Post Office News

A Stella Maris chaplain is supporting crew onboard ships berthed at Felixstowe port amid the ongoing dockworkers strike.Julian Wong had gone on board the container vessel George Washington Bridge which arrived in Felixstowe on August 19 before the start of the strike, to meet the crew and left them his contact details in case they needed to get in touch.The ship was scheduled to leave the port on August 20, but its departure was delayed, so the crew had to stay on board. On August 24…

Svitzer Australia has welcome two new vessels to its fleet in 2019, as two UZMAR-built RAstar 3200 series tugboats begin the journey from Turkey to their respective home ports.A delivery ceremony was hosted by UZMAR on 12 March 2019 for the two tugboats, Svitzer Ruby and Svitzer Redhead.The 85-tonne bollard pull tug, Svitzer Ruby, will join Port Kembla in May 2019, and the 80-tonne bollard pull tug, Svitzer Redhead, will join the team in Fremantle in late April 2019.The vessels were designed by the reputable Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd.The two escort towage capable vessels feature render recovery winches, FiFi1 class notation for firefighting…

Like many boys, Charles. F. “Bud” Kirby, Jr. loved ships. He had drawings, models, pictures, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks. And, as his son, Don, recently learned, he had cachet covers of submarines.Bud would send stamped envelopes to the Electric Boat Company that he had addressed to himself in Watertown, Mass. These envelopes would be stamped with a commemorative cachet and then appropriately cancelled at Groton, Connecticut, where the EB shipyard was located, or on the ship if it had been commissioned.Each ship has its own post office, and its own cancellation stamp.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division lifted a 704-metric ton unit into Dry Dock 12, where the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is taking shape. The superlift is part of an improved build strategy implemented on the second ship of the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) class, resulting in superlifts erected at a higher state of outfitting completion. “For Kennedy, increased preoutfitting puts into practice one of many lessons learned from Gerald R. Ford,” said Mike Shawcross, Newport News’ vice president, CVN 79 construction.

1830 - The sloop of war USS Vincennes becomes the first US Navy warship to circle the globe when she returns to New York. She departs on Sept. 3, 1826, rounds Cape Horn and cruises the Pacific protecting American merchantmen and whalers until June 1829. 1880 - Congress authorizes the Office of Judge Advocate General. Vice Adm. Nanette M. Derenzi currently serves as the 42nd Judge Advocate General of the Navy. 1937 - Capt. Julius F. Hellweg commands the Navy detachment that observes a total eclipse of the sun.

After more than 92 years of operating from various locations in Wilmington, Calif., Nautilus International Holding Corp., along with its subsidiaries Metro Ports, Metro Cruise Services, Metro Shore Services and Metro Risk Management, is moving its headquarters into a new Long Beach facility on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. The new address is 3806 Worsham Ave., Long Beach, Calif., 90808. The post office box address is P.O. Box 93121, Long Beach, Calif., 90809-3121. General phone number is 310.816.6500310.816.6500 FREE. The new 40,000-square-foot headquarters is located on 2.57 acres at Pacific Pointe at Douglas Park. The company will shift approximately 65 executive and administrative personnel (with capacity to exceed 120) for the holding corporation and each of its subsidiaries.

Elmer A. Sperry casts a long shadow over the history of modern naval, nautical and aeronautical technology, one few people know much about, but should, for a man crowned both the “father of modern navigational technology” and “the father of automatic feedback and control systems,” as well as a pioneer of rocket and missile technology. “It is safe to say that no one American has contributed so much to our naval technical progress,” eulogized Charles Francis Adams III, Secretary of the Navy from 1929-1933, on the death of engineering genius Elmer Ambrose Sperry, June 16, 1930, at 69.

Having served as the editor of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News for more than 20 years, it is my running joke that Jim Rhodes, president, Rhodes Communications, Inc., is the first person I see at every trade show I attend, anywhere I attend, around the world. This, I think, is testament not to dumb luck, rather to Rhodes, who this month celebrates the 30th Anniversary of his self-named PR firm, as an astute and always-present PR machine. Rhodes Communications, Inc., an international public relations and marketing services company based in Norfolk, Va., celebrates its 30th year of business this month. Founded in 1983 by Jim Rhodes, the company originally focused primarily on the commercial and recreational segments of the marine industry.

