US News
In a significant move in March, the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson made an historic port visit to Vietnam, the first by an American carrier since the end of the Vietnam War in 1973.
The carrier took part in multi-national exercises under the auspices of the Pacific Partnership mission which includes co-operation with Canadian, British, French, Peruvian, Japanese and Australian forces in the region.
The American organisation DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) handed over the first prototype of what the US Navy hopes will be an autonomous sub hunting surface ship on 30 January. Sea Hunter is the result of the US Navy’s Anti Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program and is likely to create a whole new class of naval vessels that could remain at sea for months at a time without humans onboard. Sea Hunter is a trimaran hulled vessel with a displacement of 140 tons and capable of speeds up to 27 knots. As a prototype, the vessel carries no weapons, but is capable of carrying out surveillance over a large ocean territory.
German News
The German Navy recalled the latest class of frigates after they failed first of class sea trials and had to be sent back to the shipbuilders. Baden-Wurttemberg class ships are designed to replace the 1980’s era Bremen class in service. Sadly, the ship is the first vessel ever to be refused to be accepted by the German Navy from its shipbuilders following the discovery of a large number of faults and problems.
Around ninety percent of the systems onboard the frigate are new as well as the computer software designed to control them. The Atlas Naval Combat System, built by Atlas Electronik GmbH of Bremen, has reportedly, been particularly troublesome. Furthermore, the ship lists to starboard slightly and is overweight and its propulsion systems cannot get the ship to its designed top speed.
Indian News
The third of a planned class of six French designed Scorpene class attack submarines for the Indian Navy, Karanj, was launched on January 31.
The submarine was built by Mazagon Dock Limited and the ceremony was performed by Reena Lanba, wife of the Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.
South Korean News
The first of the new FFX-II class guided missile frigates Daegu was delivered on 1 February.
At 122 metres long the new frigate was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. She is the first of eight such vessels on order and is an enlarged version of the earlier Incheon (FFX-I) class ships that entered service from 2013.
AS GREATER ‘EFFICIENCY NEEDS FEWER PEOPLE’
ON AUG 30, the Port of Tyne celebrated 20 years of cruise ship travel.
ON THE afternoon of Aug 30, a fishing vessel reported to the Coastguard that she had lost power near Peterhead,
THE Atlantic Container Line (ACL) won a contract from Boeing Defence UK to transport seven Chinook helicopters across the Atlantic
THE NEW Invergordon Shannon class lifeboat which enters service next spring will feature the names of thousands of people in
The Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) officially resumed operations and welcomed back its first commercial vessel following Hurricane Dorian.
THE EXTENSION of the barge service at the port of Morrow, in Oregon, is one of only three projects on
In a four-day operation off the coast of Oregon, three separate vessels of the US Coast Guard towed a 50ft
THE US Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the sinking of three vessels in the Illinois River near Hardin,
WORK has started on the expansion of Seattle’s Terminal 5 so it can handle container ships of up to 18,000
THE JAPANESE shipbuilder Japan Marine United has delivered what it described as “a next-generation energy-saving bulk carrier” to Nissen Kaiun,
THE Japanese shipping line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), have taken delivery of the coal carrier Corona Citrus, 88,000dwt, built
A new search has been demanded to recover the second Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) from the wreck of the South
THE SWISS-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has taken delivery of one of the world’s largest container ships, the MSC Gulsun,
THE Singapore-based container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has taken delivery of the 14,000 teu capacity ONE Cygnus, 138,611dwt,
American News The expansion of the US Navy’s amphibious capability continues with the announcement that General Dynamics NASSCO has received
BRITISH News THE FOURTH and last of the new Tide class tankers, RFA Tideforce, was offi cially accepted into service
US News USS CINCINNATI is the latest member of the expanding littoral combat ship fl eet to be delivered to
indian News
The troubled Scorpene class submarine program hit another snag in June.
US News
The US Navy has unveiled its plans for the purchase of a new frigate known as FFG(X).
PROPOSED FERRY EXCHANGE ‘AND A TALE OF TWO STEAMERS...’
So, not many months ago, nationalisation was unfashionable and unlikely ever to return, especially within the EU where that institution’s
Those in management positions must dread the retirement of those characters who retire from their life’s work with a wealth
TMore and more, I am reading reports that say the media, and the public too, are well aware of the
Irish Continental Group has entered into a bareboat hire purchase agreement for the sale of its 1987-built Oscar Wilde to
In July, the brigantine Tres Hombres called at Brixham on passage from the Caribbean to Amsterdam with 35 tonnes of
Gloucester Dock is linked to the River Severn at Sharpness by a 16 mile canal.
The Hong Kong registered Zea Servant arrived late June from Hull. She was in Campbeltown to load wind turbines for
The Danish Maritime Museum had the schooner Bonavista built on the island of Aero at Marstal and this year they
I was in Montrose on the Norwegian National Day, 17 May, when its independent constitution from Sweden was confirmed in
FOR MORE THAN 30 years, Flying Focus, based in the Netherlands, has specialised in maritime aerial photography..
It was good news to hear in late September that, according to the ship’s owner, Stena Bulk, the detained tanker
IN THE ‘MESSAGE FROM THE BRIDGE’ I referred to the tensions with Iran in the Gulf, following the seizure in
THE WAVERLEY – the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world – had to be withdrawn from service in May this year
WITHIN the last two months the British cruise industry has welcomed the arrival of Saga Cruises, 58,250gt, Spirit of Discovery,
SILVERSEA CRUISES has partnered with French luxury glassmaker Lalique to enhance the dining experience onboard Silver Shadow and Silver Moon.
ARTHUR BLANK helped create the American home improvement store chain, Home Depot, and it seems that now, his new fl
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines were proud to have played its part in hosting 250 D-Day veterans.
If you have ever wondered what qualities a Captain of a cruise vessel might need to have listed on his
