USS Euryale

USS "Euryale" (AS-22) was built as the Hawaiian Merchant by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny, New Jersey for the Matson Navigation Company. "Hawaiian Merchant" was launched 12 April 1941, minutes after sister ship , and was completed April 1941. Matson intended the ship to join and "Hawaiian Shipper" in the U.S. Pacific Coast—Australia route. The ship was under United States Army Transportation Corps charter when the United States went to war and came under the control of the War Shipping Administration which allocated the ship to the Army's continued charter until the ship was purchased 15 April 1943 by the United States Navy and commissioned 2 December 1943 as USS "Euryale" (AS-22), serving as a submarine tender through the war. "Euryale" was decommissioned 7 October 1946, going into reserve until 9 August 1972 when she was delivered to the Maritime Administration with immediate sale to American Ship Dismantler, Inc. for disposal.
Construction and design.
"Hawaiian Merchant" was one of four Maritime Commission Type C3 hulls ordered by Matson ("Hawaiian Shipper" from the same builder with "Hawaiian Planter" and from Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock) with custom variants for interior and structure fitted for the intended route and service. In particular, passenger accommodations were eliminated shortening the deck house, there was no raised forecastle and cargo handling increased by addition of two king posts and four winches.
As designed the hull was length overall, molded beam, depth molded to the shelter deck, depth molded to the freeboard deck with a loaded draft of . There were seven watertight bulkheads providing for eight compartments, five of which were holds forward of the engine room:
and two holds aft of the engine room:
There were no refrigerated cargo spaces but deep tanks under #2 and #5 holds had a combined bulk liquid cargo capacity of 1,871 tons.
Steam was provided by two Foster Wheeler "D" type marine water tube boilers at 465 psi delivered to a De Laval steam turbine with 11 high- and 7 low-pressure stages, double reduction geared for a rating of 8,500 shaft horsepower at 85 rpm to a four-bladed bronze propeller of diameter with pitch. Two 300-kilowatt 120/240 volt direct current generators driven by steam turbines provided electric power. A diesel 12-kilowatt generator on the shelter deck level provided emergency power.
The ship's fuel capacity was 1,672 tons for a cruising radius of at 16.5 knots. Water capacities were 68 tons of fresh, 18 tons of distilled and 314 tons of boiler feed water.
Matson service.
"Hawaiian Merchant" was launched 12 April 1941, second in a dual launching and minutes after sister ship "Hawaiian Shipper" had been launched, with the wife of the head of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, Richard A Cooke, as sponsor. The ship arrived in Los Angeles on her maiden voyage on 22 May 1941 leaving the next day for Honolulu. At that time Matson's freighters were already heavily involved in a buildup in the remote parts of the Pacific supporting construction of military installations, particularly airfields that would allow the Army to fly B-17 bombers to the Philippines by a southern route avoiding the Japanese Mandated Islands in the Central Pacific. Upon the attack on Pearl Harbor Matson's commercial role essentially stopped as it went on a war footing, becoming the War Shipping Administration (WSA) agent for port operations between from the West Coast to Australia, New Zealand and, as the Japanese were pushed back the bases of the Southwest Pacific and Pacific theaters and as agent for WSA ships throughout the world.
War Shipping Administration/Transportation Corps.
The ship, already under Army charter, was delivered by Matson to the WSA at San Francisco on 24 January 1942 with allocation to the United States Army under a Transportation Corps charter agreement with Matson acting as agent operator of the ship.
Completion of runway construction at Tafuna, Samoa, scheduled for 1 March 1942 and urgently needed to protect the South Pacific lines of communication with Australia, was dependent on specialized equipment loaded at San Francisco for transport by "Hawaiian Merchant" which was delayed in the emergency after 7 December and became a matter of concern. On 14 August 1942 3d Battalion, 7th Marines and Battery C, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines were transported from the Wallis Islands, to Apia, Samoa.
United States Navy.
"Hawaiian Merchant" was purchased by the Navy on 15 April 1943 at New York. The ship commissioned 2 December 1943 as USS "Euryale" (AS-22) with Captain H. A. Guthrie in command.
"Euryale" reached Brisbane, Australia, from New York City 5 March 1944, and after loading provisions and supplies, sailed for Milne Bay, New Guinea. There between 14 March and 26 May, "Euryale" refitted submarines and repaired surface ships. At Manus from 28 May to 11 August, she established a forward base and rest camp for submariners, clearing the island, constructing buildings and at the same time refitting 26 submarines.
The submarine tender returned to Brisbane on 16 August 1944 to load passengers, torpedoes, ammunition, and general cargo, and with this load arrived at Fremantle on 28 August. She tended submarines there until 11 April 1945, then at Pearl Harbor until 16 August. On 28 August, "Euryale" arrived at Guam to develop a submarine base and rest camp, and on 16 September sailed for Okinawa and Sasebo. Until 12 January 1946, "Euryale" worked with Japanese submarines, maintaining them and preparing them for disposal. She crossed the Pacific to Pearl Harbor with a salvage ship and two Japanese submarines, one of which she towed for the last leg of the passage, then continued on alone to San Francisco, where she arrived 22 February.
Reserve and scrapping.
"Euryale" was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 7 October 1946. On 9 August 1972 the ship was delivered to the Maritime Administration at Bremerton, Washington and purchased the same day by American Ship Dismantler, Inc., for "non transportation use" with physical delivery to the company on 30 August.


Yerofey Khabarov-class motorship

Yerofey Khabarov class motorship is a class of Russian river passenger ships. It is named after Yerofey Khabarov.
Two-deck cargo-passenger ships built in the Soviet Union, 1959–1963.


SS Thomas Wilson

The Thomas Wilson was a whaleback freighter built in 1892 and used to haul bulk freight on the Great Lakes. The ship sank in Lake Superior just outside the harbor of Duluth, Minnesota, United States, on 7 June 1902, after a collision with the "George Hadley". The wreck of the "Thomas Wilson" is one of the best remaining examples of a whaleback steamer, and it is also significant for the changes made in operating procedures at the Duluth harbor. The remains of the ship were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Ship.
The whaleback was designed by Captain Alexander McDougall to carry cargoes of iron ore or grain economically around the Great Lakes. A pair of coal-fired Scotch boiler engines provided steam for the three-cylinder, triple expansion steam engine which drove a single screw propeller. The hull was built of heavy steel plates double-riveted to steel angle frames. The bow and stern were of a conoidal shape, with the center part of the hull being roughly cigar-shaped. The ship was long, with a beam and a hold. The hatches on the deck had no coamings, vertical sections that would have prevented water from coming into the hatches. Instead the hatches were designed to be flush with the surface of the deck, and were simply bolted to the deck.
Sinking.
On 7 June 1902, the "Thomas Wilson" left the Duluth harbor carrying a load of Mesabi iron ore. The hatches were not yet closed, because the weather was clear and calm. Meanwhile, the "George Hadley", a 2073-ton wooden steamer, was inbound for the Duluth harbor. The "Annie L. Smith" tugboat directed the "George Hadley" to divert to the Superior harbor, since all of the Duluth coal docks were full. The captain of the "George Hadley" ordered an immediate turn to port without noticing the direction of the "Thomas Wilson" or blowing the required whistle signals. The captain of the "Thomas Wilson", concerned about the movements of the "Hadley" but suspicious of running aground if he turned to port, ordered an immediate turn to starboard. The "Hadley" struck the "Wilson" just forward of the aft hatch and recoiled from the collision. The "Wilson" rolled over to port, then righted itself and began to sink by the bow. Within three minutes, the entire ship had sunk, drowning nine of the twenty-man crew. The ship and its cargo were valued at $207,000 ().
As a result of the collision, new rules were instituted in the Duluth harbor:
The wreck today.
The ship rests in of water less than a mile outside the entrance of the Duluth Ship Canal. The stern of the ship is substantially complete, though a large section of the hull of the midship has been broken apart due to other ships dragging anchors through the wreck. The interior of the ship has survived largely intact, with relatively few artifacts having been removed by divers.
The wreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name "Thomas Wilson" (Whaleback Freighter) Shipwreck in 1992 for its state-level significance in the themes of engineering and maritime history.


Quincy Dredge Number Two

The Quincy Dredge Number Two (previously known as the Calumet and Hecla Dredge Number One) is a dredge currently sunk in shallow water in Torch Lake, across M-26 from the Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District and just east of Mason in Osceola Township. It was constructed to reclaim stamping sand from the lake for further processing, and was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1978.
History.
The Reclaiming Sand Dredge was constructed for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company in 1914 by the Bucyrus Company of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and designated the Calumet and Hecla Dredge Number One. The dredge was used to reclaim previously-milled sand deposited in the lake after it had gone through the stamp mill. The dredged sand contained copper that earlier stamping technology had not been able to separate out. Improvements in stamping efficiency and cost increases in traditional shaft mining made these sand tailings economically feasible to reclaim and re-stamp.
Calumet and Hecla used the dredge at their Lake Linden Reclamation Plant until 1951. In 1951, the Quincy Mine purchased the dredge and designated it as their Quincy Dredge Number Two, using it at their own reclamation facility, which had been in operation since 1943. The mine's Quincy Dredge Number One sank in 1956, and Dredge Number Two was used until 1967, when it too sank during a winter lay-up. By this time, copper prices had fallen low enough that the reclamation process was not profitable, and the Quincy Mine abandoned both the dredge and its reclamation facility.
Description.
The dredge is a large, box-like vessel that was used to remove sand from the bottom of the lake. The vessel has a steel hull measuring long, wide, and deep. The decking overhangs the hull by per side, giving an overall width of . The dredge could process over of sand per day, and had a suction pipe that could work in of water.
The dredge is currently sunk in shallow water, and canted over to one side. Most of the superstructure and the large boom are visible above the waterline.


