January 2025
BEYOND THE HORIZON
January 2025
MERCHANT FLEET
The Coast Guard warned about the use of ship-to-shore cranes made by the People’s Republic of China because they can be controlled remotely and may threaten American security. The U.S. is deeply concerned with cybersecurity due to constant electronic hack attempts from unknown sources but probably from Russia, China, or Iran. About 85% of all STS cranes in the U.S. were manufactured by China. (U.S. Navy)
GRAY FLEET
The LCS ships, INDEPENDENCE-class and FREEDOM-class, have been upgraded to handle the Mark 70 vertical launch missiles within the MARK 41 vertical launch systems (VLS) in a show of strength to China that continues to harass ships in the South China Sea. The VLS can also fire standard missiles and the Tomahawk Land Attack missiles.
The LCS ships were once touted as the Navy fleet’s future but were hindered by hull cracks, propulsion failures, and a myriad of mechanical and electrical problems. The Navy is now trying to reverse the issues with these expensive vessels’ fortune. (U.S. Navy)
Once again, China surrounded Taiwan to demonstrate its ability to ward off any Western nation’s Navy to protect the island. PRC also sent several ships near Japan including the frigate CNS HEBI (534) and the spy-ship CNS DONGDIAO-class KAIYANGXING (796) into the Philippine Sea. (U.S. Navy)
Chinese Spy Ship
China set off alarms in the Philippines when the Automatic Identification System (AIS) showed Chinese warships and three dredges near the islands causing the military to send the BRP TERESA MAGBANUA to investigate. The Filipino Navy found only the dredges. Evidently, this was a Chinese ruse with fake AIS signals to create havoc. The two nations have been at loggerheads for several years. (U.S. Navy)
Universally known at this point, the Navy’s USS Gettysburg (CG-64) shot down one of our own fighters that flew off the USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75). A week after the fact the Navy is not saying anything about the friendly fire incident except that a second F-18/A Super Hornet luckily was not destroyed. Fortunately, the pilots of the first plane were able to eject about 3 seconds before their plane was hit.
Specifics remain to be revealed; however, the press proffers two possible scenarios for the issues in the Red Sea. One theory is that any plane in a certain area, at a specific altitude, and attaining an identified speed should be fired upon. An element of this concept is that the Houthis have attacked American ships with drone clusters (swarming) that offer an electronic image easily misidentified with a jet. If the fighter jet was in that zone, the cruiser had standing orders to shoot.
The other idea floating around comes from that proverbial “unidentified source” who stated to someone that there have been multiple complaints about the lack of training aboard the GETTYSBURG. This projects a thought that there were multiple failures of communication aboard the cruiser.
The splashes you heard are the careers of several Navy officers who will be headed to Davy Jones’ Locker. Clearly, there was miscommunication between and among the ships of the fleet. All vessels within the Carrier Strike Group should have been aware of Navy flight operations. The cruiser Captain had to make a snap judgment based on standing orders, information from the Combat Information Center housed near the bridge, and his own experiences in the hostile zone.
If there was any indication of training failures, the skipper, the admiral, and carrier CO, and a multitude of others would be sacked. The Navy’s history has always indicated that when something goes wrong, people will be blamed and will be fired, even if they were not directly involved with the incident.
USS GETTYSBURG
ALLISIONS AND COLLISIONS
A Black Sea storm wreaked havoc on a pair of Russian cargo ships, VOLGONEFT 212, a 136-meter ship split in half near Ukraine. 1 crewmember was killed, 2 are missing, and 12 were rescued. The nearby VOLGONEFT 239 also broke in half in the same storm.
BBC ICELAND, a 161-meter ship weighing in at 24,936 dwt, hit the walkway at Vera Cruz when her mooring lines parted in strong winds.
An 85-meter self-propelled barge suffered an allision with a dock on the Moselle River causing significant damage tearing open the lock’s gates destroying lock equipment and severing hydraulic lines while dumping pollution into the river and backing up 70 vessels. The lock is closed and all vessels are requested to moor until repair completion.
A fishing vessel, WIND WALKER, called a MAYDAY alert but the boat was never found nor was her crew of 5.
