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Indian Navy’s Milan 2010 a biennial meeting of navies from the Indian Ocean region/Asia-Pacific region commenced on February 05 at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The four day event is being participated by 12 navies from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam.

On this occasion, an international seminar on "Navies in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations" was also held on February 05.

Here is a photograph from Press Information Bureau.

Participants of the International Seminar on "Navies in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations" with the Lt. Governor of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Bhopender Singh and the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma.

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Here is an invitation dated November 24 to media from EUNAVFOR Somalia (Operation Atlanta) for a Media day at Taranto, Italy on December 01.

Invitation                                                                       Northwood, 24 November, 2009
Invitation for press to attend a Media day within European Union Naval Force – Operation Atalanta in Taranto (Italy) – Tue 01 December
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You are invited to attend a Media Day in Taranto (Italy) on Tuesday 01st December. The Media Day will take place in Taranto Naval Port on board of the Italian ship ITS ETNA. The ITS ETNA will soon become EU NAVFOR warship ETNA as she sails to the Gulf of Aden to take her place as Flagship of the Anti Piracy European Union Naval Force.

On Tuesday noon the Italian ship ITS ETNA under the Command of Commander CV Marco NOVELLA will sail from Taranto to join the EU Naval Force operating off the Somali coast in its Anti Piracy mission. It will replace as the new Flagship from the EU NAVFOR Dutch ship HNMS EVERTSEN.

Onboard the ship will be RAdm Giovanni GUMIERO who will take over the role of Force Commander in the middle of December in the Gulf of Aden.

Rear Admiral Thorsten Kaehler, the Deputy Operational Commander of EU NAVFOR based in the Headquarters in Northwood will say farewell to the latest member of the force to join the EU Anti Piracy mission.

Aim

The aim of the day is to give a limited number of media:

• Information about EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta and how the operation is conducted.
• Opportunities to talk to the EU NAVFOR Deputy Operational Commander, RAdm Thorsten Kaehler.
• Opportunities to talk to the EU NAVFOR designated Force Commander, RAdm Giovanni Gumiero.
• Opportunities to talk to the Commanding Officer of ITS ETNA, Commander Marco Novella.
• Opportunities to talk to a number of officers and crew.

Programme
The programme is scheduled to start at 0930 01 December and end at 1100.

• 0930 Media Arrival at Taranto Naval Base Main Gate.
• 1000 Start of Media event – Press conference (Short briefing – Questions & Answers).
• 1030 Coffee break.
• 1045 Interviews.
• 1100 End of Media event.

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Magnitude 8.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami on September 29 in Samoa Islands region. UNOSAT has released maps of post-disaster satellite imagery collected from September 30 to October 4 of likely building and vegetation damages caused by tsunami.Total 10 maps are available.

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Office bearers of CSI church in Royapettah have misused INR 7.5 crore in the pretext of providing tsunami (December 2004) relief in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
It is shocking to read a news report from The Times of India dated October 12 that highlights the following:

• CSI church in Royapettah received INR 17.63 crore from US-based NGO Episcopal Relief & Development to carry out rehabilitation of tsunami-affected people in Chennai.
• Misuse of INR 7.5 crores has come to light when the new office bearers of the CSI church approached Episcopal Relief & Development for more funds.
• Episcopal Relief & Development demanded details of tsunami relief provided with the money already given. The new office bearers of the CSI church could not get details of tsunami relief provided in Chennai by the previous office bearer Pauline.
• Now during an internal audit carried out by the CSI Church, irregularities were noticed and the CSI church approached Chennai police to investigate.
• Chennai police have
  • arrested a lady doctor Dr Benedicta and her nephew Robert Sunil on October 10 for allegedly siphoning out INR 7.5 crore.
  • also confiscated two luxury cars, valued at Rs 18 lakh each believed to have been purchased by the accused.
• A hunt is on by the Chennai police to trace Pauline and her husband Sathyamurthy who engaged their daughter Dr Benedicta and her nephew as Tsunami rehabilitation project consultants and paid them INR 80,000 to INR 90,000 per month as salary and other emoluments including luxury cars for official use.

