Tag: US Navy

The U.S. Navy must do more to stop piracy in the Indian Ocean The U.S. Navy must do more to stop piracy in the Indian Ocean and prevent seagoing Somali pirates from jeopardizing the lives of merchant ship crews.That message was loud and clear at opening day of the Connecticut Maritime Association's Shipping 2012 conference on Monday at the Stamford Hilton hotel, where 2,500 participants in the global shipping industry are attending three days of meetings on issues facing the multi-billion-dollar sector."Piracy is one of the biggest issues we face. We could suppress piracy if the U.S. Navy would take one iota of the steps our military has taken in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Clay Maitland, president of the Trust Company of the Marshall Islands, the statutory maritime administrator of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and moderator of Monday's kickoff panel discussion. "We could very easily crush the Somali pirates, but there has been a political decision made."Maitland suspended the rules of the panel discussion limiting participants' presentations after hearing Nicolas Pappadakis, head of A.G. Pappadakis & Co., Ltd., and chairman of Intercargo, a dry bulk shipping association, report that 11 merchant ships and 254 seafarers are being held ...

ALCSG assets responded to a distressed Iranian fishing dhow Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ALCSG) assets responded to a distressed Iranian fishing dhow in the Arabian Gulf, Jan. 31.At 12:37 p.m. local time, an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, assigned to the Golden Falcons of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 and embarked on aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), spotted the disabled Iranian fishing dhow M/V Sohaila with nine crew members aboard.Sohaila's master issued a distress call reporting that his crew was in good condition, but the dhow's engine had overheated, preventing it from operating at sea.Guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), operating nearby, responded, offering assistance to the Iranian fishermen who were waving a cloth as a signal for help.The dhow's master permitted the destroyer's visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team to board allowing the team better determine the nature and extent of the boat's engine problems.John Paul Jones engineers repaired the fan belt in the dhow's engine and assessed it had a foul propeller.Navy divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 1131, embarked aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), were flown using one of Abraham Lincoln's helicopters to John Paul Jones ...

Maersk Searches for Cleaner Options Never the one to do things by halvesMaersk Line, as the largest shipping company in the world, is leading the fight for shipping to clean up its act. This week the company posed the question 'Can a ship sail on algae power' and gave the current details for the experiment it is currently undertaking together with theUS Navy to establish if bio fuels are a credible source of power for large marine diesel engines using one of the company's 6,700 TEU container ships, the 89,000 tonneMaersk Kalmar, as a test bed.As we illustratedlast month algae based fuel is already being used to power commercial aircraft but for anyone who thinks these trials to be a gimmick Maersk say that for their fleet of more than 1,300 vessels, biofuels pose a host of potential advantages. The U.S. Navy, which is the main sponsor of the test and also supplying the 30 tonnes of algae fuel, intends to source 50 percent of its energy from alternative fuel types by 2020 as a part of its 'Great Green Fleet' initiative. For Maersk Line, testing of biofuels is part of a wider strategy for reducing it's the CO2 emissions. ...

Testing algae-based biofuel on the container ship Maersk Kalmar Norfolk, VA and Copenhagen, Denmark - Maersk and the U.S. Navy are testing algae-based biofuel on the container ship Maersk Kalmar. The ship is en route from Northern Europe to India.Maersk Kalmar has two key attributes that make it a suitable vessel for biofuel testing. The 300 meter-long container ship has a dedicated auxiliary test engine, which reduces the risks of testing, and its fuels system has a special biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks.In October 2010, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and learned of energy conservation initiatives across Maersk's fleet of over 1,300 vessels. These programs fit well with the Navy's interests in increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. The biofuels test is the first collaboration between Maersk and the U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)."The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving fuel efficiency. In the longer term, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available, low-carbon fuel," said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment at Maersk Line.During ...

