MarineBuzz.com

Flight IY 626 of Yemenia Airway (of Yemen) with 142 passengers along with a crew of 11 onboard crashed early Tuesday, June 30 in the Indian Ocean near the Moroni port of the Comorian Republic (Comoros islands). It seems June 2009 is an unlucky month for passenger flights.
On June 01, Air France (AF) Flight 447 crashed in Atlantic Ocean midway after taking off from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, France with 228 people (216 passengers and 12 crew members).
Some more information available regarding the crash are:

• The aircraft crashed is Airbus A 310-300.
• The aircraft took off from the Sana’a International Airport of Yemen at 9:45 pm of local time on June 29 to reach Moroni, the capital of Comoros.
• The flight duration was around 4 hours.
• While making approach to land at Moroni, the aircraft crashed in the Indian Ocean just few minutes before landing within 8 nautical miles from Comorian coast.
• Contact with the aircraft was lost at 1:51 am of Moroni local time, June 30.
• The crash site is reported to be Mitsamiouli and some bodies were seen at the crash site.
• Rescue teams including foreign ships and planes are searching for any survivors at the crash site.
• Preliminary reports say
  • the crash was due to rough weather
  • an oil spot was seen 16-17 nautical miles off the port of Moroni in the Islands of Comoros
• The aircraft was carrying 142 passengers including three infants, mostly French and Comorian people.
• A Yemeni committee led by Minister of Transport has been set to probe the crash.

Continue Reading…

Online video is now available from NASA, of all of the tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes of 2008 as they formed in the Atlantic Ocean Basin and either faded at sea or made landfall. Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2008, had 17 tropical cyclones covering the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Sixteen of the storms were strong enough to be named, and only one remained as a tropical depression.

Here is the list of storms and hurricanes of 2008:

1. Arthur: May 31-June 01
2. Bertha: July 03-20
3. Cristobal: July 19-23
4. Dolly: July 20-25
5. Edouard: Aug 03-06
6. Fay: Aug 15-26
7. Gustav: Aug 25-Sep 04
8. Hanna: Aug 28-Sep 07
9. Ike: Sep 01-14
10. Josephine: Sep 02-06
11. Kyle: Sep 25-29
12. Laura: Sep 29-Oct 01
13. Marco: Oct 06-07
14. Nana: Oct 12-14
15. Omar: Oct 13-18
16. Paloma: Nov 05-09

Continue Reading…

A four hectare Russian island on the Narva Reservoir has drifted and reached the shores of Estonia on June 19.

Some interesting features of the floating island are:

• Reason for drifting: High water levels and strong winds.
• Impact of drifting: Buildings on the shore are likely to be damaged.

In fact many islands on the Narva Reservoir have started drifting.

View an interesting video clip: Welcome to Estonia

Read more from RIA Novosti.

Post in MarineBuzz on this day a year before:

Movie Dasavathaaram Gives Reason for Asian Tsunami 2004

Puri Beach of Orissa has paid tribute to the world renowned Pop Star Michael Jackson on his demise this week.

Puri Beach paid the tribute on June 26 by:

• Creating a four feet high sand sculpture with two tons of sand.
• The colorful sand sculpture brings out clearly Jackson’s face,his hat and a guitar.
• The sand image was created by Sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik in four hours with assistance from his students of  Golden Sand Art Institute.

View a video clip from Videos From India: Sand artist pays tribute to Michael Jackson

Continue Reading…

The fourth International Maritime Defence Show (IMDS-2009) is going on at St.Petersburg. IMDS started on June 24 and is expected to finish on June 28. Some interesting features of IMDS 2009 are:

• Biennial show hosted by Russia from 2003.
• The show at Lenexpo exhibition center in St. Petersburg includes exhibition, demonstration, business and congress events, VIP-negotiations and visits to shipbuilding enterprises.
• 350 Russian and foreign companies and delegations from 47 countries are participating in the show.
• Impact of recession: nearly 20% of the last IMDS participants refused taking part this year due to the financial problems and 65 % of the participants decided to decrease the exposition areas.

Continue Reading…

Indian Navy ships are gearing up for Exercise Varuna 2009 with the French Navy. Interestingly this exercise is going to be participated by the same Indian Navy ships after completing Konkan 2009 with the Royal Navy in U.K waters.

Some interesting features of Varuna 2009 are:

• is an annual bilateral exercise.
• to be conducted from June 27 to July 04, off the coasts of Brittany.
• participating ships from Indian Navy with their integral helicopters
  • INS Delhi (D 61), Indian built Delhi class destroyer
  • INS Brahmaputra (F 31), Indian built Brahmaputra class frigate (Type 16A)
  • INS Beas (F 37), Indian built Brahmaputra class frigate
  • INS Aditya (A 59), Indian built oil tanker
• participating ships from French Navy
  • Primauguet (D 644): Anti Sub-Marine (ASM) type F 70 Destroyer, with Lynx helicopter
  • Lieutenant de Vaisseau Le Hénaff (F 789): Avisos type A69 Frigate, specialized in ASM warfare in coastal waters
  • Casabianca (S 603): Submarine Nuclear Attack (SNA) type Rubis
  • Aircrafts: Maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique 2, Fighter aircraft Rafale Marine, Super Etendard Modernized (SEM) of naval aviation

Continue Reading…

Medals are presented ceremoniously in the parade ground. But for Petty Officer Andy Coulson, a Royal Navy diver it was something different. He received his medal underwater.