Response from U.S. based NGO Episcopal Relief & Development:

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A tsunami as a result of a strong underwater earthquake in the South Pacific, in Samoa islands region on September 29 killed hundreds of people in several islands. Though every tsunami is a result of an ocean floor earth quake, every underwater earthquake does not trigger a tsunami. Tsunami with 3 metre high waves was observed at Apia, Western Samoa, Pago Pago and American Samoa.

Though earthquakes and subsequent warnings on possible tsunamis are issued by international agencies, the information takes long time to reach the likely victims. As a result loss of human lives are not minimized.

It seems in Samoa initially tsunami warning was issued and later withdrawn causing confusion to the general public about tsunami.

Stay up-to-date on earthquakes and tsunamis, by subscribing to get Earthquake Notification Service and Tsunami Warnings to your email account/mobile phone.

Here are the details available on Earthquake and subsequent Tsunami warnings of the Samoa islands:

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Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC) conducted a two-day seminar on Maritime Security and Development of A&N Islands at Military Station, Brichgunj on September 4-5. The  seminar was hosted to enhance and update the security aspects concerning the Andaman sea region. ANC the first integrated theatre command in India, with headquarters at Port Blair is commanded presently by VADM Vijay Sankar, PVSM, AVSM. ANC operates directly under the Chiefs Of Staff Committee (COSC).

The former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, while inaugurating the seminar unveiled a vision document for the strategic development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the year 2020 in two parts:

• Missions for Andaman and Nicobar Islands prosperity
  • Possibility of converting the volcanic Barren island for generating electricity which can be useful for the entire Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
  • Development of mechanized deep water fishing, fish processing, storage and marketing to enhance growth in this sector.
  • Development of tourism infrastructure both internal and external, through roadways, waterways and airways, on Build Own and Operate basis as in Maldives.
  • Setting up of Island PURA ((Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) with physical, electronic and knowledge connectivity.
  • Data on meteorology and sea state should be converted into meaningful information and provided to benefit the fishing community.
• Missions for security of Andaman & Nicobar Islands
  • All the Islands of India may be brought under a single independent operational command with adequate empowerment.
  • Setting up of a 250 MW dedicated nuclear power station on one of the islands for the development of the archipelago.
  • Setting up of a static aircraft carrier with dynamic warfare systems using 10 vacant Islands.
  • Setting up of a reliable communication system within the islands and with the mainland including tsunami forecast.
  • Setting up of a nuclear submarine based fleet as a core defence system for the entire region.

Vice Admiral Shankar pointed out that security and development are the two sides of the same coin and ANC will ensure that security and development is achieved while maintaining the ecological balance.
Here is the photograph (from Press Information Bureau) of the former President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam addressing at the inauguration of Seminar on Security and Development of Andaman and Nicobar, at Port Blair.

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Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is gearing up to provide forecasts for surface currents (speed and direction) of Indian Ocean from next year. A high computing system is being installed at INCOIS for this purpose. Presently  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. provides forecasts on ocean currents.
Some interesting features of INCOIS and Indian Ocean current forecasts are:

• INCOIS
  • is located at Hyderabad as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India
  • maintains Tsunami Warning System
  • provides: Potential Fishing Zone Advisories, Web Geographical Information Systems (GIS) interface, Ocean State Forecast, Value Added services to the shipping industry on payment
  • has Ocean Tutor, Ocean Calculator, Ocean Dictionary

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NEPTUNE Canada, the world’s largest cabled ocean observatory is nearing completion and is expected to be operational by September. This regional seafloor observatory is a project of Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a not-for-profit society created by the University of Victoria. ONC aims to build and sustain Canada’s world leadership in ocean science and technology.
Some interesting features of NEPTUNE Canada are:

