Ships | Common News Update

Aug172019 by adminNo Comments

FLIR Surveillance awarded $12.6M for sensors aboard littoral combat ships

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- FLIR Surveillance Inc. received a $ 12.6 million contract for supplies, repairs and upgrades to sensor systems aboard U.S. Navy littoral combat ships. The contract, announced Thursday by the Defense Department, refers to FLIR's Saffire III Electro-Optics Sensor Systems. The systems offer image stabilization, long-range and thermal imaging and color and low-light cameras. The systems are useful in search and rescue operations, reconnaissance, border and coastal patrol and target identification, the manufacturer said. Thousands of the ball-shaped 22-pound systems, which attach to horizontal planes of a vessel or aircraft, have been affixed to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, as well as on the shallow-water littoral combat ships. The unit includes an optional sensor sys...

Jul252019 by adminNo Comments

Migrant ships sink, killing 150 people in the Mediterranean Sea

World

July 25 (UPI) -- At least 150 migrants died when two boats sank off the coast of Libya Thursday, the worst disaster in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the U.N. Refugee Agency reported. The boats were carrying about 300 people when they sank about 80 miles east of Tripoli, UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said. Some were rescued by local fishermen and, later, the Libyan coastguard. More than 600 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea this year," Yaxley said. "If current trends continue, we are likely to see more than a thousand people lose their life on the Mediterranean for the sixth year in a row, which is a bleak milestone for us to be reaching," Yaxley said. He calls for a major shift in approach to the Mediterranean situation. "Urgent action is needed to save lives at...

May272019 by adminNo Comments

Two U.S. Navy ships pass through Taiwan Strait as tensions with China rise

Business

May 24 (UPI) -- Two U.S. Navy ships moved through the Taiwan Strait this week, adding to tensions with China amid a trade dispute between the two nations. This is the fifth time this year U.S. warships have sailed through 110-mile wide strait separating Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl traveled through the waters Wednesday and Thursday, U.S. Seventh Fleet public affairs officer Clay Doss told Bloomberg News. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Doss said. "The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." The U.S. warships sailed north through the strait by follow...

May232019 by adminNo Comments

Navy’s Zumalt destroyers to join drone ships in new experimental squadron

Business

May 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy has created a new experimental squadron that will eventually include the three Zumwalt class destroyers and unmanned surface vehicles. Vice Adm. Richard Brown, commander of Naval Surface Forces and Naval Surface Force Pacific, announced the formation of Surface Development Squadron One, or SURFDEVRON ONE, at a ceremony Wednesday in San Diego. The squadron will integrate the drone vessels and support fleet experimentation to accelerate delivery of new warfighting concepts and capabilities to the fleet, according to the Navy. The primary functions will support new and emerging surface warfighting capabilities; develop material and technical solutions to tactical challenges; and coordinate training, material, logistics, personnel and facilities requirements for...

Jan212019 by adminNo Comments

Russian rescue amid deadly blaze on two cargo ships off Crimea

World

Media playback is unsupported on your device At least 11 people have died in a fire involving two Tanzanian-flagged cargo vessels in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, authorities say.Russian rescuers are trying to reach sailors who jumped overboard. Fourteen people have so far been rescued.One ship is a gas tanker, and the fire reportedly followed an explosion, which set the other vessel on fire.They were named as the Kandy, with a crew of 17 from Turkey and India, and Maestro, with 14 sailors.The fire broke out when one vessel was transferring fuel to another, Russian maritime agency spokesman Alexei Kravchenko said, adding that this had then forced several crew members to jump overboard. Rescue workers reportedly witnessed a further three...