Gulf of Guinea seeing growing spate of attacks London's marine insurance market has added Benin to a list of areas deemed high risk due to an escalation of pirate attacks in the area, a senior official said.Pirates attacked two Panamanian-flagged tankers carrying oil off the coast of Benin last week but were driven off by the Benin navy before they could steal the cargoes.The incidents were the latest in a string of attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea off west-central Africa that analysts say is threatening an emerging trade hub and a growing source of oil, metals and cocoa to world markets.Last week the Joint War Committee (JWC), which groups syndicate members from the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) and representatives from London's insurance company market, added Benin to a list of areas it considered high risk for merchant vessels and prone to war, strikes, terrorism and related perils."There have some incidents in that area and the underwriters need to be able to react," said Neil Smith, head of underwriting at the LMA. "It will be up to underwriters to determine the cost of policy cover," he told Reuters.Gulf of Guinea nations produce more than 3 million barrels of ...

US Navy rescued 26 crew members of a Liberian-flagged tanker U.S. Navy sailors from the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea rescued 26 crew members of a Liberian-flagged tanker after an attack by pirates off Yemen on Wednesday, according to Navy and media reports.A rocket-propelled grenade struck the 144,000-ton crude carrier Brilliante Virtuoso in an early-morning pirate attack, setting fire to crew quarters on the vessel, according to a report from Reuters Africa.It is understood that the pirates fired RPG into the accommodation area, which started a fire, ship manager Central Mare Inc. said in a statement quoted by Reuters Africa. As a result the pirates abandoned their efforts to take control of the ship and left the scene, and the master ordered evacuation of all crew members.The Philippine Sea responded to a distress call from the Brilliante Virtuoso and found the crew of 26 Filipinos in a lifeboat. The U.S. ship did not see any sign of pirates, according to the Combined Maritime Forces, a 25-nation coalition under which the Philippine Sea was operating.Two tug boats dispatched from Aden were escorting the tanker with its load of a million barrels of fuel oil to safe port, Reuters Africa reported.Source: ...

He was killed during a firefight between US Navy and Somali pirates Taiwan has requested a US investigation into the death of a Taiwanese citizen during a firefight between the US navy and Somali pirates. That's the word from Cabinet spokesman Philip Yang on Monday.Taiwanese citizen Wu Lai-yu was a skipper on a fishing vessel that was hijacked by pirates near Somalia last year. He was killed this month by cross-fire between US naval forces and the pirates on the ship.Wu's family is now seeking compensation from the US military. The family has also requested photo evidence of the deceased so they can confirm Wu's identity.Yang saidthe government will do its best to help with relevant costs and procedures."This situation is of course most unfortunate and regrettable," said Yang. "Both family members and his boat company are hoping for some more material support to deal with follow-up procedures, and that will be provided by our foreign ministry and fisheries agency."The foreign ministry has requested a report from the US government, the naval fleet that engaged the pirates, and the US representative office in Taiwan.Yang explained that waters around Somalia are an important source of fish for Taiwan's fishing industry. He ...

The game suggests ways of combating piracy off Somalia coast This month, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is rolling out its first ever internet wargame intended to tap the minds of online gamers in order to find solutions to real-world problems facing the Navy.Scheduled to run for three weeks, the MMOWGL the Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet exercise will recruit more than 1,000 online players to suggest ways of combating piracy off the coast of Somalia.MMOWGLI is an online game designed to find and collectively grow breakthrough ideas to some of the Navys most complex problemsthose 21st-century threats that demand new forms of collaboration and truly outlying ideas, said Dr. Larry Schuette, ONRs director of Innovation, whose office is managing the project.The piracy scenario was chosen as a means to demonstrate the platform, but MMOWGLI itself can be applied to any scenario, officials said.ONR intends to produce varying results from a diverse group of players drawn from the ranks of academia, defense, and government and nongovernment organizations. The plan is for MMOWGLI to identify solutions to difficult challenges by tapping into the intellectual capital of a broader community.We hope MMOWGLI will help us to understand what happens ...

Intends to reduce costs associated with US shipbuilding and ship repair The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), co-sponsored by the US Navy, issued news release stating that it has awarded funding valued at approximately $14.6 million for six new research and development (R&D) projects intended to reduce costs associated with US shipbuilding and ship repair.To view the news release please click hereSource: National Shipbuilding Research Program