Surface Search News

A workshop, organized by International Maritime Organization (IMO) in collaboration with the Pacific Community (SPC), aimed to promote ratification of the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979 (SAR Convention) in the region, was held (22-26 July) in Hawaii, United States. The 8th Regional Pacific SAR (PacSAR) Workshop was to identify gaps and promote common best practices in SAR services. A mass rescue operations sea and air search and rescue (SAR) exercise in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii  was just one key elements in the Workshop.Besides the practical MRO exercise, participants, including Pacific Island SAR administrators and coordinators…

The Indian Navy has widened its search operations for the missing crew members of the Pawan Hans helicopter  (C/s VT-PWA) which crashed off the Mumbai coast on Saturday. The helicopter with seven people on-board, including five Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) officers and two pilots, crashed off the Mumbai coast minutes after it took off for the state-owned company’s oil installation in the Arabian sea on Saturday. According to NDTV report, on the third day of search in the high seas, the rescuers located the last remaining body - of the missing pilot. Earlier the rescue teams of Indian Navy and the Coast Guard had recovered six bodies on Saturday, including the five ONGC deputy general managers who perished and one of the pilots. However, this is not officially confirmed.

OSI Maritime Systems said it has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to provide its Integrated Bridge and Navigation System (IBNS) for the U.S. Navy Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. “We are pleased to have signed this very important contract with Lockheed Martin. Over the years, OSI has built a strong business relationship with Lockheed Martin through the successful delivery of a number of projects for customers around the world,” said, Ken Kirkpatrick, OSI President and CEO. “The U.S. The system is designed for warships and conforms to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Class Rules for Navigational Integrated Bridge System (NIBS).

U.S. Navy and Japanese ships and aircraft are searching for a sailor reported missing from USS Shiloh (CG 67) about 180 miles east of Okinawa, June 8. USS Shiloh (CG 67) reported a man overboard at approximately 9:30 p.m. JST. The ship was conducting routine operations at the time of the incident. Multiple searches of the ship were conducted, but were unable to locate the sailor. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft from USS Shiloh, USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), as well as a P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, are conducting an airborne search while Shiloh, McCampbell, Reagan, USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) and Japanese Coast Guard Ship Kudaka conduct a surface search.

Images of remotely piloted aircraft soaring over a naval fleet might seem like an ultramodern picture. But unmanned aircraft are nothing new to the Fleet Air Arm, which has provided remotely piloted targets for gunnery practice since 1953. This started with the jet-powered Jindivik pilotless aircraft being used as a target, then for target towing before retirement in 1998. Sea Sparrow missiles were tested by firing at Kalkara aircraft, the Jindivik’s successor. Navy now has a different generation of remotely piloted aircraft in mind with fixed and rotary-wing maritime tactical unmanned air systems undergoing evaluation. The first of these is the ScanEagle…

Kelvin Hughes, a U.K. baesd designer and supplier of navigation and security surveillance systems, announced that it can now bring all the benefits of its SharpEye radar technology to submarines. Traditionally, submarines only use radar for navigation in and out of port because a high power RF transmission can compromise its ability to remain undetected. However, with its low power output – up to 300W as opposed to the 25kW of legacy submarine radar systems – SharpEye can reduce the probability of detection by ESM systems.

Kelvin Hughes is to supply its SharpEye S-band radar together with its new 12kW radar for 17 patrol boats currently being built at ARES Shipyard, Turkey for Qatar’s Coast and Borders Security Department. All the electronic equipment for the vessels - which include 24m, 34.5m and 48m versions of the ARES Shipyard Hercules series - will be supplied by Elektro Deniz of Turkey which has contracted Kelvin Hughes to provide the radar systems. The SharpEye S-band will be used for surface search and the 12kW radar for navigation.

Kelvin Hughes, a designer and supplier of navigation and security surveillance systems, announced the installation of its new SharpEye upmast radar system on four new vessels commissioned by the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The Damen Stan Patrol 5009 Coastal Patrol Vessels are all now fitted with a Kelvin Hughes Advanced Surveillance System incorporating a SharpEye X-Band radar, located upmast in a carbon composite housing with a stealth profile, as well as a tactical radar display.

