Masked men stole 70 gold bars from fishing boat in Curacao

what the hell were doing 70 gold bars on a fishing boat?

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By Karen Attiah, The The "Summer Bliss" fishing boat sits docked at the Willemstad port in Curacao, on Nov. 30. Masked men in jackets emblazoned with the word "police" boarded the "Summer Bliss" in an early morning assault on Friday and stole 70 gold bars worth an estimated $11.5 million, police spokesman Reggie Huggins said.

Masked men in jackets emblazoned with the word "police" boarded a fishing boat Friday in Curacao and stole 70 gold bars worth an estimated $11.5 million, officials in the southern Caribbean island said.

The boat's captain was struck in the head in the early-morning assault before the thieves made off with the gold in three cars, police spokesman Reggie Huggins said. Authorities believe there were at least six men involved in the heist. No suspects were in custody.

Huggins declined to say who owned the approximately 476 pounds of gold but he said it was a legal shipment that was being trans-shipped through Curacao and officials in the island had been advised in advance that it was coming as part of normal security protocols. He declined to disclose the eventual destination of the metal.

"Authorities knew of the shipment because the official procedure was followed," the spokesman said.

Huggins said that guards to the port area let the assailants inside a restricted area in the mistaken belief that they were customs officials. The men's jackets had the word "police" in English but in Curacao the word would be written in Papiamento, one of the island's three official languages, as "polis." During the robbery, crew members said they wore hoods and masks and made off with the gold in a matter of minutes.

"The crew said it was like a movie operation, very fast," Huggins said.

The captain and three crew members were from the South American country of Guyana, he said.

The boat, by its appearance, would seem an unlikely place to stash that amount of gold. The "Summer Bliss" is a fishing boat with rust streaks on its white cabin and no visible security.

A crew member who gave his name as Raymond Emmanuel told The Associated Press that they left Guyana four days ago and arrived early Friday in Curacao. Contradicting police, he said they were delivering the gold to a company in Curacao but said he did not know the name of the business.

He referred questions about the source of the gold to the captain, who was meeting with authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island and was not immediately available.

Emmanuel said the gold was locked away when the thieves boarded the vessel. "They took everything," he said. More on NBC >>

Las FAR y el Asbesto: Una teja por familia

varias curiosidades nos trae el granma de hoy en La más honrosa misión, donde resena el empleo de un buque "multiproposito" de las far [no de la marina de guerra, sino de las far]  para trasladar 43,700 tejas de fibrocemento desde la'bana hasta el puerto de santiago de cuba.    

para dejar claro que es asunto de generales y no de marineros "El miembro del Buró Político, viceministro de las FAR, general de cuerpo de ejército Ramón Espinosa Martín, recibió al buque y expresó que esta es otra contribución de las Fuerzas Armadas a la recuperación de la región oriental".  

la foto en plano cerrado -como es costumbre- que publica el granma, muestra una pequena nave poco artillada con una plataforma porta-helicopteros.

considerando que una teja de asbesto-cemento tiene un peso minimo de 16kg, la carga total de las 43,700 tejas considerando las estibas rebasaria ligeramente las 700 toneladas. 

descartando las viviendas totalmente destruidas, se estima entre 27 y 30 mil las viviendas que perdieron sus techos. luego como es posible que el granma afirme que 37,400 tejas favoreceran a 37 mil familias [del total 6 mil 300 estan destinadas al sector estatal]. una teja por familia!!!     

por otro lado granma se refiere a tejas de fibrocemento, cuando realmente las que se producen en cuba son de asbesto-cemento. las cubiertas ligeras como soluciones para techos tan extendidas en cuba que dejan desprotegidos a viviendas, escuelas, almacenes y animales con el primer viento platanero, tienen tantas contraindicaciones que violan las mas elementales normas constructivas, que su empleo mundial se remite solo a regiones de extrema pobreza.
y ello lo conocen perfectamente las autoridades cubanas -y supongo que el plumifero de turno del granma, aunque sobre esto ultimo no estoy seguro por la tradicional indigencia cultural de estos sueldistas de la propaganda oficial-, por lo que emplean el termino fibrocemento y no el de asbesto-cemento, cuyo impacto en la salud humana esta largamente documentado. 

a los nocivos efectos del asbesto ha estado expuesta durante decadas la poblacion cubana [techos y tanques de agua], los ninos en las escuelas, los constructores, los trabajadores que laboran en las plantas de tejas y la poblacion en general.  

