom asked not to be identified because the information is private. Carlos Melville, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley in London, declined to comment. “There’s a lot of people looking for storage,” Denis Petropoulos, London-based head of tankers at Braemar Shipping Services Plc, the world’s second-largest publicly traded shipbroker, said by phone. Banks and commodity traders are seeking new ways to make money after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell by the most since 1937 last year and crude oil prices dropped more than $100 a barrel from their peak. Companies including Koch Industries Inc. and BP Plc are hoarding enough crude at sea to supply the world for almost a day.
Frontline Ltd., the world’s biggest owner of supertankers, yesterday said about 80 million barrels of crude oil are being stored in tankers, the most in 20 years. A purchaser could buy oil now, keep it for months at sea and fetch better prices by selling oil futures that are higher than the spot price.
The so-called contango pricing structure has been caused by excess oil supply as demand slows and speculation that output cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will reduce the glut later this year.
Tanks Filling Up
Slumping U.S. oil demand means tanks are filling at Cushing, Oklahoma, the pricing point for the benchmark West Texas Intermediate grade. Futures contracts indicate WTI will gain an average of about $2.15 a barrel a month until December.
Supertanker storage deals are being done at about $75,000 a day, according to Petropoulos. Assuming the ship has a 2 million- barrel cargo, that works out at $1.12 a barrel over a 30-day period. Traders also need to pay financing and insurance costs.
Phibro LLC, Citigroup’s commodities trading unit, has the carrier Ice Transporter stationed off north Scotland, according to people familiar with the matter. Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, has booked the supertankers Leander and Eliza.
Oil traders hired two more ships to store North Sea crude off Scotland’s Orkney Islands. The 2 million-barrel supertanker Luxembourg is scheduled to arrive at Scapa Flow on Jan. 21 while the 600,000-barrel transporter Atlantic Galaxy is already there, said Captain William Sclater, operations manager at the port.
Oil Grades
The easiest types of oil to buy for the trade are likely to be either WTI or the North Sea grades Brent, Forties, Oseberg or Ekofisk. That’s because they are the ones used to settle the most-traded futures contracts.
Other oils, such as those from the Middle East and Africa, are usually bought and sold at prices related to the main European and U.S. grades. Because those prices fluctuate, it means traders assume an extra risk by hoarding them.
Morgan Stanley owns half of Heidmar Inc., which operates smaller oil tankers. Heidmar hasn’t had demand for its tankers to store oil, probably because they aren’t the largest supertankers that investors need for the contango trade, Tim Brennan, the company’s chief executive officer, said by phone Jan. 8.
Source: Alaric Nightingale, Bloomberg
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32335&Itemid=95
----------------------------------
Where Is Oil Going Next?
Friday, 16 January 2009
From the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, giant supertankers brimming with oil are resting at anchor or slowly tracing racetrack patterns through the sea, heading nowhere. The ships are marking time, serving as floating oil-storage tanks. The companies and countries leasing them for that purpose have made a simple calculation: the price of oil has fallen so far that it is due for a rise. Some producing countries are trying to force that rise by using the tankers to withhold oil from the market, while traders are trying to profit by buying cheap oil now to store and sell at a higher price later. Oil storage has become so popular that onshore tank capacity is becoming scarce.
Only six months ago, companies up and down the energy pipeline were rushing oil to market, struggling to keep up with galloping demand and soaring prices. Now, with the global economy slumping and people driving less, demand for oil has plunged — and the same companies are acting in ways that would have been unimaginable until recently.
Oil producers are shutting down rigs, refiners are producing less gasoline, and investment planning throughout the industry is in turmoil.
The problem for the companies is not just that prices are lower, but that they have become volatile — historically, a sign of an unstable market whose direction is uncertain. Between Christmas and a week ago oil prices soared 40 percent, only to reverse course almost as sharply in recent days. Just last week, the price of a barrel of crude oil dropped by nearly 12 percent in one day alone.
“The oil markets are suffering acute whiplash,” said Daniel Yergin, an energy consultant and author of “The Prize,” a history of world oil markets. “Price volatility is adding to the sense of shock and confusion and uncertainty.”
