Thought this was interesting. gCaptain has a couple of “bubble charts.” One showing the number of ships owned by different flag states and another the number of ships owned by foreigners for each flag state.
Also note the huge number of flag states that are not even identified.
Be aware this information is perhaps outdated in that it was based on data from 2007.
The Philippines is in the process of a substantial upgrade of its Coast Guard and it is getting a lot of help form Japan. They already have a contract for the delivery of ten 44 meter patrol craft, that fill a role similar to our own Webber class WPCs. The first of these can be seen on sea trials in the video above.
Now we have reports that the Japanese will be building two new much larger, 295 foot (90 meter) cutters for the Philippines. These may be an entirely new design, but it is more likely it will be closely related to a existing Japan Coast Guard design.
Which class seems likely? They will almost certainly be Kunigami class like the ships in the videos below.
Japan Coast Guard Kunigami class large patrol vessel TARAMA (PL-85)
PL11 RISHIRI, Yard: MHI SHIMONOSEKI SHIPYARD & MACHINERY WORKS
Filmed date: 2016/7/27
I haven’t been able to find a speed for the class, but apparently they are 1,700 tons full load, 96.6 m x 11.5 m (length 317 feet, beam 38 feet). They have a helo deck, but no hangar. They appear to have three boats, two smaller ones on davits, and a larger boat launched by crane. The gun is probably a 20 mm Sea Vulcan Gatling gun.
None of the Philippine CG vessels have a weapon larger than an old 20 mm and almost all have .50 cal. (12.7 mm) M2 crew served machine guns and/or lighter weapons. If they wanted to mount something larger, the Mk38 mod2 (or 3) 25 mm is likely, since it recently entered service with the Philippine Navy.
Perhaps more importantly, the Japan Coast Guard ships also have a water cannon that might come in handy.
12
Found myself singing Semper Paratus at breakfast this morning.
If you want to soak up a little Coast Guard history, you might want to look at the Heritage page. You might even learn something.
Perhaps there is something to be learned here. A sister service whose missions parallel our own has had a serious failure. A SWO looks for the reason.
DefenseNews reports the Israeli company Elbit has been working on developing an unmanned surface vessel system, and they have gone beyond simply patrolling the surface and employing remotely controlled machine guns. They are attempting to use it for Anti-Submarine Warfare and mine countermeasures.
In a separate post, Navy recognition reports that this system has successfully test launched a light weight torpedo.
If you compare the vessel in the video and the one in the photo above, it is apparent that the equipment has been changed and that the craft probably could not carry both the sonar sensor and the light weight torpedoes, but it is possible multiple units might operate in groups.
Using small vessels for ASW and MCM has a long history, although not always particularly successful. As ASW assets they do offer the advantage that they are too small to be good targets for a submarine’s torpedoes. On the other hand their ability to support sensors and weapons is severely limited, and the crews’ limited ability to deal with adverse weather has always been problematic. Making them unmanned will at least help with that.
Thanks to Jim for suggesting the topic.
USCGC Polar Sea
We send our only Heavy Icebreaker almost 20,000 miles, to the end of the earth with no back-up.
Take a look at this news release regarding an upcoming award ceremony where the Commandant will recognize Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin Oakes, Petty Officer 3rd Class Augustin Foguet, and Seaman Manon Mullen.
They had to repair a thrust bearing bracket. This is a really strong fitting designed to absorb the push of 25,000 HP and it broke.
EM1 Oakes fixed a generator, apparently a main propulsion generator, that had developed a short that resulted in loss of with a surfboard repair kit.
They had ” three fires and one major lube oil leak, which can quickly ignite into fire.”
We are blessed with excellent enlisted people, who do extraordinary things, but we cannot keep doing this. It is only a matter of time until one of our two icebreakers suffers a catastrophic failure far from any assistance.
We are still close to ten years from a new heavy icebreaker, but while it will hopefully give us a more reliable replacement for the Polar Star, it will not fix the problem.
We have a acknowledged need for medium icebreakers. The Congress seems to recognize our lack of icebreakers as a problem, and there are relatively near term alternatives available in the shape of an icebreaker now excess to Shell’s requirements and another begun and well advanced in construction, which is now stopped.
Wouldn’t it be better to send two ships south?
Photo: Peruvian Navy training ship, BAP Unión, a four-masted, steel hulled barque built in 2014. (click on photo to enlarge)
CIMSEC has a short post looking at training ships in Latin America, most of which are sailing ships. Interestingly, it looks like all but one are newer than USCGC Eagle.
NavyRecognition is reporting, “The EMILY (Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard) robotic lifeguard will be showcased by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) during the Sea-Air-Space 2016 Exposition held May 16 to 18 at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The robot will also be displayed at the ONR’s booth (number 1004).”
“Outfitted in bright orange, red and yellow colors, each cylindrical EMILY buoy is 4-feet long and weighs 25 pounds. It’s powered by a jet engine system similar to a mini jet ski, shoots a water jet stream for propulsion and travels up to 22 mph. EMILY also has two-way communication radios, a video camera with a live feed to smartphones and lights for night rescues.
“‘EMILY is made of Kevlar and aircraft-grade composites and is virtually indestructible,’ said Mulligan, CEO of Hydronalix, a maritime robotics company. ‘The devices can be thrown off a helicopter or bridge and then driven via remote control to whoever needs to be rescued.'”
To me the description of its use and capabilities seems incomplete. For instance, could this be used to tow a rescue swimmer to a vessel in distress? and how was it “used to rescue nearly 300 Syrian migrants from drowning in the waters off the Greek Island of Lesbos”?
Looks like a piece of gear we should look into. If one of our readers gets a look at it, I would welcome first hand impressions.
Apparently it is already for sale to the general public.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII, builder of the Bertholf class cutters) is sponsoring a Coast Guard Essay contest with the US Naval Institute.
“Challenge: Advance new thinking about the U.S. Coast Guard’s critical role in the 21st Century. No issue is too big or too narrow as long as it makes the Coast Guard stronger. This does not mean authors canot be critical and take on conventional wisdom and current practices. In fact, we encourage you to push the ‘dare factor.'”
Cash prizes of $5000, $2500, and $1500.
I suspect there are several among the readership here that might have some ideas.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 