USS Rijndam (ID-2505)

USS "Rijndam" (ID-2505) was a transport for the United States Navy during World War I. Both before and after her Navy service she was known as SS "Rijndam or Ryndam" as an ocean liner for the Holland America Line.
History.
"Rijndam" was launched during 1901 by Harland & Wolff Ltd. of Belfast, as a steel passenger liner for the Holland America Line.
On 25 May 1915, "Rijndam" was rammed by the Norwegian-flagged fruit steamer "Joseph J. Cuneo" about south of the Nantucket Shoals. Responding to the SOS, U.S. Navy battleships , , , and , rescued 230 passengers from the damaged liner.
On 18 January 1916, "Rijndam" suffered damage when she struck a mine in the Thames Estuary during World War I. American singer Alice Sjoselius was aboard, and wrote home to her family in Minnesota about the event.
Interned at New York later in World War I, she was seized during March 1918 by United States Customs officials along with 88 other Dutch vessels, 31 of which entered U.S. Navy service. "Rijndam" was commissioned 1 May 1918 at New York for service as a troopship, with Commander John J. Hannigan in command.
"Rijndam" departed New York 10 May 1918 on the first of six convoy voyages to Europe before the war's end, accompanied by , , British troopship , and Italian steamers and . The group rendezvoused with a similar group that left Newport News, Virginia, the same day, consisting of American transports , , , , , and , the British troopship , and the Italian . American cruiser served as escort for the assembled ships, which were the 35th U.S. convoy of the war. On 20 May, the convoy sighted and fired on a "submarine" that turned out to be a bucket; the next day escort "Frederick" left the convoy after being relieved by 11 destroyers. Three days later the convoy sighted land at 06:30 and anchored at Brest that afternoon.
On her return journey on 31 May 1918, "Rijndam" was nearly torpedoed in the same attack by German submarine that resulted in the loss of "President Lincoln". "Rijndam" was able to avoid the torpedoes and, shortly afterward, nearly rammed a submarine cruising at periscope depth.
On her next transport voyage, "Rijndam" left New York on 15 June with , , , , , Italian steamer , and British steamer "Vauban" and met up with the Newport News portion of the convoy—which included , , , , and British troopship —the next morning and set out for France. The convoy was escorted by cruisers and , and destroyers and ; battleship and several other destroyers joined in escort duties for the group for a time. The convoy had a false alarm when a floating barrel was mistaken for submarine, but otherwise uneventfully arrived at Brest on the afternoon of 27 June.
"Rijndam" landed troops and supplies at Brest, France, on three more occasions through November 1918, and called once at Saint-Nazaire during July. "Rijndam" made seven round-trip voyages from Quiberon, Saint-Nazaire, and Brest, France, following the end of World War I, returning U.S. troops and personnel to Newport News, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia; Hoboken, New Jersey; and New York.
In March 1919, "Rijndam" and raced each other from Saint-Nazaire to Newport News in a friendly competition that received national press coverage in the United States. "Rijndam", the slower ship, was just able to edge out the "Matoika"—and cut two days from her previous fastest crossing time—by appealing to the honor of the soldiers of the 133rd Field Artillery returning home aboard her and employing them as extra stokers for her boilers.
She carried over 3,000 passengers on many of her 26 trips across the Atlantic, completing her active service upon arrival at New York 4 August 1919 from Brest. Transferred from the Cruiser and Transport Force on 11 August 1919 to the custody of the 3rd Naval District, "Rijndam" was decommissioned and returned to her former owner on 22 October 1919 at New York. "Rijndam" resumed her mercantile career under the Dutch flag, remaining active until scrapped during 1929.


Four Aces (passenger liners)

The 4 Aces were the quartet of passenger-cargo liners "Excalibur", "Exochorda", "Exeter", and "Excambion", originally built for American Export Lines by New York Shipbuilding of Camden, New Jersey between 1929 and 1931. AEL placed the "4 Aces" in service between the US and the Mediterranean, offering cruises of up to 40 days.
During World War II, all four vessels were taken over by the U.S. Navy, renamed, and designated as AP- and APA-class troop transports. "Excambion" became USS "John Penn" (APA-23), "Excalibur" became USS "Joseph Hewes" (AP-50) and "Exeter" became USS "Edward Rutledge" (AP-52). These three of the original (pre-war) 4 Aces were ultimately lost to enemy action. The pre-war "Exochorda" was converted to military transport USS "Harry Lee", later sold to Turkish Maritime Lines and renamed "Tarsus".
After World War II, American Export Lines purchased four C3-class "Windsor'-class attack transports built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. at Sparrow's Point, Maryland, had them refitted as passenger-cargo liners, and placed them in service as the new "4 Aces." USS "Dauphin" became "Exochorda", USS "Dutchess" became "Excalibur", USS "Queens" became "Excambion" and USS "Shelby" (APA-105) became "Exeter". Carrying the names of the original quartet, the new "4 Aces" sailed under the AEL flag until the 1960s.
In 1968, the post-war SS "Exochorda" was purchased by Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey to alleviate a shortage of on-campus student housing. It was refurbished at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Hoboken, renamed SS "Stevens" and anchored on the Hudson River adjacent to the campus where it served a dormitory. SS "Stevens" remained in service until 1975, when its continued operation became prohibitive due to skyrocketing utility costs. Before it was towed away and sold for scrap, one of "Stevens" anchors was removed and permanently displayed on campus as a memento of the institute's most popular dormitory.
In 1965, the post-war "Excambion" became USTS "Texas Clipper" for service with the Texas Maritime Academy until being sunk as an artificial reef on November 17, 2007.
The company's subsidiary American Export Airlines borrowed 3 of the names (excepting "Exochorda") for its Sikorsky VS-44 flying boats, which it used in transatlantic service. "Excambion" is preserved on display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.