• Acronym for: North East Pacific Time-Series Undersea Network Experiments.
• The underwater seafloor observatory is coming up, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
• This regional-scale underwater ocean observatory provides an opportunity to surf the seafloor through internet.
• Ocean scientists across the world, will be able to run offshore and deep-sea experiments and receive real-time data without leaving their laboratories and universities.
• The network, which extends across the Juan de Fuca plate, will gather live data from the seafloor instruments deployed in a broad spectrum of undersea environments.
• Data will be transmitted via high-speed fibre optic communications from the seafloor to an innovative data archival system at the University of Victoria.
• This system will provide free Internet access to an immense wealth of data, both live and archived throughout the life of the observatory.
• To remain operational for a minimum period of 25 years.
• Applications:
  • useful for broad studies on seismic and tsunami activity, ocean-climate interactions and their effects on fisheries, gas hydrate deposits, and seafloor ecology.
  • will also promote new developments in marine underwater technology: fibre-optic communications, power systems design, data management, and sensors and robotics.
• The University of Victoria, signed a contract with Alcatel to design, manufacture and install the infrastructure for NEPTUNE Canada’s cabled ocean observatory in October 2005.
• Cost: more than $100 million.

The system components:

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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

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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

Indian Navy commissioned INS Airavat, Landing Ship Tank (Large) designed for amphibious operations today, May 19.  In Hindu mythology, Airavat is the mount of God Indra, and is the king-god of elephants.

Some interesting features of INS Airavat, LST (L), (L 24) are:

• Commissioned by Admiral Sureesh Mehta, AVSM, PVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff at IN Jetty at Naval Base, Visakhapatnam.
• Constructed by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkota as Yard 3016.
• Launched by Mrs. Maria Teresa Mehta at Kolkota on March 27, 2006.
• An upgrade of the Magar Class, the First LST (L)) and is the fifth LST (L) of the Indian Navy and third of the Shardul class.
• The ship measures 125 meters in length, 17.5 meters in breadth and displaces 5655 tons.
• Equipment, capabilities
  • Two indigenous WM 18A Rocket Launchers
  • Chaff Rockets to clutter the sensory inputs of an incoming enemy aircraft or missile
  • Two indigenous CRN 91 Anti-Aircraft Guns auto-controlled by Optronic Sights
  • Shoulder launched IGLA Surface to Air Missiles
  • Microprocessor based anti-roll Flume Stabilisation System
  • Smoke Curtains to impede spreading of smoke and toxic gases in case of fire onboard
  • Can carry 10 Main Battle Tanks, 11 Combat Trucks and 500 Troops
  • Can operate Seaking 42C, indigenous Dhruv helicopters
  • Can operate independently at high seas for as long as 45 days
• Also has fully integrated, microprocessor based
  • Remote Propulsion Control
  • Battle Damage Control System
  • Automated Power Management System
• Suitable for
  • HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) missions during natural calamities like tsunami, cyclone, earthquake etc.
  • Amphibious operations
  • Assault operations
  • Hospital ship
  • Fleet Tanker through stern refueling of other naval vessels
• Most of the equipment supplied by PSUs like Bharat Electronics Medak, HAL, Keltron and private sector companies like Larsen and Toubro, Kirloskar,  Godrej.

Here are some commissioning photographs from Press Information Bureau.

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Situ Gintung Dam in Indonesia burst this morning (March 27, Friday) around 0200 local time, when people in the nearby area were sleeping without any option to flee. This has reminded the people of Indonesia, deadly Tsunami of December 26, 2004.

• due to heavy rains, the dam was full and collapsed.
• the flood waters swept settlement areas at Cirendeu, Ciputat, Tangerang, Banten province of Indonesia.
• the floodwaters reached a height of upto four metres.
• at least 50 people have drowned and the death toll is likely to increase.
• hundreds of homes are flooded.
• initially the residents heard loud noises as that of a powerful earthquake and later it was realized that the noises came from floodwaters coming from the dam burst.
• Search and rescue work is going on.

