I am not going to be in a position to monitor the blog closely for the next week. My apologies in advance to anyone whose comments get stuck in the spam filter.
Please continue the conversation.
Chuck’s MIA
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Author Archives: Chuck Hill
Drug Enforcement Return on Investment
FierceHomelandSecurity is reporting on testimony of both the Commandant and the Commander of SouthCom, Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, before a joint hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Foreign Affairs subcommittees.
“Joint Interagency Task Force South, which is part of Southcom and includes the Coast Guard, (other–Chuck) military services and other agencies, seizes the majority of the cocaine bound for the United States, said Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, the Southcom commander. Yet it receives only 1.5 percent of the federal government’s total counternarcotics budget, he said.”
Commandant Adm. Robert Papp, who appeared alongside Kelly, said that in the past five years, the Coast Guard seized more than twice the amount of cocaine as all domestic law enforcement agencies – federal, state and local – combined.
Over the last five years, Coast Guard ships and law enforcement detachments operating in the offshore regions have removed more than a million pounds of cocaine with a wholesale value of nearly $17 billion. This is more than two times the amount of cocaine seized by all other U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies combined.
While I have my own reservations about the effectiveness of efforts to restrict supply, if you are going to attempt to cut supply, it sure looks like funding Coast Guard efforts should be the first place to put your money.
Russia to Build Three Giant Nuc-Powered Icebreakers by 2020
Bellona.org is reporting the expected award of a contract for three new generation Nuclear Powered Icebreakers that would be the most powerful in the world. The first of class is expected to enter service in 2017 followed by two more in 2019 and 2020.
Canadian Natives ban Government and Civilian Craft
Interesting news article here. A native group is displeased with the performance of Canadian Fisheries authorities and has taken matters into their own hands:
“Until further notice, Stz’uminus First Nation will prohibit access to its core territory in the Salish Sea by all vessels, including but not limited to, commercial fishing vessels, Fisheries and Oceans Canada vessels, and any non-Native civilians and government officials,” John Elliott, chief of the Ladysmith-area band said in a statement released Friday.
New Cutter for Ecuador
NavyRecognition is reporting the award of a contract for a fourth Damen 2606 patrol boat to be built in Ecuador for the Ecuadorian Coast Guard. Apparently this boat is the latest version of the USCG’s 87 foot patrol boats.
NavyRecognition illustrated their story with a photo of a member of the class in Saudi Arabian service (completed 2002/3). Reportedly the Ecuadorian boats will have a speed of 30 knots. Specs for the Saudi boat from my Combat fleets of the World also indicate a speed of 30 knots as opposed to 27 knots for the 87 ft WPBs and that they use two MTU 12V396 TE94 diesels for 4,430HP as against two MTU 8V396 TE94 diesels for 2,950HP for the WPBs, so same series engines but a 50% larger version. There appears to be some differences in the hull too as the discontinuity in the main deck is further forward in the Saudi boats (which were built in the Netherlands).
With boats built under Coast Guard Contracts for the US Navy, Yemen, and Malta, and additional boats built or building for Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Ecuador these boats are becoming relatively common.
OPC and the LCS Replacement (SSC), Sister Ships?
I am not the only one seeing a possible opportunity for commonality between the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and the Navy’s projected Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) replacement. Here is a comment from Tim Colton’s Maritime Memos.
“The LCS program having proved unaffordable, largely thanks to the Navy’s idiotic passion for bells and whistles, they are now looking for suggestions for what they call a small surface combatant, or SSC. Read the announcement on FedBizOpps… The key words in the RFI are right up front: Small surface combatants enable the Navy to implement the Defense Strategic Guidance (DSG) imperative to develop innovative, low-cost, and small-footprint approaches to achieve our security objectives.
“It sounds as though we now have a potential overlap between the Navy’s SSC and the Coast Guard’s OPC, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it would be nice if, for a change, the Navy could manage to build some affordable ships. I know, shades of Gary Hart, but I think this is what we need, not more SSNs at $1.8 billion a pop. May Day, 2014.”
There is more information on the solicitation here.
