Tag Archives: Philippines

Document: Guardian Grounding 'Wholly Preventable'

Document: Guardian Grounding ‘Wholly Preventable’

The following is from the May 22, 2013 U.S. Pacific Fleet investigation findings from the Jan. 17, 2013 grounding of the minesweeper USS Guardian (MCM-5). The report was released by the Navy on June 20.

Causation: This tragic mishap was wholly preventable and was the product of poor voyage planning, poor execution, and unfortunate circumstances. This investigation uncovers no single point of failure; instead, there were numerous links in the error chain leading up to the grounding. Had any one of which been appropriately addressed, the grounding would have been prevented. USS GUARDIAN leadership and watch teams failed to adhere to prudent, safe, and sound navigation principles which would have alerted them to approaching dangers with sufficient time to take mitigating action. Read More

Former Cutter to Help Philippine Claims in South China Sea

Former Cutter to Help Philippine Claims in South China Sea

BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16). Philippine Embassy Photo

BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16). Philippine Embassy Photo

The former U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas is en route to Manila as the newest ship in the Philippine Navy, according a Philippine Embassy statement.

The re-christened BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) underwent a 13-month refit in Charleston, S.C. before it departed Monday with its crew on a two-month voyage to the Philippines. Read More

China at Odds with U.N. Treaty

China at Odds with U.N. Treaty

China is rejecting the U.N. Law of the Sea treaty. Xinhua Photo

China is rejecting the U.N. Law of the Sea treaty. Xinhua Photo

On Jan. 22, Ma Keqing, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, was summoned to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila and handed a note verbale informing her that the Philippines was initiating a legal challenge to bring China before an arbitral ribunal under the terms of the U.N. Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Read More

China's New Frigate by the Numbers

China’s New Frigate by the Numbers

By:
Type 056 Jiangdao class frigate under construction. Xinhua News Agency.

Type 056 Jiangdao class frigate under construction. Xinhua News Agency.

The first 056 class No. 582 was officially handed over to PLAN on Feb. 25 as Wu Shengli, Commander of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) personally came to inspect the ship. While it is referred to as light frigate by Chinese news, the ship should be classified as a corvette or offshore patrol vessel (OPV) based on its size and displacements. This class is expected to be the next mass produced PLAN shipping class. Read More

Bizarre Borneo Standoff Ends in Bloodshed

Bizarre Borneo Standoff Ends in Bloodshed

A Malaysian sailor stands guard on the beach near Lahad Datu. Reuters Photo

A Malaysian sailor stands guard on the beach near Lahad Datu on Feb .19 . Reuters Photo

A dramatic three-week standoff on the island of Borneo claimed its first lives Friday, as Malaysian security forces exchanged gunfire—possibly using mortars—with the so-called Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu.Early reports indicate that 10 to 12 sultanate forces, two Malaysian police commandos, and the owner of a house taken by the sultan’s followers were killed in the battle, with further injuries on both sides. Read More

Combat Fleets: USS Enterprise

Combat Fleets: USS Enterprise

Proceedings, December 2012
In early November the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) returned home to Norfolk, Virginia, to prepare for her December 2012 inactivation. Her final deployment lasted seven and a half months, during which time she steamed nearly 90,000 miles throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, and the Arabian Sea.

U.S. Navy Photo

U.S. Navy Photo

This marks the 25th homecoming for the nation’s first and longest-serving nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Built by Newport News Shipbuilding, the Enterprise was laid down early in 1958, launched in September 1961, and commissioned on 25 November 1962. She has participated in every major U.S. conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis. She is 1,088 feet long, has a beam of 248 feet, and a full-load displacement of more than 93,000 tons. The Enterprise is not due to be replaced in service until around 2015, when the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) joins the Fleet.

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