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Left handed seafarers, while writing with standard right handed pens 

• tilt the paper to different awkward angles.
• have illegible ’sloping’ writing styles.
• experience even muscular pain in their wrists.
• also young left-handers frequently confuse lowercase d’s and b’s, as well as their p’s and q’s.

Now ergonomically designed Swan Neck Pens are available to help them to write comfortably.

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The Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) is a new generation of cost effective wind turbine to produce electricity from wind power anywhere. Conventional wind turbines require wind speeds between 3 metres/sec and 28 metres/sec and are generally installed in coast line.

As MARS can operate between 1 metre/sec and in excess of 28 metres/sec, they can be installed anywhere. The only restriction is that MARS units may not operate in controlled airspace or within five miles of the boundary of any airport.

MARS has marine applications also to power up: island nations, offshore drilling stations, and barge mounted power stations.

Some of the interesting features of MARS are:

• a product of Magenn Power Inc. and commercial applications of 10 kW to 25 kW MARS units are expected to be in 2009/10. 
• is a lighter-than-air tethered wind turbine that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, generating electrical energy.
• this electrical energy is transferred down the tether for consumption, or to a set of batteries or the power grid.
• helium sustains the Magenn Air Rotor System, which ascends to an altitude as selected by the operator for the best winds.
• its rotation also generates the “Magnus” effect. This aerodynamic phenomenon provides additional lift to stabilize the MARS unit at a controlled and restricted location, at preset altitude without downward drift on its tether.
• is equipped with at least two deflate systems (Rapid Deflation Device) to bring the unit slowly and safely to the ground automatically if it escapes from its moorings.
• if the MARS unit “cut down” system does not function properly, it will immediately notify the nearest ATC facility of the location, time of escape and the estimated flight path of the balloon.
• is equipped with a radar reflective material that will present an echo to surface radar operating in the 200 MHz to 2700 MHz frequency range.
• units that operate over 150 feet will have a lighting system including individual lights that are placed every 50 feet on its tether. The lights will flash once per second.

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Indonesia has now a reliable German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS). The GITEWS is in operation from November 11. The necessity to have a reliable warning system was strongly felt after the December 26, 2004 tsunami that generated waves of up to 15 metres in height and even hit Somalia at a distance of about 4500 km from its epicenter near the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. In Banda Aceh province of Indonesia alone, more than 140,000 people died and in total approximately a quarter million people lost their lives in Indian Ocean Region.

Some of the interesting features of GITEWS are:

• This system is tailor made to suit Indonesia and differs from other Tsunami Early Warning Systems as it uses new scientific procedures and technologies.
• Should a tsunami occur in Indonesia, the waves, in an extreme case, will reach the coast within 20 minutes and only very little time remains to warn the areas at risk. This factor was taken as the prime consideration when developing the concept for the entire system.
• As more than 90% of all tsunamis result from strong earthquakes, the system uses SeisComP3 software programme to determine within two minutes, the location and the magnitude of an earthquake. The entire seismological network in Indonesia currently avails of over 120 stations. SeisComP3 software is also used in the Indian Tsunami Early Warning System. Further this software is also used in Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand and in South Africa.
• Also the system uses
  • Tide gauges integrated with GPS receivers to receive sea level data (vertical and horizontal displacement) from nine locations in the Indian Ocean.
  • GPS Buoys to work independently as measuring instruments for tsunami detection and as relay stations from planned 10 locations.
  • A new software TsunAWI to simulate and synthesize an overall picture of the situation by comparing with the data base.
  • Decision Support System (DSS) that compiles all available data, information and modeling flow to reach a decision on whether a tsunami warning is to be disseminated or not.
• On the basis of the available information, the responsible person on-duty in the Warning Centre can very quickly get an overview of the situation and generate suggestions to take a fast and reliable decision.

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