Whales and speed don’t mix
October 21st, 2010 | Coast Guard Environment merchant ships | Posted by David Larter
Harbor tugs and the Coast Guard coastal patrol boat Pike head toward the Bay Bridge in front of the San Francisco skyline. // AP Photo by Jeff Chiu
The Coast Guard is trying to juggle traffic flow into San Francisco’s busy port and pressure from environmentalists about its impact on marine sanctuaries where mammals feed.
San Francisco’s ABC affiliate reported earlier in the day that traffic is picking up into the Port of San Francisco and ships are zipping to and from the approach lanes to the bay at about 25 knots. As a result, the Coast Guard is seeking the public’s input, trying to balance the saving the whales and commercial realities.
KGO-TV San Francisco reports:
Faster ships and more whales are converging in an area near the Farallon Islands, where feeding grounds and shipping lanes converge. There is a new effort to reduce a growing number of whale strikes.
One ship didn’t realize a whale was impaled on the bow until it cruised into port last August.
Earlier in October, an endangered blue whale and its fetus washed ashore in San Mateo County. The National Marine Fisheries Service says so far this year six whales have been struck by ships — three were endangered species.
Environmentalists suggest a 10-knot speed limit in the disputed shipping lanes to allow the whales time to avoid being skewered. But shipping companies are concerned slowing down would impact tight delivery timetables, according to the report.
Representatives of the shipping industry declined to talk on camera, but they say restricted speeds to 10 knots would definitely affect their tight delivery schedules.
“They all have a very complicated logistics chain, so it’s planned very carefully and disruptions of it are problematic,” says U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Patrick Maguire.
The Coast Guard, according to the report, is weighing options as part of a “port access route study.”
Getting a great big gator to take tiny sips
October 15th, 2010 | Environment Ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
Wasp-class amphibs like the Bataan, left, will use less of the fuel they get from oilers like the John Ericsson, right, with a new gadget installed in their main engines, NavSea says. // Navy
Efficiency is what’s hot these days in the surface Navy, and, as such, Naval Sea Systems Command has announced its latest effort to squeeze every last drop out of the fuel brought aboard the fleet’s Wasp-class big-deck amphibious ships. NavSea is putting new combustion trim loop systems in the engines aboard all seven of the steam-powered Wasps — the eighth, Makin Island, is a half-breed daywalker with diesels, electrics and gas turbines — that could save 2,400 barrels of fuel per year per ship:
The … system, coupled with a new stack gas analyzer, automatically optimizes the fuel-air mixture for the ships’ two boilers, making them more efficient. The trim loop system also protects the environment and increases crew safety by automatically preventing black or white smoke conditions. … “[The combustion trim loop] cuts down on fuel consumption because it provides optimum air flow going to the boiler, giving you a better fuel-air mixture and making the boiler more efficient,” said Master Chief Machinist’s Mate (SW) Robert Hook, NavSea’s steam generating plant inspector and community manager.
“A 2.1 percent [overall fuel] savings is significant,” said Doyle Kitchin, NavSea Fleet Readiness Engineering Office director. “The fuel savings is driving the return on investment, making this one of our ‘quick wins’ and creating a more efficient operation.”
Steam boilers have been making warships go since the 19th century, but it’s comforting to think that even a technology that old can still be improved.
Underway (so to speak) on wave power
September 28th, 2010 | Environment The greenside | Posted by Phil Ewing
A portion of the electricity that powers gear such as AEC Perry Long's P-3 Orion simulator at Marine Corps Base Hawaii now comes from the power of the ocean. // Navy
So maybe this doesn’t carry the same kind of epochal importance as the Nautilus’ famous message, but Navy officials are proud nonetheless: Engineers have hooked up a wave-power buoy to the electrical grid at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, meaning that a portion of the juice now running the barbershop clippers and soft drink machines out there comes from the natural energy of the Pacific Ocean.
