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An American couple has gone missing in the Caribbean after three escaped prisoners allegedly used their yacht to island hop before getting recaptured by authorities, according to investigators. Ralph Hendry and his wife Kathy Brandel disappeared from their yacht, Simplicity, which was docked in the waters of the southern Caribbean nation of Grenada, Hendry's sister, Suellen Desmarais, told ABC News. Police have not confirmed the identity and nationality of the couple but are investigating the incident. Hendry and Brandel were last seen alive by their boating neighbor at the dock on Sunday afternoon, according to Desmarais. The neighbor said he...

An Australian man has been rescued in the Pacific after surviving for two months on rainwater and raw fish in what has been likened to the film “Cast Away” — but his companion was a dog, not a hand-printed volleyball. Sydney resident Tim Shaddock, a 51-year-old cancer survivor, and his pooch Bella set off from La Paz, Mexico, in April on a catamaran journey to French Polynesia, but their vessel was damaged in a storm several weeks later, Australia’s 9News reported. The pair survived by drinking rainwater and eating raw fish as they waited for a miracle while adrift in...

A FAMILY OF SIX abandoned the ordinary in search of a SIMPLER LIFE - and look at where they are NOW! After crossing the Panama Canal (dates should say 2019, not 2018...so sorry for the error) they enter into the massive Pacific Ocean and settle in for a month at sea. In the meantime, they must team up with a buddy boat to determine the intentions of a mysterious fishing boat. Watch as they evade pirates, swim in the sea, and embark on the ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME! ***ALL OUR VIDEOS are TV-PG and filmed, edited, and produced exclusively by...

Taiwan says it is accelerating production of nearly a dozen stealthy Tuo Chiang-class missile corvettes, the first of which will be focused on air-defense missions. The announcement is another part of the island’s attempts to keep pace with China’s People’s Liberation Army's development of increasingly advanced capabilities in the air and at sea and provide a credible defense during a crisis in the region. On May 14, 2018, Taiwanese Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa said that under the new plan, eight additional Tuo Chiangs – a name that translates simply as Tou River, an upper tributary of the Yangtze...

The Emirates News Agency has just released pictures showing damage to the HSV Swift after it was destroyed by an anti-ship missile on Saturday. The HSV Swift was on a humanitarian mission in the Red Sea when it was targeted by Yemen’s Houthi group in a missile attack near the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen, a key chokepoint for ships transiting between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

The ROC Navy (Republic of China - Taiwan) has ordered three air defense catamaran corvettes based on the existing Tuo River-class. It is rumored the corvettes are expected to be fitted with Mk 41 VLS for a new naval variant of the Sky Bow III (Tien Kung III) surface to air missiles. It remains to be seen however if such large missiles can fit on a small platform like this catamaran corvette. Same thing goes for long range radar sensors. The "Tuo River" Catamaran Corvette sailing under its own power. Picture: Internet/Lee Chung Wei Other weapon system should include Sky...

ROC Navy unveils "High Efficiency Wave Piercing Catamaran" at TADTE 2013 show At TADTE 2013, the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition, ROC Navy (Republic of China - Taiwan) unveiled a vessel currently under construction by the Lung-De Shipbuilding Corporation dubbed the "High Efficiency Wave Piercing Catamaran (WPC)" The High Efficiency Wave Piercing Catamaran is Taiwan's Navy future Littoral Combat Ship solution under the Hsun Hai program. With a length of 60.4 meters this corvette size vessel is designed for littoral operations. A sign on display at the show indicated: "In order to face the increasing threat across the Taiwan...

The U.S. government came under fire today for chartering a rescue boat for Americans stuck in Libya that is too small to cope with the rough Mediterranean sea. Hundreds of American citizens are spending a second night in Tripoli aboard the Maria Dolores, a small passenger ferry chartered by the U.S., trapped there because of adverse weather conditions. At the same time larger Greek and Turkish vessels have transported thousands of their own citizens to safety, crossing the choppy water to mainland Europe.

Aussie firm helps build China's new missile catamarans By National Security correspondent Leigh Sales The Chinese Navy is using Australian technology to upgrade its warships, a move which experts warn may be detrimental to Australia's national security. Through a joint venture company based in China, an Australian business, AMD, has sold designs for the hull and propulsion system of high-speed catamarans to the Peoples' Liberation forces. The Chinese military has built vessels based on those designs and then armed them with weapons systems including anti-shipping missiles. A former senior Australian intelligence official is warning that although the situation is legal...