Dolphin-class submarine

The "Dolphin" class (Hebrew: הצוללות מסדרת דולפין) is a diesel-electric submarine constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy. The first boats of the class were based on the export-only German 209-class submarines, but modified and enlarged. The "Dolphin" 1 sub-class is slightly larger than the German Navy Type 212 in length and displacement. The three newer air-independent propulsion (AIP) equipped boats are similar to the Type 212 vessels in underwater endurance, but are longer, nearly 500 tonnes heavier in submerged displacement and have a larger crew than either the Type 212 or the Type 214.
The "Dolphin 2"-class are the largest submarines to have been built in Germany since World War II. The "Dolphin" class boats are the most expensive single vehicles in the Israel Defense Forces. The "Dolphin"-class replaced the aging , which had served in the Israeli navy since the late 1970s. Each "Dolphin"-class submarine is capable of carrying a combined total of up to 16 torpedoes and Popeye Turbo submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). The cruise missiles have a range of at least and are widely believed to be equipped with a 200 kiloton nuclear warhead containing up to of plutonium. The latter, if true, would provide Israel with an offshore nuclear second strike capability.
History.
First budgeted in July 1989 and ordered in January 1990, by November the order was cancelled due to budget reallocation aimed at countering Iraqi threats made against Israel following the Iraqi invasion and annexation of neighboring Kuwait during leadup to the 1991 Gulf War. Funding for first two boats ("Dolphin" and "Leviathan") was fully subsidized by the German government to restart the construction program and the third ("Tekumah") received a 50% subsidy. During the first Gulf War, it was revealed that German firms had assisted Iraq with modernizing its ballistic missile and chemical weapon programs, thanks in part to lax enforcement by German customs, in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime protocols which West Germany had in 1987 acceded to. These enhanced missiles brought Israeli cities into Iraqi targeting range for the first time and included supplies and factories for modern weaponized mustard and nerve gas. Though not a belligerent in the Gulf War, Israeli cities were nevertheless bombarded with these upgraded Iraqi missiles. To compensate Israel for war related damage and economic losses and keep German shipyards occupied with a high profile project in the post Cold War defense spending downturn, then Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl approved an assistance package to German industry including the construction of two "Dolphin"-class submarines.
The names "Dolphin" and "Leviathan" hail from the retired Israeli WWII-era submarines of the British T class; the third boat "Tekuma" (translation: Revival) refers in memory of "Dakar", the third Israeli boat of the T class which was lost in 1968 with all Israeli crew in the Mediterranean Sea during delivery. The names of the newer boats "Tanin" and "Rahav" are taken from retired "Gal"-class submarines, which were themselves named after even older Israeli S-class submarines.
Additional procurement.
In 2006 Israel signed a contract with ThyssenKrupp to purchase two additional submarines from its HDW subsidiary. The two new boats are an upgraded version displacing 28% heavier than the older "Dolphins", featuring an air-independent propulsion system, similar to the one used on German Type 212 submarines. On 6 July 2006, the Government of Germany decided to finance an advance to start the construction, about €170 million, planned for delivery in 2012. The two submarines cost, overall, around €1.3 billion, of up to one-third was subsidized by Germany. In 2010, both Israel and Germany denied having talks regarding the potential purchase of a sixth submarine. Yet in 2011, Israel ordered a sixth "Dolphin"-class submarine, for which it was reported to pay the unsubsidized cost of US$1 billion. However, in July 2011, during a meeting between German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense minister Ehud Barak, an agreement was reached to subsidize €135 million of the US$500–700 million cost of the sixth submarine.
In 2016, it was revealed that a new sonar developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems had begun to be fitted on all Dolphin submarines in the last two years. The new capabilities provided to the Dolphin submarines by the Israeli sonar also include detection of vessels with a low noise signature. The algorithms used in the sonar systems enable it to ignore many of the noises that can disrupt the range of the systems' activity, while detecting very distant noises.
In late 2016 reports emerged of negotiations for the purchase of three additional ThyssenKrupp built submarines. The former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who opposed the acquisition during his tenure, called for the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to investigate the negotiations which included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal attorney David Shimron for work while on retainer to the offices of Miki Ganor which represents ThyssenKrupp in Israel. As of 23 November 2016 A.G. Mandelblit has decided to ask the state prosecutor to move forward with an investigation into the case.
In October 2017, Israel and Germany confirmed that they have finalised a memorandum of understanding covering the Israeli Navy's purchase of three more Dolphin-class submarines to be delivered starting in 2027. These boats will replace the first three of the class which by then will be about 30 years old. Germany will pay about a third of purchase costs.
Armament and systems.
Each submarine is fitted with 6 × torpedo tubes, and 4 × torpedo tubes. The very large 650 mm tubes can be used for laying mines, larger submarine-launched cruise missiles, or swimmer delivery vehicles, and with liners the tubes could be used for standard torpedoes and submarine-launched missiles. The boats were first armed with Atlas Elektronik DM2A3 torpedoes using wire-guided active homing to deliver a warhead at a maximum speed of to a target over away, in passive homing mode a speed of and a range up to is possible. Israel has also procured the more advanced DM2A4 torpedo, successor to their DM2A3s, which are electrically propelled, equipped with fiber optic communications and has countermeasure resistant signals processing and mission logic. A wet and dry compartment is installed for deploying underwater special operations teams.
Jane's Defence Weekly reports that the "Dolphin"-class submarines are believed to be nuclear armed, offering Israel a sea-based, second strike capability. In adherence to Missile Technology Control Regime rules the US Clinton administration rejected an Israeli request in 2000 to purchase Tomahawk long range SLCMs. The U.S. Navy has deployed nuclear armed and conventional Tomahawk missiles for its submarine fleet which are launched from standard heavy 533 mm torpedo tubes. The Federation of American Scientists and GlobalSecurity.org report that the four larger torpedo tubes are capable of launching Israeli built nuclear-armed Popeye Turbo cruise missiles (a variant of the Popeye standoff missile), and the U.S. Navy recorded an Israeli submarine-launched cruise missile test in the Indian Ocean ranging .
The "Dolphin" class uses the ISUS 90-1 TCS weapon control system supplied by STN Atlas Elektronik, for automatic sensor management, fire control, navigation, and operations. The installed radar warning receiver is a 4CH(V)2 Timnex electronic support measures system, scanning from 5GHz to 20GHz frequency bands and able to pinpoint radar sites with accuracy between 5 and 10 degrees of angle (depending on frequency). The surface search radar is an Elta unit operating on I band. The sonar suite includes the advanced Atlas Elektronik CSU 90 hull-mounted passive and active search and attack sonar. The PRS-3 passive ranging sonar is also supplied by Atlas Elektronik, the flank array is a FAS-3 passive search sonar. A notable design feature is the prismatic hull cross-section and smoothly faired transitions from the hull to the sail, improving the boat's stealth characteristics. The ship and internal features are constructed of nonmagnetic materials, significantly reducing the chances of it being detected by magnetometers or setting off magnetic naval mines. The submarines have two Kollmorgen periscopes. The Dolphins can mount an external special forces hangar aft of their sail.
The "Dolphin"s are equipped with three V-16 396 SE 84 diesel engines built by MTU Friedrichshafen (now Tognum), developing sustained power. The submarines are equipped with three Siemens 750kW alternators, and a Siemens 2.85MW sustained-power motor driving a single shaft. The propulsion system provides a speed of submerged and a snorkeling speed of . The hull is rated for dives up to . The maximum unrefuelled range is traveling on the surface at and over at submerged; they are designed to remain unsupplied for up to 30 days on station.
Operations and deployment.
According to news reports the submarines are normally based in the Mediterranean, although one "Dolphin" was sent to the Red Sea for exercises, briefly docking at the naval base of Eilat in June 2009, which Israeli media interpreted as a warning to Iran. In 2009 the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting an Israeli defence official, reported that the very small Eilat naval station is unsuited strategically to base the "Dolphin"-class boats, specifically noting the tight entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba at the Straits of Tiran as one held by potential adversaries including Saudi Arabia on the east and the demilitarized Egyptian Sinai to the west. Eilat is a strip of coast between Egypt and Jordan. According to The London Sunday Times, the Israeli Navy decided in May 2010 to keep at least one submarine equipped with nuclear-tipped SLCM there permanently as a deterrent in response to rumored ballistic missiles moved from Syria to Lebanon.
If the boats are based at the larger Haifa naval base, access to the Persian Gulf area either requires openly sailing on the surface through the Egyptian controlled Suez Canal as permitted in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty or a long voyage sailing around Africa. According to the Convention of Constantinople signed by the ruling great powers of the time including the UK, France, and the Ottoman Empire on March 2, 1888; "The Suez Maritime Canal shall always be free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag." Denied crossing at the Suez Canal and blockade of the Straits of Tiran occurred in both in 1956 and 1967 leading to Israel twice seizing the Sinai to break the blockade. The Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty allows for the free passage of Israeli vessels through the Suez Canal, and recognizes the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as international waterways. Even if a Red Sea or Indian Ocean base is unavailable other nations have used submarine tenders, ships that resupply, rearm, and refuel submarines at sea, when nearby friendly bases are unavailable.
According to two contradictory Sudanese media reports, in November or December 2011 two Israeli air raids against Gaza-bound weapon smugglers in Sudan were accompanied by Israeli submarine activity off the Sudanese coast. The Sudanese government claims no strikes took place.
In February 2012, Ynet, the online version of the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Achronot", reported that for security reasons applicants for the submarine service with dual citizenship or citizenship in addition to Israeli, which is common in Israel with a relatively high percentage of olim (immigrants), must officially renounce all other citizenships to be accepted into the training program.
Israel National News and the Jerusalem Post both had articles on Sunday, July 14, 2013, which quote that day's London Sunday Times saying that the July 5 Israeli missile strike against the Syrian port of Latakia, previously reported by CNN as an Israel Air Force strike, was made in coordination with the United States, and long range missiles were launched from a "Dolphin"-class submarine. The attack targeted newly unloaded Russian-made Yakhont long range high performance anti-ship missiles and associated radars.
In December, 2020, an IDF submarine transited the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, en route to the Persian Gulf in possible preparation for any Iranian retaliation over the November assassination of a senior Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Submarines in class.
English translation of boat names.
 "Dolphin 1" class
 "Dolphin 2" class


HMS Trent (P224)

HMS "Trent" is a Batch 2 offshore patrol vessel, named after the River Trent. This is the sixth Royal Navy ship named "Trent". She is the third Batch 2 River-class vessel to be commissioned.
Construction.
On 6 November 2013 it was announced that the Royal Navy had signed an Agreement in Principle to build three new offshore patrol vessels, based on the River-class design, at a fixed price of £348 million including spares and support. In August 2014, BAE Systems signed the contract to build the ships on the Clyde in Scotland. The Ministry of Defence stated that the Batch 2 ships are capable of being used for constabulary duties such as "counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling operations". According to BAE Systems, the vessels are designed to deploy globally, conducting anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently conducted by frigates and destroyers.
Steel was cut, marking the start of construction of "Trent", on 7 October 2015 at the BAE Systems Govan shipyard in Glasgow. "Trent" was officially named – the equivalent to a traditional slipway launch – on the south bank of the Clyde at BAE's Govan yard on 13 March 2018, completing her first sea trials in June the following year. She made her first entry into Portsmouth Harbour on 19 December 2019.
Operational history.
She was commissioned on 3 August 2020 and deployed to the Mediterranean for NATO Operation Sea Guardian, before returning to the UK in September.
The 2021 defence white paper announced that HMS Trent would be permanently based in Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Guinea. HMS Trent arrived in Gibraltar in April 2021.


American Eagle (schooner)

The American Eagle, originally Andrew and Rosalie, is a two-masted schooner serving the tourist trade out of Rockland, Maine. Launched in 1930 at Gloucester, Massachusetts, she was the last auxiliary schooner (powered by both sail and engine) to be built in that port, and one of Gloucester's last sail-powered fishing vessels. A National Historic Landmark, she is also the oldest known surviving vessel of the type, which was supplanted not long afterward by modern trawlers.
History.
"Andrew and Rosalie" was built in 1930 by the United Sail Loft Company in Gloucester, for Patrick Murphy, a local fishing master, and was named for his children. The ship was used in fishing operations by his family until 1941, when it was sold to the Empire Fish Company, who renamed her "American Eagle". They converted her for use as a trawler, a role she served, mainly under the ownership of the Piscitello brothers, until 1983.
She was purchased in 1984 by John Foss, who had recently restored the "Lewis R. French" (also a National Historic Landmark), and was restored at the North End Shipyard at Rockland, Maine. Foss rebuilt her for the cruise ship trade, and she now spends summers cruising Penobscot Bay in Maine on 3-7 day cruises, though she generally takes one longer cruise per year to places like Grand Manan Island in Canada. She is one of the few schooners in Maine that go on longer cruises, and one of the few that go offshore looking for whales. She also generally returns to Gloucester every year.
"American Eagle" was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992. She is the sole surviving representative of the transitional period between traditional sail-powered fishing vessels and more modern trawlers, having been built about the same time as the "Gertrude L. Thebaud", a sailing schooner.
The historic ship ran aground August 3, 2016 in Somes Sound, Mount Desert, Maine during a windjammer regatta. 25 passengers were evacuated with the crew remaining aboard to await high tide to refloat the ship.
Description.
"American Eagle" is a single-deck two-masted schooner, measuring in length between the perpendiculars, and a total length of . Her beam is , and her hold depth is . She is registered at 70 gross tons and 47 net tons, displacing 118 tons. The frame and planking are oak, the ceiling is fir, and the decking is pine. She currently has a schooner rigging, although she did not for much of her fishing career. The hold has been fitted with fourteen double-occupancy passenger cabins.


Mameli-class submarine

The "Mameli"-class submarine was one of the first classes of the submarines to be built for the (Royal Italian Navy) after the First World War. Some of these boats played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists. Of the four boats built in this class, all but one survived the Second World War.
Design and description.
The "Mameli" class was one of the 's first classes of submarines to be built after the First World War. They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a beam of and a draft of . They had an operational diving depth of . Their crew numbered 49 officers and enlisted men.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the "Mameli" class had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at .
The boats were armed with six torpedo tubes, four in the bow and two in the stern for which they carried a total of 10 torpedoes. They were also armed with a single deck gun forward of the conning tower for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two single machine guns.
Service history.
"Giovanni Da Procida" is the only known boat to have attempted to sink a ship during the Spanish Civil War, albeit unsuccessfully. The "Mameli"s participated in the Second World War. Three boats survived the war to be discarded in 1948.
External links.