The wild price swings are a continuation of last year’s trends, when the price of a barrel of oil swelled to nearly $150 in July from just below $100 in January before collapsing to less than $35 last month. Daily oil prices rose or dropped by 5 percent or more 39 times, versus just four times over the previous two years. The only recent year that was comparably volatile was 1990, the year Iraq invaded Kuwait.
The continuing volatility is sending waves of anxiety up and down the complex production and investment chains of the oil world.
A year ago, oil producers and refiners could not move their products fast enough to meet growing world demand and chase rising prices. Now, with demand and prices slumping, they are sitting on 327 million barrels at tank farms around the country, particularly at Cushing, Okla., a major storage hub and a crossroads for pipelines. That is more than 40 million barrels more in storage than this time last year, and more than 30 million barrels higher than the five-year average.
The mounting buildup has come during the last 100 days or so, as consumption of oil fell behind imports and domestic production.
With storage tanks filling up onshore, private and national oil companies, refiners and trading companies are storing another 80 million barrels aboard 35 supertankers and a handful of smaller tankers, the most in 20 years, according to Frontline Ltd., the world’s largest owner of supertankers.
The different players have different reasons for storing oil, whether onshore or offshore.
National oil companies are hoping to reverse the price slide by holding oil off the market. Iran alone is reportedly using as many as 15 tankers to store crude oil in hopes that higher prices will prop up its economy, which is dependent on oil exports.
Private trading companies like Vitol and Phibro are storing oil in expectation of higher prices. They are taking their cues from markets where traders buy and sell contracts for future delivery of oil, which are signaling higher prices down the road.
Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank, noted that a trading company could buy oil at the spot price of nearly $40 a barrel, store it and sell a contract to deliver it in a year for about $60. “You pay between $6 and $10 a barrel to store it, and you can make $10 a barrel,” he said. “That’s why Cushing is filling up rapidly and people are leasing tankers.”
One small example of how the price uncertainty has affected behavior is the Devon Energy Corporation, an Oklahoma City company that in recent years has excited the energy world with announcements about expensive new investments in Canadian oil sands and deepwater oil exploration projects.
Source: New York Times
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32400&Itemid=79
----------------------------------
Anti-Piracy Group Meets at UN to Plan Action in Somali Waters
Friday, 16 January 2009
An anti-piracy group held its first meeting at the United Nations to coordinate state and industry actions to combat Somali gangs operating in the Gulf of Aden and waters near the Horn of Africa. The meeting in New York of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia was chaired by Mark T. Kimmitt, a U.S. assistant secretary of state, and follows a UN resolution last month authorizing “all necessary measures” to deter piracy.
Pirates attacked about 125 ships last year off Somalia’s east coast and in the Gulf of Aden sailing to and from Egypt’s Suez Canal, a route used by 20,000 ships a year carrying a 10th of world trade. About 45 vessels were seized.
Attacks have pushed shipping insurance premiums along the route to “near-prohibitive levels” and damaged “littoral economies” by forcing vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, the group said in a statement.
The attacks prompted the European Union, NATO, the U.S., China, India, Russia and France to dispatch warships to the pirate-infested area, which is three times the size of Texas.
Yesterday’s meeting set up teams to organize better operational and information support for counter-piracy operations, stronger laws to arrest, prosecute and detain pirates and to track financial flows related to piracy.
The contact group, comprising 24 nations and five multilateral organizations, will meet again in March to review progress and consider taking in new members.
The group, in its statement, noted “the primary role of Somalia itself in rooting out piracy and armed robbery at sea and the importance of assisting Somalia in strengthening its own operational capacity to fight piracy.”
Somalia hasn’t had a functioning central government since the 1991 fall of the Siad Barre regime. Its internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government, which is fighting an insurgency and controls just a few neighborhoods in the capital, Mogadishu, has approved foreign action against pirates.
The U.S. is asking the UN Security Council to establish a peacekeeping mission in Somalia by June 1. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month rejected the American proposal, saying there weren’t enough troops available to deploy in the country.
Source: Bloomberg
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32324&Itemid=79
----------------------------------
Northrop Grumman to work on second Ford-class carrier
AP
Published: January 15, 2009
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) - Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News has been awarded a $374 million contract for preliminary work on the second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.
The nation’s only maker of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers has already received a $5.1 billion contract to build the lead ship in the next generation of aircraft carriers.
