Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalNOAA Using Sailing Vessel for Ocean Research
NOAA and partners have joined together to launch approximately 100 new Argo floats across the Atlantic ocean to collect data that supports ocean, weather and climate research and prediction. These will bolster the international Argo Program, which maintains a global array of about 3,800 floats that measure pressure, temperature and salinity of the upper 2,000 meters (1.2 miles) of the ocean.
The French sailing vessel Iris recently arrived in Woods Hole, Mass., after deploying the initial batch of 17 Argo floats across the Atlantic. While in Woods Hole, the S/V Iris crew will pick up the remaining floats for the second leg of the voyage in the South Atlantic, towards the island of St. Helena, off the coast of Namibia. The mission is one of the largest Argo float deployments in the Atlantic and is expected to last almost 100 days at sea, filling in crucial observing gaps.
This low-carbon research mission using an 82-foot sailing vessel was made possible through a new partnership between the private oceanographic company Blue Observer and international Argo Program partners from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Europe.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/noaa-using-sailing-vessel-ocean-research-493128
Radio City Music Hall opened to the public on December 27, 1932
Located in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, this fabulous Art Deco theater is home to The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a New York Christmas tradition since 1933, and to the women’s precision dance team known as the “Rockettes.”
John D. Rockefeller Jr. engaged New York theater and radio impresario Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel (1881-1936) to plan the theater. Designed by Donald Deskey (1894- 1989), the interior of the theater incorporates glass, aluminum, chrome, and geometric ornamentation. Deskey rejected the Rococo embellishment generally used for theaters at that time in favor of a contemporary Art Deco style.
The ceiling over the Great Stage resembles a setting sun. The immense theater was built to seat nearly 6,000 people. The stage contained built-in elevators to raise and lower scenery as well as the orchestra. Programming was a mix of films and live stage shows.
The twelve-acre complex in Midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center was developed between 1929 and 1940 by John D. Rockefeller Jr., on land leased from Columbia University. Rockefeller initially planned an opera house on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929. One of the complex’s first tenants was The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), hence the names “Radio City” and “Radio City Music Hall.”
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/december-27/?
Madagascar Boat Accident: Death Toll Rises to 64
At least 64 people have died in a boat accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar and searches were underway for 24 missing passengers, the maritime agency said on Wednesday.
Fifty survivors were found, the Maritime and River Port Agency said.
The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony, director of operations at sea at the Maritime and River Port Agency (APMF).
https://www.marinelink.com/news/madagascar-boat-accident-death-toll-rises-493039
Canada's First All-electric, Zero-emissions Ferry Enters Service
A newly retrofitted electric ferry is the first in Canada to enter service powered by a zero-emissions, lithium-ion power and propulsion system containing no diesel fuel components.
PortsToronto’s 96-foot Marilyn Bell I, used for transporting passengers, vehicles and supplies the short distance to and from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Toronto Island, returned to operations last week following a 20-week conversion, and is now sailing 100% emissions free.
St. Catharines-based marine electrical engineering firm Canal Marine & Industrial Inc. (CANAL) delivered the complete electrification retrofit of the formerly diesel ferry, from conception to installation. The project's naval architect is Quebec-based Concept Naval, and PortsToronto also engaged Nova Scotia-based E.Y.E marine consultants to assist with the implementation of the project.
Originally built by Hike Metal Products in Wheatley, Ont., and in operation since 2010, Marilyn Bell I was previously upgraded to run on biodiesel fuel in 2018 before its diesel generators and engines were removed in 2021 to make way for a new electric power and propulsion system and a suite of lithium-ion batteries. Now fueled by 100% Bullfrog Power renewable sourced energy, the ferry emits zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing the airport's direct GHG emissions by 530 tonnes per year, according to PortsToronto.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/canadas-first-allelectric-zeroemissions-492992
Austal USA Wins Navy Contract for NGLS Design Study
Austal USA said it was awarded a contract to perform design studies for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) program. This contract requires Austal to develop a new baseline design and perform specific trade studies for the Navy’s newest logistics ship. Austal, as the shipbuilder and design agent, will be the prime contractor.
