Navy Diver News

Indonesian teams searching a lake for a sunken ferry in the hope of recovering nearly 200 bodies trapped inside have to contend with dangerous currents and cold, murky water far deeper than any scuba diver can ever go.The over-loaded ferry Sinar Bangun sank in bad weather in Lake Toba on Sumatra island on Monday. The lake, in the crater of an ancient supervolcano, is ringed by steeply sloping mountains, and is about 450 meters (1,500 feet) deep.Three people have been confirmed…

With their main role of conducting amphibious operations, San Antonio-class ships have unique capabilities that make them an ideal partner to support NASA's mission. One of the more important capabilities is the ship's ability to recover the test capsule using the ship's well deck, which was designed to launch and recover amphibious craft. Anchorage also has the ability to carry and deploy multiple small boats to aid in the recovery process of the capsule and contains an advanced medical facility ideal for treating the returning astronauts. URT-6 consisted of releasing the test capsule from the well deck, then carefully maneuvering the ship alongside the capsule at slow speed. Once the test article was far enough from the ship, the lines attaching the capsule to the ship were released.

An eight-member team from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 onboard USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) is supporting the ongoing Indonesian-led search effort for AirAsia flight QZ8501 with advanced Tow Fish side scan sonar systems capable of providing high-resolution images of the ocean floor. The Tow Fish side scan sonar system is used to identify objects on the seafloor and provide accurate imagery for analysis. The sonar carries a passive listening device for detecting an acoustic pulse and is towed behind a vessel between 1-5 knots.

The Miami-based ocean engineering and naval architecture firm of Henderson & Associates, Inc. has merged with Sea3 Systems, Inc. to form Henderson, Hanes & Associates, a full-service engineering firm that brings underwater intervention and project management services to the global marine industry. The new firm, headed by Shawn Henderson, P.E. and Dan Hanes, P.E., both of South Florida, draws on the deep experience base of its founders and specializes in quick turnaround refit and repair projects that may span multiple technical disciplines and trades. Shawn Henderson, P.E., a former Navy Diver who served active duty during the Gulf War and with over 20 years of underwater experience, has spearheaded complex, multifaceted industrial projects around the country.

When Joseph H. Pyne joined Dixie Carriers in 1978, little did he know the maritime juggernaut he would help to create. When he took over as president in 1984, the company owned about 20 boats and 50 barges, with a value of about $35m. Today, after nearly 30 years, 50 acquisitions, it has a market cap well in excess of $4B, and its fleet hovers around 350 boats and 950 barges, commanding approximately 35% of the U.S. market. Joseph H. Pyne, 65, recently spent some time with Maritime…

Joe Farrell needs no introduction to the marine salvage community or, for that matter, MarineNews readers. Originally from the Boston, Mass., area, he began by enlisting in the United States Coast Guard, eventually attending the U.S. Navy diver school, becoming a ship’s diver. After two years at sea and diving in Arctic waters, he volunteered for service and became an explosives advisor, offloading ammunition ships in Vietnam. Eventually, Farrell became a civilian diver at the U.S.

A command investigation into the death of a Guam-based U.S. Navy Sailor has determined the death to be the result of accidental drowning while free diving. Navy Diver 3rd Class Robert Dotzler, 22, of Kiel, Wis., was assigned to the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) when he died June 19 following a dive operation at Alpha Pier on U.S. Naval Base Guam. Dotzler was discovered unconscious in the water and was transported to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam where he was pronounced dead at 11:27 a.m. Characterizing Dotzler's death as "tragic," the investigation concluded that his death was accidental and occurred in the line of duty. In concluding his endorsement of the investigation, Frank Cable's Commanding Officer, Capt. Nelson P.

T&T Salvage recruited three salvage professionals, Lee Hiok Liang, Alex Ang Yew Boon, and Hussain Shah, for its Singapore base. Lee Hiok Liang joins as a naval architect from a diverse background of twenty years of experience in the marine industry. Lee joins from Royal Boskalis, where he was a Senior Project Engineer. In this role he was actively involved in the construction of new dredging vessels, modification and upgrade supervision to ensure compliance with technical and quality standards.