“This project demonstrates the Navy and Marine Corps’ commitment to lead the country toward a new energy future. Of the five energy targets I issued in 2009, the most important is that by 2020, half of all the energy we use — ashore and afloat, in the air, on the sea, under the sea and on land – will come from alternative sources,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in the official announcement.
The Blue-Green Team still has a ways to go, and even though the power buoy bobbing out in Kaneohe Bay is now online, it feeds only about 3 to 4 kilowatts into the grid — a fraction of what you need for a base that houses almost 12,000 people. The goal is for the base to be self-sufficient by 2015, says its commander, Col. Robert Rice, which means it’ll likely need more wave, wind or other local alternative sources of energy. Wonder how much electricity you could capture from surfing and hula dancing…
The oyster conundrum
August 24th, 2010 | Environment Ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
After its visit to Seattle, the cruiser Port Royal went down the Hood Canal to a Navy training range, where it may have washed oysters ashore. // MC1 Thomas Brennan / Navy
Could a warship’s wake have washed 178,000 oysters onto a beach on the Hood Canal in Washington State? It took the work of many volunteers to throw all those things back in the water, and locals are blaming the cruiser Port Royal for this mollusk mess. It’s plausible, but let’s do some quick beer math on this thing.
If a ship were blasting around at flank speed, throwing out a Freedom-style rooster tail, you could easily see all that water discomfiting nearby sea life. But it’s more than two miles from Scenic Beach State Park across the strait to Oak Head, and according to this chart, there’s plenty of depth out there under the keel to absorb disturbances. And Port Royal probably did not make a “Top Gun”-style flyby of Misery Point on its way to the Navy operating area, marked in purple on the chart. The ship was probably underway at something closer to 12 knots or less.
So could Port Royal have washed all those oysters ashore? Sure, it’s possible. The Navy says it’s investigating. But maybe it’d be wise to hold off blaming the big gray ship until all the facts are in.
The left of boom
June 29th, 2010 | Diving Environment | Posted by Phil Ewing
Navy divers, like these sailors from MDSU 1 working off Barbados this month, could be called in if officials decide to blow up the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. // MC2 Chris Lussier / Navy
Former President Bill Clinton didn’t just say “they” need to blow up the still-gushing Deepwater Horizon well, or that “we” should — he said “the Navy” would have to do it. All right. Fortunately it’s got just the guys for this job, guys with high-speed dive gear and cool tattoos who belong to the Mobile Diving and Salvage Units.
So how would they do it? The troublesome wellhead is too deep for human divers, so the Navy’s demo team would probably have to put a charge on a remotely operated vehicle, send ‘er down to the target zone, and either write off the cost of the robo-sub or run lots of det cord from the surface. Mash the button, boom, and — just as they have so many other times in this world — explosives make a problem go away.
But would it be that simple? Many things could go wrong. An explosion could destroy the underwater pipes and infrastructure but not actually stanch the leak, and then you’d have a gushing well under a worse mess of wreckage. What do you think? Should the Navy start planning to blow this thing up, or should we give the sea-roughnecks already on the job more time to handle it?
Blog: To stop the spill, sink a ship over it
June 1st, 2010 | Environment | Posted by Phil Ewing
One blogger says the skimmers, booms and "top kills" aren't cutting it, so engineers should sink an old Navy warship over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. // NavSea
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a nightmare from which America has been unable to awaken; no matter what BP’s sea-roughnecks try, they can’t seem to stop the flow of oil from the wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Two newcomers to the blogosphere have a suggestion that hasn’t been tried, though — sink a ship right on top of the leak.
Bloggers Del Esau and Douglas Silfen — whose site, SpillSolution.blog.com, so far has just one post advocating their solution for the spill — say the best way to stop the leak is with several thousands tons of scrap metal right overhead. A retired Navy warship or old cruise ship would do the job, they write; specifically a “decommissioned battleship.” The hulk would settle over what remains of the pipe coming off the well and stop the leak, or at least stop it enough to give time for workers to dig a relief well and bring this thing under control.