“Austal is excited to begin work on another U.S. Navy steel shipbuilding program,” Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. “This contract, combined with our recent T-ATS ship construction contract award and the concept studies we are performing on the LAW program, demonstrate our commitment to bring the same industry leading quality to steel ships as we have been delivering for aluminum ships.”
The NGLS program represents a new class of medium-sized at-sea supply ships intended to support small surface combatants such as Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and frigates as well as the Navy’s planned Light Amphibious Warships (LAW). The mission of the NGLS fleet will include refueling, rearming, and resupply of naval assets.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/austal-usa-wins-navy-contract-ngls-design-493029
World's First Hydrogen Carrier Suiso Frontier Departs Japan for Australia
The world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier left Japan on Friday to pick up its first cargo in Australia, with a return to Japan expected around late February, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd said.
The A$500 million ($362 million) pilot project, led by Japan's Kawasaki and backed by the Japanese and Australian governments, was originally scheduled to ship its first cargo of hydrogen extracted from brown coal in Australia in the spring.
But it was delayed to the second half of Kawasaki's financial year, which runs from October to March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It depends on the weather, but the hydrogen carrier Suiso Frontier is due to arrive in Australia in mid-January and is expected to return to Japan in around late February," a spokesperson said.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/video-worlds-first-hydrogen-carrier-suiso-493111
US Navy Seizes Weapons from Fishing Vessel in the Arabian Sea
U.S. 5th Fleet ships seized approximately 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and 226,600 rounds of ammunition from a stateless fishing vessel during a flag verification boarding in accordance with customary international law in the North Arabian Sea, Dec. 20.
U.S. Navy patrol coastal ships USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Typhoon (PC 5) found the weapons during a search conducted by embarked U.S. Coast Guard personnel. The illicit weapons and ammunition were later transported to guided-missile destroyer USS O’Kane (DDG 77) where they await final disposition.
The stateless vessel was assessed to have originated in Iran and transited international waters along a route historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully to the Houthis in Yemen. The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthis violates U.N. Security Council Resolutions and U.S. sanctions.
The vessel’s five crew members identified themselves as Yemeni nationals and will be returned to Yemen.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/us-navy-seizes-weapons-fishing-vessel-493113
Tilting Wind Sail Installed on Theater Ship
A unique "theater vessel" used by La Fura dels Baus and the production company Elipsis Onboard has been fitted with a tiltable wind sail propulsion system, helping to reduce the vessel's environmental footprint.
bound4blue said its eSAIL system was installed on La Naumon during a recent docking at Spanish shipyard Astander.
The 18-meter-high rigid sail, equipped with a tilting mechanism and an autonomous control system, helps to reduce fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions in line with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) emissions reduction regulations, such as the upcoming EEXI and CII measures.
José Miguel Bermúdez, CEO of bound4blue, said, “Our rigid sails are quick and simple to install. Before the installation, a detailed vessel transformation project is performed and submitted to the class society and flag state for approval. Later, prior to the installation, the foundation and electrical work is completed. The installation can then be performed afloat, like in the case of La Naumon, during a scheduled drydocking or during any port call, as the operation takes less than a day.”
https://www.marinelink.com/news/tilting-wind-sail-installed-theater-ship-493048
December 26, 1972, former President Harry S. Truman dies in Independence, Missouri.
Then-President Richard Nixon called Truman a man of “forthrightness and integrity” who had a deep respect for the office he held and for the people he served, and who “supported and wisely counseled each of his successors.”
Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884. The son of a farmer, he could not afford to go to college, so he too worked as a farmer before joining the army in 1916 to fight in World War I. After the war, Truman opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. When that business went bankrupt in 1922, he entered Missouri politics. Truman went on to serve in the U.S. Senate from 1934 until he was chosen as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice president in 1945; it was during his Senate terms that he became known for his honesty and integrity.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-dies
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