Issues #3. January 2023
BEYOND THE HORIZON
Issue #3
By Doc Regan
ENVIRONMENT
The Ocheyedan River, in western Iowa, is a primary water source for towns in Iowa including Spencer, a medium-sized city for the region, and it ran dry this past summer killing hundreds of fish, plants, wildlife and proffered no water for livestock. One man, whose farm abuts the river, complained that the river had no mud, no water, it was simply sand. Small towns had difficulty obtaining water.
The drought was an element of this disaster; however, an important issue was simply greed. Minnesota pumped significant levels of water from the river for its cities and farms, and they purchased more water rights from private water companies in Iowa. To complicate things, the Iowa DNR has done virtually nothing to ameliorate this concern. The Des Moines REGISTER, which posted the story, stated, state law says a permit for the large-scale withdrawal of water from the ground shall be denied or discontinued “if it will impair the navigability of any navigable watercourse” or “if it will unreasonably impair the long-term availability of water.” A private water company in western Iowa has continued to sell water usage to Minnesota company Lincoln Pipestone Water with no DNR oversight. Money outweighs farmers’ rights. Ironically, Iowa’s governor was re-elected with overwhelmingly strong support from Iowa farmers. She has made no attempt to enforce Iowa water laws.
Along the same lines, Bernard Pattison, of Fayette, IA, attempted to annually sell billions of gallons of water annually from the Jordan Aquifer in Northeast Iowa to companies in California by sending the liquid via rail. The DNR did halt this license after residents filed a lawsuit against Pattison’s company.
The late Mr. Pattison owned a plethora of regional agricultural companies including grain storage, grain transportation, barges and tows, and farm supplies. His family has continued his multiple operations. Truth in the telling, Mr. Pattison was a long-time member of Upper Iowa University’s Board of Trustees and a major benefactor to the school while I was Academic Dean there.
WHITE FLEET
A 40-foot rouge wave smacked The VIKING POLARIS off Ushuaia, Argentina, the homeport for ships heading to the Antarctic, breaking several windows on the port side, flooding cabins, killing one and injuring 4 others. The ship was forced to return to Argentina, and the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority is investigating, which I think is what they are supposed to do.
A supposedly lovely Christmas cruise aboard the new P and O Cruise Lines, ARVIA, ended up as a nightmare for many of the passengers who had paid from $5500 to $7000 for the inaugural cruise. Many decried the lack of Wi-Fi, but the real bummer was Christmas dinner. The ship’s computers failed and reservations were lost in the ethers, people had to wait until 11:00 pm to be served, and then it was at tables without amenities like tablecloths. Carnival owns P&O and neither company replied to questions from the London Times.
PRINCESS CRUISE, supposedly on a ten-day outing, managed to anger several potential passengers when the crew refused to allow them boarding because they had no passports despite them being told that they didn’t need them. Unfortunately, the fine print said that they did indeed require a passport, and they were told incorrectly; however, it is the passenger’s responsibility, not the company’s to know mandates. While the irate who spent thousands of dollars raged, the company itself did not respond to questions.
Jinling Shipyard in China launched FINNSIRIUS, a smaller passenger ferry that is to run between Finland, the Aland Islands, and Sweden. The exciting aspect of this ship is the environmental concerns that were alleviated in the ship. She sends a blanket of bubbles along her hull and under her keel to minimize friction. She houses huge battery packs that are charged on land so she uses only DC current for propulsion, and she uses environmentally friendly oil for her stabilizers, thrusters, and cargo equipment.
Viking’s OCEAN NEPTUNE also saw business for the first time this year. Considered a smaller cruise liner, she caters to 930 guests in large staterooms with king-sized beds, Wi-Fi, TV, robes and slippers, a mini-bar, and twice daily room cleaning.
GRAY FLEET
One of my constant rants has been the incredible stupidity of my old service, the U.S. Navy, in its design, production, and “what were they smoking” decision-making regarding the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship). Declaring the LCS to be a veritable Swiss Army Knife of a ship, the Navy touted the ship’s versatility, usefulness, and mission options. The Gold Braided Ring Knockers (Admirals) loudly and proudly swore that the hulls could be used for a plethora of different designs and uses.
OK, said our beloved elected officials under the Great Dome of Wisdom, build them. Being a capitalistic society believing that competition is good for the taxpayers, two companies designed two completely different ships to meet the requirements supposedly meeting the objectives and goals of the Navy.
One company produced a ship that looks like any other military vessel with a bridge, helicopter landing area aft of the island, and kind of stealthy looking. The other company (names not cited to protect the guilty), produced a ship that does not look like all the other vessels in the surface fleet ships. This one was a trimaran. Yes, three hulls.
