on achieving non-dependence on fossil fuels. US Navy scientists
are hot on the trail of making fuel from seawater by extracting
carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas from seawater, and they then
use catalysts to convert these into J5 jet fuel which has been
proposed as the energy source for all Navy operations. One
drawback is that producing the hydrogen requires nearly 60
percent of the amount of energy that would be stored in the liquid
hydrocarbon fuel.
Off Florida, the submarine USS Montpelier rose to periscope
depth in the path of the cruiser USS San Jacinto crushing the
cruiser���s sonar dome.
The USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group had barely
arrived in the Middle East when its commander, a rear admiral,
was temporarily reassigned because of an ���inappropriate
leadership judgment��� during the deployment. The CO of the
Navy���s Southwest Regional Maintenance Centre was relieved of
command for mismanagement and misuse of funds.
To raise ��5000 for the British Limbless Ex-Service Men���s
Association a Royal Navy diver ran the Great South Run while
wearing 200 pounds of antique diving gear. He figured he could
run a mile in an hour and a half so race organizers allowed him
to run the ten miles over three days and start two days before
the race itself. (For those who really must know, yes, he wore a
catheter.)
WHITE FLEETS
In Vietnam���s scenic Ha Long Bay, five Taiwanese tourists
heading back to their ship died when their tender named Paradise
collided with the tourist boat Dong Phong 02. Thirteen other
tourists survived their expulsion from paradise.
In Bermuda, passengers watched mooring lines snap as 45 knot
winds pushed the Norwegian Star into the Explorer of the Seas on
the next berth. Two tugs eventually pushed the Norwegian Star
back into position. Both vessels suffered some hull damage.
Off Portugal, the Queen Victoria suffered problems in one
propulsion unit so the cruise ship headed for Bremerhaven for
repairs.
A Portuguese cruise company went into bankruptcy when three
of its five ships were arrested. The arrests stranded at least 550
Ukrainian, Indonesian, and Portuguese seafarers without their
pay.
In Western Australian a helicopter from the frigate HMAS
Toowomba was training off Fremantle when it was diverted to
pick up an elderly man off the Sea Princess. He was suffering
from acute stomach pains.
Serious damage was discovered on P&O���s MS Ventura, after it
hit bad weather in the Bay of Biscay causing a crack at least two
inches wide across the full width of an upper deck.
Off Cape Town, a passenger catamaran carrying 38 people to
Duiker Island, a popular destination for seal spotting, capsized
near Hout Bay and a crewman went missing. He had given his
lifejacket to a youngster. His body was found the next day.
A mock cannon exploded on a mock pirate ship carrying
26 tourists near the island of Kos in the south Aegean Sea.
The explosion killed the master and injured five tourists, none
seriously. A relative of the dead master got the ship back to port.
THOSE THAT GO BACK AND FORTH
On the Mahakam River in Indonesia���s portion of Borneo
Island, the wooden ferryboat Surya Indah carrying 97 crew and
passengers upstream, hit a log and sank. 22 died and at least 14
were missing.
Off Sumatra, the ro-ro/pax Bahuga Jaya sank after colliding
with the LPG-carrying Norgas Cathinka. The tanker left the
scene because its master thought leaking gas might cause a
VIP.WB12
New Zealand - Volpower NZ Limited Ph. 0800 865 769
www.volvopenta.co.nz