The contract announced Thursday is for design, planning and procurement of the second carrier in the Ford class.
On Saturday, the 10th and final Nimitz-class carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, was commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The former president and his son, President George W. Bush, attended the commissioning of the Northrop Grumman ship.
http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/state_regional/article/northrop_grumman_to_work_on_second_ford-class_carrier/25099/
----------------------------------
Fri, Jan 16, 2009
AsiaOne
Singapore stealth frigates fleet fully operational
The final two of a fleet of six stealth frigates, RSS Stalwart and RSS Supreme, were commissioned at the Changi Naval Base today, according to a media statement.
With all six frigates brought into service, the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Formidable-class Frigate Squadron is fully operational.
Officiating at the commissioning ceremony, Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean said, "The frigates, with their longer range and reach, will significantly increase the RSN's ability to protect our Sea Lines of Communication. This is a critical mission as the lion's share of Singapore's trade is conducted by sea."
"Recently, there has been a surge in the frequency of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the coast off Somalia. More than 100 ships have been attacked in the past year. The Gulf of Aden is a vital waterway for ships transiting the Red Sea and Suez Canal connecting Asia and Europe. These pirates prey on the global trading system and have raked in an estimated US$120 million dollars in ransom money," Minister Teo added.
Singapore is situated at the key international sea routes of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, which link the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Threats to the freedom of navigation ? whether they come from pirates or terrorists ? will have an adverse impact on the economy and on regional peace and stability.
The stealth frigates' state-of-the-art combat capabilities and systems will therefore enhance the RSN's ability to protect Singapore's Sea Lines of Communication and boost the RSN's capability to integrate its operations with the Army and Air Force.
The full potential of the frigates however will only be realised when the Sikorsky S-70B naval helicopters are fully integrated later this year.
The helicopter crews have been training in San Diego, California, since November 2007. And in the second half of this year, RSS Stalwart will be deployed to San Diego for six months to undergo integration training with the helicopters.
These naval helicopters will extend the range over which the frigates can conduct anti-surface and anti-submarine operations.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20090116-115124.html
----------------------------------
A man's world under waves
Deborah Linton
15/ 1/2009
IN the nerve centre of HMS Vengeance I'm just inches from 'the button'.
Not the big red button of the movies but 16 small, square white keys each ready to trigger one of the 'bomber' submarine's 16 Trident missile tubes.
The intercontinental weapons of mass destruction have a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles and could change the shape of the world forever.
The Vengeance, or one of the Navy's other three Vanguard class submarines, is always on patrol in a secret location in the oceans and is capable of diving to depths in excess of 820 ft.
Their location, depths and patrol activity are known to few and the number of nuclear-tipped warheads on board - each submarine is legally allowed to carry up to 48 - kept secret.
As I sit down to interview its crew it becomes clear why it so closely guards its reputation as the 'silent service'.
"My job's so good I can't even tell you what it involves," one of them tells me. "I wish I could. I wish I could see people's faces when they hear what we do but I can't.
"I'll just say I think it's the most dangerous job in the services because if something goes wrong, if we're flooded, there are escape mechanisms but essentially we're just a tin can in the ocean."
Weapons
The 16,000- tonne 'tin can', at 500ft long, is an awesome sight. Climbing down the narrow ladders into its four decks of intricate weapons and control systems, I find a hive of activity in its maze of lean corridors as maintenance work is carried out and supplies stored in preparation for its impending sea patrol.
The control room is a hub of buttons, screens and joysticks I dare not touch. I'm lucky to be on board what is an exclusively male world - women are not allowed to be submariners because of the damage the nuclear equipment can do if they are pregnant.
In fact I'm not sure how many other women can boast they have climbed the fin of the country's nuclear deterrent.
Conditions for the 135 crew, including many from the north which provides more than a quarter of the Royal Navy's recruits, are cramped.
At sea they typically work six-hour shifts, with 12 hours off in which time they sleep, use exercise equipment or watch DVDs and play video games. Sundays are particularly good I'm told - pizza night, it seems, is a great maritime tradition.
Patrols last three months on average. On land, submariners and new recruits still working to 'win their dolphins' - the golden badge caught in a glass of rum when they qualify - train to prove they can dive and navigate the submarine and detect other craft safely.
