“Patrol and Rescue Boats on Puget Sound,” perhaps a bit esoteric, but there may be some interest.
The book is due for release December 12.
I’m told this book has 200 pictures, and about half of those are CG vessels past and present.
There is a summary of the contents here.
The Amazon.com offering is here.
(Update: Revised video posted)
Bollinger also launched the third FRC, William Flores, 29 November. The Coast Guard Compass has the story and photos.
(Thanks to http://www.coltoncompany.com/ for the update)
We have already discussed the fact that the House version of the CG reauthorization bill (H.R. 2838) would require the decommissioning of the Polar Star in only three years, even after a renovation intended to extend its service life as much as ten years.
It is not law yet. It still has to be reconciled with the Senate version and be signed by the President, but the House version also has some interesting wording that may impact the National Security Cutter (NSC) and Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) programs.
“Sec. 569a. National security cutters”(a) Sixth National Security Cutter- The Commandant may not begin production of a sixth national security cutter on any date before which the Commandant–
- “(1) has acquired a sufficient number of Long Range Interceptor II and Cutter Boat Over the Horizon IV small boats for each of the first three national security cutters and has submitted to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a plan to provide such boats upon the date of delivery of each subsequent national security cutter;
- “(2) has achieved the goal of 225 days away from homeport for each of the first two national security cutters; and
- “(3) has submitted to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a program execution plan detailing increased aerial coverage to support national security cutter operations.”
(b) Seventh National Security Cutter- The Commandant may not begin production of a seventh national security cutter on any date before which the Commandant has selected an offshore patrol cutter that meets at least the minimum operational requirements set out in the Operational Requirements Document approved by the department in which the Coast Guard is operating on October 20, 2010.”
NSC #6 should be funded in FY 2013 and NSC #7 in FY2014. To me, these requirements suggest:
It goes on to require several reports including (not a complete list):
It even attempts (Sec. 310) to extort compliance by forbidding (with some exceptions) the use of Coast Guard aircraft by the Secretary of the CG’s parent department or the Commandant “…if the Secretary has not provided the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate all of the following:
“(1) A cost-constrained Fleet Mix Analysis.
“(2) The study of Coast Guard current and planned cutters conducted by the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation of the Department of Homeland Security at the request of the Office of Management and Budget.”
The Congress has been waiting for the Fleet-Mix study for a long time. It sounds like the House committee that wrote the bill is saying that they are not happy that the CG has not done the math (the operations research) to back up the budget requests. I suspect there is an O-3/4 in HQ ready to do, or perhaps even has done, this study, but it is being held up by an O-6/7 either because they can’t understand it or because they don’t like the conclusions. This needs to get done. It is an opportunity for the Coast Guard to make its case and show the benefit as well as the cost of its programs.
EagleSpeak brings to our attention a strange situation that has developed off the coast of India. An Iranian merchant ship, reportedly armed with heavy machine guns, has been hovering off the South West Indian Coast for a month, and there has reportedly been contact with the shore by boats. (original source)
The Indians have objected, but the Iranians claim to be within their rights since the ship has remained outside the territorial sea.
Need some help from the sea lawyers, but I seem to remember something about “constructive presence” as a result of contact with the shore.
gCaptain has the story of a persistently courageous South Korean ship captain’s resistance to pirates even after they broke into the ship’s citadel and seized the crew.
A former USCG HU-25 has found a home with NASA.
“A former US Coast Guard jet has arrived at NASA Langley in hopes of being used for future science missions and other possible experiments… It offers more capabilities than NASA Langley’s current fleet. It can fly higher, further and longer and already has some special equipment installed that would help it support aeroscience research.”
EagleSpeak reports the US DOD has funded a $57M “Integrated Maritime Surveillance System” for Indonesia.
“The IMSS is manned and operated by the Indonesian Navy, and consists of 18 Coastal Surveillance Stations (CSS), 11 Ship-based Radars, two Regional Command Centers, and two Fleet Command Centers (Jakarta and Surabaya)”
The Acquisition Directorate has issued its Fall 2011 Newsletter, “Delivering the Goods.” It is available as a pdf here.
The news letter includes:
Somalia/Gulf of Aden/Indian Ocean:
NATO Reports show at least three attacks and at least three incidents of vessels being approached in a suspicious manner by skiffs that appeared to be pirates, but there were no successful attacks reported.
INS Suvarna, sister ship of INS Sukanya. Photo: INS SuvarnaM. Mazumdar/ Bharat-Rakshak. Original uploader was Mittal.fdk at en.wikipedia. Permission: CC-BY-SA-3.0.
India continues to deal aggressively with pirates. “The Hindu” reports the actions of the INS Sukanya (1,890 tons full load, 331′ loa) when five skiffs approached vessels in the five ship convoy she was escorting,
“While two of them managed to escape, INS Sukanya successfully intercepted the remaining three boats and…nabbed 26 Somali pirates with six AK 47 rifles, 12 magazines and about 300 rounds of ammunition.
“This is the fifth successful anti-piracy operation conducted by INS Sukanya in the course of her ongoing patrol mission in the Gulf of Aden that commenced in September, the Navy said.”
The uncertainty introduced by the Kenyan invasion of Southern Somalia is having an effect on the ransom pirates are demanding for the ships and crews they currently hold. Ransom demands have been cut as the pirates hope to “close the deal.”
There are reports that Ethiopia has also moved troops into Somalia to support the Kenyan invasion.
While Kenya and Ethiopia move against Al Shabaab rebels in the South, there is a report the locals in Puntland are moving against pirates enclaves in the Northeast.
Nigeria/Gulf of Guinea
gCaptain reports three people were kidnapped after eight armed men boarded an offshore supply vessel, the MV C-Endeavour, belonging to Edison Chouest Offshore, off the coast of Nigeria. The report came by email from Kurt Glaubitz, a spokesman for Chevron.
Mekong River:
The attack that left 13 Chinese dead, reported in the last update, has resulted in China dispatching up to 1,000 armed police to work in the territory of Burma, Thailand, and Laos, to protect its trade on the Mekong.
Armed Security Guards:
The Marine Log reports H.R. 2838, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011, that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives, “…strengthens existing authorities against piracy, as well as improves an existing training program to instruct mariners on acceptable use of force against pirates. It authorizes armed security on vessels carrying government impelled cargo through high risk waters, and includes a report on ways to improve U.S. efforts to track ransom payments and the movement of money through Somali piracy networks.
“‘Somali pirates have vastly expanded the range of their attacks on merchant vessels. But even more alarming, the pirates have dramatically increased the number and viciousness of their attacks in recent months,’ said LoBiondo (Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairman Frank A. LoBiondo (R-NJ). ‘To protect American seafarers, this legislation will strengthen an existing training program on use of force against pirates. Additionally, it will provide authority for government agencies to reimburse shippers for armed security aboard vessels carrying U.S. aid to the region.‘”
The Maritime Executive reports there is a growing consensus in the US, that failure to provide armed security may open up ship owners to legal liability for failure to provide seaman with a safe working environment and a seaworthy vessel.
Elsewhere authorities remain unconvinced. The Netherlands is telling its ship owners that, if they use private armed security guards, they could be subject to criminal prosecution.
“Jumbo Shipping from Rotterdam and Vroon Shipping based in Breskens have both said they will carry armed guards while sailing under the Dutch flag.
“The ministry of defence has set up special teams to help combat the threat of piracy but the shipping firms say this is not a solution. ‘You have to order them six weeks in advance and we cannot work like that,’ the Jumbo spokesman said.
“Denmark, Spain, Norway and Britain do allow shipping firms to use private security guards while travelling close to the Somali coast.”
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 