MARITIME & MILITARY

Ελικόπτερα "Απάτσι" του αμερικανικού στρατού φέρουν τα ονόματα "Αθηνά" και  "Άρτεμις"

The soporific seaside town of Berbera is slowly changing as it takes on a major role on the Red Sea shipping route, allowing breakaway Somaliland to dream of prosperity and even recognition. At the Berbera port, dozens of containers are stacked on a sun-scorched platform and a few cranes creakily transfer sacks of sorghum and other goods from a rusting cargo ship. The facilities are far from modern, but Somaliland hopes its position on one of the world's busiest shipping routes will turn the state into a job-creating dynamo -- and encourage international recognition 27-years after it split from Somalia. Somaliland's ambitions were boosted in March when it struck a deal giving Dubai port giant DP World a 51-percent stake in the port and Ethiopia 19 percent. DP World says it plans to invest $442 million (377 million euros) to modernise the port, with a first extension of 400 square metres (4,300 square feet) to begin in October that is expected to take 24 months.

If the risk of attack on ships carrying Saudi cargo persists, there are two options for shipping companies: Either change the route or bear the additional cost of war risk insurance premium The news that Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments in response to an attack on two of the country’s tankers appears to have initially inspired some increased demand for oil, with WTI climbing back above $69 in the early hours of Thursday trade. http://www.arabnews.com LONDON: Houthi militia attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea’s Bab Al-Mandeb strait have heightened regional tensions and sent shockwaves through global energy markets. Saudi Arabia’s decision to temporarily halt oil shipments via the key waterway has also triggered concerns that the cost of transporting oil through increasingly risky Gulf waters could rise if the security of the route does not improve, analysts said. Riyadh said on Thursday that it was suspending oil shipments in the strategic shipping lane follow

Riyadh has temporarily suspended all oil shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement launched retaliatory attacks on a Saudi warship and a vessel operated by the Riyadh-led coalition waging war the Arabian Peninsula state. On Wednesday morning, the Houthi-run al-Masirah television network reported that Yemeni fighters had launched a missile attack on the Saudi Dammam frigate off the western coast of Yemen. In a separate statement carried by Yemen’s official SABA news agency later in the day, the Houthis said they had also targeted a coalition boat off the coast of el-Durayhmi in southern Hudaydah port city. A Yemeni navy source said that coalition boat was carrying weapons and Saudi-allied forces to Hudaydah, which has been the subject of a military push by Emirati forces and allied militants, backed by Saudi air raids. Additionally, Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network quoted the Yemeni navy as saying that

Στους 26 ανέρχονται πλέον οι δορυφόροι που αποτελούν το σμήνος του Ευρωπαϊκού προγράμματος GALILEO. European Commission  Press release Space: 26 Galileo satellites now in orbit for improved EU satellite navigation signal Brussels, 25 July 2018 Today four more Galileo satellites were successfully launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana on the European launcher Ariane-5. Now with a constellation of 26 satellites, the EU's global satellite navigation system will provide a more precise signal across a range of valuable services. Galileo has been providing positioning and timing services to around 400 million users  since December 2016 . The launch today brings the constellation close to completion in 2020, which is when Galileo will reach full operational capability. Once complete and with a  record precision of 20cm, Galileo will be the most precise satellite navigation system in the world. Space may be far away but its technology, data and servi

Press Statement Michael R. Pompeo Washington, DC July 25, 2018 Russia, through its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its attempted annexation of Crimea, sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force. The states of the world, including Russia, agreed to this principle in the United Nations Charter, pledging to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This fundamental principle — which was reaffirmed in the Helsinki Final Act — constitutes one of the foundations upon which our shared security and safety rests. As we did in the Welles Declaration in 1940, the United States reaffirms as policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law. In concert with allies, partners, and the international community, the United Sta

WASHINGTON (NNS)  Retired Rear Adm. Alene B. Duerk, the Navy's first female admiral, passed away July 21, 2018. She was 98 years old. "It took 197 years and a forward-looking Chief of Naval Operations, Elmo Zumwalt, to break with tradition before Alene Duerk became the first woman admiral in the U.S. Navy," said Naval History and Heritage Command director Sam Cox. "But the credit goes to Duerk. From the crucible of caring for wounded Sailors, Marines and prisoners of war during World War II in the Pacific, she blazed a trail of stellar performance in tough jobs, serving as an inspiration for an ever increasing number of women officers who have followed her path."  Born in Defiance, Ohio, on March 29, 1920, she received nursing training at the Toledo [Ohio] Hospital School of Nursing, from which she earned her diploma in 1941. From there, Duerk entered the U.S. Naval Reserve and was appointed an ensign in the Nurse Corps.  "Alene Duerk was a strong a

The United States authorities aggressively pursue suspected violations of MARPOL 73/78. George M. Chalos looks at the risks those less scrupulous shipowners are willing to take Anyone violatiing MARPOL 73/78, as codified in the US Code as the Act for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships* is playing with fire. Over the past 20 years, the MARPOL initiative has resulted in payments in excess of US$500M in criminal fines and civil penalties collected from foreign-flagged vessel owners and operators. The US Coast Guard (USCG) historically has focused its investigative efforts on alleged engineroom waste-stream discharges, which have not been accurately recorded in the Oil Record Book - Part I (ORB – Part I). These matters – often referred to as “magic pipe” cases – generally involve the manipulation and/or bypassing of the approved pollution prevention systems through the use of flexible hose(s) and/or portable pump(s) to allow for direct discharge into the sea. These days, mo