They practise their drills in a £4 million Vanguard simulator - an exact replica of the sub's control room - and a navigation simulator described to me as 'hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of Playstation'.
But despite this, and the sexy images of submarines in films like James Bond and Crimson Tide, the service is experiencing a massive recruiting problem.
Commander Piers Barker told me: "In the last year we've been about 30 per cent down, so now it's time to ensure we are visible rather than the silent, silent service."
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1090553_a_mans_world_under_waves
----------------------------------
Generals in 'scrap Trident' call
The UK's nuclear deterrent should be scrapped, according to a group of retired senior military officers.
Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Generals Lord Ramsbotham and Sir Hugh Beach have denounced Trident as "irrelevant".
General Lord Ramsbotham told the BBC that the "huge" £20bn expense of renewal has to be questioned and said the armed forces should get more funds.
Supporters say it is still essential that the UK should maintain its independent nuclear arsenal.
Lord Ramsbotham told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "We argue it is conventional weapons we now need.
"Their pin-point accuracy, their ability to help our forces in the sort of conflicts that are taking place is something which means you have to question the huge expense of Trident, which is limiting what we can do."
In a letter to the Times, the men say the UK is too dependent on the US when it comes to defence.
They write: "Nuclear weapons have shown themselves to be completely useless as a deterrent to the threats and scale of the violence we currently face, or are likely to face - particularly international terrorism."
"Our independent deterrent has become virtually irrelevant except in the context of domestic politics.
"Rather than perpetuating Trident, the case is much stronger for funding our armed forces with what they need to meet the commitments actually laid upon them. In the present economic climate it may well prove impossible to afford both."
Traditionally these have been the views of those politically on the left and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Kate Hudson, who chairs the group, said: "This statement debunks the myth that nuclear weapons are necessary for our security.
"These generals are no pacifists - they are purely practical about Britain's needs and have concluded that we are better off without them."
The retired officers said the unilateralist case was now the only way forward and rejected arguments that the defence system was essential for a place at the "top table" of the United Nations Security Council.
The Trident system - made up of submarines, missiles and warheads - are due to end their working lives in the 2020s.
US 'clearance'
Former prime minister Tony Blair gave the go-ahead to replace the system in 2006.
Crossbench peer General Lord Ramsbotham told Newsnight that he and his fellow writers wished to encourage further debate about Trident and what it represented.
He said: "I don't think it is independent. First of all, we don't own the missiles and secondly I think it's absolutely unthinkable that we should consider or even threaten using it without having the clearance of the United States."
But Conservative MP and chairman of the Defence Select Committee, James Arbuthnot, told Newsnight: "It's an awful argument to put that it gives us a place on the Security Council of the United Nations but I think it actually is true.
"When South Africa unilaterally disarmed its nuclear weapons I think it did lose influence."
Former Conservative defence secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said he was a "strong believer in multilateral nuclear disarmament" and was presently involved in a campaign to try to get all the nuclear powers to reduce their dependency on such weaponry.
'Insurance policy'
He said the officers' call for "Britain to get rid of all its nuclear weapons regardless" was a "very serious mistake" and unworkable.
He said: "Ultimately we are talking about an insurance policy for the next 50 years.
"Russia and China remain nuclear powers. I don't know who is going to run China 20 years from now, they could be friendly, they could be hostile".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/7832365.stm
Published: 2009/01/16 10:33:35 GMT
----------------------------------
DATE:15/01/09
SOURCE:Flight International
BAE Systems to land Nimrod MRA4 in-service support deal
By Craig Hoyle
BAE Systems is to receive a non-competitive contract to develop and implement an in-service support system for the Royal Air Force's future fleet of Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft.
To be placed on 31 January, the deal will be worth between an initial £20 million ($29.1 million) and £100 million, according to a contract notice issued by the UK Defence Equipment and Support organisation on 14 January. The company says the deal is the latest in a sequence of awards intended to prepare the MRA4 for its entry into service, and adds that it hopes to subsequently agree a full through-life support arrangement for the type with the UK Ministry of Defence.
