The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56633
BEYOND THE HORIZON ASIAN FORCES ON ALERT BY HUGH WARE T he Asian nations are stiffening their posture towards an expansive-minded China. Starting this year, 2500 United States Marines and aircraft will operate out of Darwin, ready to respond quickly to any humanitarian and security issue in Southeast Asia. Also, the United States and Singapore are in the final stages of negotiating an agreement to base some of the US Navy's new littoral combat ships at the Changi Naval Base, and Vietnam offered the use of its port at Cam Ranh Bay, built by the US during the Vietnam War, for provisioning and repairs. And there is a strong possibility the US and Australia will share military facilities on the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. China immediately questioned whether strengthening military alliances in the region was appropriate when economic woes should place a premium on co-operation. THIN PLACES AND HARD KNOCKS The 8m diving boat Get Wet started sinking off Molasses Key in the Florida Keys. Two of the eight passengers were trapped in the cabin and both were unconscious when rescued. One couldn't be revived. The surviving crew of the Russian drilling rig Kolskaya waited for a helicopter rescue after the rig capsized in a fierce storm about 125 miles off Sakhalin Island in Russia's Far East. A tug and an icebreaker were towing the rig. Over 50 of the 67 people on board died. (Only 20 should have been on board.) The rig wasn't supposed to be towed in winter. Somewhere northeast of Luzon Island, the bulker Vinalines Queen went missing on Christmas Day. One seaman was found on a raft six days later. The ship was carrying 54,400 tonnes of nickel ore, a known ship-killer when wet, from the Indonesian port of Morowaii to China. The ship's owner hired ships and a helicopter to extend the initial four-day search by governmental agencies. The fog in the Houston Ship Channel just north of the Texas City Dike was so thick during one day in winter that Coast Guard investigators couldn't reach the scene of a collision between the chemical tanker Charleston and the empty bulker Harvest Sun. The container ship Hyundai Confidence "came in contact" with the coal-carrying bulk carrier Pacific Carrier 17.7 miles southwest of the South Korean island of Yokjido. Both heavily damaged ships remained stuck together while salvors figured out what to do next. GREY FLEETS Shortages of skilled manpower have been affecting the operational performance (particularly by its submarines) of the Royal Australian Navy, so it plans to recruit surplus Royal Navy personnel. The Senior Service will eliminate 5000 jobs, reducing its numbers to just 30,000, as part of a plan to slash Britain's defence budget, and many have the skills Australia needs. The Royal Australian Navy has broken a glass ceiling with the appointment of its first female admiral. Rear-Admiral Robyn Walker joined the Navy in 1991 as a lieutenant and she is the first woman to take on the role of the Australian Defence Force's surgeon-general. The US Navy will discharge 28 sailors from USS Ronald Reagan for using the synthetic marijuana drug Spice. They are The UK's Ministry of Defence will shed 11,400 members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force by 2015. in addition to 64 others, also from the Third Fleet, who were recently discharged for illegal drug use. The US Navy and Marine Corps will buy all of Britain's decommissioned Harrier jet fighters and will pay US$50 million for the spare parts alone. It is not clear whether the 72 aircraft will be flown or cannibalised for parts. (Other users of Harrier aircraft are the Italian Navy, the Spanish Navy and Thailand, which bought several for use on its aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet.) The UK's Ministry of Defence will shed 11,400 members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force by 2015. The department will also dump 30,000 civilians over the next decade, but the first batch must be volunteer retirees. The "The world's leading inspection, vertifi cation, testing and certifi cation company" Marine Surveying, Design Approval and new SGS NEW ZEALAND LTD NATIONAL SHIPPING OFFICE: 17 Maurice Road, Penrose 1061 PO Box 13 518 Onehunga 1643, Auckland Ph: 0800 174 025, Fax: 09 636 6054 Email: nz.auckland.industrial@sgs.com www.nz.sgs.com 34 Professional Skipper March/April 2012 Construction Survey, Cargo Surveying, Safe Ship Management, Equipment Inspection and Testing (including Radiography, Thickness and Crack Testing etc), Cranes, Lifting Equipment, Pipeline, Boilers and Pressure Vessels Design Verifi cation and Certifi cation, Water and General Laboratory Testing, Vibration and Oil Analyses. ISO 9001:2008, ISO 17925, ISO 17020:2000 OFFICES IN: Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Wellington, Christchurch, Timaru, Invercargill, Dunedin VIP.S85