GLORY, a cargo ship carrying 3,00 tons of bran, 70 tons of fuel, and 50 tons of diesel from Yemen to Egypt abruptly sank. She had run aground 1o days earlier. Her crew of 21 were rescued.
The 31-meter EXPRESS 5, one of the world’s largest ro-ro catamarans, struck the breakwater at Bornholm, Denmark, seriously damaging the hull and requiring dry-dock repairs. (Ship Wreck Log)
ENVIRONMENT
Minnesota lost over 140,000 acres of wetland between 2006 and 2020 substantially reducing the number of ducks in the state. Experts claim that over 38% of the population diminished over the period due to habitat loss. (Big River Magazine)
Iowa’s only urban trout stream, McCloud Run, lost 1,250 fish when sensors discovered that the Cedar Rapids Water Department had dumped chlorinated water into the creek. The city will be fined appropriately. DNR demands $15 per trout. (Big River)
Mother Nature has not always been kind to humanity’s desire to move through her waters. The Lower Mississippi is defined as the river below St. Louis, and the Upper Mississippi is the water from the Chain of Rocks, north of St. Louis. A series of rapids formed below the Missouri River entry and made navigation upriver impossible except in high water conditions, thus it became known as the “Steamboat Wrecker”.
Lock 27 was built to help boats cross that 17-mile series of rock ledges. By 1940 it became obvious that this location was one of the busiest portions of the river, and the Army Corps of Engineers built a canal running from the heart of St. Louis to a point south of Hartford, IL. (Big River)
The other great impediment to river travel was the enormous Rock Island where the present-day Quad Cities exist. Any book about steam boating will offer interesting issues in overcoming that block. Once a means of getting past Rock Island, nothing stopped boats until they reached St. Anthony Falls in St. Paul. Going north of that was virtually impossible to guarantee a 9-foot channel depth, and Minneapolis was not a port type of city.
BOAT STUFF
Fireboats, seen on Navy Day and other celebrations), have never lost their relevance. My first image (from books, since I wasn’t alive yet) of fireboats was photos about the attack on Pearl Harbor when HOGA (YT-146) immediately poured thousands of gallons of water on the beached USS NEVADA (BB-36), rescued sailors in the burning oily waters, and provided assistance to the rest of Battleship Row. She was sold to Oakland, CA for firefighting, but it was given back to the Navy and sold it to Little Rock, AK as a museum ship.
Several fireboats responded to the 9/11 attack in New York by ferrying people away from the World Trade Center area to safer grounds. When the second tower collapsed, many hydrants were severed, so the fireboats started pumping water to pump trucks enabling firefighters to work on the many fires in Manhattan.
As a child, Laila Linares was a tinkerer taking apart things, seeing how they worked, rebuilding them, and sometimes improving them. Her mariner father suggested she apply to the Merchant Marine Academy. She did and graduated with a degree in marine engineering systems and a Coast Guard Unlimited Third Assistant Engineering license. Earning a Master’s degree in engineering management, she entered the Navy Reserves and was assigned to the Military Sealift Command where she sailed the world on sundry ships. Ashore she in strategic planning, contract administration, and vessel design.
Today, Linares is at the U.S. Maritime Administration managing a $1.7 million National Security Multi-mission Vessel that is a high-tech training ship. SEA HISTORY touted her as a role model for women in STEM careers.
Laila Linares
SMALL BOATS
Catboats have fascinated me since I first read about them, but, I have never actually seen one around Iowa. This craft usually is known for sturdiness, shallow draft, single sail, wide beam, a barn door rudder, and single mast at the bow that is gaff-rigged. Some have a foresail and some are yawl-rigged.
Marshall Boats has long been associated with the catboats and they offer a 15’ Sandpiper, an 18’Sanderling, a 22’ Marshall Cat, and a Sakonnet 23. The middle two have a very small cabin for storage because you cannot sit upright in it. All use a center-board and depend on their wide beams rather than heavy ballast providing stability.
The downside to a Catboat is the massive sail and large boom and spar that is intimidating. For many sailors, it may take some time to become confidently proficient at her helm.
BIG RIVER magazine is an incredible journal on issues regarding the Upper Mississippi River and the Driftless Zone. It is worthy of your subscription.
BIG RIVER MAGAZINE.com
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