Astute' submarine takes first deep plunge

The Royal Navy's newest and most advanced nuclear submarine, 'Astute', is taking her first dive for an underwater test of her systems.

The 'Trim and Basin Dive' is taking place in Devonshire Dock, Barrow and involves submerging 'Astute' in a dive hole large enough for the 100 metre-long, 7,400 tonne boat. The dive is the first time that the submarine has been fully submerged, and provides the opportunity to test the submarine's underwater stability and systems.

Tests include trials of various boat systems and equipment including the mechanism that releases an emergency buoy, the emergency escape tower, and various hydraulics and electrical systems. Lord Drayson, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said this is an important step on the road to preparing 'Astute' for service. These submarines are hugely impressive vessels, and will provide the Royal Navy with a world class capability. After completing the dive, 'Astute' will be docked and taken back into Devonshire Dock Hall. The next stage will be to calculate her stability, weight and buoyancy.

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Euroseas Ltd. takes delivery of 15th vessel

Euroseas Ltd., an owner and operator of drybulk carriers and container ships and provider of seaborne transportation for drybulk and containerized cargos has taken delivery of the M/V Trust Jakarta, to be renamed Ioanna P, a Panamax drybulk vessel of 64,873 dwt built in 1984 in Japan.

The vessel was acquired for approximately $28.6 million and was delivered with a time charter attached until July 2008 at a rate of $35,500 per day. On the basis of fixed spot and existing time charters approximately 92% of the vessel capacity in the fourth quarter of 2007 and approximately 46% in 2008 are fixed, which will help protect from market fluctuations.

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Captain jailed for North Sea gas platform collision

A ship’s captain has been jailed for a year in the UK after his vessel collided with a gas platform in the North Sea in August.

Zbigniew Krakowski, of Szczecin, Poland, was found guilty of being in control of a vessel with excess alcohol in his system and for violating a 500-metre safety zone around offshore oil and gas installations by the Lincoln Crown Court. The 2000-tonne Jork struck the unmanned Viking Echo Platform a glancing blow. The damaged vessel began to list and the crew abandoned ship. The Jork sank the next day. The Viking Echo, 40 miles off the Norfolk coast, remains out of operation, at a cost of 615,000 per month. The Jork was en-route to New Holland, Lincolnshire from Lubeck, Germany, when the crash happened. Judge John Milmo QC described the incident as a breathtaking series of events and said it was fortunate no-one died in the accident.

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800 year old ancient ship to be lifted in China

An ancient ship in China, lying on the sea bed for more than 800 years, is just weeks away to be lifted out of the water after months of salvage operation that took three years for planning.

Sunken cargo vessel the Nanhai No.1 with an estimated 80,000 cultural relics, including porcelain, gold artifacts, copper coins, jewelry and copper mirrors from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 to 1279 AD), is under the sea, 30 nautical miles west of Hailing island near Yangjiang city. Already, 6,000 items have been salvaged, the official media reported. Typhoons delayed the salvage work which began in May after three years of planning. The 30-m-long ship, found in 1987 by the Guanzhou salvage bureau and a British underwater company, is the first ancient vessel to have been discovered on the "Marine Silk Road" in the South China Sea and will be taken out of the water by the year end. It was also the largest Song Dynasty cargo ship ever discovered in China.

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