SS Red Oak Victory

SS "Red Oak Victory" is a U.S. military Victory ship of the used in the Second World War. She was preserved to serve as a museum ship in Richmond, California, and is part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. She was one of 534 Victories built during World War II, but one of only a few of these ships to be transferred from the Merchant Marine to the United States Navy. She was named after Red Oak, Iowa, which suffered a disproportionate number of casualties in early World War II battles. (Montgomery County ranked third among Iowa counties in World War II casualties per capita). The ship was active during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
History.
"Red Oak Victory" was built by the Permanente Metals Corporation's Richmond Number 1 Yard in Richmond, California and launched on 9 November 1944. Victory ships were not intended to be long lasting, but the welds of the "Red Oak Victory" are still intact after 60 years. The ship is in length, and armed with one five-inch/38 caliber gun; one three-inch/50 caliber gun, and eight 20 mm guns.
The ship was acquired by the United States Navy on 5 December 1944 and commissioned the same day as USS "Red Oak Victory" (AK-235). Following a fitting-out period, "Red Oak Victory" was loaded with cargo and departed San Francisco for Pearl Harbor on 10 January 1945. "Red Oak Victory" departed Hawaii on 10 February loaded with munitions needed in the Marshall and Caroline islands. Sent onward from Enewetak, she arrived in Ulithi on 28 February, and then began operating under Commander Service Squadron Ten. Operating out of the Philippines, she issued cargo and ammunition to various ships in the fleet through the end of the war in August 1945. During a hazardous tour of duty in the Pacific, "Red Oak Victory" handled many tons of ammunition, supplying the fleet without a single casualty.
"Red Oak Victory" was decommissioned in 1946 and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission. "Red Oak Victory" was used by the Luckenbach Steamship Company from 1947 through the 1950s, during which time the vessel went to Japan, Korea, Cuba, Pakistan, India, Singapore and Japan again. "Red Oak Victory" was operated by American Mail Lines for the Military Sea Transport Service from 1966 to 1968, making a dozen voyages to Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines carrying military supplies loaded at West Coast ports. From 1968 until 1998, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay.
Destined to be scrapped, "Red Oak Victory" came to the attention of the Richmond Museum Association in 1993. In 1996 Congress passed legislation authorizing the conveyance of the ship to the Museum Association. "Red Oak Victory" was turned over to the Richmond Museum of History and returned to a new home in Richmond on 20 September 1998. She is being restored and operated by the Richmond Museum of History, and is part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park.


MOL Globe-class container ship

The "MOL Globe" class is a series of 10 container ships originally built for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and later operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE). The ships were built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea. The ships have a maximum theoretical capacity of around 5,605 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).


Dredge valve

The dredge valve is a component of a Cutter Suction Dredge or a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger that is used control the flow of water and sand in the suction and discharge pipes of one of these types of dredgers.
There are 3 cases when this vertical valve can block or reduce the mixture flow of water and sand by lowering its gate:
The dredge valve’s gate is hydraulically control and it has raised a lot of challenges because of maintaining it clean. The gate can be blocked by the sand that enter thorough the dredge valve causing a lot of damages. Because of this reason the dredge valve has a lot of water flushing canals in order to keep it clean.
See also.
Gate valve


List of lightships of the United States

This is a list of lightships of the United States, listing lightships operated by the United States government. The first US lightship was put in place off of Willoughby Spit in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, in 1820. Lightships remained in service in the United States until March 29, 1985, when the last ship, the "Nantucket I", was decommissioned. During that period, lightships were operated by several branches of the government: by the Lighthouse Establishment from 1820 to 1852, the Lighthouse Board from 1852 to 1910, the Lighthouse Service from 1910 to 1939, and the Coast Guard from 1939 to 1985.
The naming conventions used for lightships are not consistent. Until 1867, there was no uniform method to refer to individual lightships. Lightships in that period generally took the name of the station that they served, but occasionally other names. These names were not permanently assigned to an individual vessel. Rather, whenever a lightship was moved to a new station she took on that name. That made identifying individual ships nearly impossible. Beginning in 1867, lightship numbers (hull numbers) were assigned to ships still in service. These numbers are the primary means of identifying individual lightships across her various stations. In 1938, the Lighthouse Service retroactively allocated letter codes to the unnumbered lightships based on their research of available records, although some ships may have been lost or misidentified. Even with the hull numbers, it is common to refer to a lightship by the name of the station it serves (or "Relief", if it is a relief ship) and a few, such as the "Nantucket I" and "Nantucket II" have been given individual names.


SS Andrew Hamilton

SS "Andrew Hamilton" was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Andrew Hamilton, a Scottish lawyer in the Thirteen Colonies, where he finally settled in Philadelphia. He was best known for his legal victory on behalf of the printer and newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger. This 1735 decision in New York helped to establish that truth is a defense to an accusation of libel. Hamilton, in company with his son-in-law, William Allen, purchased the ground, whereon to erect "a suitable building" to be used as a legislative hall, now known as Independence Hall.
Construction.
"Andrew Hamilton" was laid down on 15 June 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 57, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. J.E.P. Grant, the wife of the chief of the engineering section, production division of MARCOM, in Washington DC, and was launched on 6 August 1942.
History.
She was allocated to International Freight Corp., on 17 August 1942. On 14 April 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. She was sold for scrapping on 9 April 1962, to Horton Industries, Inc., for $59,399.89. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 11 May 1962.
Bibliography.


List of river cruise ships

This is a list of river cruise ships, both those in service and those that have since ceased to operate. As some river cruise ships have operated under multiple names, all names will be listed in the "Notes" section.


Mary R. Koch

Mary R. Koch was a combined ore carrier and oil tanker. The ship was named after Mary Robinson Koch, wife of American industrialist Fred C. Koch.
"Mary R. Koch" was built at the Uljanik, Brodogradiliste l Tvornica Dizel Motora shipyard in Pula in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, (now Croatia). Her two sister ships, "Tafala" and "Torne" were delivered to the Swedish company Trafikaktiebolaget Grengesberg in 1974. A further sister ship named "Kanchenjunga" was built as a pure oil carrier with no ore capability.
Under Greek management "Mary R. Koch" (callsign A8QU) was time-chartered to Exxon for three years from going into service. Subsequently she made spot voyages arranged by the oil-trading division of Koch Industries. Around 1980 Koch Shipping was created and "Mary R. Koch" was managed directly from Wichita, with officers and crew being supplied by an agency in Piraeus. Due to severe corrosion problems with piping in the 'void space' double bottom the ship transferred to the bulk-ore trade in the early 1980s.
The four ships of this design were built to prove the practicality of the KaMeWa variable pitch propeller system in high SHP applications. Although the system did function well the high initial and subsequent maintenance costs associated with having two B&W diesel engines, together with the inferior steel used for the cargo piping, compounded by the depressed tanker market at the time, meant that they were never viable economically.


CSCL Long Beach

CSCL Long Beach was built by Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea and was delivered to Seaspan Ship Management on July 5, 2007, approximately eight weeks ahead of its contractual delivery date. The "CSCL Long Beach" is chartered to China Shipping Container Lines.
Hull and engine.
The "CSCL Long Beach" was built in 2007 by Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea. The "CSCL Long Beach" is 336 metres long, and 46 metres across the beam.
This container vessel has a deadweight tonnage of 111,700.
The vessel has a TEU capacity of 9,580 and is propelled by a 93,120 BHP MAN B&W engine, which gives the vessel a maximum speed of 20.1 kts. Its sister ship is the "CSCL Zeebrugge".
Events onboard.
On 3 Dec, 2010, while en route from Valencia, Spain to Klang, Malaysia, a Sri Lankan mariner had to be rescued after badly injuring his hand aboard the "CSCL Long Beach." The sailor was rescued by Saudi Arabian border guards in the Red Sea and taken to Jizan Province of Saudi Arabia.
Ship owner.
"CSCL Long Beach" is owned by the Seaspan Corporation, which charters out container ships that run all over the world. Its charters usually go on to be long-term charters.


Ajax-class ship of the line

The "Ajax"-class ships of the line were a class of two 74-gun third rates of the Royal Navy. They were grouped in with the large class of 74s, as they carried 24-pounders on their upper gun decks, rather than the 18-pounders of the middling and common class 74s. The design of the "Ajax" class was a lengthened (by ) version of the , the lines of which were taken from the French , captured in 1747.


