Tigers News

INS Viraat, the world’s oldest aircraft carrier and the flag ship of the Indian Navy, was decommissioned on Monday after serving for 30 years in the Indian Navy. INS Viraat holds the world record as mentioned in the Guinness Book of records for being the longest serving warship of the world. INS Viraat, the second Centaur-Class aircraft carrier in service which has spent 30 years in the Indian Navy and 27 years in the Royal Navy, was decommissioned on the day, in a solemn yet grand ceremony at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. The decommissioning ceremony was attended by more than 1300 personnel who have served on board INS Viraat. Admiral Sir Philip Jones…

HMAS Canberra has achieved another aviation milestone embarking two Army Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters for the first time. The two Tigers, will join two MRH-90 Taipan medium lift helicopters and one MH-60R Seahawk conducting first of class flight trials onboard the amphibious giant over the next six weeks. The trials are designed to find the safe operating limits of the helicopters during a variety of weather conditions, according to Lieutenant Grant Thaler, who will oversee the trials. Lieutenant Thaler is a Flight Test Engineer from the Navy's Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit, based at HMAS Albatross, in Nowra. “I am looking forward to seeing just what we can achieve,” Lieutenant Thaler said.

Blackmer, a company in positive displacement and centrifugal pump and reciprocating compressor technologies, has a relationship with the U.S. Military that dates back to 1914 when it became an official equipment supplier to the Armed Forces. One of the more significant contracts Blackmer has earned was awarded in 2007 when the U.S. Navy selected the company to supply sliding vane pumps for use on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which would be the lead ship in a new class of supercarriers used for crisis response and early decisive striking power in major combat operations. The USS Gerald R.

Virginia-based company Lumber Liquidators was sentenced today to $13.2 million in fines and forfeitures for importing illegal wood and submitting false declarations under the Lacey Act, a conservation law that makes it a crime to import plants and animals taken in violation of state and foreign law. In addition, the company has been placed on a five-year probation, during which it must implement a strict environmental compliance plan. In October 2015, after a two-year investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the flooring retailer pleaded guilty to smuggling illegal wood, including one criminal felony of entry of goods by means of false statements and four misdemeanor counts of violating the Lacey Act.

China is investigating the former chairman of Ningbo Port Group, manager of one of the world's busiest ports, the country's top graft-busting body said, naming the latest target of an anti-corruption drive ordered by President Xi Jinping. Xu Huajiang, who resigned from the firm last month, is being investigated on "suspicion of serious violations of the law", according to a brief statement by China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on its website on Monday. In China, "serious violations of the law" usually connotes graft. The CCDI did not provide additional details. Ningbo Port is the world's sixth busiest based on 2013 container throughput volume, according to the World Shipping Council.

Port of Hueneme Board President Mary Anne Rooney reported to the World Affairs Council (WAC) of the Central Coast on the national leadership mission to Taiwan ROC she attended with 9 other WAC representatives representing New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Washington, DC. “It was an honor and privilege to represent the United States on this leadership mission and I developed valuable insights about Taiwan,” Rooney said. The…

Foss Maritime announced the addition of two tractor tugs to its Columbia River fleet, which will give the company more resources to serve a growing customer base at regional port facilities. The first of these 4,400-horsepower tugs will begin river operations as early as November. Captain Dustin Johnson, Regional Operations Manager, Columbia Snake River, added, "Existing grain and port facilities are experiencing new levels of business - and there are several development projects along both the Columbia and the Snake that are in various stages of approval.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group has announced the delivery of the HARVEY SUPPORTER, the first of three (3) 292 ft. Tiger Shark Class Offshore Support Vessels for Harvey Gulf International Marine, LLC. The HARVEY SUPPORTER is an STX Marine design featuring a DP II SOLAS-classed AC diesel-electric, twin Z-drive Offshore Support Vessel measuring 292’ X 64’ X 24’-6”. Power and propulsion systems, controls, automation, etc. are provided by the system integrator, Converteam, Inc. This high-tech vessel features four Cummins QSK60-DM 16-cylinder turbo-charged Tier II diesel generator engines that are rated 1825 Kw at 1,800 rpm. Main propulsion is provided by two Schottel SRP 2020 FP Z-drives with nozzles rated at 2,500 Kw at 1,025 rpm each for a total of 6,704 hp.

