NAUTICAL LOG

Posts

AND THE DEVIL LAUGHED

So once again it has happened this time in Manchester, England. Manchester that solid working class city, now the second city of England, the evil losers have struck with an explosive device.

NAUTICAL LOG remembers it some 60 years ago British people with a very distinctive accent and expressions. That of course has changed considerably with the influx of persons from former British Empire countries such as India, Pakistan, Ceylon and the West Indies. Add in numerous others due to the European Union with its unwise indeed foolish "open borders" policy. What has resulted is no doubt something NAUTICAL LOG would not recognize from 60 years ago. Yet when push came to shove and this tragic disaster occurred after a pop princess's concert the working class spirit of Manchester came into action with exemplary behavior of hotels and residents opening theirs doors and hearts to help with shelter, food and communications. There were videos of heavily armed Police Officers …

EXCEPTIONALISM

Until NAUTICAL LOG came to be based in the USA some forty-five years ago and subsequently retired here one had never heard of the word "exceptionalism". Not found in all American-English dictionaries it can be "Googled®" and is explained as:
The condition of being uniqueThe theory that a nation does not conform to a patternThis is a status often claimed most often by public figures for the United States of America. While it may have once been partly true it no longer applies. Americans used to observe the minor laws while breaking the major ones one has heard it said that Americans would pay the parking meter while robbing the bank - again no longer true if it ever was. There has been a steady decline in recent decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations to were today we have arguments, fights and indeed gunfights over such minor things as parking spaces. Our cities both major and minor have an unbelievable level of violence - Chicago immediate…

FINALLY THE PENNY DROPS

One of the more enjoyable spots on any cruise ship is the swimming pool or these days pools. They are now pretty exotic with water tunnel slides from several decks up. Missing in many cases seem to be the children's parents supervising the fun. Why? Oh! right there is a Bar just handy and that's where one can often find those parents instead of keeping an eye on the safety of their kids. Sadly this has resulted in numerous deaths and brain injuries to those same kids and on occasions adults.

As a result of legal actions after the event cruise lines are finally posting "lifeguards" at the pool area. Also they are going to have safety videos and swimming vests available to their guests - see NAUTICAL LOG remembered to use the current term for passengers in this Post. Since the top and senior management of cruise lines these days have the background of the hotel and entertainment industries one might wonder why this was not all in place decades ago saving numerous …

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY

It is just over a decade since NAUTICAL LOG ceased sea going after some fifty (50) years and left the cruise industry to teach nautical science. During that time there have been enormous changes in both the industry itself and the design of the vessels - none good.

The ships have long ceased to be ships and are now floating - sort of anyway - resorts just like we have here in Florida at Orlando the site of Disney - yes they have ships also - and other similar sites.

The latest piece of seagoing nonsense currently being built is the MS "Norwegian Joy" which has on its upper deck a Ferrari brand go-kart racing track. That should be nice for those living in cabins the next deck below listening to screaming Ferrari's while wallowing in sea sickness.

One might ask why ship designers would design and companies would build these types of vessels with this stuff on board. The answer is surprisingly simple. Take a look at the resumes of the top and upper management of cruise com…

SOME CHANGES

As readers can see we have made some changes to NAUTICAL LOG and made it more interesting - hopefully - since we do not Post very much these days. The reason for that is there is so much division in our World particularly here in the U.S.A. we have decided not to add to it. Yes! we shall still express our opinions on occasions but in a thoughtful manner format. Unlike one well known maritime blog,which NAUTICAL LOG now no longer follows, we will reply politely to comments on our Posts content since we like to be addressed in the same manner.

During that last Administration a great separation was created along mostly racial lines. It was clear to many of us that Obama had a chip perhaps a log on his shoulder in addition to a weird version of American Socialism. All this caused an extremely confused and disastrous eight years. Then along came Trump who to many peoples complete amazement became our legally elected President after a bombastic loudmouth intemperate campaign causing …

BRAVO ZULU

There is a very fine U.S. maritime blog named gCaptain which has had the courage to publish a long letter by an American Master Mariner CAPT. John Loftus. This should be read by every seafarer and NAUTICAL LOG personally thanks him for his writing, the actions he took both while in command and after his dismissal.

Regular readers will know that NAUTICAL LOG sailed professionally for fifty (50) years and holds five (5) Masters Certificates and national mariners documents issued as required by the various flags of registry for passenger vessels (non U.S.). From this background one understands Captain Loftus experiences all too well agreeing and supporting his letter in its entirety.