Ever Given

Ever Given () is one of the largest container ships in the world. The ship is owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha (a shipowning and leasing subsidiary of the large Japanese shipbuilding company Imabari Shipbuilding), and is time chartered and operated by container transportation and shipping company Evergreen Marine, headquartered in Luzhu District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. "Ever Given" is registered in Panama and its technical management is the responsibility of the German ship management company Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM).
On 23 March 2021, while traveling from Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the ship ran aground in the Suez Canal. The ship remained in place for six days before salvage crews freed it on 29 March 2021. The vessel was impounded by the Egyptian government on 13 April 2021 for refusing to pay a reported $916 million in fees demanded by the government, including $300 million in "loss of reputation." The compensation claim was later cut down to $600 million.
Description.
"Ever Given" () is one of 13 container ships built to the "Imabari 20000" design developed by Imabari Shipbuilding, 11 of which have been chartered by Evergreen Marine with names starting with "Ever G—". The ship was laid down on 25 December 2015, launched on 9 May 2018 and completed on 25 September 2018. It is Evergreen's second ship to be named "Ever Given"; the first one () was built in 1986 and has since been broken up.
With a length overall of , "Ever Given" is one of the longest ships in service. The hull has a beam of and its height from keel to main deck (hull depth) is . Fully laden at design draught, "Ever Given" draws of water while the scantling draught, which is used as the basis of hull strength and structural design, is . "Ever Given" has a gross tonnage of 220,940; net tonnage of 99,155; and deadweight tonnage of 199,629 tons at design draught. The ship's container capacity is .
As with most large container ships, "Ever Given"s propulsion system consists of a single low-speed two-stroke diesel engine coupled to a large fixed-pitch propeller. The 11-cylinder straight engine, license-manufactured MitsuiMAN B&W 11G95ME-C9, produces at 79 rpm and gives the vessel a service speed of . In addition, "Ever Given" has four straight-8 Yanmar 8EY33LW auxiliary diesel generators that produce electricity. For maneuvering in ports, the vessel has two bow thrusters.
Operational history.
2019 Hamburg collision.
On 9 February 2019, the ship collided with and heavily damaged the "Finkenwerder", a HADAG ferry boat which was berthed at Blankenese, near the harbour of Hamburg. Two minutes after the collision, a traffic ban on the Elbe river was mandated due to high winds.
2021 Suez Canal grounding.
At 07:40 Eastern European Time () on 23 March 2021, the ship was passing through the Suez Canal on its way to Rotterdam from Tanjung Pelepas when it became stuck (coordinates ) near the village of Manshiyet Rugola and blocked the canal. According to a statement by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), the ship ran aground diagonally after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm. In a separate statement, Evergreen Marine said that it had been told the ship "was suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate from [the] waterway and accidentally hit the bottom". The ship ended up with its bow wedged in one bank of the canal and stern nearly touching the other.
The ship had been running fifth in a northbound convoy, with fifteen vessels behind it when it ran aground. Traffic in both directions was blocked for just over six days, leading to a traffic jam of over two hundred vessels. On 24 March, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the technical manager of the ship, denied earlier reports that it had been partially refloated. In addition, trade experts were worried about a supply chain delay, and tension due to the delay for the ships trapped as well as other vessels that planned to cross the Suez.
Eight tugboats worked to re-float the vessel in collaboration with a Komatsu excavator removing sand from the side of the canal where the bow of the vessel was wedged. After an overnight break, the salvage work resumed in the morning of 25 March.
On 25 March, an unnamed Egyptian official was reported as saying that refloating the ship would take days, if not weeks. Lt. Gen. Ossama Rabei, head of the SCA, announced, "The Suez Canal will not spare any efforts to ensure the restoration of navigation and to serve the movement of global trade." BSM and SKK said that all 25 crew are safe and accounted for. All crew remains on board, and there had been "no reports of injuries or pollution". Egyptian meteorologists reported that high winds and a sandstorm had affected the area on the day of the grounding, with winds gusting as much as .
Addressing a press conference on 27 March, Admiral Osama Rabie, chairman of the SCA, said that weather conditions were "not the main reasons" for the ship's grounding, adding, "There may have been technical or human errors ... All of these factors will become apparent in the investigation."
Aided by high , the ship was partially freed from sediment and re-floated on 29 March 2021 at 05:42 EGY (03:42 UTC), apart from the bow, which was still caught.
The ship was finally freed in the afternoon at 15:05 EGY (13:05 UTC), and the ship started moving under tow towards the Great Bitter Lake for technical inspection, the first step towards reopening the canal, planned for later that day. After the canal had been checked for damage, the Suez Canal Authority informed shipping agencies that shipping was to resume from 19:00 local time (17:00 UTC).
On 13 April canal authorities announced that the ship had been seized on court orders until the owners paid $900 million in damages.


AIDAstella

AIDAstella is a "Sphinx"-class cruise ship, built at Meyer Werft for AIDA Cruises. She is the seventh Sphinx series ship, preceded by sisters "AIDAdiva", "AIDAbella", "AIDAluna", "AIDAblu", "AIDAsol" and "AIDAmar". "AIDAstella" was delivered to the shipping company by Meyer Werft on 11 March 2013.
"AIDAstella" is of the same size as her sister ships (71,300 Gross Tons).
Two five bladed propellers drive her through the water at 23 knots. She also features a pair of bow thrusters, a pair of stern thrusters, a pair of stabilisers and twin rudders.
From March 3 to March 8, 2018, "AIDAstella" underwent a dry dock in Dubai during which various public venues were refurbished.


SS Edwin H. Duff


Captain Meriwether Lewis

The dredge Captain Meriwether Lewis is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The dredge is one of the few surviving examples of its type built to control flooding and improve navigation along the nation's rivers.
History.
Built by the Marietta Manufacturing Company in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, "Captain Meriwether Lewis" was launched on December 12, 1931 while only half-complete by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps completed construction the following year.
This side-wheel steam paddle dredge was operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help channel the Missouri River and to maintain it as a navigable waterway.
This massive vessel, at a length of 268' 11-1/2", housed a standard operating crew of 52, with quarters available for 58 men. "Captain Meriwether Lewis" could dig to a depth of 20 feet at an average speed of 150–200 feet per hour, all powered by the 25-foot steam-propelled paddle wheels. With all three steam engines running, the dredge burned up to 6,000 gallons of oil in a day.
The Babcock & Wilcox marine boilers could produce up to 40,000 pounds of steam or more per hour when dredging. The triple expansion engine that drives the pump turbine is rated at 1,300 hp. The dredge was pulled forward by the two deck gypsies and not propelled by the paddlewheels when dredging.
In 1976, "Captain Meriwether Lewis" was given to the Nebraska State Historical Society and moved to Brownville one year later. It was dry-berthed along the Missouri River where it remains today.
"Captain Meriwether Lewis" was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Today, "Captain Meriwether Lewis" houses the Museum of Missouri River History, where exhibits from Native American history to exploration and westward expansion can be seen. Visitors can also learn about the vessel and its role in improving navigation on the Missouri River.
Museum of Missouri River History.
The Nebraska State Historical Society took possession of the ship in 1976 and moved it to Brownville, Nebraska the next year. The ship is dry-berthed along the Missouri River. Visitors can tour the ship, which includes the Museum of Missouri River History, opened in 1981. The museum's exhibits are located in several rooms of the boiler deck. Exhibits include Native American history, area exploration, westward expansion, the ship and navigation on the river.


French submarine Charles Brun

Charles Brun was a submarine built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century, the only boat of her class.
Construction.
"Charles Brun" was an experimental submarine ordered on 31 December 1906, she was built by the Arsenal de Toulon. Construction started in 1907 and she was launched on 14 September 1910. The trials of her experimental propulsion system were conducted between October 1910 and October 1913 when the submarine was finally completed.
When she was completed, the submarine was long, with a beam of and a draft of . The submarine was assessed at . She had 4 du Temple boilers which were powered by oil and the engine was rated at 1,300 nhp. Her max. depth was , she could hold 24 crew and she was armed with 2 bow torpedo tubes, 2 single 450 mm Drzewiecki drop collars and 4 single external 450 mm torpedo launchers of which 2 were placed at the aft of the submarine.
Later career and decommissioning.
"Charles Brun" never entered operational service with the French Navy since she was an experimental submarine. She was decommissioned in June 1920 and sold for scrap.


Independence (cruise ship)

Independence is a small cruise ship owned and operated by American Cruise Lines (ACL). She was built in 2010 by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland for overnight coastal, river, and inland waterway cruising within the continental United States.


DeepFlight Super Falcon

The DeepFlight Super Falcon is a personal submarine designed by Graham Hawkes, a former civilian ocean engineer. It was hoped that the technology used in this submersible would allow travel to the deepest parts of the ocean.
Development.
The Super Falcon was designed by Graham Hawkes. Later, he started designing submersible vehicles for both the oil industry and those in the scientific research sectors. One of his earlier submersibles was featured in the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". Another was used in producer James Cameron's "Aliens of the deep".
In 2005, Hawkes and adventurer Steve Fossett teamed up to create a submarine that could be piloted by an individual to the deepest part of the ocean. This spot in the Pacific Ocean, called Challenger Deep, is approximately under the ocean's surface and is thought to be the deepest point in the ocean. Together they began to develop the "Challenger" submersible with this goal in mind. However, in 2007 Fossett lost his life in a fatal accident in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California before the feat could be attempted.
The first test flight of the Super Falcon in 2009 ran into a few problems including getting the submersible stuck in a kelp bed, which had to be cut free with the help of a safety diver. Other initial problems included a broken prop and rudder while performing vertical dives and 90 degree rolls.
Design.
Mark I.
The Super Falcon is classified as a winged submersible with a numerical design designation of DF 302. With its wings deployed, it measures wide x x long. The width is reduced to with the side wings folded.
The electricity that drives the propulsion system is from batteries, the Super Falcon's cruise speed is between . Its maximum thrust is . The maximum rate at which it can make a descent is 200 ft/min and the maximum rate at which it can ascend is 400 ft/min. It can operate at a depth of 1,000 fsw with a payload of , or 2 people . It has a launch weight of .
Mark II.
The redesigned Super Falcon is long, wide (wings folded or extended, respectively), tall, and a launch weight of . It has a cruising speed of , under thrust of , with an operating depth of . It can carry a crew of 2, and a payload of including the crew. The vehicle uses lithium ion batteries for energy storage.
Submarines.
The Mateschitz Super Falcon is a Mark II custom fitted to Red Bull billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, for use at the island and resort that he owns, Laucala Island in Fiji. It is the first resort-based Super Falcon.


Sagamore (barge)

The Sagamore is reported to be the best example of a whaleback barge among Great Lakes shipwrecks. Only 44 whalebacks were ever built, and out of the 26 that sank, only 8 sank in the Great Lakes, most of them being blown up for blocking shipping channels. She sank in 1901 in the shipping lane near the Soo Locks when she was rammed by the steel steamer "Northern Queen" in one of Whitefish Bay's notorious fogs. Her captain and two crew members went down with her. Artifacts from her wreck were illegally removed in the 1980s. Her artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The wreck of the "Sagamore" is protected as part of an underwater museum in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.
Career.
The "SS Sagamore's" keel was laid 15 December 1891 by the American Steel Barge Company and she was launched 23 July 1892 in Superior, Wisconsin. She was built as 1,601 gross ton whaleback steamer barge, in length, in beam, and in draft. She was enrolled in Marquette, Michigan. She was sold to the Huron Barge Company and managed by Pickands, Mather and Company of Ashtabula, Ohio. She was usually towed by her consort whaleback steamer, the "Pathfinder". The Sagamore once unloaded a record 3,200 tons of iron ore in 8 hours at Ashtabula in 1893.
Final voyage.
On 29 July 1901, the "Sagamore" was anchored just off Iroquois Point with her consort, the "Pathfinder", waiting for one of Whitefish Bay's legendary, thick fogs to clear. Both vessels were loaded with iron downbound from Duluth, Minnesota for Lake Erie. The steel steamer "Northern Queen" came suddenly through the fog on a collision course for the "Pathfinder". The helmsman of the "Northern Queen" changed course to avoid the "Pathfinder" and headed directly for the "Sagamore". The helmsman did not see the "Sagamore" due to the heavy fog. When the "Northern Queen" hit the "Sagamore" on the starboard side near the after turret, the "Sagamore" filled with water rapidly and sank. Five of the Sagamore's crew jumped to safety onto the deck of the "Northern Queen", but three were lost. The "Sagamore's" Captain E. Joiner, the cook, and a sailor died in the collision.
The loss of the "Sagamore" was valued at $90,000. Shipwreck historian Cris Kohl reported, "The "Northern Queen" returned to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan with the survivors and to make temporary repairs to her badly damaged hull. She eventually went into drydock for permanent repairs."
Wreck.
The wreck of the "Sagamore" was discovered in 1962 by Jack Brosco and Robert McCormick of Sault Ste. Marie in of water, mostly intact and sitting upright on a gravel bottom. Scuba diver and shipwreck historian Cris Kohl reports that the "Sagamore" is "probably the best example of a whaleback steamer that can be found anywhere under the surface of the Great Lakes." Kohl describes the "Sagamore" as a long shipwreck with impressive triple tow rings mounted on her blunt-nosed bow, wide open hatches for easy access, and comfortable ambient lighting for swimming inside her hull. Kohl and other divers warn that the "Sagamore" is not usually buoyed as she lies in the middle of the busy freighter shipping lane near the Soo Locks.
The "Sagamore's" wreck was stripped of her artifacts over the years. Michigan’s Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. The "Evening News" reported a Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment 1992 raid on the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and its offices that found evidence of 150 artifacts illegally removed from the state-claimed bottomlands, including artifacts from the "Sagamore". Following a settlement agreement, a single sheave block, shaving mug, pocket watch, mallet, pickax, saucer, and pitcher from the "Sagamore" are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on loan for display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
The "Sagamore's" wreck is protected for future generations of scuba divers by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum. Divers who visit the wreck sites are expected to observe preservation laws and "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles". Great Lakes diver Steve Harrington cautions that "divers must be certain of their abilities and equipment" when diving the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.


