Humanitarian Relief News

A humanitarian aid flotilla destined for Gaza was halted after Guinea Bissau decided to remove its flag from two vessels, activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Saturday."The Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla's ships, one of which is our cargo ship," the activists said.The three-strong flotilla had been due to sail on Friday from ports in Turkey with more than 5…

Vigor Marine has been awarded a contract for a 93-calendar day shipyard availability for a mid-term availability of Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).The $21,198,656 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $21,711,746. Vigor was the sole bidder for the project.Work will be performed in Portland, Ore., beginning March 15, 2024, and is expected to be completed by June 15…

Israel is prepared to let ships deliver aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip "immediately" as part of a proposed sea corridor from Cyprus, the Israeli foreign minister said on Sunday, naming four European countries as potential participants.Under the arrangement first suggested by Nicosia in November, cargo would undergo security inspection in the Cypriot port of Larnaca before being ferried to the Gaza coast, 370 km (230 miles) away, rather than through neighbouring Egypt or Israel.If the plan goes ahead…

The president of Cyprus outlined a proposal on Thursday to open a maritime corridor to help deliver more aid to Gaza, a plan which he said could be operational quickly but which diplomats said faced challenges.Under the plan presented by President Nikos Christodoulides at a humanitarian conference in Paris, aid would be sent by sea to Gaza from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the closet European Union member state about 370 km (230 miles) away."We hope immediately to implement it…

Portland, Ore.-based Vigor Marine has been awarded a contract for a 90-calendar day shipyard availability for a mid-term availability of Military Sealift Command’s hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).The $20,187,816 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $20,915,538. Work will be performed in Portland, Ore., beginning January 16, 2023, and is expected to be completed by April 15, 2023.

Alabama Shipyard has secured a nearly $26 million contract for the regular overhaul and dry-docking of Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), the U.S. Department of Defense announced.The $25,964,083 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and 11 options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $28,535,957. The contract was a small business set-aside with proposals solicited via the Government Point of Entry website with two offers received, the Pentagon said.Work at the Mobile, Ala.

First steel was cut Thursday for the first of the UK Royal Navy’s five new Type 31 frigates, HMS Venturer.The historic ceremony took place at Babcock's factory in Rosyth, Scotland, where the Type 31 Inspiration class ships are being constructed."The frigates will be at the heart of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet, deterring aggression and maintaining the security of the UK’s interests as well as providing humanitarian relief when needed. The frigates will work alongside the UK’s Allies to deliver a warship presence across the globe and enable a forward naval presence…

Congress on Monday approved $390 million to fund construction of a fourth National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV). The state-of-the-art ship will be assigned to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston, serving as a training platform for future merchant mariners and offer a critical disaster resource in the Gulf Coast.Scheduled for delivery in 2025, the new NSMV for Texas A&M is the fourth in a series of five ships to replace the aging and outdated fleet of training vessels currently used by state maritime academies.

Gulf Copper and Manufacturing has been awarded a firm-fixed contract for a value is $7.49 million, including options, from Military Sealift Command for the mid-term availability repair on the hospital ship USNS Comfort.The work will be performed pier side in Norfolk, Va. commencing in February 2021.USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) is an 894-foot U.S. Navy Mercy class hospital ship used to provide on-site emergency and medical care for American combat forces as well as for disaster and humanitarian relief efforts.

New Zealand Navy's largest ever ship Aotearoa, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, is on its way to New Zealand, after Hyundai held a departure ceremony in its shipyard in South Korea on Wednesday.Ordered in 2016, the $493 million Aotearoa is an Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) vessel that will be used to support Royal New Zealand Navy’s combat operations, humanitarian relief functions, and operational and training support.The vessel is built according to the Rolls-Royce Environship concept design, with a wave-piercing bow which reduces resistance and lowers fuel burn.

Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine have laid the keel of a new littoral combat ship to commence the vessel’s construction.The future USS Nantucket, or LCS 27, underwent a keel-laying ceremony in Wisconsin where Polly Spencer, the ship’s sponsor, had her initials welded on the vessel’s keel plate, Lockheed said.As part of a ship-building tradition dating back centuries, a shipyard worker welded the initials of Polly Spencer, USS Nantucket ship sponsor and wife of U.S. Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer, into the ship's keel plate. This plate will be affixed to the ship and travel with Nantucket throughout its commissioned life."The USS Nantucket will confront many complex challenges," said Richard V. Spencer, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy.

Stunned residents of the Bahamas surveyed the wreckage of their homes and officials struggled to assess the number killed by Hurricane Dorian, as the storm bore down on the South Carolina coast, threatening record flooding on Thursday.The United Nations said 70,000 people in the Bahamas needed immediate humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.Aerial video of the worst-hit Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showed widespread devastation…

U.S. Navy’s Sealift Body Accepting OSVDPA DPO Certificates. The Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority, Inc. (OSVDPA) announced the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) is accepting OSVDPA DPO Certificates for mariners seeking employment by MSC. Dynamically positioned vessels are a growing part of MSC’s fleet and operations and are being utilized at a higher rate in recent years in an effort to conduct operations, often times dive and salvage operations, in a safer and more efficient manner. MSC currently has three DP-equipped vessels in its fleet, charters DP vessels from industry, and anticipates adding several more DP-equipped vessels in the coming years to aid in their operations.

