Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
Making Small Palms Part II
Syndicated from the pages of Armorama, comes part 2 in Chas Young's (youngc) tutorial on his method of making small palms for your tropical dioramas.
Container ship collision creates oil spill
Source: 3 News New Zealand
Indian coast guard vessels and helicopters are working to contain an oil spill from a stricken container ship that collided with another vessel in the Arabian Sea, a spokesman for India's defence ministry said.
The Panamanian-registered MSC Chitra smashed into the St. Kitts-registered MV-Khalijia-II on Saturday near Mumbai's Jawahar Lal Nehru port.
The accident caused MSC Chitra to run aground and list heavily to one side, Captain Manohar Nambiar told The Associated Press.
Helicopters sprayed chemicals on the oil spill to prevent it from spreading, Nambiar said.
The amount of oil leaked was unclear.
The environment minister of Maharashtra state told reporters on Monday about 2 tons of oil was pouring into the water every hour.
The MSC Chitra's cargo included several thousand tons of oil products such as diesel and lubricants, Environment Minister Suresh Shetty said, adding the government was consulting foreign experts on how best to contain the spill.
Government officials in several coastal areas near Mumbai have been asked to test sea water samples in their area to check how far the oil from the spill may have spread, Chhagan Bhujbal, another senior minister told reporters.
The captains of both vessels have also been asked to appear before local officials to explain how the collision took place, police said.
At least 250 containers from the damaged vessel fell off and port officials were trying to salvage them to avoid navigational hazards to other ships, officials said.
Crews from both vessels were rescued without any serious injuries, Nambiar said.
Navantia Delivers ‘Cantabria’ Supply Ship to Spanish Navy
Source: Navantia
The Combat Supply Ship (BAC) "Cantabria", built by Navantia in the San Fernando-Puerto Real shipyard, was officially handed over on July 29 to the Spanish Navy during a ceremony that took place at the Naval Base Rota.
The event was chaired by the Chief of Staff Admiral of the Navy (AJEMA), Manuel Rebollo, and was attended by the President of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria Miguel Angel Revilla, and his wife, Aurora Diaz, who served as godmother at the christening of the ship. Also present were the President of SEPI and of Navantia, Enrique Martinez Robles, and Aurelio Martínez Estévez, respectively.
The "Cantabria" will significantly increase the operational logistic support capability of the Navy and therefore the ability to project naval forces to conduct sustained operations over large distances.
The ship has a length of 174 meters - making it the second-longest Navy ship - and a full-load displacement of 19,500 tons. Its top speed exceeds 21 knots and its range at 13 knots (economic speed) is 6,000 nautical miles. It also has a flight deck and hangar from which to operate three AB212 medium helicopters two SH3D or NH90 heavy helicopters.
Through its five refueling stations (one in the stern) it can provide 8,000 cubic meters of fuel to ships and 1,500 cubic meters to aircraft. It can also supply ammunition, supplies and food to a force at sea and deliver fuel to three ships simultaneously at full speed.
The ship has a hospital with a ten-bedcapacity, a fully equipped operating room with facilities for the implementation of telemedicine by videoconference, an X-ray room, a dentist, laboratory, sterilization, medical consultation and central gas reserves. This equipment enables the "Cantabria" to intervene in humanitarian aid to disasters.
Featuring a double hull to respect the environment, complying with laws and international conventions in this field, although by virtue of his military ship is not legally obliged to, "Cantabria" has also been designed for environmental protection actions, and it can address situations such as risk of pollution from spills of cargo and / or fuel resulting from shipping accidents.
The crew includes 122 people, but the ship has the capacity to accommodate another 136, including the crew for the on-board helicopters.
Approximately 2,000 workers have participated in building the ship in its different phases. This project took four million work hours in the Bay of Cadiz shipyards, of which two and a half million have been direct Navantia and the rest for its subcontractors.
Countries like Norway and Canada have already expressed interest in the acquisition of vessels with similar characteristics to the "Cantabria".
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1916 - First Naval aircraft production contract, for the N-9 "Jenny."
1921 - General Order establishes the Bureau of Aeronautics under Rear Adm. William Moffett.
1944 - Guam secured by U.S. forces.
1964 - Signing of Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which is used as the starting point of the Vietnam Conflict.
Photo of the Day
The Royal Australian Navy landing platform amphibious HMAS Kanimbla (L 51).
Gator
