Again?
.gif of a babe in a bikini, but click on it and it's just hidden muh joo
USS Chancellorsville Is Renamed In Honor Of Black Ship Pilot Robert Smalls
John Konrad February 27, 2023
Today the US Navy announced it is renaiming a warship to honor Robert Smalls, a skilled ship pilot and statesman born into slavery in South Carolina. The ship that will be taking his name is the USS Chancellorsvill, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser in service in the United States Navy. She is named for the Battle of Chancellorsville of the Civil War, which was a victory for the Confederate States Army.
Black ship pilots have a rich and fascinating history in America. During the colonial era, many enslaved Africans and their descendants were skilled in navigating the waterways along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, and their knowledge was highly sought after by European traders and ship captains. Despite the limitations placed on their freedom and opportunities, black pilots played a vital role in American maritime commerce, guiding ships through treacherous waters and helping to establish important trading routes. In the years leading up to the Civil War, some black pilots even used their knowledge and expertise to help enslaved people escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Following Emancipation, black pilots continued to make significant contributions to the American maritime industry, serving as captains and pilots on both civilian and military vessels. Today, the legacy of black ship pilots lives on as a testament to the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and resilience of African Americans in the face of oppression and adversity.
One of the most accomplished black pilots of the era was Captain Robert Smalls. Not only did he excel in his role as a pilot, but he also went on to serve as a brigadier general in the South Carolina militia and was elected to the United States Congress.
The decision to name a warship after Smalls arrived after a congressionally mandated Naming Commission outlined several military assets across all branches of service that required renaming due to confederate ties. In September 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accepted all recommendations from the naming commission and gave each service until the end of 2023 to rename their assets.
“I am proud to rename CG 62 after Robert Smalls. He was an extraordinary American and I had the pleasure of learning more about him last year when I visited his home in South Carolina,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “The renaming of these assets is not about rewriting history, but to remove the focus on the parts of our history that don’t align with the tenets of this country, and instead allows us to highlight the events and people in history who may have been overlooked. Robert Smalls is a man who deserves a namesake ship and with this renaming, his story will continue to be retold and highlighted.”
The logistical aspects associated with renaming the ship will begin henceforth and will continue until completion with minimal impact on operations and the crew. CG-62 was commissioned in 1989 and named USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) to honor the Battle of Chancellorsville, a Confederate victory during the Civil War. CG-62 is currently assigned to Carrier Strike Group Five and is forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/uss-chancellorsville-is-renamed-to-honor-black-ship-pilot/
General Characteristics, Ticonderoga Class
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding: CG 47-50, CG 52-57, 59, 62, 65-66, 68-69, 71-73; Bath Iron Works: CG 51, 58, 60-61, 63-64, 67, 70.
Date Deployed: January 22, 1983 (USS Ticonderoga)
Unit Cost: About $1 billion each.
Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM 2,500 gas turbine engines; 2 shafts, 80,000 shaft horsepower total.
Length: 567 feet.
Beam: 55 feet.
Displacement: 9,600 long tons (9,754.06 metric tons) full load.
Speed: 30 plus knots.
Crew: 30 Officers, 300 Enlisted.
Armament: MK41 vertical launching system Standard Missile (MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) Missile; Tomahawk Cruise Missile; Six MK 46 torpedoes (from two triple mounts); Two MK 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight guns; Two Phalanx close-in-weapons systems.
Aircraft: Two SH-60 Sea Hawk (LAMPS III).
https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169861/cruisers-cg/
Russian Oil Exports Prove Resilient to Full Force of Western Bans
Bloomberg February 28, 2023
By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) —
Russia’s seaborne oil exports remained resilient in February, as the nation found new buyers even as the full force of Western restrictions was brought to bear.
Oil-market watchers are closely following Russian export data for signs of disruptions after the European Union and the majority of Group of Seven nations banned most seaborne imports of oil and fuel in condemnation of the invasion in Ukraine. Aided by ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers, Russian producers have turned to buyers in the Gulf, Latin America and Asia, ship-tracking data shows.
The EU banned seaborne fuel imports in early February, two months after imposing restrictions on crude shipments. The sanctions come on top of the price caps on Russian cargoes that third countries must observe, if they want access to western services like shipping and insurance.