SS Dettifoss

SS "Dettifoss" was an Icelandic Cargo Ship that was Torpedoed by in the Irish Sea out of Belfast, United Kingdom (), while she was travelling from New York, United States to Belfast, United Kingdom and later to Reykjavík, Iceland.
Construction.
"Dettifoss" was constructed in 1930 at the Frederikshavns Vaerft & Flydedok A/S shipyard in Frederikshavn, Denmark.
The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . The ship was assessed at . She had a Compound expansion engine driving a single screw propeller and the engine was rated at 124 nhp.
Sinking.
On 21 February 1945, "Dettifoss" was on a voyage in Convoy UR 155 from New York, United States to Belfast, United Kingdom and later to Reykjavík, Iceland with a general cargo of 1300 tons. When she was torpedoed by the at 08.39 hours in the Irish Sea out of Belfast. "Dettifoss" sank within 7 minutes resulting in the death of 12 crew members and 3 passengers. The 29 survivors (18 crew and 11 passengers) were picked up an hour after the sinking by and were then taken to Scotland and later to Iceland. The sinking of "Dettifoss" was a harsh blow so soon after the loss of . All public activities in Iceland were cancelled on 24 February 1945.
Wreck.
The wreck lies at ().


Exeter-class ship of the line

The "Exeter"-class ships of the line were a class of four 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by William Bateley.
Design.
The draught for "Exeter" was based upon the s of 1757.


SS Ethelbert Nevin

SS "Ethelbert Nevin" was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Ethelbert Nevin, an American pianist and composer from Pennsylvania.
Construction.
"Ethelbert Nevin" was laid down on 1 June 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2486, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; sponsored by Miss Doris Nevin, the daughter of the namesake, and was launched on 18 July 1944.
History.
She was allocated to the Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., on 31 July 1944. On 19 December 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. She was sold for scrapping, 19 February 1960, to Bethlehem Steel Co., for $70,161. She was removed from the fleet, 13 March 1960.
Bibliography.


Lunnaya Sonata

The Zirka Dnipra () (formerly Marshal Rybalko) is a "Dmitriy Furmanov"-class (project 302, BiFa129M) Soviet/Ukrainian river cruise ship, cruising in the Dnepr – Black Sea basin. The ship was built by "VEB Elbewerften Boizenburg/Roßlau" at their shipyard in Boizenburg, East Germany, and entered service in 1988. Her home port is currently Kherson. "Zirka Dnipra" captain (2012) is Vladimir Bilenko.
Features.
The ship has two restaurants: Odessa restaurant (84 places) on the Boat deck and Kyiv restaurant (176 places) on the Upper deck, two bars: Odessa Bar (84 places, Boat deck) and Panorama Bar (50 places, Boat deck), the lounge on the Upper deck, conference hall (for up to 220 people) and souvenir shop.


USS Monomoy (AG-40)

USS "Monomoy" (AG-40) was a commercial cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was outfitted with guns and depth charges and sent into the dangerous waters of the North Atlantic Ocean to furnish data used to predict storm movement and severe weather conditions to safeguard the continuous movement of merchant convoys, naval warships, and airplanes between North America and the United Kingdom, Murmansk, and other destinations. She served as an escort vessel when required. She was manned by a U.S. Coast Guard crew and was eventually transferred to that agency as USCGC "Monomoy" (WAG-275).
Built in Duluth, Minnesota.
"Monomoy" (AG-40) was built in 1918 by Globe Shipbuilding Co., Duluth, Minnesota; acquired as "J. Floyd Massey, Jr" 15 September 1941 from Steel Products Transportation Company, Buffalo, New York; renamed "Monomoy" 15 October 1941; and commissioned 24 December 1941.
World War II Navy service.
"Monomoy", manned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, joined the Weather Patrol, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, in 1942. From her base at Boston, Massachusetts, she periodically sailed to weather stations 1 and 2, where she provided weather reports vital for the safety of convoys and air commerce.
Operating in dangerous waters, she made frequent contact with enemy submarines. At 9:07 PM on 24 July 1942 after spotting wake from two torpedoes crossing ten yards off the bow, the Officer of the Deck (Albert L. Preston) spotted a U-Boat periscope and conning tower. Four shots were fired from the 4" gun at 9:09 PM. The second, targeted at 2,000 yards, resulted in a metallic thud and a fire at the location of the U-Boat, which then disappeared from view. Two more shots were fired, followed by depth charges. No survivors were seen.
She continued patrolling the North Atlantic, the North Sea, and the Bay of Biscay for the next 15 months. At times it took two men to control the ship's wheel in the rough seas. The ship rendered valuable service to Allied ships and planes in the North Atlantic.
Transferred to the Coast Guard.
She was formally transferred to the Coast Guard 22 October 1943, and stricken from the Naval Register 30 October. Redesignated "WAG-275", "Monomoy" served the Coast Guard through the remainder of the war and was then transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission. She was scrapped in 1951.


Quester I

Quester I is the name of a 45-foot submarine built in 1967 by Jerry Bianco, a shipyard worker in Brooklyn, New York City. Bianco built the submarine from salvaged metal, with the goal of either raising, or salvaging valuables from, the wreck of the Italian passenger liner SS Andrea Doria, which sank off Nantucket Sound in 1956 after being hit broadside by another liner.
Launch attempt.
In 1967, after three years of part-time construction efforts, Bianco prepared to launch the submarine. While lowering it down with a crane, the vessel tipped sideways and became stuck in the mud. Bianco tried to recover the vessel, but was unable to raise sufficient funds for the effort. However, one source claims that the vessel was eventually unstuck and was sailed up and down the bay before sinking at its mooring in the bay. Another story explains that the launch failure was due to the crane operator's disregarding the builder's directions; since only partial ballast had been placed inside the submarine (to save money), it was unstable, and thus was to be held in position by the crane while the ballast would be properly repositioned. Placing it completely into the water, the unstable craft rolled onto its side. This story states that "Bianco later refilled the ballast and tethered the sub, but his backers’ enthusiasm waned, and he could never return to the project. Eventually some of the sub’s parts were stolen, and it got loose from its moorings in 1981."
Today.
As of 2016 the vessel is either largely or partly visible (depending on the tide) above the Coney Island Creek's water. It was painted bright yellow at launch; it now has a sheen of orange rust. The cap, which always remains unsubmerged, retains more of its bright yellow color, from the zinc chromate paint used in its construction.


SS Hawaiian Planter


Cherry Venture

Cherry Venture was a 1600-ton cargo ship of Scandinavian origin. It ran aground on Teewah Beach in South East Queensland, Australia on 6 July 1973 and remained on the beach for 34 years until its removal in early 2007.
History.
The ship, originally named the "Scania", was built in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1945. She was later called the "Slott" and "Timor Venture". In 1973, she was owned by Sea Tankers Pty. Ltd. of Singapore and known as the "Cherry Venture."
Cause of the wreck.
On the day of the storm the ship was traveling from Auckland to Brisbane under the command of Captain Seluenu.
"Cherry Venture" was wrecked due to a combination of severe storms and a lack of cargo. Buoys in the area recorded wave heights of up to . The unladen ship sat high in the water, which, when combined with the high tides and strong swell, propelled it to a point far enough up the sand that it could not be successfully re-floated, despite attempts that involved dredging the beach. However, the captain and the crew of 24 and 2 monkeys onboard all survived.
Salvage attempts.
The wreck was subsequently purchased by Peter Vagellas, an Australian entrepreneur, who had intended to re-float the vessel and convert it into a luxury liner and floating casino to service the Great Barrier Reef. In 1977 there was a failed attempt to refloat the ship. Nine major salvage attempts over the years have failed.
Public interest.
The wreck was a popular stopping point for tourists en route between Noosa and Fraser Island, and has been photographed often. Despite safety warnings regarding the rusting structure's unsound nature, visitors would often climb over the wreck.
Removal.
In December 1985, the ship's stainless steel propeller was removed using a thermal lance by Bill, Tony and Bruce Dunne of Caloundra. It was later restored by the Rainbow Beach Business and Tourism Association and then mounted as a monument in the township of Rainbow Beach.
In late 2006 it was announced that the wreck would be demolished due to increasing dangers posed by its deterioration, including exposed asbestos in the engine room.
The removal process, which necessitated cordoning off a section of public highway which runs along the beach next to the wreck, began on 13 February 2007.
2013 hull recovery.
After the demolition of the wreck in 2007, the state government ordered the site to be buried for the safety of visitors. In 2013, Cyclone Oswald and local storms caused severe erosion at the site which removed the layer of sand above the remains of the hull. This sparked the tourism business as the wreck was and now still is a special example of Australia's shipping history.


