Lake Champlain News

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

Derecktor Shipyards NY in Mamaroneck, N.Y. announced it has delivered a new hybrid research catamaran to the University of Vermont (UVM). The innovative vessel, Marcelle Melosira, will serve as a floating classroom and laboratory, enabling advanced research operations and hands-on educational programs.Designed by Chartwell Marine and built in collaboration with UVM and Chartwell, the 64-foot research catamaran has been crafted to fulfill the functions outlined by UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources.

The University of Vermont has ordered a new research vessel featuring an emissions-reducing electric power and propulsion system.The 64-foot aluminum catamaran, designed by Chartwell Marine and currently under construction at Derecktor Shipyards, will be equipped with a hybrid-electric power and propulsion system supplied and integrated by BAE Systems. The newbuilt is set for launch in April 2022.According to BAE Systems, its HybriGen Power and Propulsion system will help reduce both carbon emissions and the use of fuel by the vessel…

The Vermont State Police recently took delivery of two specialized 25-foot’ RIBCRAFT 7.8 patrol boats. Delivered to the greater Burlington area, the rigid inflatable boats (RIB) will be used by the State Police Marine Division for all law enforcement operations including patrol, search and rescue, rapid response, victim recovery, and executive protection details on Lake Champlain.The two RIBs add to the agency’s existing fleet of RIBCRAFT vessels and will provide expanded on-water capabilities. As with the previous RIBCRAFT deliveries, these boats were configured and built to meet the diverse operational requirements of the Vermont Marine State Police.The new 7.8 features a center console with windscreen and extended aluminum T-top…

The University of Vermont (UVM) has ordered what is touted as the first hybrid research vessel, a project which brings together Derecktor Shipyards, BAE Systems and Chartwell Marine.The 19-meter catamaran will be designed for low-emission, low-fuel-burn operations and is set for launch in April 2022. Chartwell Marine’s hybrid design, which is powered by two Cummins QSB 6.7m 306hp diesel engines and two BAE AC traction motors, will provide the University with a new research and instruction platform to facilitate its advanced research operation.

The New York State Canal System, Advance Marine and MelCal Cranes all enjoy a reputation for versatile applications in challenging conditions. It’s no wonder that their recent deal to replace an aging maintenance crane was also a similarly good fit.When Advance Marine recently delivered a telescopic boom crane to New York State Canals, the decision regarding which type and brand of crane to select wasn’t made in a vacuum, nor was it made lightly. That’s because commercial utilization of America’s original superhighway – the Erie Canal – is on the rise again. The New York State Canal System is a 524-mile long, commercially viable waterway connecting the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, Finger Lakes, and Lake Champlain.

Navies operate on a spectrum between deterrence and defense, to include offensive operation, support of foreign policy, and power projection to civil affair and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Many have constabulary responsibilities, and it could be argued that, with the exception of the largest navies, most are more like a coast guard than a military force in their normal responsibilities.Every Navy is different. Yes, they all share similar challenges of acquisition…

A series of mishaps at sea has prompted the U.S. Navy to examine the way it conducts business. The accidents shared some similar contributing causes such as fundamental watchstanding and seamanship, and each of these incidents were preventable. The four incidents involved surface combatants in the Seventh Fleet area of responsibility. • On January 31, 2017, the Yokosuka-based Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Antietam, while anchored in high winds, dragged anchor and ran aground in Tokyo Bay. 1,100 gallons of hydraulic fluid spilled into Tokyo Bay.

More than 6,000 Sailors assigned to Carl Vinson Strike Group ships and units departed the U.S. West Coast, Jan. 4-5, for a regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific. The deployment marks the second time the Carl Vinson Strike Group will operate throughout the Indo- Pacific region under U.S. 3rd Fleet's command and control. The strike group became the first in recent history to demonstrate the command and control construct called Third Fleet Forward when units completed a six-month deployment last year. Ships deploying from U.S. 3rd Fleet to the Western Pacific traditionally shifted to U.S. 7th Fleet after crossing the international dateline. The Third Fleet Forward construct expands U.S.

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), along with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1 arrived in San Diego June 23, following a five-and-a-half-month deployment to the Western Pacific. Carl Vinson, Lake Champlain, Wayne E. Meyer and embarked air wing and staffs departed San Diego for a regularly-scheduled deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of U.S. 3rd Fleet into the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, Jan.

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, has directed the Carl Vinson Strike Group to sail north and report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean after departing Singapore April 8. Carl Vinson Strike Group, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), will operate in the Western Pacific rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia. The Strike Group will remain under the operational control of U.S. 3rd Fleet as part of the Third Fleet Forward initiative.

Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, Arleigh Burke -class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and Ticonderoga -class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) arrived in Singapore for a scheduled port visit, April 4. Prior to the visit, the Carl Vinson Strike Group (CSG-1) completed two weeks of routine operations in the Asia-Pacific region, including maritime exercises with the Republic of Korea Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The ship also operated in the South China Sea during this deployment. "This port visit reaffirms our commitment to the U.S.-Singapore defense relationship and our shared belief that lawful use of the sea and airspace are essential to prosperity…

Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) arrived in Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK) for a scheduled port visit, March 15. The Carl Vinson Strike Group completed two weeks of routine operations in the South China Sea and will continue on their regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment after departing Busan. Assets from the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and other United States forces will conduct bi-lateral exercises with forces from the ROK Navy in the waters around the Korean peninsula during the annual Foal Eagle exercise.

1898 - USS Mohican and USS Philadelphia (C 4) crew members take part in official ceremonies marking the assumption of sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States. 1918 - The Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels approves the acceptance of women in the Marine Corps. The following day, Aug. 13, Opha M. Johnson becomes the first woman Marine. 1942 - USS Cleveland (CL-55) demonstrates the effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying three drones with proximity bursts fired by her five inch guns.

1850 - USS Advance and USS Rescue sail from New York in a failed attempt to rescue Sir John Franklins Expedition, lost in the Arctic since 1847. Caught in the ice and after tremendous hardship, USS Advance returns on Aug. 20, 1851. Rescue returns Sept. 1939 - USS Squalus (SS 192) suffers a catastrophic main induction valve failure during a test dive off the New Hampshire coast and is partially flooded, killing 26 crew members. 1944 - USS England (DE 635) sinks a Japanese submarine near New Ireland, sinking five submarines in a week.

1775 - American forces under Gen. Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen cross Lake Champlain and capture the British fort at Ticonderoga, New York. The US Navy has honored this action by naming five ships after the battle. 1862 - The Norfolk Navy Yard is burned before being evacuated by Confederate forces in a general withdrawal up the peninsula to defend Richmond. Also on this date, Pensacola is re-occupied by Union Army and Navy forces. Confederate forces destroyed the Navy Yard the day before. 1944 - USS Cod (SS 224) attacks a large Japanese convoy and destroyer off the west coast of Luzon.

1943 - USS Permit (SS 178), USS Snook (SS 279) and USS Sawfish (SS 276) damage two Japanese ships and sink two freighters and a gunboat. 1944 - The hospital ship, USS Comfort (AH-6), is commissioned at San Pedro, Calif., and is the first ship to be manned jointly by U.S. Army and U.S. Navy personnel. 1948 - Fighter Squadron Seventeen A (VF-17A), with 16 FH-1 Phantoms, becomes the first carrier-qualified jet squadron in the U.S. Navy. 1961 - Cmdr. Alan Shepard Jr. makes the first U.S. manned space flight. USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) recovers the capsule after the 15 minute flight.

1862 - Union Flag Officer David G. Farraguts fleet sails into New Orleans, La., after long preparation and fierce battles while passing through the Confederate defenses of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip the previous day. 1914 - In the first use of U.S. Navy aircraft in a combat situation, Lt. j.g. P.N.L. Bellinger made a flight from USS Mississippis aviation unit at Vera Cruz, Mexico, to observe the city and make preliminary search for mines in the harbor. 1944 - USS Crevalle (SS 291) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kashiwa Maru…

The Vermont State Police Department Marine Division has taken delivery of a specialized RIBCRAFT 7.8 RIB built by RIBCRAFT, a U.S. manufacturer of professional grade rigid inflatable boats for safety professionals, law enforcement and military agencies. The 25-foot RIB is the third RIBCRAFT boat in the Department’s fleet and will be used by the State Marine Patrol for patrol, enforcement operations as well as search and rescue applications on Lake Champlain. Designed as an offshore fast response craft…

The U.S. How did an urgent requirement to build a road to Alaska end up helping to design submarines and to recover oil spills in the Arctic ice? The Army Corps of Engineers was faced with a monumental challenge of building a highway to connect the “lower 48” to Alaska during World War II to keep America’s northernmost territory secure from invasion. The road crossed hundreds of miles of wilderness, and much of the roadbed sat up permafrost, presenting challenges to America’s roadbuilders.

The Coast Guard and Navy are continuing the search for a student reported overboard from a Japanese training vessel approximately 70 miles southwest of Kauai, Tuesday. Coast Guard and Navy assets have searched 9,412 square miles totaling 83 search hours. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center were notified at 9:56 a.m., regarding a 17-year-old male Japanese national who was reported overboard from the 208-foot Japanese training vessel, Hokuho Maru during their transit from Honolulu to Japan. The man was last seen at approximately 2:50 a.m., and was reported missing after he did not show up for muster. He was last seen wearing a light green jump suit. It is not known if he was wearing a life jacket.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) search operations continue for a student reported overboard from a Japanese training vessel approximately 70 miles southwest of Kauai, Tuesday. USCG said its watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center were notified at 9:56 a.m., regarding a 17-year-old male Japanese national who was reported overboard from the 208-foot Japanese training vessel Hokuho Maru during transit from Honolulu to Japan. The man was last seen at approximately 2:50 a.m., and was reported missing after he did not show up for muster. He was last seen wearing a light green jumpsuit, and it is unknown whether he was wearing a life jacket.