Units of the U.S. Navy Northern Command continues to work closely with civil authorites in Sandy clear up operations. Continue to clear debris from NJ Barrier Islands. Continue to provide afloat staging base and support to USCG District 1. Continue to rebuild Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook. Continue dewatering [or pumping out] of Rockaway Beach, NY, and Brooklyn public housing. Continued support by NMCB-11 and CRS-4 at Hoboken Ferry Terminal Port Authority. NECC’s Fleet Survey Team will go ashore in order to complete tasking in Jamaica Bay.

A number of archaeological groups and marine service companies are acquiring boat-towed metal detectors to assist in locating shipwrecks and to perform geophysical surveys. These devices can locate a variety of targets including the piles of magnetic ballast stones found on many old wrecks, gold and silver bars, cannons, anchors, pipelines, cables, and various metal debris which must be removed from an area before dredging. The two primary pieces of equipment used in these operations are a magnetometer and pulse induction (PI) metal detectors.

Sailors of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, based out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 Platoon 501 based out of Sasebo, Japan, are diving in the Yellow Sea in support of the recovery and salvage of the Republic of Korea Ship (ROK) Cheonan. "We're here to offer all the help we can. We're ready to step in anytime and dive or assist hands-on in any way we can," said Navy Diver 3rd Class Andrew Kornelsen, a Madison, Wis., native.

The Navy will launch and christen dry cargo/ammunition ship the USNS Carl Brashear on Sept. 18. The christening ceremony for the newest ship in the Lewis and Clark (T-AKE) class of underway replenishment ships will be held at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in . Designated as T-AKE 7, the new ship honors Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear (1931-2006), who joined the U.S. Navy in 1948. He was a pioneer in the Navy as one of the first African-Americans to graduate from the and was designated a Navy salvage diver. He was the first African-American to qualify and serve as a master diver while on active duty and the first U.S. Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation.

Civil service mariners from Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp completed three days and more than 445 man-hours of improvement projects at the for the Deaf and for the Blind Unit in yesterday. Grasp arrived in Antigua July 4 as part of a four-month international outreach mission to the . While the ship’s embarked team of 15 Navy divers conducted tailored training and security operations with military divers from , and , Grasp’s civil service mariners sought out an opportunity to do a goodwill project ashore. The 60-year-old, 3,400 square foot school is attended by 18 deaf and three blind children. Over the course of July 15-17…

Secretary of the Navy Dr. Donald C. Winter announced the naming of the seventh and eighth Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ships (T-AKE) as Carl Brashear and Wally Schirra. The T-AKEs are owned and operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The selection of Carl Brashear, designated T-AKE 7, honors Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear, who joined the U.S. Navy in 1948. He was a pioneer in the Navy as the first black deep-sea diver, the first black master diver and the first U.S. Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation. After 31 years of service, Brashear officially retired from the U.S. Navy on April 1, 1979.

Navy Diver 1st Class Joshua Harsh attached to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., prepares to leave the surface on a salvage dive in the Mississippi River. MDSU-2 is assisting other federal, state, and local authorities managing disaster and recovery efforts at the site of the I-35 bridge collapse. U.S. President George W. Bush thanked the divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 on Aug. 21 for their hard work during search and recovery operations at the site of the Interstate 35 bridge collapse here. President Bush arrived at the 934th Air Reserve Base aboard Air Force One. Following a briefing on the search and recovery operations with state and federal officials, Bush was escorted to a hangar bay where he met with the divers.

Navy Diver 1st Class Josuha Harsh of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., surfaces after completing a salvage dive in the Mississippi River as the vehicle he and his team rigged is lifted from the water. MDSU-2 is assisting other federal, state, and local authorities managing disaster and recovery efforts at the site. U.S. Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek are bringing unique expeditionary diving and salvage capabilities to the search and recovery efforts at the site of the I-35 bridge collapse. MDSU-2 divers and a command and control element that includes representatives from Naval Sea Systems Command and Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1 have been in Minneapolis since Aug.

Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 in Little Creek, Va., along with Army, Navy Reserve and Coast Guard divers began a monumental training exercise off the coast of Fort Lauderdale on June 3. During the monthlong “DiveExEast 07,” military and Coast Guard divers will determine the most effective method for recovering an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 used tires off the ocean floor. It’s estimated that nearly 2 million tires were placed into the ocean in the 1970’s by private organizations hoping to create an artificial reef. Over the years, the successful formation of an artificial reef did not occur; the tires loosened and moved, damaging the nearby natural coral reefs.

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Adam R. From middle-of-the night physical training to airfield security tactics to underwater detonations or planning for a humanitarian assistance/disaster relief mission; training milestones were achieved in a multitude of missions areas for the United States, Royal Thai and Republic of Singapore combined Naval forces (CNAVFOR) during Cobra Gold 2007, which officially concluded May 18. Most of the field training exercises in diving, mobile security and mine countermeasures concluded one day prior to the final ceremony with a culminating training session. "When I look at this year's exercise, I see incredible engagement taking place, both within the particular training scenarios and outside of it," said Commander, Task Force 76, Rear Adm.

Master Chief Petty Officer (Ret) Carl Brashear passed away on July 25 at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital at 2:35 pm. He was made famous when the movie "Men of Honor" portrayed his Navy career. Brashear was played by Cuba Good Jr. Brashear died from respiratory and heart failure at the age of 75. He joined the navy at 17-years-old and was the first African American deep sea diver for the Navy, the first African American Master Diver and the first person in Naval history to be restored to active duty as an amputee. He was at the hospital for less than a week. Family was at his side when he passed, including his son, Phillip Brashear, an Army helicopter pilot who is on emergency leave from Iraq. Brashear was born on January 19, 1931 in Tonieville, Larue County, Kentucky.

The Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving (CENEODDIVE) has established a new learning site at Training Support Center (TSC), Great Lakes, Ill., where the first class commenced Oct. 19 with a group of 18 EOD students. The new site was created to conduct preparatory training for Navy Diver (ND) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel emerging from Recruit Training Command (RTC), Great Lakes. Traditionally, an ND or EOD Sailor would receive training at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) in Panama City, Fla., following boot camp at RTC. By undergoing preparatory training at Great Lakes, however, Sailors who have elected to participate in the ND and EOD special programs will receive a basic introduction to diving physics…

Seven personnel practiced locking out from the attack submarine USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) and ascending to the surface wearing special suits that are designed to enable a free ascent from a stricken submarine Dec. 2 during ESCAPEX at the Navy’s Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility in Ketchikan, Alaska. While several foreign navies practice the maneuver routinely, the U.S. Navy had not conducted it in more than three decades, and never from a nuclear-powered submarine. The Navy’s renewed interest in submarine escape comes as U.S. submarines operate more frequently now in shallow coastal waters, said Submarine Development Squadron (CSDS) 5 Commander Capt. Butch Howard, who oversaw the exercise.

By Lt. Cmdr. The “Heavy Lifters” of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 responded to a request Jan. 19 from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to provide assistance to the Chinese-flagged motor vessel (M/V) Tong Cheng when it reported hull damage and progressive flooding. According to Tong Cheng's initial report, the ship had sustained hull damage, and that the condition had progressed to a point where the ship and her 26 crew were in jeopardy. The Tong Cheng also reported that she was carrying a load of over 140,000 gallons of petroleum products that if released had the potential to cause damage to Hawaiian waters. Navy Divers from MDSU 1, with the help of translators, completed an open ocean, underwater hull survey.

Divers attached to the U.S. Navy Diving Team, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, Detachment 1 (MDSU 1 DET 1), and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy Diving Team found common ground underwater during training off the coast here March 22-30. Deployed from Naval Station San Diego, MDSU 1 divers conducted training that involved integrating with the ROK Navy divers to practice cutting and welding operations, force protection, side-scan sonar operations and pier evaluations. Lt. Stephen Schwedhelm, officer in charge of MSDU 1, described the importance of pier evaluations, which he describes as sending divers in the water to evaluate the structural integrity of the pier.