Sri Lanka's new pounds Sterling 226 million deep sea port at Magampura harbor, Hambantota, on the south coast of the island has been officially opened with the ceremonial docking of the first vessel to use the port facilities. In a ceremony presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as part of the week-long festivities surrounding his official inauguration for his second term in office, a traditional sailing yacht, Pradeepa 2, dropped anchor in Hambantota's Magampura harbor. She received a traditionally warm and colorful Sri Lankan welcome from the huge crowds gathered on the waterfront and quaysides. Pradeepa 2 was chosen in recognition of Sri Lanka's age old role as a key stopping point on the ancient east-west silk trading route.

The events of September 11 have changed the world forever. The effects of terrorism are now being felt in all industries and all corners of the world. However, terrorism is not as new to the shipping industry as it is to many other industries. Maritime Terrorism and piracy have been a concern of mariners forever. However, the modern pirate is much more sophisticated and far more violent. On October 30 the Tamil Tiger's Maritime branch, the Sea Tigers attacked The M.T. Silk Pride with a suicide bombing attack at sea off the northern tip of Sri Lanka, similar to the attack against the U.S.S. Cole. Many believe ships will be the next form of transportation used to facilitate the next mass casualty attack.

For those who are curious about the undersea world but don't want to plunge beneath the waves, there is a safe and dry way to enjoy Neptune's realm. Images of the stunning marine life around the Aliwal Shoal off South Africa's east coast are being beamed onto the Internet for a virtual dive safari via an underwater camera attached to the wreck of a Norwegian ship. The web site can be found on www.africam.com - a site that also offers "virtual safaris" through cameras set up in several South African game parks. "This is the first marine camera of its kind...It gives us an eye on the world that we've never had before," said Mark Addison, a diver responsible for the camera's maintenance.

Sri Lankan forces sank two suspected Tamil Tiger rebel boats off the northeast coast on Saturday, the navy said. A flotilla of rebel attack boats including a suicide craft was intercepted by the Sri Lankan navy while it was headed towards Chalai, a naval statement said. "During the confrontation one enemy log craft and one attack craft was destroyed," an official said. It said the rebels brought in more boats as reinforcements but these were successfully beaten back. There was no comment from the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the incident. A military official in the country's northeastern Trincomalee district said some fishing boats might also have been caught in the crossfire.

The Sri Lanka navy sank two Tamil rebel boats in a pre-dawn skirmish on Wednesday in waters off the country's northern Jaffna peninsula, military officials said. They said a navy patrol ran into a cargo convoy of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) near Jaffna's Point Pedro harbor. "Two of the boats blew up and sank when the navy opened fire, a clear indication that they were transporting explosives," a military spokesman. He said two other rebel craft were also badly damaged, but he could not confirm whether they had sunk. He did say however, that the navy patrol had returned to port without any casualties or damage. The LTTE…

Maritime Administrator Captain William G. Schubert thanked the U.S. Department of the Army for its recent decision to allow military funeral honors at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. merchant marine veterans of World War II. “The decision of your agency to allow merchant mariners to be inurned at Arlington is a salute to these patriotic seafarers for their heroic contributions to this country,” Schubert said in a letter to Reginald J. brown, assistant secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Schubert pointed out that each year, on or around National Maritime Day, May 22, the Maritime Administration sponsors a Merchant Marine Memorial Service, which honors American seafarers who lost their lives in service to their country.

The US Navy has again sought berthing and access facilities at Indian ports, a top US commander said yesterday. US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael G. Mullen also expressed happiness over the very supportive response to his concept of a thousand ship navy collaboration between seafaring nations. At a press conference he pointed to the threat posed by the naval wing of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers and expressed concern at the growing clout of the Chinese navy. Source: GulfNews

Sri Lanka Navy thwarted Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militant attacks and saved the lives of 854 unarmed soldiers, who traveled from Kankesanthurai to Trincomalee in a passenger vessel on August 1. According to report Sri Lanka Naval sea unit confronted a cluster of LTTE suicide boats at the harbor entrance of Trincomalee. Naval sources confirmed that the passenger vessel has been navigated to a distance safely into the international waters and no casualties were caused during the confrontation. Three boats carrying the LTTE militants were destroyed in the attack. Several other LTTE boats were also damaged. The number of casualties due to the artillery attack at the Trincomalee harbor area is yet to be known.