Some interesting features of this medal presentation are:

• Petty Officer Andy Coulson of Southern Diving Unit 2 (SDU2), received his 15 year Long Service and Good Conduct Medal underwater.
• The citation and medal was presented by his Officer in Charge SDU2, Lieutenant Simon Leightley at the bottom of a military outdoor swimming pool.
• Petty Officer Andy Coulson joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 as an Air Engineer Mechanic and he was transferred to the diving branch 11 years ago.

Here is the amazing photograph from the Royal Navy.

Continue Reading…

Young Vic Theatre of London has staged a play on Kursk Submarine Tragedy. K-141 Kursk, an Oscar II class Russian nuclear cruise missile submarine sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000. The reason for the accident is reported to be as torpedo explosion onboard and as a result all 118 crew perished despite rescue operations.

Some interesting features of the play Kursk by Young Vic are:

• Being played from June 03 to June 27 as a tribute to the victims of the submarine.
• Played at Young Vic, 66 The Cut, Waterloo, London SE1 8LZ.
• Ian Ashpitel plays as one of the crew, and is an ex-submariner himself.

Continue Reading…

A Panamanian ship and a Cambodian ship collided in the Tianjin Port anchorage in the eastern part of China on June 20.

Some information available from Chinese media regarding this collision are:

• The collision took place around 0325 hours.
• Ships collided are: Panamanian ship “Hong Kong movie star” and Cambodian ship “SO Fuk” (also reported as “Fu-Hsin Su”)
• Panamanian ship “Hong Kong movie star”
  • 269 metres long and 43 metres wide, bulk carrier
  • carrying 142,000 tons of iron ore
  • 25 crew members on board are Chinese nationals
  • due to collision the 150,000 ton ship was partially submerged
• Cambodian ship “SO Fuk”
  • 100,000 ton ship’s bow damaged
  • 146 metres long, 20.6 metres wide
  • carrying 14,550 tons of cargo

Continue Reading…

MV Captain Ali (IMO: 6619920), Mercy Mission ship is off Chennai Port for almost a week without any instructions.
Some developments on MV Captain Ali so far:

• The vessel carrying 884 tons of humanitarian aid of food, medicine, and other essential humanitarian relief items to Sri Lanka Tamils left Fos-Sur-Mer, France on May 07.
• On June 04, the vessel was intercepted by Sri Lanka Navy and taken to Colombo for investigations. During the search operations onboard, the Sri Lanka Navy did not find any lethal cargo. But, Sri Lanka denied permission to unload cargo saying that the vessel was not conforming to the International Ships and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.
• On June 09, the vessel was safely escorted to a distance of 100 nautical miles off Sri Lankan shores by Sri Lanka Navy.
• The vessel then headed to Chennai with the aim of unloading the cargo at Chennai Port.
• The vessel reached off Chennai Port on June 14, and it was reported that some crew members were sick and the vessel had acute shortage of drinking water.
• On June 19, the Tamil Nadu government requested the central government, to persuade Sri Lanka to permit the vessel to unload cargo in Sri Lanka.
• On June 20, Chennai Port supplied 200 litres of drinking water to the vessel.
• On June 22, the vessel was inspected by the Indian Navy/Coast Guard and after the inspection, the vessel was directed to move further away from Chennai Port without assigning any reasons.

Now MV Captain Ali is waiting for instructions from ship owner for further action.

Why MV Captain Ali is not getting any support from Sri Lanka ?

Continue Reading…

Indian Navy and the Royal Navy are conducting Exercise Konkan 2009 in U.K waters for the first time. Sea phase of Konkan, has commenced on June 20. Four exercises have been conducted so far since 2004.
Some interesting features of Konkan 2009 that commenced last week are:

• Conducted every year as a bilateral exercise to build maritime interoperability and mutual understanding.
• Indian Navy ships reached Portsmouth on June 17 to take part in the exercise.
• Indian Navy Ships participating in the exercise
  • INS Delhi (D 61), Indian built Delhi class destroyer
  • INS Brahmaputra (F 31) Indian built Brahmaputra class frigate (Type 16A), after goodwill visit to Israel.
  • INS Beas (F 37), Indian built Brahmaputra class frigate
  • INS Aditya (A 59), Indian built oil tanker
• Royal Navy Ships participating in the exercise along with an RAF Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft
  • HMS Westminster ( F 237), Type 23 Duke class frigate
  • HMS Northumberland (F 238), Type 23 Duke class frigate
  • HMS Trafalgar (S 107), Trafalgar Class (SSN) Fleet Submarine, nuclear powered
  • RFA Mounts Bay, Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) of Royal Fleet Auxiliary
  • RFA Fort Rosalie, Fleet Replenishment Ship

Continue Reading…

The Royal Thai Navy is doing a commendable job by protecting sea turtles at their Sea Turtle Conservation Center.