Catamarans Glide Through Chinese Waters By James C. Bussert December 2007 But the newest missile boats bear unusual markings. China is launching catamaran missile boats in large numbers in what might be a program to replace long-standing conventional missile boats. However, the new missile catamarans are painted in blue and white camouflage colors that are characteristic of the Chinese marines. This raises questions about the boats’ real missions—questions that might be intentionally generated by the paint scheme. In 2004, China’s Quixin Shipyard in Shanghai produced the lead Houbei Type 022 wave-piercing catamaran, hull number 2008. The Type 022 is 43...

Basel, Switzerland, February 2, 2007 – Today “sun21”, the solar powered catamaran developed and sponsored by the Swiss Transatlantic21 Association, arrived in the harbour of Le Marin, Martinique. The arrival at 3 pm local time is an historic feat and makes “sun21” the first motorized vessel to cross the Atlantic without using a drop of fuel. The achievement serves as a powerful example of responsible energy use in practice. It also is impressive evidence of the suitability of solar technology for high-sea voyages. “sun21” will travel on with its final destination being New York this May. The arrival in...

The U.S. Navy's evacuation of Lebanon is done. Now, the focus is on delivering humanitarian aid to the Lebanese. At the center of the effort: the Navy's giant, super-quick catamaran. Until recently, the experimental, Australian-built HSV-2 Swift was working as a mine warfare command and control ship. But with "its enormous 28,000 square foot mission deck, the ability to traverse littoral waters, the capability of handling speeds in excess of 40 knots, and maneuverability that doesn't require tugboat assistance," as Navy Newsstand notes, the catamaran was a natural for the Lebanese operation. "The vessel has the cargo space of about...

The future of the Navy is on its way to Naval Station Ingleside, according to U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The HSV-X2 Swift, a record-setting high-speed vessel leased by the Navy from Australian shipbuilder Bollinger/Incat USA, will make Ingleside its home port while it acts as an interim replacement for the command and control ship for the Navy's Mine Warfare fleet. However, the Swift will see little time at Ingleside, officials say, due to its experimental role in Navy operations that may offer a window to how the Navy will utilize ships in the future. Capt. Terry Miller, assistant chief of...

Speaking of this latest High Speed Vessel to hoist the Stars and Stripes, Rear Admiral Paul Ryan, Commander Mine Warfare Command, US Navy said “the name Swift is most appropriate, because of its high speed, it reached 47 knots on sea trials.”

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. ABOARD THE JOINT VENTURE, near Umm Qasr, Iraq Navy commandos have been inching their way into the Iraqi hinterland with the help of an odd-looking ship with a jaw-like bow that, three years ago, was ferrying commuters and their cars around New Zealand. The HSV-X1 Joint Venture, an aluminum-hulled catamaran ferry that has been modified to carry gunboats, amphibious landing craft, helicopters and marine platoons, has become the aquatic forward operating base for navy special operations forces that are helping to clear southern Iraqi waterways of enemy ships and mines. "We...

Experimental high-speed catamaran tapped for Mideast deployment BY Jack Dorsey The Virginian-Pilot VIRGINIA BEACH — An experimental Australian owned catamaran that can do nearly 50 mph and carry 300 troops is among the latest — and strangest — additions to the military’s growing list of hardware being readied for a possible war with Iraq.     Based out of Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base for the past 18 months, the 370-foot, twin-hulled aluminum ship has been tapped for deployment and is scheduled to leave soon, probably this week.     Officials declined to say how they will use the unusual wave-piercing ship, named Joint...

The Army will deploy the leased Joint Venture (HSV-X1) high-speed catamaran to the Persian Gulf for operations in the war on terrorism, a departure from the vessel's previous experimental activities, sources said last week. Following the Navy's scheduled handover of the vessel to the Army March 20 in southern Spain, the ground service has been working to modify the ship and train Army sailors for deployment to the Persian Gulf, where it will participate in activities related to the war on terrorism, sources said. Though sources declined to provide the ship's date of deployment, they said the move from Spain...