High-seas rescue
November 19th, 2009 | Maritime operations Pirates The Middle East merchant ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
Sailors from the cruiser Chosin rescued three fishermen clinging to a piece of wood this week in the Gulf of Aden // MC1 Scott Taylor / Navy
The Navy’s new slogan may have gotten a mixed reception internally, but there are three Yemeni fishermen, at least, who would probably agree it really is a global force for good. The cruiser Chosin spotted the men on Tuesday clinging to a piece of wood in the Gulf of Aden, and sent a launch to fish them out of the water.
But it wasn’t as though these guys went for a swim and let their boat float away. According to this statement from 5th Fleet, they told the crew of the Chosin they’d been hijacked:
According to the fishermen, they were left stranded in the water after 12 suspected pirates hijacked their vessel. The fishermen also said that the pirates gave them an ultimatum to either jump overboard with only a wooden plank as a flotation device or be killed.
After surviving for three days with only a few bottles of water, a passing merchant vessel spotted them in the water. The merchant vessel notified coalition forces and a Chosin rescue team picked up the stranded fishermen.
Sounds unpleasant, although forcing a crew to jump overboard seems more like something from the Boy’s Book of Pirates than a tactic used by modern outlaws off the coast of Somalia. Today’s pirates make their living by ransoming hostages, so doesn’t it seem odd they’d want these guys off their boat?
Collision at sea: Aftermath
October 28th, 2009 | Foreign navies Life at Sea Mishaps Ships merchant ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
Firefighters worked to put out the fire in the bow of the Japanese destroyer Kurama, which burned after a collision with a South Korean container ship // AP
The photos appearing from Japan this week are enough to unnerve any seafarer — a destroyer’s bow crunched, burned, gone after its collision with a freighter at sea. Six Japanese sailors aboard the destroyer Kurama were hurt in the accident, but no one aboard the South Korean container ship Carina Star was injured. The latest theory is that the Carina Star veered in front of the Kurama to avoid a third ship in the channel, although the final verdict likely won’t be in for weeks.
Even more galling for the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, the Kurama was on its way to serve as the flagship for a triennial fleet review this weekend.
Here’s what the ship looked like in happier times:
MC3 Daniel Viramontes/ Navy
VBSS Team links
August 24th, 2009 | Carriers Naval Academy Science and technology Ships Submarines merchant ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
"Unidentified vessel, this is U.S. Navy warship; halt and prepare to accept this news and information" // MC3 David Wyscaver
Pilot-ladder climbin’, rigid-hull inflatable boat drivin’, shotgun-carryin’, vessel-inspectin’ links, ordering you to heave to and prepare to be boarded by these interesting tidbits:
- Not everyone in Japan was pleased that the carrier Nimitz is paying a visit this week.
- Kansas City’s business and city fathers are sending donations to help out with the commissioning ceremony of the fast-attack submarine Missouri.
- Who loves football more, the infamous “Buck-nuts” who play along the banks of the old Olentangy, or the midshipmen who ply the tranquil Severn? With the help of some bone-crunching hits, we’re gonna find out Sept. 5.
- Check out this post about seven sweet ship engines, which includes the power plants of today’s warships and civilian vessels.
- Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Sink! Sink! Sink!
Life on an oil tanker: Pirates and hecklers
August 20th, 2009 | Life at Sea Pirates merchant ships | Posted by Andrew Scutro
Capt. Baig, of the oil tanker M.T. Dorado, said he has dealt with ship hijackers off Africa and radio hecklers at sea. //Sheila Vemmer, Navy Times
ABOARD AL BASRA OIL TERMINAL IN THE PERSIAN GULF — If there is one thing that really scares mariners these days, it’s the risk of hijackers off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. For Capt. Baig, the Pakistani skipper of the 21-year-old Korean-built very large crude carrier M.T. Dorado, his list of responsibilities include the ship, its cargo, his crew and even protection of the marine environment. “Everything is connected to each other,” he said. His ship was tied up at ABOT filling up with oil before heading to offload it in India when he explained the modern dangers.
“Transiting Somalia is a big question now,” he said. “They have a mother ship.” If attacked, he said, “”We use the fire hose, some manuevering techniques and call coaliton forces.”
His chief officer, Sarvar Patankar, said seagoing colleagues stay up all night when passing the east coast of Africa for fear of hijacking. “My friends have been through it and they say it is really like hell.” An ominous poster in the passageway shows creepy seagoing bandits sliding onto the deck of a ship at night. It would give a child nightmares.
Mariners like Patankar and Baig contend with the same issues at sea that the U.S. Navy does, and in this area that includes the mythical radio heckler(s) known by the collective but derogatory handle, ”The Filipino Monkey.”
Baig said the verbal skirmishes last all night. “This part of the world, they still have a long way to go to be civilized. What is right is right. What is wrong is wrong.” He tells his crew to not get involved in the silly fracas. He tells them, “You are fighting on the VHF. There is no point. You don’t know who the man is.”
As captain, Baig has a four-month contract then gets to go home in Pakistan for a few months until he gets another ship. He has mixed feelings about being at sea. The pay is good. “But on the family life, everybody suffers, because our family life is disturbed. Attention from father, this we cannot give,” he said. “You don’t get everything you want, you know. You have to be lucky.”