Having had to deal with them on non U.S. flagged vessels as a cruise ship Navigation Officer, Safety Officer and Staff Officer one can say that the work of the USCG is discriminatory and biased. Sending a 19 year old Rating with a clipboard of questions to ask and discuss with a Master Mariner twice his age…

AND SO IT CONTINUES

Once again NAUTICAL LOG has a boating tragedy to report from Asia in our continuing monitoring of the lack of maritime safety in that region. This time the incident has occurred in Malaysia with the loss of a "tourist boat" from Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Mengalum with 28 passengers and 3 crewmembers most of whom are Chinese celebrating the week long Chinese New Year of the Rooster.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) reports it is engaged in a "search andrescue" effort hampered by bad weather. From this one might conclude that the missing catamaran departed on its passage in bad weather or with bad weather forecast. The boat is reported to have left at 0900 local time on Saturday for the 60 km trip to the popular tourist island offshore.

MMEA is covering a 400 nautical square mile search area where storms are common at this time of year. It is always interesting when "safety agencies" title themselves as "Enforcement" yet in the c…

FAKE NEWS

In recent years there has been a steady decline in the professionalism, accuracy and quality of the various Media outlets and the social media. In the rush to get there first with a story the shoddy Media - lets call it the really shoddy social media - have resorted to making up stories. When growing up in the late 30's and 40's this was called lying and got one punished in our house.

Fake news includes inaccurate and unsupported stories all of which in the last year have been published without correction or apology. Now it seems this attitude has spread to the maritime blogs. One blog which was generally pretty good about its posts has slipped in accuracy lately including quoting from European tabloids. A recent post was about H.M.S. Vengeance and its missile launches off the coast of Florida part of its programme to Certify boat and crew The story was an ill advised, inaccurate choice in subject matter as to what happened and how the incident was reported to a Foreign N…

OUT BUT NOT GONE

Well now here we are in the last couple of days of the 44th. Presidents term of Office and the end of his Administration. One recalls his Inauguration speech full of hope about all people and races in the United States of America working together - hmm that didn't last a week before he was dividing the Nation by blaming the opposition Party and previous Administration for the Nations ills. So it continued whinging and whining for the next eight years with lowering standards and governmental stagnation. The new 44th. President turned out to be quite unable to make timely decisions and develop an effective foreign policy. He continued to blame Congress and the Republican Party for being unable to get things done. Of course it is hard to win support when you continually blame your mistakes on other people which he did. Last week he made a farewell speech which referred to some imaginary country not the one he has attempted to administer these last eight difficult years.

This is …

FINALLY - ACT 3

Yesterday came the rather surprising news that President Obama, who leaves office next week, had cancelled the "wet foot, dry foot" policy that applied only to Cubans trying to get into the United States of America.

What on earth was this "wet foot, dry foot"? First some background to understand this discriminatory policy. Back in 1966 under a very different World political atmosphere the United States decided to create and pass into Federal Law the Cuban Adjustment Act which included the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program it was signed into Federal Law by President Johnson that ultimate politician. Act 1 was thus on stage.

This policy being unique to Cubans led to the influx of Cubans into Dade County Florida and in a very short time they had taken over the County in business, politics and language which led to the present state where 65% of the Miami-Dade County population now are Spanish speaking and indeed in business one is expected to speak Spanish a…

PROFITING ON TRAGEDY

It must be a slow time for writers. Once again the tragedy of the R.M.S. TITANIC has been dragged up for profit. The National Geographic Society has apparently made a "documentary" based on writings by an Irish author with supposedly "new evidence" pertaining to the loss of this Trans-Atlantic liner over 100 years ago.

It is not new evidence at all merely a repeat about the bunker coal fire in the forward starboard portion of the lowest decks where the coal trimmers work. These bunker fires were all too common in steam powered ships using coal and caused by spontaneous combustion. It was one of the jobs of the trimmers to keep these from spreading. Then in turn feed the burning coal down the coal shoots to the firemen below who in turn fed it into the boiler fires - nice job - in absolutely appalling conditions.

There were no doubt several parameters which caused the loss of this passenger ship these include a poor lookout being kept, placing the ship on a course…

A PATTERN CONTINUES

Here we are in a New Year 2017 and once again a pattern continues - that of Asian ferries catching fire, burning to the waterline with terrific loss of life. Sadly this is a pattern which continues unabated in spite of lots of talk about inspections and safety from principally these same countries Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The latest is one of the interisland ferries in Indonesia when a ferry caught fire it appears in the engine-room and spread rapidly. Its manifest listed 100 passengers but in fact there were at least 250 persons on board. Belatedly the "captain" was arrested and we are told faces 10 years imprisonment.

When one reads the reports from both Media and occasionally the relative Government the sequence of events is repeated time and time again. During the many years NAUTICAL LOG spent in cruise ships we had both Indonesian and Philippine crewmembers. Later some Junior Officers from these countries were employed, all had to be carefully moni…

FINALLY FOUND

So as we thought here at NAUTICAL LOG the SSS OCEAN WARRIOR has started off Operation Nemesis in true Sea Shepherd style by violating Maritime Laws. In this case she has been sailing in the Southern Ocean not transmitting on her AIS. As a result claims to have found a vessel of the Japanese Whaling Fleet amongst the icebergs and ice floes of that area.