Thorshavet

Thorshavet was a Norwegian whaling factory ship built in 1947 off the coast of Mauritania. It was later named Astra.
It collided with the cargo ship "Karonga" (Singapore) off the coast of Portuguese Guinea. It sank on 17 April 1974 with the loss of a crew member.


United States C-class submarine

The C-class submarines were five United States Navy submarines built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from the Electric Boat Company. Built between 1906 and 1909, and in commission from 1908 to 1919, all five were subsequently sold for scrap in 1920. They were considerably larger than the preceding B class at 275 tons submerged vs. 173 tons submerged, and were the first United States submarines with two-shaft propulsion, doubling the machinery of the B class.
Design.
These vessels included some features intended to increase underwater speed that were standard on United States submarines of this era, including a small sail and a rotating cap over the torpedo tube muzzles. For extended surface runs, the small sail was augmented with a temporary piping-and-canvas structure. Apparently, the "crash dive" concept had not yet been developed, as this would take considerable time to deploy and dismantle. This configuration remained standard through the L class, commissioned 1916-1917. The streamlined, rotating torpedo tube muzzle cap eliminated the drag that muzzle holes would otherwise cause. In the stowed position, the submarine appears to have no torpedo tubes, as the holes in the cap are covered by the bow stem. This feature remained standard through the K class, after which it was replaced with shutters that were standard through the 1950s.
Service history.
The C-class submarines served in the Atlantic Fleet. On 20 May 1913, the five C-class boats of the First Group, Submarine Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet, departed Norfolk, Virginia for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They exercised in Cuban waters, principally conducting torpedo exercises, until 7 December 1913. On that date the C-class boats, now of the redesignated First Division, escorted by four surface ships, sailed for Cristóbal in the Panama Canal Zone. Five days later the ships completed the passage, at that time the longest cruise made by United States submarines under their own power. The submarines remained at the Coco Solo submarine base until they were decommissioned in 1919 and scrapped in 1920.


Enforcer (ship design)

The Enforcer is a ship design created by Royal Schelde (now Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding) following the design and building of HNLMS "Rotterdam". HNLMS "Rotterdam" was jointly developed by the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Spanish Navy.
Development began in the 1980s, when the Royal Netherlands Navy began investigating ways to provide an amphibious transport capability. In 1994, preliminary design work began. The Spanish government proposed in 1990 to collaborate on the design. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in June 1992. Development of the base design occurred during 1993, after which the navies turned to local companies for further design work and construction: Royal Schelde in the Netherlands, and Bazán (which became Navantia in 2005) in Spain.
Royal Schelde completed one ship to the "Rotterdam" class, with constructed between 1995 and 1998. Bazan/Navantia completed two ships to the "Galicia"-class design.
After building "Rotterdam", Royal Schelde developed the "Enforcer Family": four variants of the Enforcer design intended for export sale. Increased modularity, less powerful propulsion systems, and allowed the company to offer the export variants at lower prices.
The Enforcer design also served as the basis of a second ship for the Royal Netherlands Navy; , which was laid down in 2003 and commissioned in 2007. The design was used for the British Bay-class landing ships. Four vessels were built for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by two shipyards between 2002 and 2007, with one sold in 2011 to the Royal Australian Navy.
The Enforcer design was considered a contender for the Indian Navy Multi-Role Support Vessel programme.
Ships based on Enforcer design.
Here is a list of ships that are based on the Enforcer design.


SS Auby

SS "Auby" was a Sarawakian Cargo ship that was scuttled at Batavia, Netherlands East Indies on 5 March 1942 during the Battle of Java.
Construction.
"Auby" was built at the Soc. Esercizio Bacini shipyard in Riva Trigoso, Italy in 1908. Where she was launched and completed that same year. The ship was long, had a beam of and had a depth of . She was assessed at and had 2 x 3 cyl. triple expansion steam engines driving two screw propellors. The ship could generate 47 n.h.p..
Sinking.
"Auby" was scuttled at Batavia, Netherlands East Indies on 5 March 1942 during the Battle of Java to prevend her falling into Japanese possession, after having helped evacuate civilians from Singapore to Tanjong Priok.


HMS Severn (P282)

HMS "Severn" is a of the Royal Navy. Named after the River Severn, the ship is the first to bear the name in 56 years. She was built by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton to serve primarily as a fishery protection unit within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships and . All three were commissioned into service in 2003 to replace the five older s. The ship was decommissioned in 2017, but the Government decided to recommission her as part of Brexit preparedness, and the ship was therefore refitted in 2020.
Construction.
"Severn" was built by Vosper Thorneycroft Shipbuilding at its shipyard in Woolston, Southampton. Following construction, she was launched on 1 January 2003 as the second vessel of her class. Along with her sister ships, she was among the first vessels to be privately-funded by industry and leased to the Royal Navy for five years. On expiry of this lease, the Royal Navy had the option to either purchase the vessels or return them to VT. On 31 July 2003, "Severn" was commissioned into the Royal Navy in a ceremony attended by her Lady Sponsor Miss Vicky Anderson in Portsmouth.
Operational history.
"Severn" undertook her first fishery protection patrol in September 2003. She was also affiliated with the Welsh city of Newport during the same month and awarded the Freedom of the City in June 2006.
Between 2005 and 2006, "Severn" spent a total of 225 days at sea on fishery protection duties, her busiest year to date.
In September 2012, "Severn" was purchased by the Royal Navy, along with her sister ships, after their leases had expired.
In October 2014, it was announced that "Severn" would be the first River-class vessel to deploy overseas to take up the Atlantic Patrol Tasking North, a task traditionally assigned to a frigate or destroyer. Arriving in the Caribbean, "Severn" patrolled the waters of each British Overseas Territory in the region and was on standby to provide any support, ranging from disaster relief to tackling all forms of illicit trafficking. The ship returned to Portsmouth on 16 July 2015, having visited all of the British Overseas Territories in the region.
In December 2015, acting on intelligence from the British National Crime Agency and French DNRED, the ship intercepted the MV "Carib Palm" off the south coast of the United Kingdom and escorted the ship to Boulogne-sur-Mer, France where it was searched by French customs. The search uncovered of cocaine with a street value in excess of £350m.
In April 2017, "Severn" was detached from fishery protection duties to escort the Russian Navy Ropucha-class landing ship "Korolev" through the English Channel.
Decommissioning and reactivation.
After making what was presumed to be her final visit to her affiliated town of Newport, "Severn" was decommissioned at HMNB Portsmouth on 27 October 2017. In March 2018 — six months since decommissioning — the Ministry of Defence announced that £12.7 million had been allocated from the EU Exit Preparedness Fund to preserve "Severn" and her two sister ships, should they be required to control and enforce UK waters and fisheries following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. In November 2018, Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, confirmed that "Severn" and her sister ships would be reactivated and "forward operated" from their affiliated ports.
Post-reactivation.
"Severn" underwent a refit in May 2020 in preparation for her planned recommissioning. Following this, she officially recommissioned on 30 June 2020. Despite plans to forward-operate "Severn" from her affiliated port, the ship remained base ported in Portsmouth as of 4 February 2020. After passing her Operational Sea Training (OST) assessment, "Severn" returned to operations in July 2020. One of her first operational taskings since rejoining the fleet saw her shadowing Russian Navy destroyer "Vice-Admiral Kulakov", corvette "Vasily Bykov" and their two support ships as they transited through the English Channel on 9 July 2020.
On 6 May 2021, "Severn" was deployed to Jersey alongside HMS "Tamar", another River-class OPV, after reports that fishing boats from France would blockade the "Commodore Goodwill" from reaching the island at 6am. This was part of a chain of events sparked by a new fishing licence scheme introduced by the Jersey authorities in alleged contravention of an agreement between the UK and the EU nations and without consultation with the French authorities.


American Duchess

American Duchess is a river cruise paddlewheeler owned and operated by American Queen Steamboat Company. It is the third addition to the AQSC fleet and is advertised as being the most luxurious option of the line's vessels. The riverboat's itineraries include routes on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Illinois Rivers.
"Bettendorf Capri" (1995–2016).
Before it was "American Duchess", this vessel was originally designed and built for Isle of Capri Casinos as a casino boat named "Bettendorf Capri". After going land-based, Isle of Capri sold the boat to AQSC in 2016. On October 16, 2016, Bettendorf locals gathered on the levee to give their farewell to the 21 year-old casino boat and watched her pull off the river bank to sail south to undergo her reconstruction. Contracted to Bollinger Shipyards in Morgan City, Louisiana, the vessel would be gutted, remodeled and relaunched as a river cruiseliner the following year. The conversion from a casino boat to an overnight passenger vessel involved the removal of over 1,000 slot machine bases and 1,200 steel chairs, the construction of new dividing walls to form 83 passenger cabins, the addition of a crew hold, a completely new interior layout and design, modifications to propulsion and a new exterior paint job.
Introduction as "American Duchess".
On August 14, 2017 at the New Orleans waterfront, "American Duchess" was christened with a bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon by Marissa Applegate, daughter of AQSC CEO John Waggoner. Former Maker's Mark chairman Bill Samuels Jr. also attended the christening and in his speech likened the christening to that of Cunard's 2010 christening of with a bottle of Scotch whiskey.
"American Duchess" became the third of four vessels within the AQSC fleet, succeeding and , and preceding the upcoming "American Countess".
"American Duchess" was slated to make mostly the same routes as "American Queen", with two unique destinations being the city of Nashville, Tennessee and the Illinois River up to Ottawa, Illinois. "American Queen" has not visited Nashville since 2014, though she did make an unexpected cruise to Ottawa, Illinois in 2018 due to high water conditions on the Upper Mississippi.
Economic impact of "American Duchess".
"American Duchess" has been welcomed and praised by many river towns in the United States for she and her sister vessels' contributions to local economies. The rising popularity of U.S. river cruising has brought tourist dollars into smaller, lesser known U.S. towns from travelers worldwide. In 2018, the combined presence of "American Queen" and "American Duchess" brought over $2 million to the economy of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Jim Palmeri of the American Queen's shore excursions company estimated that the total of 16,537 people brought to Vicksburg during that year by AQSC had spent an average of $76 per person in the city. During a 2019 visit to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Denny Bellamy of the city's visitor's bureau expressed his appeasement of the increasing frequency of riverboat visits to the town. Bellamy referred to the passengers' experiences in town as a legitimization of Point Pleasant as a tourist destination. He also spoke of his aspiration for the city to become a "truck stop for boats."


