CdrSalamander offers us a cautionary tale, the story of Destiny Savage, Chief Engineer and acting XO/CO, to remind all in authority that the Naval Services are not really like StarTrek. There are still some lines that should not be crossed. But how does one go around the normal direct lines of authority?
Photo credit: CIA
DefenseNews reports on the growing South American interest in Antarctica and the proliferation of polar ships that support these interests. The increased interest is fueled by anticipation that changes in the Antarctic Treaty system will allow resource exploitation.
If the current treaty is altered or abrogated, a number of nations have already made claims to Antarctic territory, held in abeyance by the current treaty. Some of these claims overlap. Interestingly neither the US or Russia has made any specific claims but have reserved the right to make them in the future. (Click on the map above to enlarge and see where the various stations are located.)
There is already much animosity between Argentina and the UK and between Argentina and Chile. The existing treaty system could breakdown at any time. This looks like another good argument for both a new Icebreaker and for bringing back the Polar Sea.
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CIMSEC continues their series on “non-navies” with “Narco-Submarines: Drug Cartels’ Innovative Technology,” by Byron Ramirez. It provides an overview of the state of narco-sub development, employment, and countermeasures. It also announces the imminent publication of an unclassified study, “Narco-Submarines – Specially Fabricated Vessels Used For Drug Smuggling Purposes,” to be released by the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO).
Recently the “Coast Guard Compass” reported that an agreement had been struck with the Royal Navy that some Coast Guard enlisted volunteers (MKs and EMs) would be assigned accompanied tours on Royal Navy frigates.
I passed this along to a friend in the UK who blogs at “ThinkDefence.” He passed it along to his readerrship. I think you might find the comments interesting.
CIMSEC continues their “Non-Navy” discussion with “Fisheries Crime: Bridging the Conceptual Gap and Practical Response.”
They address more than just Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. They talk about problems highlighted in a study conducted by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on transnational criminal activities in the fishing industry :
•Fishers trafficked for the purpose of forced labor on board fishing vessels are severely abused;
•There is frequency of child trafficking in the fishing industry;
•Transnational organized criminal groups are engaged in marine living resource crimes in relation to high value, low volume species such as abalone;
•Some transnational fishing operators launder illegally caught fish through transshipments at sea and fraudulent catch documentation;
•Fishing licensing and control system is vulnerable to corruption;
•Fishing vessels are used for the purpose of smuggling of migrants, illicit traffic in drugs (primarily cocaine), illicit traffic in weapons, and acts of terrorism; and
•Fishers are often recruited by organized criminal groups due to their skills and knowledge of the sea and are seldom masterminds behind organized criminal activities involving the fishing industry or fishing vessels.[1]
The Coast Guard is most likely to encounter these problems in the EEZ in the Western Pacific, including the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument that is expected to expanded and in the EEZs of friendly island nations that rely on the US to assist with enforcement. Unfortunately assets for enforcement in these areas have been extremely limited.
Not commentary, but something that has been predicted, and two you might like to see.
As we have been told might happen, gCaptain tells us a cruise ship is planning to transit the North West Passage through the Arctic.
Then, just for fun, there are some great photos of the USS Constitution, and a video of some time spent on the mainmast of the Charles W. Morgan.
Looks like Piracy may be making a comeback in the Caribbean. gCaptain reports that the crew of a LPG tanker has been assaulted, robbed, and the Captain shot in the vicinity of Trinidad.
gCaptain brings us news of a prototype ship to shore connector that the Marines are looking at, but to me the star was the over land, over water, icebreaking, craft the Canadian Coast Guard has developed.
Apparently the Coast Guard looked at this and another vehicle two years ago.
No idea what has become of this.
The State Department has issued a document regarding US policy for the suppression of Piracy of the Horn of Africa (HOA) and in the Gulf of Guinea (GOG). It is a brief four page intro and two annexes, eight pages addressing the HOA and ten addressing the GOG.
The link on the State Dept. website is here.
The Coast Guard is mentioned:
“Provide persistent interdiction-capable presence at sea off the HOA. Consistent with other U.S. mission requirements, U.S. Navy and/or U.S. Coast Guard forces operating in the region provide persistent interdiction through presence, conduct maritime counter-piracy operations, and coordinate counter-piracy activities with other forces operating in the region to the extent practicable. When in range, these forces will prevent suspected pirate vessels from operating, respond to reports of pirate attacks with the objective of disrupting such attacks, and, in appropriate circumstances, terminate the act of piracy and any resultant hostage situation with intent to deliver any surviving pirates ashore for prosecution. These forces will also coordinate efforts among all multilateral coalitions such as Combined Maritime forces, NATO’s OPERATION OCEAN SHIELD, the European Union’s OPERATION ATALANTA, and independent naval forces.”
Nationalgeographic.com is reporting that the US will extend the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to 200 nautical miles off shore, from almost 87,000 square miles (225,000 square kilometers) to nearly 782,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers). This includes the waters off Howland Island, Baker Island, Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef, Wake and Johnston Atolls. These are waters that don’t see a cutter very often, and it is almost one seventh of the entire US EEZ.
In addition the White House announced a commitment to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing.
Doesn’t this look like justification for more Cutters?
Declaring a reserve without enforcement is useless. To me this sounds like ample justification for another cutter to be based in Hawaii. The OPCs are not ready so that means a Bertholf Class. The Coast Guard has been saying they really need nine NSCs Since the workload is increasing, increasing assets is only logical. Long lead items for the eighth and final NSC were included in the FY2014 budget and full funding is expected in FY2015. I’m am sure Huntington Ingalls and their Congressional delegation would be happy to see the series extended by another unit.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 