In 2014, Forbes Associate Director for Maritime Services at Control Risks stated that maritime risks are on the rise. Mariners and ship owner/operators experienced a 26% spike in maritime piracy and armed robbery since 2014  and the North Sea Oil Industry admitted that it had been targeted and thwarted cyber attacks, attacks that if successful could have caused untold financial and logistical damage. •    Within the last decade, plans to attack a cruise ship in a major U.S. port were revealed. Maritime surveillance systems play a key role monitoring sea lanes and ports while supporting worldwide maritime safety and security. The ability to operate effectively and securely in any environment (air, land or sea) depends on an acute awareness and understanding of the surrounding elements.

U.S. Coast Guard crews from Southeastern New England conducted various evolutions with the Royal Canadian Navy to train and improve the inter-operability of the two nations’ militaries and surface search and rescue assets. Coast Guard Station Woods Hole, Station Provincetown, and Air Station Cape Cod and HMCS Summerside conducted homeland security, anti-terrorism, search and rescue, and medical evacuation operations. The training commenced in Buzzards Bay, Monday with a Coast Guard Station Woods Hole 29-foot Response Boat Small simulating a boat protesting against the Royal Canadian Navy. The attack vessel, represented by the Coast Guard small boat, approached HMCS Summerside prompting the ships crew to stand up their force protection measures to defend the ship.

USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) concluded their assistance efforts January 15 after contributing more than 650 search hours to the Indonesian-led search effort for AirAsia flight QZ8501, The U.S. Navy reported. Working in coordination with the Government of Indonesia, the U.S. 7th Fleet assigned USS Sampson and USS Fort Worth to the mission shortly after the December 28 crash. USS Sampson departed from Singapore December 29 and arrived on station in the Java Sea December 30.

The Critical Design Review (CDR) stage for AN/SPY-1 radar Solid-State Switch Assembly (SSSA)'s high voltage modulator completed Aug. 26, confirming that the design is expected to meet performance requirements. A CDR confirms the system is on track to achieve affordability and cost goals, and establishes the system's initial product baseline. The successful close-out of the CDR milestone means that the SSSA has achieved a high level of maturity, and is ready to start complete hardware design and system testing. SSSA is intended to replace the current vacuum tube modulator switches in the AN/SPY-1 radar transmitter with functionally similar, highly reliable solid-state switches. The AN/SPY-1 radar constitutes the primary air and surface search radar for the AEGIS Weapons System.

Some relatives of the more than 200 children missing in a sunken South Korean ferry offered DNA swabs on Saturday to help identify the dead as the rescue turned into a mission to recover the vessel and the bodies of those on board. The Sewol, carrying 476 passengers and crew, capsized on Wednesday on a journey from the port of Incheon to the southern holiday island of Jeju. Thirty-two people are known to have died. The 69-year-old captain, Lee Joon-seok, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday on charges of negligence along with two other crew members, including the third mate who was steering at the time of the capsize. Prosecutors later said the mate was steering the Sewol through the waters where it listed and capsized - for the first time in her career.

The U.S. Navy announced that its ship USS Kidd and MH-60R helicopters will detach from the MH370 search and rescue (SAR) effort as of March 18 after searching a combined 15,000 square miles of the Andaman Sea since March 10. The decision was made in consultation with Malaysia’s government, the U.S. Navy said in a news release. So far no debris or wreckage associated with the missing aircraft was found, the Navy said. "The dedication of this crew is amazing. 314 Sailors were out here operating for 24 hours a day…

Kelvin Hughes, a global supplier of surveillance and navigation systems, announced that it has recently supplied two SharpEye Solid State X Band surveillance radars to the Maryland Natural Resources Police (MPRP), to provide additional coverage around protected oyster beds. The SharpEye  radars are key sensors in the MNRP Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network (MLEIN), whose mission is to secure the 3,100 miles of Maryland coastline. The system was launched in the autumn of 2013, with the first detection of illegal activity taking place shortly after.