William P. Doyle is the new CEO & Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA). Twice a U.S. Senate confirmed Presidential appointee to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), Doyle has, over the course of a long and celebrated career, worn many prestigious hats. Prior to his FMC appointment, Mr. Doyle served on cabinet and executive level boards and committees under both the Obama and George W. Bush Administrations. Before that, he served as an officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine as a U.S. Coast Guard licensed marine engineer aboard numerous classes of vessels.

If you want to book a plush river cruise vacation in America’s heartland – say on the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers – you can do it. The American Queen Steamboat Company’s website offers as many as 13 river cruises in 2018. Certainly, the ‘bourbon cruise,’ aboard the lavish American Duchess sounds like fun. Or, maybe next year you can sign up for the nine-day ‘Derby Cruise.’ And, next year means 2019 because the 2018 cruise is sold out. Maybe the most fun is that passengers themselves…

The Dredging Contactors of America’s (DCA) has selected the Honorable William P. Doyle, Sr. as its new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). William Doyle currently serves as a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission having been unanimously confirmed twice by the U.S. Senate as a Presidential Appointee, and remained onboard with the Administration of President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Doyle served over a decade as an officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine as an engineer aboard numerous classes of vessels. He is a licensed attorney and marine engineer. Combined, he has over 25 years of experience in transportation and maritime policy serving in senior level executive roles including Presidential appointee and previously chief-of-staff…

The U.S. Navy christened its newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, the future USS Indiana (SSN 789), during a ceremony Saturday, April 29, at Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Newport News, Va. Vice President Mike Pence, who previously served as the 50th governor of Indiana, delivered the ceremony's principal address. “[President Trump]sent me here today on this historic occasion as a sign of his deep commitment to the Armed Forces of the United States of America, and to his commitment to make the strongest fighting force in the world even stronger still,” Pence said.

The U.K. Royal Navy’s new 65,000-metric-ton aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest warship ever to be built in Britain, has been undergoing sea trials since setting sail from Scotland's Rosyth dockyard in June, and is now set to enter her new home in Portsmouth in around two weeks. The warship will be the latest in a long line of famous Royal Navy ships to call Portsmouth home, though the exact date of the historic moment is to be determined depending on weather conditions. The window for entry will open August 17, with her arrival expected no later than the August 22.

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was installing four cranes at three ports in Yemen to help boost humanitarian aid deliveries and was ready to assist with installing cranes at the key port of Hodeidah once it was under control of a neutral party. The Saudi mission to the United Nations said in a statement that the cranes were being installed at the ports of Aden, Mukalla and Al-Mokha - which are all under the control of a Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen. The coalition has said it was determined to help Yemen's government retake all areas of the country held by Houthi militia, including Hodeidah port, and would ensure alternative entry routes for badly needed food and medicine.

The amphibious assault ships USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) along with the Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are supporting the lead federal agency in providing humanitarian relief efforts for Hurricane Irma. Wasp, the first Navy platform to arrive in the vicinity of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is providing medium and heavy lift helicopters to transport people and supplies. Wasp's helicopters are conducting medical evacuations for intensive care patients from St. Thomas to St. Croix and conducting site assessments on the initial damage in St. Thomas. Wasp departed for Sasebo, Japan, Aug. 30, to assume duties as the forward-deployed flagship of the amphibious force of the U.S. 7th Fleet.

For more than 100 years the U.S. has depended on State Maritime Academies (SMA) to produce USCG licensed merchant officers. The SMA’s have also been an important source of U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard officers, as well as trained personnel for the maritime industry and electric power industries ashore. Key to training these future deck officers and engineers has been the annual sea cruise on dedicated training vessels. The current SMA training ships, all of which were built for other purposes and later converted to be training ships, are getting old.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations (AOO) Oct. 23, to conduct maritime security operations, theater security cooperation and port visits as part of the U.S. Navy's ongoing presence in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Theodore Roosevelt, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9, is joined by the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and the guided-missile destroyers USS Halsey (DDG 97), USS Preble (DDG 88) and USS Sampson (DDG 102). "Entering 7th Fleet is an exciting opportunity to integrate with other U.S. Navy units in the AOO, as well as operate with our partners and allies in the region," said Rear Adm.

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting against the Houthi movement in Yemen said on Wednesday it would allow aid access through the port of Hodeidah and United Nations flights to Sanaa airport. The coalition closed all air, land and sea access to Yemen earlier this month following the interception of a missile fired towards the Saudi capital. It said it had to stem the flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran, seen by Riyadh as the movement's main backers. Aid agencies warned the move would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen where the war has left an estimated seven million people facing famine. "The port of Hodeidah will be reopened to receive food aid and humanitarian relief…