Nordic Odin

Nordic Odin is a panamax bulk carrier owned by Nordic Bulk Carriers.
She was built by Oshima Shipbuilding of Saikai, Japan.
She was delivered on February 13, 2015.
The operation and management of the vessel is contracted out to Unicom Management of Cyprus. Her gross tonnage is 41,071; her deadweight tonnage is 76,180 tonnes.
She left Baffinland's Milne Port with a load of iron ore on August 12, 2015, bound for Gijon, Spain. The first vessel to carry iron ore from the Baffinland Mine was the slightly smaller "Federal Tiber", which left four days earlier. "Federal Tiber" sailed in ice-free conditions, but "Nordic Odin" did encounter sea ice. She is rated ice class 1A.


SS Dakotan

SS "Dakotan was a cargo ship built in 1912 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company that served as a transport ship in the United States Army Transport Service in World War I, and then was transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease in World War II before being finally scrapped in 1969. During World War I, she was taken over by the United States Army as USAT "Dakotan. Near the end of that war she was transferred to the United States Navy and commissioned as USS "Dakotan" (ID-3882). During World War II, the ship was transferred to the Soviet Union and renamed SS "Zyrianin (or Зырянин" in Cyrillic).
"Dakotan" was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, and was employed in inter-coastal service via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal after it opened. During World War I, as USAT "Dakotan", the ship carried cargo and animals to France. "Dakotan" was in the first American convoy to sail to France after the United States entered the war in April 1917. In Navy service, USS "Dakotan" carried cargo to France and returned over 8,800 American troops after the Armistice.
After her Navy service ended in 1919, she was returned to her original owners and resumed relatively uneventful cargo service over the next twenty years. "Dakotan" ran aground off the coast of Mexico in 1923 but was freed and towed to port for repairs. Early in World War II, the ship was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and transferred to the Soviet Union under the terms of Lend-Lease in December 1942. Sailing as SS "Zyrianin", the ship remained a part of the Soviet merchant fleet into the late 1960s.
Design and construction.
In September 1911, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company placed an order with the Maryland Steel Company of Sparrows Point, Maryland, for four new cargo ships—, "Dakotan", , and . The contract cost of the ships was set at the construction cost plus an 8% profit for Maryland Steel, but with a maximum cost of $640,000 per ship. The construction was financed by Maryland Steel with a credit plan that called for a 5% down payment in cash with nine monthly installments for the balance. The deal had provisions that allowed some of the nine installments to be converted into longer-term notes or mortgages. The final cost of "Dakotan", including financing costs, was $66.00 per deadweight ton, which totaled just under $672,000.
"Dakotan" (Maryland Steel yard no. 125) was the second ship built under the original contract. She was launched on 10 August 1912, and delivered to American-Hawaiian in November. "Dakotan" was , and was in length and abeam. She had a deadweight tonnage of and a storage capacity of . A single steam engine with oil-fired boilers driving a single screw propeller provided her power; her speed was . The steamer had accommodations for 18 officers, 40 crewmen, and could carry up to 16 passengers.
Early career.
When "Dakotan" began sailing for American-Hawaiian, the company shipped cargo from East Coast ports via the Tehuantepec Route to West Coast ports and Hawaii, and vice versa. Shipments on the Tehuantepec Route arrived at Mexican ports—Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, for eastbound cargo, and Coatzacoalcos for westbound cargo—and traversed the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the Tehuantepec National Railway. Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii, while westbound cargoes were general in nature. "Dakotan" sailed in this service on the east side of North America.
At the time of the United States occupation of Veracruz on 21 April 1914, "Dakotan" was in port at Coatzacoalcos. There she loaded 127 American refugees from sugar plantations in the area and steamed to Veracruz. As a consequence of the American action, the Huerta-led Mexican government closed the Tehuantepec National Railway to American shipping.
In early May, "The New York Times" reported that "Dakotan" had sailed to Cristóbal to pick up a cargo of sugar that had been originally slated for transport via Tehuantepec. According to the article, the sugar was to be carried on barges through the still-unopened Panama Canal, then loaded onto "Dakotan". There was no indication in the newspaper whether this mission was completed or not, but it is known that American-Hawaii returned to its historic route of sailing cargo around South America via the Straits of Magellan after Tehuantepec was closed but before the canal opened.
With the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August, American-Hawaiian ships switched to using the canal. In early September, American-Hawaiian announced that "Dakotan" would sail on a route from New York via the canal to San Francisco and on to either Seattle or Tacoma. When landslides closed the canal in October 1915, all American-Hawaiian ships, including "Dakotan", returned to the Straits of Magellan route.
In 1916, "Dakotan" was one of several American-Hawaiian cargo ships chartered by the DuPont Nitrate Company to carry sodium nitrate from Chile to the United States. "Dakotan" and the other cargo ships in this South American service would typically deliver loads of coal, gasoline, or steel in exchange for the sodium nitrate. In May, "The Christian Science Monitor" reported on what may have been a typical delivery for "Dakotan". The ship had left Tocopilla with 91,872 bags—about —of sodium nitrate for use in making explosives, and, after transiting the newly reopened Panama Canal, arrived in Philadelphia.
World War I.
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the United States Army, needing transports to move its men and materiel to France, convened a select committee of shipping executives who pored over registries of American shipping to evaluate transport capabilities. The committee selected "Dakotan", her sister ship "Montanan", and twelve other American-flagged ships that were sufficiently fast, could carry enough fuel in their bunkers for transatlantic crossings, and, most importantly, were in port or not far at sea. After "Dakotan" discharged her last load of cargo, she was officially handed over to the Army on 29 May.
Before troop transportation began, all of the ships were hastily refitted. Of the fourteen ships, four, including "Dakotan" and "Montanan", were designated to carry animals and cargo; the other ten were designated to carry human passengers. Ramps and stalls were built on the four ships chosen to carry animals. Gun platforms were installed on each ship before it docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where the guns were put in place. All the ships were manned by merchant officers and crews but carried military personnel: two U.S. Navy officers, Navy gun crews, quartermasters, signalmen, and wireless operators. The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack.
The American convoy carrying the first units of the American Expeditionary Force was separated into four groups; "Dakotan" was in the fourth group with her sister ship "Montanan", Army transports and , and accompanied by the group's escorts: cruiser , U.S. Navy transport , and destroyers , , and . "Dakotan" departed with her group on the morning of 17 June for Brest, France, steaming at an pace. A thwarted submarine attack on the first convoy group, and reports of heavy submarine activity off of Brest resulted in a change in the convoy's destination to Saint-Nazaire.
"Dakotan" departed Saint-Nazaire on 14 July in the company of her convoy mates "El Occidente", "Montanan", and "Edward Luckenbach". Joining the return trip were Army transport , Navy armed collier , Navy oiler , and cruiser , the flagship of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, the head of the Navy's Cruiser and Transport Force.
Sources do not reveal "Dakotan"s movements over the next months, but on 6 September 1917, the Naval Armed Guardsmen aboard "Dakotan" shelled a German submarine after its periscope had been sighted. On 29 January 1919, "Dakotan" was transferred to the Navy and commissioned the same day, with Lieutenant Commander J. Simmons, United States Naval Reserve Forces (USNRF), in command. Outfitted for service as a troop transport to return American servicemen from Europe, "Dakotan" made five transatlantic roundtrips to France as part of the Navy's Cruiser and Transport Force between 15 February and 20 July. Eastbound journeys delivered cargo to Saint-Nazaire and Bordeaux for the Army of Occupation; westbound trips returned soldiers to the United States. "Dakotan" carried a total of 8,812 troops on her five westbound voyages. "Dakotan" returned from her final voyage on 20 July, was decommissioned at New York on 31 July, and returned to American-Hawaiian the same day.
Interwar years.
"Dakotan" resumed cargo service with American-Hawaiian after her return from World War I service. Although the company had abandoned its original Hawaiian sugar routes, "Dakotan" continued inter-coastal service through the Panama Canal in a relatively uneventful manner over the next twenty years. One incident of note occurred on 20 August 1923 when "Dakotan" issued distress calls after she ran aground at Cabo San Lázaro on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Navy transport ship and the Standard Oil tanker "Charles Pratt" responded to "Dakotan"s calls. "Charles Pratt" successfully freed "Dakotan", which had suffered damage to her rudder post in the accident. The American-Hawaiian ship "Nevadan" arrived and towed "Dakotan" to Los Angeles for repairs.
In 1933, two members of "Dakotan"s crew had medical emergencies that received news coverage. The first, in February, involved a seaman with an abdominal disorder. He was transferred from the eastbound "Dakotan" to the Dollar Line ocean liner which carried him to Los Angeles to receive medical attention. The second occurred in July when "Dakotan"s quartermaster came down with appendicitis near Balboa. Radio calls for assistance brought the U.S. Navy's Destroyer Division 7 to "Dakotan"s aid. The destroyer unit's medical officer boarded "Dakotan" and performed an appendectomy on the man, who was too ill to be moved off the ship.
World War II and later career.
After the United States entered World War II, in 1941 - though most of Europe had been involved since summer 1939 - "Dakotan" was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA), but continued to be operated by American-Hawaiian. In December 1942, "Dakotan" was transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, and renamed "Zyrianin" ("Зырянин" ). Throughout the rest of the war, "Dakotan" made at least one trip to the United States, being photographed in port at San Francisco in August 1943. Near the end of World War II, the WSA offered a payment of $670,210 to American-Hawaiian for the former "Dakotan" as part of a $7.2 million settlement for eleven American-Hawaiian ships that had been requisitioned by the WSA. "Zyrianin" remained a part of the Soviet merchant fleet through the 1960s, and was listed in "Lloyd's Register" until the 1970–71 edition.
"Zyrianin" was operated by the Far East Shipping Company () from 1943 to 1957. From 1957, she was operated by the Black Sea Shipping Company. The ship was written off and scrapped at Split, Yugoslavia in 1969.


LNG Sokoto