EU Naval Force Warship BNS Louise Marie Once Again Apprehends Suspect Pirates at Sea. Just 12 days after EU Naval Force warship BNS Louise Marie apprehended five suspect pirates at sea off the Somali Coast, the Belgium frigate has once again located a suspect skiff - this time with three men on board. The warship, which is operating as part of the European Union’s counter-piracy mission - Operation Atalanta, has maintained a constant sea watch during the past weeks in the waters off the Horn of Africa to help protect vessels from pirate attack.

RiverHawk Launches First-of-Class Advanced Multimission Platform (AMP) at Tampa Yard. RiverHawk Fast Sea Frames (RHFSF) has launched its signature Advanced Multimission Platform (AMP) at its shipyard in Tampa, Florida. Fully designed and built in the United States, the 145-foot coastal security craft was contracted 12 months ago by the U S Department of the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to Maritime Security Strategies (MSS) of Tampa, Florida. RiverHawk designed, produced and is outfitting the ship, scheduled for final delivery to NAVSEA in May.

The Aegis guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) departed Naval Base San Diego Nov. 29, for an independent seven-month deployment to the 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). The first ship to complete the DDG modernization (DDGMOD) midlife hull, mechanical, and electrical upgrade, John Paul Jones is a hallmark of both the platform and a successful maintenance program. The DDGMOD upgrade consisted of extensive changes through every compartment of the ship. Beginning in Spring 2010…

The newest Coast Guard vessel in Hawaii, the 87-ft. (26.5 m) patrol boat Kittiwake, was designed to venture out on the sea when the strength of other ships has failed, when the mystery of that ship and crew's limits has been solved. To the men and women of the 14th Coast Guard District and the hundreds of sailors the new vessel will rescue in the future, the arrival of the Kittiwake is a beautiful sight. Kittiwake was officially commissioned on June 30 during a ceremony held at Coast Guard Search and Rescue Detachment Kauai in Nawiliwili Harbor. Bollinger Shipyards built the $3.5 million Marine Protector Class Coastal Patrol Boat in Lockport, La. to replace the Coast Guard Cutter Point Evans, a Vietnam War-era, 82-ft.

1936-Ice breaking by the Coast Guard was authorized by Executive Order No. 7521. 1960- The tanker Pine Ridge, with 37 crewmen on board, reported it was breaking in two about 120 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Immediately, the Coast Guard dispatched aircraft and vessels to the scene and alerted nearby US Navy and merchant vessels. After the arrival of a Coast Guard UF-2G amphibian aircraft, the bow section of the Pine Ridge capsized, throwing some members of the crew overboard; the stern section, however, remained afloat and upright. Mountainous seas rebuffed every attempt of the tanker Artemis to rescue the seamen in the water.

The Navy took another step to increase ships' capabilities against asymmetric surface threats, as the Shipboard Protection System (SPS) completed its first pierside and underway test events aboard the USS Benfold (DDG 65) on Feb. 26. The SPS provides a ship’s commander with organic tools to rapidly assess emerging surface threats and defend against terrorist attacks like the one that severely damaged the USS Cole in 2000. Ultimately, most U.S. naval surface vessels will have an SPS to provide integrated anti-terrorism/force protection capabilities while operating in littoral waters including foreign or domestic ports, restricted waterways and coastal areas, where terrorists can pose a significant threat to naval vessels.

The Navy has completed a majority of its damage assessment of USS Port Royal (CG 73), which ran aground a half-mile off Honolulu Airport's Reef Runway Feb. The propeller blades, sonar dome and underwater hull were among items damaged on the 567 ft guided-missile cruiser. Critical systems -- such as the vertical launch cell hatches and other weapons systems, the AEGIS radar system, ballistic missile defense capability, surface-search radar, anchors, antennae and gas-turbine engines -- were not damaged.

1936-Ice breaking by the Coast Guard was authorized by Executive Order No. 7521. 1960- The tanker Pine Ridge, with 37 crewmen on board, reported it was breaking in two about 120 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Immediately, the Coast Guard dispatched aircraft and vessels to the scene and alerted nearby US Navy and merchant vessels. After the arrival of a Coast Guard UF-2G amphibian aircraft, the bow section of the Pine Ridge capsized, throwing some members of the crew overboard; the stern section, however, remained afloat and upright. Mountainous seas rebuffed every attempt of the tanker Artemis to rescue the seamen in the water.