Free Republic

A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists bound for Gaza was bombed by drones while in international waters off Malta overnight Thursday-Friday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a pro-Palestinian activist group, said. The Saudi Al Arabiya news channel, citing a Western security source, reported that the convoy was organized by Hamas and that those onboard planned to engage with IDF troops as they approached the Gaza shore. The group uploaded video footage on social media ostensibly showing a fire on one of its ships. The footage could not be independently verified. A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists bound for Gaza...

President Trump authorizing military use of federal lands... President Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg says the British media outlet "The Times" of London distorted... The US Department of Education taking the Maine Department of Education to court... President Trump had a physical...took a cognitive test... US politics in North Carolina the state Supreme Court allowing around 5,000...ballots questioned... US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ending deportation protections... Without the participation of the United States an international agreement...on a carbon tax... A US immigration court judge ruling...federal government can deport Mahmoud Khalil... Israel intercepting a drone headed for its territory... A...

How Rich Nations Dump Old Cruise Ships And Oil Tankers In Developing Countries | Risky Business Gadani is the world's third biggest shipbreaking hub. But many ships come there illegally from Europe, the Middle East, and China. We went to Pakistan to figure out why international laws are being ignored. Business Insider 9.92M subscribers Subscribe

China went from controlling less than 5% of the global ship building market in 1999 to more than 50% today, while pushing its direct ownership of the commercial world fleet to nearly 20%. They did so by largely unfair and illegal actions. Trump administration has proposed serious penalties to not only Chinese built ships that dock in US ports, but also, penalties to any company docking a ship at US ports that has a Chinese built ship in their fleet. Trump administrations policy of America First, is far far more than simply tariffs.

For years Marine Corps leaders have been calling for more amphibious ships to transport Marines and their warfighting equipment around the globe. But a recent government oversight report revealed what bad shape the Navy’s existing amphibious ships are in – and raised major concerns about challenges for the Marine Corps in fulfilling critical national security missions. Of the 32 amphibious warfare ships now in inventory, only half are in “satisfactory” shape, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in December showed. Sixteen ships are classified in “poor material condition,” including five of the nine amphibious assault ships, the largest and...

A New Zealand navy ship carrying 75 crew members and passengers caught fire and sank off Samoa, but all on board are safe, the New Zealand Defence Force said on Sunday.The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu Island in Samoa while conducting a reef survey.Videos shared on social media show thick plumes of grey smoke rising after the vessel, which cost the New Zealand government over NZ$100m (US$63m), ran aground.

A looming strike by dockworkers at ports from Massachusetts to Texas could snarl supply chains and raise prices on a wide array of consumer goods—just as the holiday shipping season approaches. Members of the International Longshoremen's Association, a union representing 85,000 dockworkers, plan to strike Tuesday if they can't reach agreement on a new contract with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents large shipping lines. A walkout would be the first East Coast dock strike in the U.S. since 1977. A strike would shut down container facilities at 14 ports stretching from Boston to Houston. Those ports handled more...

Military Sealift Command has drafted a plan to remove the crews from 17 Navy support ships due to a lack of qualified mariners to operate the vessels across the Navy, USNI News learned.The MSC “force generation reset” identified two Lewis and Clark replenishment ships, one fleet oiler, a dozen Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transports (EPF) and two forward-deployed Navy expeditionary sea bases that would enter an “extended maintenance” period and have their crews retasked to other ships in the fleet, three people familiar with the plan told USNI News Thursday.Based on the crew requirements on the platforms, sideling all the ships...

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (yes, that's really what they call it) has been acting aggressively towards Philippine shipping and fishing vessels in the South China Sea for some time now. Because of this, the United States Navy is now reportedly "open to consultations" about the possibility of using American ships to escort Philippine shipping through the contested area. What could possibly go wrong with that?The U.S. military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday amid a spike in hostilities between Beijing and Manila...

Like more Baltimore-style bridge-ship collisions? According to a news nugget buried deep in a long Washington Post investigative report, ships losing propulsion is shockingly common and can lead to ships running aground or colliding with bridges and other structures. A look at Coast Guard records showed that more than 100 incidents involved huge container ships. One of the reasons they happen is because of greenie fuel mandates.The story is actually very good and very long, giving the reader a feel for what drives how ports operate.But that tiny item about greenie environmental regulations forcing ships to change fuel after they...

