The following documents fact sheet and the 2014 report from the Department of Defense annual Freedom of Navigation program. Read More
Category Archives: Merchant Marine
Ship Used to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Weapons Returns to U.S.
A helicopter approaches the container ship MV Cape Ray (T-AKR 9679) in the Mediterranean Sea to drop off cargo Aug. 4, 2014. US Navy Photo
The ship put into swift service to destroy the chemical weapons of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has returned to Norfolk, Va. after eight months at sea, an official at the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
Pentagon: Ship Leaves for Italy to Destroy Syrian Chemical Weapons
MV Cape Ray (T-AKR-9679)
The U.S. ship that was quickly put into service to neutralize Syrian chemical weapons has departed Rota, Spain to take on the arms at an Italian port, Pentagon officials announced on Wednesday. Read More
Document: GAO Report on U.S. Anti-Piracy Efforts in Africa
The following is a Government Accountability Office report on African Piracy released on June 19, 2014. The report concludes, “U.S. agencies have not systematically assessed the costs and benefits of their counterpiracy efforts.”
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D-Day at 70: The Port of Omaha Beach
Naval Reserve Captain Edmond J. Moran receives urgent and specific instructions from Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Dwight D. Eisenhower on board the destroyer USS Thompson after D-Day. The general ordered Moran back to the United States “for more supplies and equipment to keep the invasion going.”
The following post is from the June, 2014 issue of Proceedings. The article was originally titled, ‘A Project So Unique.’ Read More
China Claims U.S. Is Encouraging ‘Dangerous and Provocative Actions’ in Oilrig Standoff
File photo of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oilrig. Xinhua Photo
Chinese officials are claiming the U.S. is stoking international discord over a disputed drilling operation in an area of the South China Sea in territory claimed by both China and Vietnam, according to a Tuesday statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Read More
The World’s Most Violent Pirates
An undated photo of West African pirates.
West Africa is home to the world’s most violent pirates—who are now capable of overwhelming armed guards. Last month pirates killed a crewmember during an attack on German-owned oil tanker. Instead of fighting off the pirates, the embarked security team retreated to the ship’s citadel safe room. Read More
Officials: ‘Illegal’ Chinese Oilrig is in Vietnamese Waters
China National Offshore Oil Corporation Oil rig. CNOOC Photo
Vietnamese officals are calling the presence of an offshore Chinese oilrig off the coast of Vietnam “illegal and invalid,” fueling ongoing territorial disputes between Hanoi and Beijing, according to a Monday report by the Reuters wire service. Read More
Panamanian Official: North Korea ‘Paid Fine in Cash’ to Free Secret Arms Ship
Panamaniain investigators inspect a Cuban MiG 21 found hidden on a North Korean merchant vessel on July 21, 2013. REUTERS Photo
North Korean officials have settled up a fine set by Panamanian authorities incurred after a North Korean ship attempted to transit the Panama Canal with containers full of illicit — but badly dated — weapons from Cuba, canal officials said on Saturday. Read More
Pentagon Readies Ship for Syrian Chemical Weapons Disposal
MV Cape Ray (T-AKR-9679)
The Pentagon is preparing a ship-borne facility to neutralize of Syrian chemical weapons at sea, a defense official told USNI News on Monday. Read More