There are various Media reports of varying quality that reported this event and about half-a-dozen landed on the NAUTICAL LOG desk. It seems that the Sea Shepherd vessels have been sailing "blacked out" as regards AIS and in ice and fog found one of the Japanese catcher ships. With the speed of their new vessel they should be able to keep pace with her and no doubt find the rest of the fleet.

Sea Shepherd reported that the catcher was hunting minke whales so this in turn could led the two SSS vessels to the factory ship. In past years this has been the NISSHIN MARU it is aboard this vessel that the whales are killed and…

SSS OCEAN WARRIOR MISSING ?

UPDATE December 22, 2016:
According to MARINE TRAFFIC AIS the SSS OCEAN WARRIOR is in the same position, showing the same course and speed as she did on December 12, 2016. According to the art of marine navigation this is clearly impossible on December 22, 2016. So one has to believe that, in violation of Maritime Law, she is not transmitting her AIS. Not that violating the Law is anything new for the Sea Shepherd Society.

How proud Australians must be of having these vessels based in Australian Ports and in addition not having the RAN or Customs patrolling the Southern Ocean for pirate Japanese whalers under the guise of RESEARCH slaughtering yet more minke whales. This in spite of Rulings by the Australian CourtSystem regarding both the Japanese whalers and the Sea Shepherd Society whose Operation Nemesis is run by SSS Australia.

ORIGINAL POST December 16, 2016:
The last posted position of the Sea Shepherd's new vessel Ocean Warrior is at approximately 44° S.147° E. that was on …

SS EL FARO VDR TRANSCRIPT

NAUTICAL LOG has published Posts about this tragic ship sinking since the very first report of her loss. Today the NTSB has released her VDR data in particular the Navigation Bridge voice recorder - it is not good. This Post is compiled from multiple Media sources.

On October 01, 2015 the SS El Faro a freighter sank with all hands, 33 crewmembers lost their lives and no bodies were ever recovered though one was sighted by the USCG in a survival suit but not picked-up. By an extraordinary search, resumed at the insistence of a U.S. Senator from the State of Florida, the VDR was found and now after months of investigation some results have been released.

The ship left Jacksonville, Fl. bound for San Juan, PR and sailed directly into the eye of a Category 4 hurricane named Joaquin. Why the ship was where it was in the first place is a question yet to be fully answered but it seems that the Master was more focused on fuel consumption than plotting the path of the hurricane Joaquin an…

QUO VADIS SSS OCEAN WARRIOR ?

NAUTICAL LOG understood that the Sea Shepherd vessel Ocean Warrior had sailed for the Southern Ocean however we have seen no news of her passage southwards. Since she is a new vessel and in waters which are renowned for storms building up quite rapidly we wonder if all is well. One suspects that is not due to the rampant publication of events by the SSS people on every occasion that they accomplish even the slightest act which they consider positive to their aims.

Marine Traffic status: 43° 37'45 S. 147° 25' E. course 257° @ 11 knots. This position is south of Tasmania, Australia.

So it would be nice to know if Operation Nemesis is underway or has already become an SSS nemesis. Continued safe passage and

Good Watch.

NOTES ON COMMENTING

After a very polarizing General Election to choose a new President and others throughout the United States of America it seems commenting has reached the depths of rudeness. Many commenters in their rush to publish do not read and understand the post then think about the wording of their comment. It is clear that many deliberately ignore the post and the previous comments content to spout forth their own political opinion. They do not seem to realize that by doing so makes their comment largely valueless and portrays them as uneducated persons worth little or no attention. This of course is the common trend of most if not all of the so called "liberal" population which by their continued display of ignorance of the subject matter become more and more ignored and indeed laughed at. The current Green Party U.S. candidate is a typical example making a fuss after obtaining barely 1% of the vote. Asking for recount nay rather demanding recounts is not just pointless but an …

WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN

It has been quite some time since NAUTICAL LOG addressed the activities of the Sea Shepherd Society. One does not hear much about or from CAPT. Paul Watson one of its founders and the "attack master" of the Japanese Whaling Fleet in the Southern Ocean with several vessels in various conditions, usually not very good, manned by crews of little or no experience.

Largely by guess and by god and with overworked guardian angels they pretty much survived, learnt and those that stayed with it became competent seamen. One must really respect them for that and some were then appointed by and within the Sea Shepherd Society as "Captains". *The title is in quotes because it is given as a courtesy to Masters of civilian vessels that hold Masters papers from a recognized maritime Nation. The Sea Shepherd Society has never to our knowledge published the Masters Certificates or Licences of its appointed "Captains" *. Well never mind so far they have brought home - w…