There were a total of 220 ships broken in the second quarter of 2018. Of these, 169 ships were sold to the beaches of South Asia for dirty and dangerous breaking [1]. Between April and June, 6 workers have lost their lives and 7 workers have been severely injured when breaking ships in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Another worker was reported dead after an accident at a shipbreaking yard in Alang, India. So far this year, Platform sources have recorded 18 deaths and 9 injuries in South Asia. As reported in our previous update, worker Shahidul Islam died at Zuma Enterprise in April while breaking the Greek tanker EKTA, owned by Anangel Group. Belal Hossain, Md Musa and Md Najmuddin Alazy were all mortally struck by falling iron pieces during the cutting operations at Asadi Steel, KR Steel and S Trading yards respectively. On 22 May, three workers got severely injured at SN Corporation, where two other workers were killed last year. Farid Ahmed, a cutter man from the Gaibanda region, w

 Απλό σε τρείς γλώσσες μήνυμα που χρησιμοποιείται απο την Υπηρεσία Πολιτικής προστασίας του Ισραήλ. Από την Νέα Ζηλανδία

Είναι ένα διαχρονικό ερώτημα το οποίο αν και έχει απαντηθεί από τις περιστάσεις, εν τούτοις δεν έχει υπάρξει ουδεμία ποιοτική μεταβολή, βελτίωση, αναβάθμιση του μηχανισμού πολιτικής προστασίας. Σήμερα, η τεχνολογία, μα κυρίως η πληροφόρηση αυτής, δεν αποτελεί επτασφράγιστο μυστικό συγκεκριμένων χωρών - κυβερνήσεων - ερευνητικών ινστιτούτων εκτός κάποιων περιπτώσεων που άπτωνται εξαιρετικά λεπτής σημασίας τομέων, εθνική ασφάλεια - αεροδιαστημική. Το τελευταίο περιστατικό με τις καταστροφικές -φονικές πυρκαγιές στην περιοχή Μάτι Αττικής, ανέδειξε για ακόμη μια φορά τις αδυναμίες, κενά του μηχανισμού πολιτικής προστασίας να ανταπεξέλθει σε αυτές με προεξέχουσα παράμετρο αυτήν της παντελούς αδυναμίας πληροφόρησης και συννάμα προετοιμασίας -εγρήγορσης του πληθυσμού. Η διεθνής εμπειρία και πρακτική μας έχει φιλοδωρήσει με πληθώρα σημαντικότατων μηχανισμών ενημέρωσης, προετοιμασίας εν όψη τεχνολογικών και φυσικών κινδύνων -απειλών είτε αυτές είναι εν τη γ

Χρονιάρης Γεώργιος Μετά την μάχη του αεροδρομίου Λευκωσίας, η μονάδα των Λοκατζήδων που συμμετείχαν σε αυτή κινήθηκε απειλητικά εναντίων των Καναδών της ειρηνευτικής δυνάμεως του ΟΗΕ επειδή είχε διαπιστωθεί ότι κατά την διάρκεια της μάχης οι Καναδοί συνέδραμαν τα μάλα τους Τούρκους! Ο Χρονιάρης δεν δίστασε να πυροβολήσει έναν από τους Καναδούς Κυανόκρανους !

Σύμφωνα με  αρχείο του Κογκρέσου των ΗΠΑ, 2002, Ελληνικό δικαστήριο απεφάνθη το 1979 ότι η Τουρκική στρατιωτική εισβολή ήταν ...νόμιμη παρέμβαση και ευθύνη φέρουν και μόνο οι Έλληνες αξιωματικοί .....  Διαβάστε στην πρώτη στήλη, στo κίτρινο ...Athens Court....

Κάτι αντίστοιχο για τις ΗΠΑ ... καθίστε καλά γιατί οι ΗΠΑ θα σας φέρουν την Δημοκρατία!

Αυτές τις ώρες, πριν 44 χρόνια, σκληρές μάχες διεξάγονται επί του Κυπριακού εδάφους, αρχίζουν διαπραγματεύσεις στα γνωστά διεθνή φόρα και δρομολογούνται πολιτικές εξελίξεις στην Ελλαδική κυρίως πλευρά. Έχουν γραφτεί πολλά , ακόμα περισσότερα ακούγονται ενώ τα ντοκουμέντα του ιστορικού αυτού γεγονότος παραμένουν απρόσιτα - άγνωστα στην συντριπτική πλειοψηφία των ενδιαφερομένων. Τα ντοκούμεντα αποτελούν τα μαύρα (πορτοκαλί) κουτιά που διαθέτουν τα αεροπλάνα ή τα VDR των πλοίων δίχως τις καταγραφές των οποίων είναι αδύνατον να διερευνηθεί ακόμα και το απλούστερο ατύχημα χωρίς να γνωρίζουμε το σύνολο των παραμέτρων πτήσης -πλεύσης πρίν το ατύχημα. Συνήθως, ανατρέχουμε στον Κλάουζεβιτς και στην κλασσική ρήση αυτού..."πόλεμος είναι απλώς η συνέχιση της πολιτικής με άλλα μέσα". Ο Κλάουζεβιτς με αυτήν την ρήση άνοιξε ένα τεράστιο κεφάλαιο του οποίου η θεματολογία είναι ανεξάντλητη και οφείλουμε άπαντες να την παρακολουθούμε -  συμπληρώνουμε - βελτιώνουμ