1917- The French freighter Mont Blanc, loaded with 5,000 tons of high explosives, collided with the Norwegian steamer Imo in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The resulting fire detonated the munitions, killing 1,635 people and leveling much of Halifax and its environs. Coast Guardsmen from the CGC Morrill were landed to provide assistance. This disaster led to the creation of captains of the ports for the major U.S. ports. The Coast Guard was tasked with the new duty. 1918-Surfman L. E. Ashton of Station No. 305 in Nome, Alaska, departed his station with a dog sled and team loaded with medical supplies along with one other surfman on an expedition to assist natives who were suffering from influenza at Cape Prince of Wales, 160 miles from Nome and at villages between the two settlements.

1830 - Sloop-of-war Vincennes becomes first U.S. 1937 - Observation of total eclipse of the sun by U.S. Navy detachment commanded by CAPT J. F. Hellweg, USN, participating in the National Geographic Society - United States Navy Eclipse Expedition at Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, Pacific Ocean. USS Avocet was assigned to this expediton. 1958 - Navy and Post Office deliver first official missile mail when USS Barbero (SS-317) fired Regulus II missile with 3000 letters 100 miles east of Jacksonville, FL to Mayport, FL. 1960 - Helicopters from USS Yorktown (CVS-10) rescue 54 crewmen of British SS Shunlee, grounded on Pratus Reef in South China Sea.

1830 - Sloop-of-war Vincennes becomes first U.S. 1937 - Observation of total eclipse of the sun by U.S. Navy detachment commanded by CAPT J. F. Hellweg, USN, participating in the National Geographic Society - United States Navy Eclipse Expedition at Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, Pacific Ocean. USS Avocet was assigned to this expediton. 1958 - Navy and Post Office deliver first official missile mail when USS Barbero (SS-317) fired Regulus II missile with 3000 letters 100 miles east of Jacksonville, FL to Mayport, FL. 1960 - Helicopters from USS Yorktown (CVS-10) rescue 54 crewmen of British SS Shunlee, grounded on Pratus Reef in South China Sea.

VT Halter Marine Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems Inc., will relocate its corporate office to its Pascagoula Operations in Jackson County, Miss., effective July 1, 2004. VT Halter Marine currently owns six shipyards in Mississippi, two of which are fully operational. Boyd E. King, Chief Executive Officer stated, “With this move, VT Halter Marine will be more integrated and this will position the company for growth and future facilities expansion.” All of the Gulfport-based employees have been asked to relocate to the company’s Pascagoula or Moss Point operations. Executive Director George Freeland Jr. of the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation said…

Senator Schumer is calling for the installation of screening for persons disembarking from passenger ships in New York City. He wants the US-VISIT program to be instituted for such ships, including use of “fingerscanners”. US Senator Charles E. Schumer revealed that while Federal officials are pushing to close Madison Square Garden and the James A. Farley Post Office during the summer's Republican National Convention, they refuse to install their highly-touted new "fingerscanners" at Manhattan's Passenger Ship Terminal to check foreign visitors against terrorist watch lists, even though the Terminal is jut blocks away from the Convention.

I first went aboard the S.S. Michael Moran in the middle of August, 1944, while she was still in the shipyard in Portland, Me. where she was built. She was operated by Moore McCormack Lines, a company with whom I had sailed before. I signed on as Third Mate; this would be my fourth Liberty Ship. From Portland we sailed down to Boston where we loaded military cargo for a destination unknown. Most of the crew were down-easters. Capt. George Blanthorn was Master, a real gentleman with a good sense of humor. The First Mate was a Mr. Marshall, an older man who had flown with the French Escadrill in WWI. The Second Mate was Mr. Pease. I can still picture some of the rest of the crew; the Radio Operator and some of the engineers; but, I have long since forgotten their names.

What's in a name? Quite a bit if you're talking about China-Taiwan relations, reports the China Post. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and is deeply suspicious of any move that downplays the island's cultural and historical ties to China or suggests the island is an independent entity. The two sides split in 1949 when the Nationalists were forced to flee China after a protracted civil war. Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party headed by embattled President Chen Shui-bian, however, favors a stronger Taiwanese identity. On Monday, Chunghwa Post, the island's postal service, became Taiwan Post Co., a move the government said was necessary to distinguish it from the Mainland's China Post. "Chunghwa" is another term for China.