ships | Common News Update

Dec112020 by adminNo Comments

U.S. Navy plan calls for 82 new ships, at $147B, by 2026

Business

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan calls for building 82 new ships by 2026 at a cost of $ 147 billion, a significant increase over previous plans. The 23-page "Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels," released on Thursday, calls for construction of three new attack submarines, four large unmanned surface vessels, designation of a second shipbuilder for frigates and retirement of most of the Navy's current cruiser fleet. Advertisement It also refers to development of light amphibious warships and next-generation logistics programs. The announced plans differ from previous Navy projections, which in part include an increase of 44 ships between Fiscal Years 2021 and 2026 at a cost of $ 102 billion. The ambitious plan, based...

Aug152020 by adminNo Comments

U.S. Navy develops software to track COVID-19 cases aboard ships

Business

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Damage control software to track the spread of the COVID-19 virus is being rolled out to U.S. Navy vessels, the Naval Sea Systems Command said on Friday. The software will be delivered in laptop computers to171 surface ships, and will be used to repurpose the existing Advanced Damage Control System, officials said. Advertisement The system has been used to manage and store data related to incidents from ship collisions and fires to enemy attacks. With the onset of the pandemic, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division proposed upgrading the system to help ships manage and mitigate the impact of the virus, officials said. The software already contains templates for chemical or biological attacks, and can track personnel, plot boundaries around quarantined a...

Jun42020 by adminNo Comments

A maritime mystery: What has been causing ships to sail in circles?

Technology

In the early hours of Sunday 31 May, senior officers aboard the oil tanker Willowy were called to the bridge to be told that their ship and four others in its vicinity were mysteriously sailing in circles, unable to steer, and on course to converge.It must be easy to panic at sea. The immediate presumption was that strong currents were pushing the vessels around, but there were no such currents where the ships were sailing in the south Atlantic Ocean, west of the South African city of Cape Town. Ships appearing to sail in circles have become an increasingly common and mysterious phenomenon near a number of ports on the coast of China, especially near oil terminals and government facilities - but nothing had been seen where the Willowy was.Researchers monitoring these bizarre circles near t...

Apr232020 by adminNo Comments

‘Shoot them out of the water’: Trump tells US Navy to destroy Iranian boats harassing American ships

World

Donald Trump says he has instructed the US navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass it at sea.It comes as tensions escalate between the two countries again, with Iran's Republican Guard announcing the launch of the country's first military satellite. Mr Trump said on Twitter: "I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea." I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020 At a briefing later, he said that he was not changing the military's rules of engagement, adding: "We're covered - we're covered 100%".He said: "We don't want thei...

Mar82020 by adminNo Comments

Cruise ships seek safe harbour as world takes drastic steps to halt COVID-19

World

Cruise ships are looking for safe harbour on four continents amid fears they are spreading the new coronavirus that has infected more than 105,000 people worldwide.As the outbreak has moved beyond its epicentre in China, cruise ships have increasingly been in the spotlight. On Saturday, they faced trouble in waters off California, Malaysia, Egypt and Malta as those aboard were tested or confined to cabins.Officials in California are deciding where to dock the Grand Princess cruise ship, after 21 people on board tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.There is evidence the ship, now idling off San Francisco, was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of almost 20 cases during an earlier voyage. ...