Despite that combination of curbs hitting in February, Russian producers exported an average of 7.32 million barrels a day of crude oil and petroleum products, data from research firm Kpler shows. That’s in line with volumes shipped in December and only 9% below the historic high in January.
The monthly decline in Russia’s seaborne flows is mostly the result of unusually high January exports, which partly related to weather disruptions, said Kpler crude analyst Viktor Katona.
Bad weather in early winter led to “a sizable carry-on effect of cargoes that were bound to load in December yet were pushed into January,” leading to peak flows, he said. “Storms have come back this month again after a relatively tame January, especially in the Black Sea, with the port Novorossiysk repeatedly shut throughout the month.”
Despite that resilience, Russia’s oil exports face further strains as India, a top buyer of its crude, sees mounting pressure from bankers to demonstrate that the cargoes comply with the $60-barrel price cap. Tougher monitoring may weigh on India’s purchases of Russian barrels.
Next month’s exports may also be affected by the Kremlin’s decision to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in retaliation for the western bans. The baseline for the cut is the nation’s January production, which reached around 10.86 million barrels per day.
So far, it remains unclear whether Russian producers will prefer to reduce their crude exports or domestic processing as a result of the curb. Preliminary March plans indicate the oil firms intend to keep refinery runs high to take advantage of huge tax benefits that are set to decline from April.
https://gcaptain.com/russian-oil-exports-prove-resilient-to-full-force-of-western-bans/
MARAD Announces More Than $12 Million in Funding for the Renamed U.S. Marine Highway Program
Mike Schuler March 1, 2023
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced the availability of more than $12 million for the newly-renamed United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP), formerly known as the America’s Marine Highway Program.
“America’s waterways serve as critical links in our nation’s supply chains,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These investments in our marine highways will help to strengthen our supply chains, reduce emissions, and create jobs across the country.”
A Notice of Funding Opportunity makes $12,423,000 available in Fiscal Year 2023 funds. The amount is less than the $39 million awarded last year, which included $25 million made available thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law plus an additional $14.8 million via the FY 2022 Appropriations Act.
“Since the establishment of the marine highways program, MARAD has awarded more than $91.6 million in competitive grants to eligible organizations for marine highway services,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips. “These grants have supported the development and expansion of marine highways, vessels, and landside ports and infrastructure, which are critical to building supply chain resilience.”
The DOT will evaluate projects using criteria including the effect on movement of goods, level of non-federal funding investment, use of domestic preference, consideration of equity, and environmental justice. The Department will also consider geographic diversity when selecting grant recipients, as well as how the project addresses challenges faced by rural areas.
Since its inception, the USMHP has designated 58 Marine Highway Projects.
https://gcaptain.com/marad-announces-more-than-12-million-in-funding-for-the-renamed-u-s-marine-highway-program/
I'm trying to keep things going but looks like the USN is all stuck in port, somebody must've used the wrong pronouns
Barter has no sales tax
Chinese Bulk Carrier Damaged by Ice Sinks Off Russia
Mike Schuler March 1, 2023
A Chinese bulker has sunk in Strait of Tartary near the Russian port of Vanino after being damaged in a collision with heavy ice flows.
The vessel, Yong Xing 56, had been caught in the ice since February 19 and issued a distress call on February 23, prompting a rescue operation. Reporting indicates the the 33,000 DWT ship was carrying a cargo of alumina.
All 21 crew members abandoned ship and were rescued by a Russian ferry and taken to Vonino.
“The crew of 21 citizens of the People’s Republic of China got onto the ice and was then taken on board of an approaching ship,” Russia’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport told state-owned press service TASS on Wednesday.
Salvage teams attempted to seal a hole in the vessel and control the ingress of water, but flooding continued and the decision was made to remove the pumps and cut the mooring lines.
The vessel sank on March 1, and an investigation has been launched.
There were no injuries to the crew.
The Yong Xing 56 was built in 2008 and sails under the Chinese flag.
https://gcaptain.com/chinese-bulk-carrier-yong-xing-56-sinks/
Looks Situation Normal in the South China Sea. Everything I found with a Chinese flag around Taiwan was either a bulk carrier or a container ship. Mid-afternoon over there right now, so there's ships everywhere