Some interesting features of sea turtles and Sea Turtle Conservation Center are:

• Sea Turtles
  • Khram Island is the nesting site for green sea turtles, where hundreds of sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs
  • Sea turtles in Thailand are being killed by humans for their meat, eggs and their shells which are considered precious
  • Also large number of sea turtles die by getting trapped in fishing nets during migration
  • To save the sea turtles, the Royal Thai Navy has Sea Turtle Conservation Center
• Sea Turtle Conservation Center
  • A research institute of Thai Navy at Sattahip with turtle breeding farms and nursery ponds
  • The eggs of sea turtles are identified by observing the softness of the sand and the eggs are then moved closer to the beach side for further nurturing
  • Eggs are kept inside sixty centimetre deep sand pits for hatching after noting down the number of eggs, the date of nesting and the expected birth date
  • After birth, the new born turtles are taken to tanks for a wash to remove the sand and then are provided with anti-fungus treatment to keep them healthy
  • For almost six months, the baby turtles are looked after and grown up turtles are then released into the sea
  • The center also provides valuable information on sea turtles through lectures, video presentation and exhibitions
  • The center is also opened to visitors

Continue Reading…

This weekend, Discovery Channel is going to reveal the real and untold story of Captain Richard Phillips’ rescue from Somali pirates in their exclusive show “Somali Pirate Takedown-The Real Story”. The show brings out the very real story of the heroic Navy SEAL actions, to finally free Captain Richard Phillips of  Maersk Alabama from Somali pirates in April.

You can

• hear the untold story of the dramatic hostage situation onboard MV Maersk Alabama.
• view the extraordinary measures taken by the U.S. Navy to free Captain Richard Phillips alive.
• see how the Navy SEALs pulled off three impossible shots to put a sudden end to a modern day pirate standoff.

When ?

• June 21, Sunday, 10:00 pm
• June 22, Monday, 1:00 am
• Jun 26, Friday, 7:00 pm

Continue Reading…

USS John McCain (DDG 56) is tracking a suspicious North Korean vessel Kang Nam I in the Pacific Ocean.

Some interesting features of North Korean Vessel Kang Nam I are:

• Kang Nam I, left a port in North Korea on June 17 and appears to be heading to Singapore.
• The vessel is suspected to be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials.
• This is in violation of U.N. Resolution 1874, that bans North Korea (DPRK – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) from exporting weapons, including missile parts and nuclear materials.
• Past record: In October 2006, the same vessel was detained in Hong Kong for proliferation activities.

However, as per the U.N. Resolution 1874, the vessel can not be inspected at sea without the consent of the vessel.

Unanimously adopting resolution 1874 (2009) under Chapter VII, the Council sharpened its weapons import-export ban on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea enacted in resolution 1718 (2006) ‑‑ which included armoured combat vehicles, large calibre artillery systems, attack helicopters, warships and missiles and spare parts ‑‑ by calling on States to inspect, seize and dispose of the items and by denying fuel or supplies to service the vessels carrying them.

The Council called on all States to cooperate with those inspections, and, if the flag State did not consent to inspection on the high seas, decided that that State should direct the vessel to proceed to an appropriate and convenient port for the required inspection by the local authorities.

Any Member State that undertook an inspection, or seized and disposed of such cargo, was required to promptly submit reports containing the details to the Committee monitoring the sanctions, and to report on any lack of cooperation of a flag State.

Continue Reading…

Fake drugs from China reach Chennai port, India through sea routes. Fake drugs in three consignments were seized at Chennai port in the second, third and last week of May. Traders in China had sourced spurious drugs and sent them to Indian importers for distribution in other Indian cities.

Some disturbing features of fake drugs from China reaching India through sea routes are:

• India’s 12 billion dollar pharma industry generates 40 per cent of its revenue from exports.
• To kill the Indian pharma industry, China’s two pronged strategy
  • directly supply fake drugs with “Made in India” labels in international market (recent seizure in Nigeria confirms this)
  • supply fake drugs to Indian pharma industry to ensure spurious drugs are manufactured in India
• Drugs are permitted to be imported in India through Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) only at
  • sea ports:
    • East Coast: Chennai, Kolkata
    • West Coast: Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Kochi, Kandla
  • airports: Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad
• Why Chennai Port ?
  • being shortest sea route from China
• Reason:
  • Traders who import from licensed drug manufacturers in China get only 5-7 per cent margin when they sell the commodity in India
  • If they import fake drugs, they get 15-20 per cent margin

Details of fake drugs seized in the month of May:

Continue Reading…