Jungle Green (1964)

Jungle Green (1964). Documentary following 40 Commando, Royal Marines in Borneo during the Konfrontasi.

Summary of Southeast Asia piracy events 2011-2015

Summary of Southeast Asia piracy events to 7/22/2015.

2011
Attacks, Boardings, Kidnappings: 155
Hijackings: 24
Total: 179

2012
Attacks, Boardings, Kidnappings: 123
Hijackings: 6
Total: 129

2013
Attacks, Boardings, Kidnappings: 176
Hijackings: 7
Total: 183

2014
Attacks, Boardings, Kidnappings: 184
Hijackings: 16
Total: 200

2015 (to 7/22)
Attacks, Boardings, Kidnappings: 126
Hijackings: 12
Total: 138

Source: Office of Naval Intelligence.

Piracy reports 24-31 October, 2013

It appears to have been a quiet week in the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Guinea, but not so much in Asian waters.

On 30 October, an underway chemical tanker experienced a boarding approximately 2.5 nm southwest of Outer Tuna Bouy, Kandla Anchorage. During routine rounds, a duty crewman noticed intruders boarding the vessel near the amidships storeroom. He immediately informed the duty officer who raised the alarm and mustered the crew. Upon seeing the crew response, the intruders fled the scene with stolen ship’s stores. Kandla Port Trust relayed details of the incident to the local Coast Guard office.

On 30 October, an underway asphalt tanker experienced a boarding in position 01:21 N – 104:24 E near the Horsburgh Lighthouse, Straits of Singapore. Five robbers armed with guns and knives boarded the ship unnoticed. They took hostage the Officer of the Watch and duty crewman and tied their hands. The pirates stole personal belongings and cash from crew cabins before escaping.

On 28 October, an anchored container ship experienced a boarding at position 21:50 N – 091:38 E in the Chittagong Anchorage. A duty crewman noticed five to six intruders at the poop deck while conducting routine rounds. He immediately informed the bridge and the alarm was raised. Upon hearing the alarm, the boarders jumped overboard and escaped with ship’s stores in their unlit boat.

On 27 October, an anchored chemical tanker experienced a boarding near position 03:56 N – 098:45 E, Belawan Outer Anchorage, Indonesia. Three skiffs approached the ship from the stern, forward and amidships. From the aft skiff, three pirates boarded the vessel and stole ship’s property. The crew noticed the boarders and raised the alarm, resulting in the pirates escaping.

On 26 October, an underway chemical tanker experienced an attempted boarding near position 03:40 N – 103:55 E approximately 35 nm east-southeast of Kuantan Port, Malaysia. Two small craft approached the tanker and tried to come alongside while underway. The Duty Officer raised the alarm and mustered the crew. The Master activated the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS), switched on all the deck lights, and steered a course away from land. Seeing the crew response, the boats aborted the boarding and moved away.

Piracy reports 10-18 October 2013

Attempted Boarding by Somali Pirates
On 11 October at 0918 UTC, pirates in two skiffs fired upon the tanker Island Splendor and attempted a boarding approx. 237 nautical miles east of Hobyo, Somalia. The armed security team aboard the tanker fired flares and warning shots, whereupon the pirates returned fire with an automatic weapons. The security team engaged the pirates which resulted in the skiffs aborting the attack. BZ onboard security!

Hijack of Oil Tanker by Malay Pirates
On 10 October at 0530 local time, nine hijackers wearing masks and carrying weapons boarded the oil tanker Danai 4 while underway 20 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Aur, Malaysia. The hijackers took the crew hostage, destroyed all the communications equipment, and held the vessel until 15 October. They disembarked taking cargo (marine gas oil), cash and personal belongings. Thankfully no injuries reported.

Hijack of Bulk Carrier by Indonesian Pirates
On 10 October at 0315 local time, five hijackers boarded the bulk carrier Port Hainan at anchor at Muara Berau, Indonesia. The hijackers held one crew member hostage while they broke into storage and stole ship’s stores. The officer of the watch sounded the alarm and the crew mustered on the forecastle. After the hijackers saw the alerted crew, they left the ship and escaped. BZ to crew for swift action!

Source: US Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Marine OPINTEL Report

VIDEO: Jungle Green (1964)

“Even a 400-metre ship in a typhoon is at the mercy of the elements.”

She’s a big ‘un all right.

The biggest ship in the world

The Maersk ‘Triple-E’ container ship is the biggest vessel in the world. But what goes into building the ultimate engine of commerce?

Big, they say, is beautiful. Whether you apply that principle to cargo ships depends how much you like winches, grease stains and enormous, smoke-belching funnels. But, beautiful or not, the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller is a landmark in engineering.

A quarter-of-a-mile long, 195ft wide — equivalent to an eight-lane motorway — and 240ft high, the vessel, which began its maiden voyage earlier this month, is the biggest ship in the world.

Its sole purpose is to plough the trade route between Asia and Europe, bringing us millions of products manufactured in China, Malaysia and Korea, before returning, rather lighter, with exports from the West.

No ship has ever been able to carry so many goods in one journey; the Mc-Kinney Møller has room for 18,000 containers, each of them 20ft long, 8ft wide and 8ft high. That’s enough space for 36,000 cars or 111 million pairs of trainers. But Maersk, the ship’s Danish owner, will not just benefit from the economies of scale that spring from operating such a large vessel; it will also save money on petrol.

The ship has been designed to sail at an average of only 16 knots – a system known as “super slow steaming” – which is expected to save the company around £750,000 in fuel on a typical journey between Shanghai and Rotterdam.

It will still emit egregious amounts of pollution – cargo ships use a form of high-sulphur fuel, banned on land, that has been linked to cancer, heart disease and coastal erosion.

But, instead of burning 214 tons a day, the Mc-Kinney Møller will burn a slightly less-damaging 150 tons, which Maersk executives insist is a step in the right direction. The slow speed also reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

Over the next two years, Maersk is overseeing the construction of another 19 similar vessels, forming a class of ship it calls “Triple-E” dedicated to the Asia-Europe route.

The captain of the third Triple-E will be David Johnstone, from Wishaw, in Lanarkshire, a Harley-Davidson fanatic who has been skippering container ships for 24 years.

On the day I spoke to him he had just returned from Belfast where he’d visited an exhibition about another big ship – the Titanic.

Was that necessarily the best preparation for his new job?

Johnstone insisted it was. “The Titanic has fascinated me for 40-odd years. I’ve got books on the Titanic, I’ve got a 3ft print of the Titanic on my wall. I went to the exhibition with 40 other bikers and they thought it was hilarious to get me to pose in the souvenir shop with a captain’s hat.

“But, when it came to the exhibition itself, I went round on my own. The story reminds you that no ship is impregnable. Even a 400-metre ship in a typhoon is at the mercy of the elements.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/10203784/The-biggest-ship-in-the-world.html