BAE already holds a long-term integrated support contract for the UK's current Nimrod MR2 fleet and Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft, respectively based at RAF Kinloss in Scotland and Waddington in Lincolnshire. Signed in mid-2006, its current deal will cover operations of 16 MR2s and three R1s until March 2011.
The MoD has contracted BAE to deliver nine production MRA4s, with the type now expected to meet a delayed in-service date in December 2010, more than seven years behind its original schedule.
BAE's three MRA4 development aircraft (one pictured below) are meanwhile being considered as potential replacements for the Nimrod R1s, alongside options to acquire Boeing 707-based RC-135 Rivet Joints from the USA or to upgrade the current R1 airframes.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/01/15/321084/bae-systems-to-land-nimrod-mra4-in-service-support-deal.html
----------------------------------
New Russian Submarine to Appear
14.01.2009
Russian engineers are working on a diesel submarine “Lada”, which is almost stuffed with innovations.
Construction of first submarines of the new type started about ten years ago. Leading ships of the projects are non-atomic diesel submarines with diesel-electric plants, new weapons, mechanisms and equipment.
“Lada” submarine is able to perform independently on naval communications against enemy submarines and ships and to protect coastal regions and straight zones from submarines.
“Lada” is almost invisible due to reduction of all physical fields. Here Russian engineers introduced innovative mechanisms and power sources – diesel generators of alternating current and low-speed variable propulsion motor. Other innovations allow the submarine to have extremely low noise level.
The submarine is also equipped with inertial navigation system (INS) for safer control of the vessel. Control of “Lada”’s weapons and technical equipment is fully automated.
http://www.russia-ic.com/news/show/7663/
SHIP YARD COMMISSION FLEET
B 585 ST PETERSBURG Admiralty verf 2006 BALTIC
677-I. Laid: 12.1997. Launched: 28.10.2004. 08.2006:
D. (tons): 1,675 tons surfaced
2,800 tons surfaced
Ships: 2
Speed (kts): 22
Dimensions (m): 72 x 7.2 x 4.4
M./Engine: Diesel-Electric, 2 diesels, AIP, 1 shaft, 2,700 hp
Diving depth: 250max
Range: 6,000 miles submerged dieseling mode
650 miles Submerged at cruising speed
Armament: 6 533mm torpedo tubes (16 SET 16 torpedoes, Novator Al'fa or Oniks SSM, RPK-6/SS-N-16 Vodopod/Stallion ASROC)
Sonar: active & passive bow & flank arrays, towed array
Crew: 37
http://warfare.ru/?catid=307&linkid=1757
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/677.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/677.htm
----------------------------------
HMS Montrose to get new electronic 'brain'
HMS Montrose, a Type 23 frigate, performing a series of tight turns (Phto. POA(Phot) Mick Storey)
19:33 GMT, January 14, 2009 The Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose is to get a new electronic 'brain' which will help her crew defend the ship against air, surface and underwater threats.
HMS Montrose
The Type 23 frigate has come into Babcock's dockyard for the £15m upkeep which will see a major capability upgrade for the ship with the first fitting of the Royal Navy's newest command system, DNA(2), which is based on the system being fitted to the Royal Navy's powerful new Type 45 destroyers.
The command system is the ship's 'brain', central to the ship's fighting capability, providing the officers and crew with vital information from sensors and communications, allowing them to direct weapon engagements above, on and below the sea's surface.
In addition, BAE Systems will install the Sea Wolf Mid Life Update, ensuring her missile system remains capable of meeting future threats, and she will be fitted with two upgraded small calibre guns. Twelve kilometres of cabling will be laid for the installation of a new IT system, bringing her systems in line with the common MOD network.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said: "This is a comprehensive upgrade to both Montrose's operational systems and her self-defence capability and represents a significant investment in the fleet. We work continually with industry to modernise equipment and provide the front line with the capabilities required."
Defence Equipment and Support's Director of Surface Combatants, Commodore Graham Peach, said: "This docking period is an important milestone in our programme to develop a common command system across the fleet, starting with the Type 23 frigates. We have worked closely with the contractor, BAE Systems, to develop DNA(2) and its sister systems which will enable us to provide more efficient support to the fleet, simplify operator training and deliver cost savings in the long term as servicing is required."
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/4874/
----------------------------------
Regards
Snooper
NNNN
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment