Samar News

A privately funded mission has found, surveyed and filmed the USS Johnston, the world’s deepest known shipwreck, offshore Samar Island in the Philippines Sea.The expedition was backed by Victor Vescovo, is an entrepreneur, explorer and retired U.S. Navy Commander who personally piloted his submersible DSV Limiting Factor down to the wreck during two separate, eight-hour dives 21,180 feet (6,456 meters) below the ocean's surface. These constituted the deepest wreck dives, manned or unmanned…

The chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Saturday warned against the risk of a disaster at the country's oil ports due to a growing military presence with storage tanks held at capacity for months due to a blockade."Oil ports are closed, exporting is halted.

Egypt confirmed 33 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday on a River Nile cruise ship.None of the new cases were showing symptoms of the virus, Health Minister Hala Zayed told reporters. Of 12 suspected cases among the crew announced on Friday, 11 tested negative, she said, but would nevertheless be quarantined for two weeks.Tourism is a key sector in Egypt’s economy and an important source of foreign exchange. It has recently recovered after years of disruption after Egypt’s 2011 uprising.The ship arrived in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on Thursday from Aswan…

A powerful typhoon roared into the eastern Philippines on Saturday, bringing lashing rain and strong winds that felled trees, ripped off tin roofs and toppled power lines in areas still bearing the scars of a super typhoon 13 months ago. About 1 million people had already fled to shelters by the time Typhoon Hagupit made landfall, in what a U.N. agency said was one of the world's biggest peacetime evacuations. As the storm barrelled in from the Pacific, power was cut across most of the central island of Samar and nearby Leyte province, including Tacloban City, considered ground zero of the devastating super typhoon Haiyan last year. "The wind is blowing so strongly, it's like it is whirling," Mabel Evardone, an official of the coastal town of Sulat in Eastern Samar, said on local radio.

Rammasun hits eastern Rapu-Rapu island, heads towards Manila; Strongest storm after last year's Haiyan. Thousands evacuated from coastal villages. Thousands of people in the Philippines fled from their homes on Tuesday as the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year made landfall, toppling trees and cutting power as it made its way straight towards the capital, Manila. Parts of the Philippines are still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the biggest cyclones known to have made landfall anywhere, which killed more than 6,100 people last year, many in tsunami-like sea surges, and left millions homeless. Typhoon Rammasun, with gusts of up to 160 kph (99 mph) and sustained winds of 130 kph (81 mph) near its centre…

Football fever is so intense in Brazil, the host of the World Cup soccer tournament, that even the main shipping ports in the commodity-exporting powerhouse are shutting down when the national team plays. In Paranagua, Brazil's No. 2 soy exporting port, the dock workers' union negotiated an ordinance that lets them stop working an hour before the match and resume work an hour afterward for a total of around four hours to relax and watch the Brazilian team. "This is unprecedented…

Today in U.S. 1902 - Admiral of the Navy George Dewey receives orders to send his battleship to Trinidad and then to Venezuela to make sure that Great Britain's and Germany's dispute with Venezuela was settled by peaceful arbitration not force. 1944 - Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet encounters typhoon northeast of Samar. Destroyers USS Hull, USS Monaghan and USS Spence sink, while 21 other ships are damaged. 1965 - River Patrol Force established in Vietnam. 1965 - Helicopters from HS-11 on USS Wasp (CVS-18) pick up crew and capsule of Gemini 7…

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's hospital ship, the 'Peace Ark', has set sail for a typhoon relief mission to the Philippines, reports Xinhua. The 300-bed ship with eight operating rooms sounded its horn as it set off from a navy port on Zhoushan island in east China's Zhejiang Province, and is expected to take three days to reach the devastated Samar Province in the Philippines. The medical team will conduct first aid and outpatient treatment and perform surgery and epidemic prevention.

The Philippines' Ports Authority has resumed full commercial operations at the port of Tacloban which was closed for about 12 days after Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) struck. The Ports Authority and International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) worked round-the-clock to restart operations at the port, which is expected to become the relief hub. Cargo handling equipment from ICTSI to help temporarily run the port of Tacloban until it recovers from damage caused by the storm is due to arrive today.

In the small village of Guiuan, located in Eastern Samar province, villagers lined up outside the gate of a runway awaiting food, water and medical supplies to be delivered by helicopters from the 'George Washington Strike Group' (GWSG) in support of Operation Damayan. Guiuan was heavily affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which clocked winds up to 195 miles per hour (mph) with gusts up to 235 mph. Houses that were once big and colorful, are now gray and battered. Uprooted palm trees are now makeshift shelters, and water faucets are now showers.

Today in U.S. 1812 - USS United States (Capt. Stephen Decatur) captures HMS Macedonian. 1924 - Airship, USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), completes round trip transcontinental cruise that began on October 7. 1944 - During Battle of Leyte Gulf in Battle of Surigao Straits, U.S. battleships execute the maneuver of "crossing the tee" of the Japanese forces. In Battle Off Samar, escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts heroically resist attacks of Japanese Center Force. In Battle Off Cape Engano, 3rd Fleet carriers attack Japanese Northern Force sinking several small carriers.

1812 - USS United States (CAPT Stephen Decatur) captures HMS Macedonian. 1924 - Airship, USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), completes round trip transcontinental cruise that began on 7 October. 1944 - During Battle of Leyte Gulf in Battle of Surigao Straits, U.S. battleships execute the maneuver of "crossing the tee" of the Japanese forces. In Battle Off Samar, escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts heroically resist attacks of Japanese Center Force. In Battle Off Cape Engano, 3rd Fleet carriers attack Japanese Northern Force sinking several small carriers. 1950 - Chinese Communist Forces launch first offensive in Korea. 1966 - Operation Sea Dragon logistics interdiction began. 1983 - U.S. Marines and U.S. Army troops land on Grenada to evacuate U.S.

1902 - Admiral of the Navy George Dewey receives orders to send his battleship to Trinidad and then to Venezuela to make sure that Great Britain's and Germany's dispute with Venezuela was settled by peaceful arbitration not force. 1944 - Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet encounters typhoon northeast of Samar. Destroyers USS Hull, USS Monaghan and USS Spence sink, while 21 other ships are damaged. 1965 - River Patrol Force established in Vietnam. 1965 - Helicopters from HS-11 on USS Wasp (CVS-18) pick up crew and capsule of Gemini 7, after picking up the crew and capsule of Gemini 6 two days earlier. 1967 - Operation Preakness II begins in Mekong Delta. 1972 - Mining and bombing of North Vietnam resumes with Linebacker II Operation. (Source: Navy News Service)

1902 - Admiral of the Navy George Dewey receives orders to send his battleship to Trinidad and then to Venezuela to make sure that Great Britain's and Germany's dispute with Venezuela was settled by peaceful arbitration not force. 1944 - Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet encounters typhoon northeast of Samar. Destroyers USS Hull, USS Monaghan and USS Spence sink, while 21 other ships are damaged. 1965 - River Patrol Force established in Vietnam. 1965 - Helicopters from HS-11 on USS Wasp (CVS-18) pick up crew and capsule of Gemini 7, after picking up the crew and capsule of Gemini 6 two days earlier. 1967 - Operation Preakness II begins in Mekong Delta. 1972 - Mining and bombing of North Vietnam resumes with Linebacker II Operation. (Source: Navy News Service)

1812 - USS United States (CAPT Stephen Decatur) captures HMS Macedonian. 1924 - Airship, USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), completes round trip transcontinental cruise that began on 7 October. 1944 - During Battle of Leyte Gulf in Battle of Surigao Straits, U.S. battleships execute the maneuver of "crossing the tee" of the Japanese forces. In Battle Off Samar, escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts heroically resist attacks of Japanese Center Force. In Battle Off Cape Engano, 3rd Fleet carriers attack Japanese Northern Force sinking several small carriers. 1950 - Chinese Communist Forces launch first offensive in . 1966 - Dragon logistics interdiction began. 1983 - U.S. Marines and U.S. Army troops land on to evacuate citizens threatened by the island's unstable political situation.

October 25, 1812 - USS United States (CAPT Stephen Decatur) captures HMS Macedonian. 1924 - Airship, USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), completes round trip transcontinental cruise that began on 7 October. 1944 - During Battle of Leyte Gulf in Battle of Surigao Straits, U.S. battleships execute the maneuver of "crossing the tee" of the Japanese forces. In Battle Off Samar, escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts heroically resist attacks of Japanese Center Force. In Battle Off Cape Engano, 3rd Fleet carriers attack Japanese Northern Force sinking several small carriers. 1950 - Chinese Communist Forces launch first offensive in Korea. 1966 - Operation Sea Dragon logistics interdiction began. 1983 - U.S. Marines and U.S. Army troops land on Grenada to evacuate U.S.

A cargo vessel carrying about 17,000 bags of rice and 22 people sank off the Cebu Harbor on March 11 after colliding with another vessel, the Philippine Coast Guard said. The MV Premship-X sank near the North Entrance of the Cebu Harbor, or about 1.5 nautical miles of the PKS Shipyard in Tayud, Consolacion, after colliding with the MV Mijara II about 6:00 p.m., according to a report from the Coast Guard. All four officers and 18 crewmembers of the vessel were saved, with the MV Mijara II helping in the rescue operations. According to the Coast Guard, the incident occurred while the MV Premship-X was on its way to Catbalogan, Eastern Samar. The MV Mijara II, on the other hand, was on its way to the PKS shipyard for minor repairs. (Source: Inq7.net)

1812 - USS United States (Capt. Stephen Decatur) captures HMS Macedonian. 1924 - Airship USS Shenandoah (ZR 1) completes round-trip transcontinental cruise that began Oct. 1944 - During Battle of Leyte Gulf in Battle of Surigao Straits, U.S. battleships execute the maneuver of "crossing the tee" of the Japanese forces. In Battle Off Samar, escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts heroically resist attacks of Japanese Center Force. In Battle Off Cape Engano, 3rd Fleet carriers attack Japanese Northern Force, sinking several small carriers. 1950 - Chinese Communist Forces launch first offensive in Korea. 1966 - Operation Sea Dragon logistics interdiction began. 1983 - U.S. Marine and Army troops land on Grenada to evacuate U.S.