Free Republic

The captain of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that slammed into a ship near Egypt last week was yanked from the position “due to a loss of confidence in his ability,” the US Navy said Thursday. Capt. Dave Snowden was “relieved” of his job at the helm of the USS Harry S. Truman and temporarily reassigned following the wild Feb. 12 crash in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the military branch. “The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met,” the Navy said in a statement.

A combat drone believed to have been fired directly from Iran struck the Merchant Vessel Chem Pluto, an Israeli-linked chemical/oil products tanker off the coast of India on Saturday, according to a report broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12 News. The tanker is owned by Rio Brillante SA, based in Panama, and operated by Fleet Management Ltd., based in Wilton, Connecticut. The Israeli connection is not clear. The attack, which started a fire on the vessel, took place some 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval, India, according to Reuters, quoting the British Ambrey maritime security firm. Some “structural damage was also...

The excavations started in 2004 at the construction site and reached back 8,500 years into the history of Istanbul. Skeletons, the remains of an early chapel and even footprints, in addition to 35 shipwrecks, have been uncovered by archaeologists so far. The ship was loaded with pickled fry (a type of small fish) and almonds, walnuts, hazels, muskmelon seeds, olives, peaches and pine cones The 15 to 16-metre-long, six-metre-wide shipwreck loaded with dozens of amphorae found last May brings new historical data to life. The amphorae differ from previous finds. It is assumed that the ship was completely buried in...

Breaking News Russia Finds Missing Merchant Ship Near Cape Verde Islands Monday, August 17, 2009 ] MOSCOW — DEVELOPING: Russia has found a missing freighter near the Cape Verde islands and its crew members have been taken aboard a Russian vessel, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said... Developing