Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
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Naval Word of the Day
Continuing on with your Naval education we bring you another installment of MSW’s Navy Word of the Day.
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Shipspotting
Today’s website is Shipspotting. Shipspotting.com is the worlds largest ship photo community with more than 600,000 images submitted by their members. Enjoy.
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This Day in U.S. Naval History
1865 - Capture of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, N.C., by joint amphibious force.
1973 - President Nixon suspends all offensive operations against North Vietnam.
1997 - Navy physician Capt. Jerry Lineger joined the crew of the MIR space station after being launched aboard the space shuttle Atlantis during space Shuttle Mission STS-81. Prior to the mission, he was trained at the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for more than a year.
Agreement Reached on Disposition of Russian Submarine
Source: USS Saratoga Museum Foundation
PROVIDENCE, RI: The Russian Sub Museum today announced an agreement on the future disposition of the former Soviet cruise missile submarine K-77, which sank at her Providence waterfront mooring during a vicious storm in April of 2007. The sub, popularly known as Juliett 484, was raised this summer by Army and Navy divers in a training exercise that received worldwide attention.
Rhode Island Metals Recycling, LLC has contracted to take over the sub, move it downriver to property it controls at 434 Allens Avenue, and eventually dismantle the vessel for scrap if no one steps up to buy the vessel intact. Detailed terms of the agreement are confidential and were not announced.
The submarine, featured in the 2002 Harrison Ford film “K-19: The Widowmaker,” was a local attraction and educational facility from August 2002 until it sank. It was open daily for tours, and events ranging from Scouting overnights to birthday parties took place there.
“We made every effort to figure out a way to restore this historic vessel and reopen her as a public attraction,” said Frank Lennon, director of the Russian Sub Museum. “Marine surveyors and salvage experts helped us evaluate the options, and we finally concluded that after 15 months underwater, the condition of the interior is such that restoration is simply not a financially viable option for our group,” he explained.
However, Ed Sciaba, representing Rhode Island Metals Recycling, understands that the restoration option may well work for someone else. “Given the condition of the world scrap metals market, there is still a good chance for another end user to step in, purchase the sub and relocate it,” says Sciaba.
If the sub is indeed scrapped, the Museum will first remove and preserve certain equipment for a future display about Soviet Cold-War era submarines in general, and K-77 in particular. Lennon will also allow Russian sub museums elsewhere in the world to purchase certain artifacts and equipment they may be lacking in their own displays. “We plan to remove items such as the periscopes, torpedo tube doors, missile firing stations, engine order telegraphs, and various other controls and gauges,” he explained.
Lennon noted that the timing for this transaction was not ideal, given local and world economic conditions. However, the sub must be moved from its current location. Repairs to the piers damaged in the original sinking cannot begin until the sub departs, and all concerned would like to see Collier Point Park and its public boat ramp reopened. The new site is also more protected.
“Our landlord, Dominion Energy, as well as the Coast Guard and other regulatory agencies have been very fair and patient with us through this whole ordeal,” said Lennon. “We owe it to them to move the sub as quickly as possible.”
According to the terms of the agreement, the sub will be towed away before the end of January.
New Counter-Piracy Task Force Established
Source: US Navy
MANAMA, Bahrain --- The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) established Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) Jan. 8 specifically for counter-piracy operations.
Naval ships and assets from more than 20 nations comprise the Combined Maritime Forces. U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Terence "Terry" McKnight has been named the commander of the new task force which will be fully operational by the middle of January.
The CMF created the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) in the Gulf of Aden in August of 2008 to support international efforts to combat piracy. Coalition efforts included CTF-150 assets patrolling the area with ships and aircraft. However, the charter for CTF-150, established at the outset of Operation Enduring Freedom, was for the conduct of Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Operations included the deterrence of destabilizing activities, such as drug smuggling and weapons trafficking.
The establishment of CTF-151 will allow CTF-150 assets to remain focused on those activities, giving CTF-151 the ability to focus solely on the counter-piracy mission.
"Some navies in our coalition did not have the authority to conduct counter-piracy missions," said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, CMF commander. "The establishment of CTF-151 will allow those nations to operate under the auspices of CTF-150, while allowing other nations to join CTF-151 to support our goal of deterring, disrupting and eventually bringing to justice the maritime criminals involved in piracy events."
Gortney highlighted the reduction in piracy events in the region due to merchant mariners' proactive measures. He also continued to caution that the efforts of coalition and international navies won't solve the problem of piracy.
"The most effective measures we've seen to defeat piracy are non-kinetic and defensive in nature. The merchant ships have been doing a great job stepping up and utilizing these methods to defeat piracy attempts. That's a great first step. But the problem of piracy is and continues to be a problem that begins ashore and is an international problem that requires an international solution. We believe the establishment of CTF-151 is a significant step in the right direction."
CTF 151 is a multinational task force that conducts counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in the maritime environment.
Photo of the Day
The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transits the Gulf of Aden. San Antonio is the command ship for Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, which conducts counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in the maritime environment.
Gator