The art of politics requires that hay, defined as governmental contracts for loads of moola, be returned to each elected official’s home region. Since the two competing shipyards were in different states, it was deemed that both designs would be accepted. The ship-looking LCS was called the Freedom variant and the trimaran was patriotically named the Independence variant. Everyone was to enjoy the free flow of cash in two states.
The Freedom class was 387” of the highest technological wizardry known to humanity. These ships could sail at a jaw-dropping speed of 47 knots, turn-on-a-dime compliments of water jets, and were so automated that the number of the crew could be reduced greatly.
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Freedom class
The Independence version looked for all the world like a Klingon Bird of Prey (catch Star Trek if you don’t know what these are). Aluminum hulls lowered the weight to meet specifications. But they could only attain a speed of 44 knots and lacked the agility of the other class.
Independence-class LCS
These could be built for a meager $360 million according to the shipyards, which was, naturally, well under the actual cost that ran closer to $500 million. While that is normal, the resulting ships, with such state-of-the-art technology, immediately ran into problems. The first Freedom-class hardly hit the water before she burned up her transmission and had sundry propulsion failures. The first Independence-class LCS instantly showed cracks in her hull and a myriad of propulsion problems.
Repairs could only be made by the original contractors because of the high technology, thus, no third party could be used. The GAO issued a disturbing account of the failures within the ships. The costs quickly rose to the original building costs of the ships. GAO also reported to Congress that the anticipated expense of running them would amount to over $70 million annually to keep them operational.
The Navy occasionally understands the concept of budgets and costs, so it very quietly decided to jettison these lemons. (One critical Congressman berated the ships and the Navy’s intentions while speaking beside a basketful of lemons). The truly insulting aspect of the inoperative LCS’s was that the Navy really couldn’t find a mission for their use. Hmmm, a billion here, a billion there, and soon we are talking real money. No useful mission, huh.
These paragraphs were written as the media announced that former President Donald Trump did not pay any taxes in 2020 or some year. When I was in the Navy, stationed in the war zone of Monterey, CA, the press noted that the then Governor Ronald Reagan had paid no taxes the previous year while I, a cash-strapped E-3, had money taken from each paycheck for state and federal taxes. I learned that if you got a deduction, use it. I forgave Mr. Reagan. He couldn’t spell his name correctly. Worse, he had an aide that spelled it correctly but pronounced it incorrectly.
ALLISIONS AND COLLISIONS
Ships go bump in the night all over the world causing minor or major damage and sometimes losing crew. Considering just how many ships are at sea at the same time makes this an understandable occurrence.
During December 2022 SERASI, an Indonesian-flagged ship collided with the BATANGHARI MSand sank. All 17 crew were rescued. But LOA LU 2 had an engine failure, took on water, and headed to Davy Jones’ Locker. 13 of the 16 crew were rescued.
Meanwhile, HYUNDAI FASHION quietly rolled over. Boats and cargo ships managed to save all 9 crew members. BELAIT SURITA, a rare Brunei-flagged tanker exploded off the Tawi-Tawi region of the Philippines. FALCON TRIUMPH and HIGH ADVENTURE pulled out the crew with only one missing.
QUANTUM OF THE SEAS experienced a modest accident when one of the lifeboats suddenly fell from the ship. Evidently, the crew was in the middle of a training drill when something failed and the lifeboat fell into the sea while the main vessel was anchored awaiting for passengers.
Containership ASTRID lost 9 of her containers off the coast of Israel. The goods lost included electronics, refrigerators, and household goods. The cartons drifted to shore and were immediately opened and looted near Ashdod Anchorage.
ZINA, a bulk carrier managed to massage the Zarate-Brazo Bridge enough to damage the forecastle and bow of the ship. She continued upstream before reversing course and heading back under the bridge and anchoring.
Another bulk carrier, the OZGUR AKSOY exchanged paint with the lock head of Zarndvliet Lock in Antwerp. The January 2023 allision forced the ship back to Antwerp for repairs and inspection before sailing toward La Rochelle, France. The lock sustained minor damage but remained operational.
INLAND WATERWAYS
The drought of 2022 continued to make news as the Lower Mississippi exposed several wrecks including old paddle-wheelers and fishing boats, as well as sundry fossils. Civil War bullets, equipment, and other artifacts found daylight again. The Ohio river showed more sand than water. Both rivers are at historic lows causing multiple closures due to groundings. Near Cairo, IL, where the two great rivers converge, workers are trying to refloat sundry tows. This alone increased shipping costs. St. Louis cargo per ton was sent at $20 early in the summer; by fall it was $90 and rising. Remember: 1 barge equals 9 railroad cars which equal 70 trucks. Hence, inflation.
SPONSORS AND FRIENDS
Eric Stone, musician and writer, is great at both. Read his Rick Waters series. Also purchase some of his fine albums. He is one of the good guys.
And of course, please check out my book.