Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1873 - Lt. Charles Belknap calls a meeting at the Naval Academy to establish the U.S. Naval Institute for the purpose of disseminating scientific and professional knowledge throughout the Navy.
1942 - The first three schools for enlisted WAVES open in Stillwater, Okla. (yeoman); Bloomington, Ind. (storekeepers); and Madison, Wis. (radiomen).
1945 - A parade in New York City honors Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz and 13 other Medal of Honor recipients.
1961 - USS Princeton (LPH 5) rescues 74 survivors of two shipwrecks (U.S. lines Pioneer Muse and SS Shiek) from the island of Kita Daito Shima.
Plymouth Warship Returns from Major Anti-Drug Smuggling Success
HMS Montrose is on her way home to Plymouth from a successful seven-month operational deployment in the Gulf which included a major illegal drugs seizure.
Now back in the Atlantic the Type 23 frigate is heading north up the coast of Spain and Portugal ready for an emotional return to HM Naval Base, Devonport, Plymouth, on Friday morning (October 3).
HMS Montrose left her home port in March and has been the UK’s contribution to a combined task force, a coalition naval force operational since 2001, spearheading the fight against terrorism and illegal activity on the high seas east of the Suez Canal.
HMS Montrose and fellow Plymouth warship HMS Chatham, Portsmouth-based HMS Edinburgh and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus (with Sea King helicopters on board) were jointly involved in the successful anti-drug smuggling operations amounting to 23 tonnes seized due to Royal Naval interceptions over a five-month period.
The highlight of HMS Montrose’s deployment was the covert operation conducted in the Gulf of Aden, which resulted in the ship’s company seizing 10 tonnes of hashish with a street value of over £20 million in a single boarding on a Dhow off the coast of Yemen. After HMS Montrose had tracked the suspect Dhow using radar, the Lynx helicopter and boarding teams in small sea boats. Only when the Dhow was declared not to be a threat did boarding start.
The Commanding Officer, Commander Andy Hogben said: “The Royal Navy is a highly trained organization and this is one of the ways in which we can put our training to good use. The successful boarding operation conducted by HMS Montrose was a combined operation with the Royal Marines conducted in challenging and unpleasant conditions. It is pleasing that, along with a strong coalition presence, the RN is providing a strong deterrence, which is impacting on drugs trafficking and other illegal activity.”
Countries round the Indian Ocean co-operate with the coalition, which is formed by navies from over 20 nations. The area of responsibility under the task force covers over two million square miles of ocean, 6,500 miles of coastline and the interests and coasts of 14 nations.
This is an area of great significance with about half of the world’s oil and natural gases transported by sea and pipeline and millions of tons of goods carried by sea along with fishermen. However, a great deal of illegal activity takes place such as drugs and arms smuggling, human smuggling/trafficking and piracy.
HMS Montrose has been playing a vital role in order to deter illegal activity by making her presence felt
by daily searches from the air and sea by the combination of the ship’s Lynx helicopter nicknamed ‘Rattler’ and her smaller sea boats in and around the numerous fishing and Dhow fleets.
General Dynamics NASSCO Starts Construction of Tenth T-AKE Ship
General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, today began construction of the tenth ship of the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program. The ship will be named later and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2010.
The T-AKE ship incorporates international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system to minimize operating costs over its projected 40-year service life. The primary mission of the ships is to deliver as much as 10,000 tons of food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea.
NASSCO has delivered the first five ships of the T-AKE class and has construction contracts for five additional ships. The Navy is expected to order the construction of a total of 14 ships.
Located in San Diego, NASSCO employs more than 4,800 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States. In addition to the T-AKE program, the shipyard is building the first three product carriers under a nine-ship order from U.S. Shipping Partners L.P.
£235M Contracts Propel Carrier Project Forward
The Ministry of Defence has placed £235m of contracts with industry to provide power and propulsion equipment for the new Royal Navy aircraft carriers it was confirmed today, Monday 6 October 2008.
At 65,000 tonnes each, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be among the world's largest warships. The latest contracts will deliver the carriers' gas turbines, generators, motors, power distribution equipment, platform management systems, propellers, shafts, steering gear, rudders and stabilisers.
Simultaneously, the key industrial suppliers involved have co-operated to form an alliance that will ensure the equipment is integrated into the ships in the most cost-effective manner.
Each carrier's propellers will be driven by two powerful electric motors, making them the largest warships in the world to use electric rather than mechanical drive technology. The electric motors will be powered by diesel- and gas-turbine-driven generators which can be located elsewhere within the ship, freeing up valuable space in the hull and providing greater resilience to battle damage.
The electric propulsion technology will be provided by Scots-based companies Rolls Royce in Fife and Converteam in Glasgow.
Rolls Royce's Dalgety Bay facilty will benefit from a £13m contract to provide rudders and stabilisers which steer the ship and keep it level. Overall, Rolls Royce's share of the latest carrier contracts is £96m.
Power conversion specialists Converteam will be providing the electric equipment which controls and monitors the power for the propulsion system and motors, under a contract worth £26m. This involves making medium-voltage switchboards, electric converters, and filters.
Two state-of-the-art gas turbines for each ship will be built in Bristol - producing 70 mega watts (MW) of power - and will be coupled to generators to be built in Rugby. Combined with the diesel engines already on order, they will supply the enormous amounts of electricity each carrier needs to move through the water fast enough to launch and recover aircraft, and to power onboard systems such as lighting and heating. In all each ship will be capable of generating some 109 MW, enough power to supply a town the size of Swindon.
MOD Defence Equipment and Support Director General Ships, Rear Admiral Bob Love, said:
"The new carriers represent a series of firsts for the Fleet and this latest propulsion technology has not yet been seen in the Royal Navy on this scale.
"This is a step change in the way our ships are powered and, as well as boosting capacity, will significantly improve fuel efficiency enabling uninterrupted long distance deployments and reducing running costs."
Photo of the Day
A landing craft utility assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 2 departs the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA 4).
Gator