Quoting from the solicitation, “This type of ship provides Combatant and Fleet Commanders a uniquely suitable asset for Theater Security Cooperation tasking and select sea control missions. These small surface combatants build and strengthen maritime relationships by operating with partners and allies in various theaters of operation.”
They are “asking for existing and mature design concepts.” The eight shipyards that bid on the OPC, and particularly the three that were selected, should be in a particularly good position to meet the demands of the solicitation.
We know they want more survivability and range, but they also want low cost and small footprint. To me that means a ship of similar size to the existing LCS but without the requirement for extreme speed that has made them high strung, crowded, and fragile. A slightly lengthened OPC can meet the requirements. Replace the 57mm with a larger gun and the Mk38 mod2 with CIWS/RAM/SeaRAM. Install CAPTAS (active/passive variable depth/towed array sonar) aft and use the extra length to add VLS and a second CIWS/RAM/SeaRAM, and you have a very viable, long ranged Small Surface Combatant.
If the Navy and Coast Guard could share a common Small Surface Combatant, they could probably be made in very economically.
Propulsion Concept for River Craft
When, perhaps I should say if, the Coast Guard starts to replace their river tenders (previous plans to develop a common hull with the Army Corp of Engineers seem to have been shelved) perhaps they should look at this propulsion concept involving four Schottel Twin Propellers STP 200 as reported by MarineLog.
Coast Guard Role in RIMPAC
Stars and Stripes is providing some details of the 2014 RIMPAC exercise (“23 nations heading to Hawaii for RIMPAC as exercise details emerge”) to be conducted June 25 to August 4, and it appears the Coast Guard will have a significant role to play, including significant interaction with the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN).
Referring to PLAN participation “…an oiler, frigate and destroyer will participate in a “maritime interdiction operations” task force under a U.S. Coast Guard cutter commanding officer, Lt. Lenaya Rotklein, a spokeswoman for the Navy’s 3rd Fleet in San Diego, said Monday.
“The maritime interdiction operation involving the Chinese destroyer, frigate and oiler was referenced in December by the Navy as being under the Coast Guard cutter Waesche and including two Royal Brunei Navy ships, a French frigate, a U.S. frigate and the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser USS Port Royal.”
Eastern’s OPC Concept Model
Our friend at NavyRecognition has sent some photos of a model of the Eastern Offshore Patrol Cutter taken at Sea-Air-Space 2014. They have daily coverage of the event you can access here:
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/naval-exhibitions/sea-air-space-2014.html
Click on the photo for a larger view.
(Late addition, duplicating a comment)
One interesting feature I see on the model is that there appear to be four permanently mounted fire monitors, two on the hangar roof O-3 deck and two between the mast and stack on the O-4 deck.
Looks like the two ROSAM Mk49 remote controlled .50 cal. are just forward of the Mk38 mod2 and somewhat restrict its field of fire. I would rather see one or both of them forward, either on the roof of the bridge or on the O-2 deck forward of the bridge and above and behind the 57mm. Actually I would like to have a second Mk38 mod2 forward even if in lieu of the remote .50s. (There are crew served .50s on the bridge wings.)
It appears the SLQ-32 ESM antenna are inside the rails on top of the Bridge. I think they should be outside the rails but that is probably a simple change.
BM3 Obendorf’s Death
Navy times has a story reporting the findings of a Coast Guard investigation regarding the death of BM3 Obendorf during small boat ops aboard the cutter Waesche. Some notable elements:
“He was in an area where crew members aren’t supposed to be stationed, according to the report, but was there because a piece of rescue equipment wasn’t working properly.”
“Witness accounts said Obendorf was trapped twice by the net (emphasis applied-Chuck), but was uninjured the first time. He wasn’t supposed to be standing at the front of the boat during the passenger transfer, but Waesche’s crew had been placing someone in that position to overcome an equipment deficiency.”
“Waesche’s capture line never worked consistently, so the crew put a member at the front of the boat to connect it manually.”
“…the conditions Nov. 11 didn’t strike any of the key personnel as dangerous. However, they were operating outside of published safety limits…”
—Another Example of perhaps to much “can do” spirit?