That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected.. We have been documenting the U.S. Navy’s troubles with one of its premier amphibious assault ships, USS Boxer (LHD-4). This Wasp-Class ship, per the Navy’s description, is “[t]he largest of all amphibious warfare ships [and] resembles a small aircraft carrier.” It is capable of Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jet operations, meaning that because Boxer does not have launch catapults, it can’t launch classic aircraft carrier fighter jets like the F/A-18, but it can launch the venerable Harrier jump jet...

Amid concerns about American shipbuilding, the US Navy's top civilian official said this week that he was "floored" by a Pacific ally's capabilities in this space. The Navy secretary's comments came on the heels of an internal review that discovered that most of the Navy's top programs, including high-priority submarines, a first-in-class guided-missile frigate, and the third Ford-class aircraft carrier, are severely delayed by years, fueling worries from US officials about the ability to maintain our pace against great power rivals. During his keynote speech at the Navy League's Sea Air Space conference this week, Secretary of the Navy Carlos...

The Navy today released a rare public accounting of major delays for key shipbuilding programs, with ships from nine programs running behind, in some cases up to three years. In total, the Navy forecasts a cumulative delay of more than 11 years, at a time when lawmakers and Pentagon planners agree that the Navy needs to be modernizing and growing for a potential conflict in the Pacific.

“Huge Problem”: The Pentagon’s Rapid Wartime Response Cargo Ships Are Trapped in Baltimore After Bridge CollapseBy Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge • Mar. 29, 2024(ZeroHedge)—Two high-speed military cargo ships are stuck in the Port of Baltimore following Tuesday morning’s collapse of the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge. The major US East Coast port has been paralyzed for several days as the bridge collapse prevents inbound and outbound vessel traffic along the harbor’s channel. Using the automatic identification system, or AIS, data that tracks commercial vessels, three bulk carriers, two general cargo ships, one vehicle carrier, one tanker, and four Ready Reserve...

Archaeological excavations off the coast of Rome in the Mediterranean Sea reveal that Stone Age people living over 7,000 years ago utilized sophisticated manufacturing techniques and advanced nautical technology in the construction and operation of their seafaring vessels.According to an analysis published in the journal PLOS ONE, the ancient seafaring vessels discovered at the site are the oldest ever found in the Mediterranean, which may offer "invaluable insights" into the technological sophistication employed by Neolithic navigators...According to the researchers, they found five dugout canoes in the ancient lakeshore village of La Marmotta near the coast of Rome, Italy, dating from...

The first ship to sink as a result of Houthi rebel strikes is the Belize-flagged Rubymar, which descended into the depths of the Red Sea, officials announced Saturday. The Houthi attacks have had international implications as major companies have started avoiding the crucial shipping lanes and opting for safer - but longer and more expensive - routes. Via the Associated Press:The sinking of the Rubymar comes as shipping through the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been affected by the Houthi attacks.Already, many ships have turned away from the...

The world's largest cruise ship has begun its seven-day maiden voyage from Port Miami - carrying nearly the population of a small city onboard. The Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas set sail today on a seven-day island-hopping voyage in the Caribbean before returning to Miami. The $2 billion ship runs nearly 1,200 feet (365 meters) from bow to stern and has 20 decks, 2,350 crew, 2,805 staterooms along with room for 7,600 passengers.

Two US-flagged container ships under the protection of the US Navy were forced to retreat from a passage of the Red Sea after coming under fire from Houthi terrorists on Wednesday. The US-flagged container ships Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake were supposed to enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and transit the Red Sea under the protection of the US Navy. The US Navy has done this once before. On January 10, a convoy of four US-flagged ships carrying military cargo passed through the Red Sea. It came under a complex attack of 18 suicide drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and...

We've seen a lot of anti-Israel protesters. We saw some who stormed a New York City store because it had flyers of the kidnapped Israelis out front, and police had to protect the building and the people. But the folks who stormed into the Port of Oakland managed to do something that everyone should find more than a little troubling. Somehow they were able to get through a fence and onto the grounds of the port area. At least three of them got onto the ladder for the U.S. Ready Reserve Force roll-on/roll-off vessel MV Cape Orlando, thinking it was...

The Pentagon needs a third shipyard that can build nuclear-powered ships so the U.S. can keep pace with China and Russia’s nuclear modernization, a congressional commission said in a new report published Thursday. A third private shipyard would expand industry’s capacity to build nuclear-powered submarines, therefore bolstering U.S. strategic forces, according to the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. The commission suggests the Pentagon “increase shipbuilding capacity, by working with industry to establish or renovate a third shipyard dedicated to production of nuclear-powered vessels, with particular emphasis on nuclear-powered submarines,” according to the report.