It’s an interesting idea. The question is, how large a vessel would you need to sink over the wellhead to do the job? The Navy just sold the ex-amphibious assault ship Saipan for scrap in Brownsville, Texas, and that might be the closest really large vessel that could be dragged out and sank. Then again, if you dropped an old warship on top of this well and it didn’t stop the leak, the problem could get even worse.
Reporter’s Notebook: CNO @ Heritage Foundation
May 14th, 2010 | Aviation Ballistic missile defense Carriers China Environment Foreign navies leadership Maritime operations Navy Personnel The Middle East The Pacific Washington | Posted by Lance Bacon
Adm. Gary Roughead speaks at the Heritage Foundation's annual series of events aimed at highlighting key national defense and homeland security issues. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst)
Date: May 13, 2010
Location: Heritage Foundation, Washington D.C.
Subj: CNO comments
In a speech and response to questions offered at the Heritage Foundation Thursday, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead urged fiscal responsibility yet downplayed talk of further cuts to Navy ships and programs.
He agreed with Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ call for greater scrutiny in procurement, and said he is a “proponent” for considering revisions to decades-old laws governing personnel issues. (You can read more about that in Monday’s edition of Navy Times).
Other highlights: Read the rest of this entry »
Seven in Seven
April 30th, 2010 | Aviation Coast Guard Congress Environment Foreign navies Maritime operations Morale Navy Officers Personnel Pirates Royal Navy Ships Submarines The Pacific Washington | Posted by Lance Bacon
Photo by MCSN Joshua Martin
The Navy nabbed a lot of headlines again this week. Leading the way is news that subs are now officially open to women. In other career news, the active duty master chiefs list was released. The Coast Guard is holding its ground in the oil spill – and against critics. and the Army cancelled the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, which will likely have significant ramifications for the Littoral Combat Ship.
Here’s seven stories in seven minutes from the past seven days that you may not have seen, but are worthy of notice:
The green-green team
April 28th, 2010 | Environment The deckplates The greenside | Posted by Phil Ewing
Lt. Julie Cunningham and AMEAN James Creek, of VAQ 129, the "Vikings," sorted garbage on the hunt for recyclables April 14 in Oak Harbor, Wash. Besides trash-bin sorties, what other lifestyle changes could the Navy's environmental focus have in store? // Nardelito Gervacio / Navy
Absolutely no disrespect meant here, but isn’t it funny to think about the Navy and Marine Corps — an immense, mechanized bureaucracy built around the basic goals of killing and destruction — as a crunchy-granola, hippie-dippie, save-Mother Earth commune? That’s the picture the Navy tried to paint as Earth Day came and went last week — ah, but one day wasn’t enough out at Naval Base San Diego: it celebrated a whole Earth Week.
There’s no question the Navy Department is serious about expanding its uses of alternative energy and being environmentally conscious, but does that mean sailors will be starting up drum circles and delivering sanctimonious lectures on the importance of locally grown produce? What effect do you think a low-impact, alternative-fuel, enviro-culture could have on the people of the Navy and Marine Corps?
Seven in Seven
April 22nd, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Congress Environment Foreign navies Maritime operations Military Sealift Command Navy NECC ordnance Recruiting SEALs Ships Submarines The deckplates The greenside The Middle East The Pacific Washington | Posted by Lance Bacon
The Navy nabbed a lot of headlines again this week. Leading the way is news that the Green Hornet on Thursday took to flight – the fighter jet, not the super hero. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was powered by a 50/50 blend of biofuel and JP-5.
That same day, a U.S. military jury cleared a Navy SEAL of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding a 2004 attack that killed four American security contractors. Two others will soon have their day in court.
And on Wednesday, the Navy implemented its first change in 17 years to the Defense Department’s much-debated “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Here’s seven stories in seven minutes from the past seven days that you may not have seen, but are worthy of notice: