Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
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1/350 HIJMS Akagi Update
Free Time Hobbies gives us a status report on the new 1/350 Akagi. The kit will be released in Japan in 2 days, and they will have their order to ship to you in about 2 - 3 weeks. Brandon goes on to say that the initial production run of this kit is almost sold out, so get it while it’s still available.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1846 - Lavinia Fanning Watson of Philadelphia christens the sloop-of-war Germantown, the first U.S. Navy ship sponsored by a woman.
1951 - First of seven detonations, Operation Buster-Jangle nuclear test.
1962 - President John F. Kennedy orders a surface blockade (quarantine) of Cuba to prevent Soviet offensive weapons from reaching Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
QE2's funnel 'to be sliced off'
Details are emerging of what will happen to the world-famous passenger liner QE2 when it retires next month to become a floating hotel in Dubai. The plans are unlikely to appeal to QE2's traditional fans. Even the iconic silhouette of the world's best-known ship will change.
According to the liner's crew, the new owners in Dubai plan to slice off the giant red funnel, placing it on the waterfront as an entrance to the ship. In its place will be a four-deck smoked glass penthouse, in the shape of the funnel but with a swimming pool. The idea is to make it the most exclusive hotel room in Dubai.
The lifeboats will all go. And extra rooms will be built on the deck towards the stern.
Inside, every cabin will be ripped out and replaced with new, larger bedrooms that meet the latest standards.
And the ship's engines will be taken out, and the space used to create a new entertainment venue.
"What's happening to the ship is very good," insists Cpt Ian McNaught, QE2's master for the last five years.
"Because the alternatives are so awful. It could go to scrap and disappear. Or it could get run into the ground as an ignominious ferry in some backwater somewhere."
But surely many passengers would see the removal of the famous funnel as being in poor taste?
"Yes, but wait until you see what's replacing the funnel," said Cpt McNaught. "It's good."
The new owners of QE2 have been travelling on board for weeks, working out their plans.
"They seem to change every day," said one engineering officer. "I don't like the sound of it - this won't be the QE2 we all know."
But the ship is 41 years old and well past its prime. QE2 may still be the fastest cruise ship afloat, but it does not meet the expectations of today's passengers, accustomed to the comforts of newer cruise ships.
To bring the vessel up to modern safety standards would cost a fortune. Environmentally, the liner is a basket case with fuel economy: 49ft (15m) to the gallon.
QE2's great predecessor, Queen Mary, has been a floating hotel at Long Beach in California since 1967. It has now been a tourist attraction longer than it was at sea.
Hotel centerpiece
On board, it retains its magnificent art deco public rooms. But financially, keeping it open has often been a struggle.
QE2 was sold for £50m. The buyer, real estate developers Nakheel, will spend far more than that before re-opening the liner to guests in 2010. It wants the ship as a centrepiece of Palm Jumeirah, the palm-shaped fronds of reclaimed land and beach on the Dubai waterfront.
Nakheel also announced plans this week for the world's tallest building: a skyscraper more than 1km (0.62 miles) high.
The company has signed a "gagging" contract with Cunard that prevents it from talking about its plans until after the last passengers and crew have left the ship.
On Friday evening, QE2 sails from Southampton on its 805th and last transatlantic round crossing to New York. It will leave its home port for the final time for Dubai at 1915 GMT on Tuesday 11 November. An enormous farewell is planned.
Navantia Launches the First Patrol Boat for Venezuela
San Fernando-Puerto Real shipyard, in Southern Spain, launched on 16th October the first of the series of four BVL patrol boats for the control of the coast that Navantia is building for the Venezuelan Navy.
The ship was named “Guaicamacuto” and her godmother was Mari Carmen La Riva de Quintana. This ceremony was presided by the Venezuelan Ambassador in Spain, Alfredo Toro, the Chief of the Venezuelan Navy, Pedro González, the President of Navantia, Juan Pedro Gómez-Jaén, and other relevant guests.
These ships have been designed by Navantia for defence missions of the sea around Venezuela: protection of the fishing area, protection against smuggling and drug traffic, as well as the defence of the maritime traffic in general.
Main characteristics:
--Length: 79.90 m.
--Width: 11.50 m.
--Depth: 7 m.
--Displacement: 1,500 t.
--Speed: 22 knots
--Autonomy: 4,000 miles
--Crew: 34 + 30
The delivery of these four units will take place from August 2009 to July 2011. As part of this contract, Navantia is also building 4 patrol ships for the control and protection of the exclusive economic zone, to be delivered from May 2010 to July 2011.
Besides the important work for the shipyards of Navantia until 2012, this contract means an important commercial milestone for the company, as it outlines its position in this market with its own latest-generation project.
Photo of the Day
The FNS HAMINA and FNS PORI in port for 2008 North Coast exercise.
Gator