El "Ana Cecilia" llega a La Habana???

tvnportal

First direct US shipment to Cuba in 50 years... by tvnportal

The Origins of “Glomar” Declassified

A USGS Satellite photo of the Glomar Explorer in Suisun Bay, CA

UNREDACTED/ By William Burr

On 19 March 1975, the New York Times’ front page included Seymour Hersh’s headline story, “C.I.A. Salvage Ship Brought Up Part of Soviet Sub Lost in 1968, Failed to Raise Atom Missiles.” This was the story of the ship Glomar Explorer, constructed by one of Howard Hughes’ companies under CIA contract, and built to salvage a Soviet submarine three miles in Pacific waters. The National Archives has recently declassified in full, in response to a mandatory declassification review appeal, the record of a White House discussion that same day about Hersh’s story. President Gerald Ford met with White House advisers, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, and CIA director William Colby and discussed a response to the disclosure of “Operation Matador,” the code name for the salvaging project. Schlesinger wanted to confirm the story because it was “a major American accomplishment”, a “marvel,” and going public would help it avoid looking like “part of a covert operation.” Unpersuaded, Colby wanted to keep the lid on it. Recalling the May 1960 U-2 affair, when President Eisenhower acknowledged his responsibility which led to the collapse of the Paris summit meeting in May 1960, Colby wanted to take a different tack: “We should not put the Soviet Union under such pressure to respond.” With U.S.-Soviet détente under pressure in the United States, Colby thought it better to avoid new tensions in relations with Moscow.  More >>

British ship in Cuba to mark 250th anniversary of the Battle of Havana

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- A British fleet-support ship has docked in Havana's harbor as Cuba and the U.K. prepare to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Havana.

The gray RFA Fort Rosalie arrived Wednesday morning with more than 100 crewmembers aboard. It tied up at the cruise ship terminal and was greeted by a band playing both countries' national anthems.

British forces laid siege to Havana in June 1762 during the Seven Years' War. At the time, the city was an important base for Spanish military power in the Western Hemisphere.

Havana remained under British control until the following year, when Spain ceded Florida under a treaty. The Fort Rosalie usually aids British Navy operations. Its visit coincides with British cultural week, which includes cinematic, theatrical and musical events.

Massive fire on nuclear powered submarine

Security Clearance/

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Matt Rutherford - Solo Sail Around the Americas

Matt Rutherford

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Coast Guard cutter sinks tsunami 'ghost ship'

but they missed several shots at close range against a helpless and motionless target

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Teenager rescued after 28 days adrift at sea in small boat

[AP]  Adrian Vasquez, left, an 18-year-old Panamanian who worked in a seaside resort hotel, receives medical attention aboard an Ecuadorean navy ship on Sunday.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 6:01 a.m. ET: A teen has apparently survived 28 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean after going on a fishing trip with two friends, according to reports. Adrian Vasquez, who was rescued by the Ecuadorean navy on Sunday, said he stayed alive by drinking rainwater and eating raw fish, the BBC reported.

More >>

Se hunde el mayor dique flotante de Cuba

Foto de coleccion: DIQUE FLOTANTE DE LA HABANA (CUBA) CONSTRUIDO EN NEWCASTLE (INGLATERRA) TALLERES SWAN & HUNTER [1897]

LA HABANA, Cuba (Agencias, www.cubanet.org)  – Un dique seco flotante, el mayor de las dársenas de acero cubanas, se hundió el pasado sábado 12 de enero, al concluir una reparación de gran envergadura en los astilleros de Casa Blanca, según dijeron fuentes de la isla que reprodujo la cadena Univisión Radio.

El dique, que de acuerdo con reportes extraoficiales fue adquirido por Cuba a Alemania en la década de los años 70 a un costo de más de $300 millones,  “se hundió a 15 metros de profundidad después de la botadura del barco extranjero Platiniun, que estaba siendo reparado”, dijo un obrero que no se identificó.

En condiciones normales, al concluir la reparación de los barcos, los tanques del dique se inundan y bajan para que el barco reparado quede flotando. Pero esta vez el dique bajó y de repente se precipitó al fondo de la bahía. Se cree que el sistema de desagüe y bombeo pudo haber sufrido fallas en el momento de botar el barco. “El hundimiento del dique era inminente sobre todo por su antigüedad. Tampoco cumplía con los requerimientos técnicos para montajes de barcos de gran calado”, dijo uno de los técnicos de montaje de obra, que se negó a revelar su nombre.

La dársena, con una tara de más de 100 toneladas de acero, ya presentaba graves problemas. “Inseguridad en el blindaje, tanques de lastre, motores y plataforma corroída por el salitre. En el 2001 se planificó una reparación general en los astilleros de Curazao, pero resultó fallida por temor a que sufriera un naufragio durante el trayecto. En los años siguientes, el dique fue sometido a reparaciones insuficientes”, señaló un empleado relacionado con los astilleros.

El astillero cuenta con otro dique de menor capacidad para reparaciones de barcos pequeños que pasan por la isla y que pagan esos servicios en divisas. Pero la mayor fuente de empleo estaba en ese dique de gran proporción, advirtieron los trabajadores de la plataforma accidentada. Como resultado de tal incidente, todos sus empleados “dejaron de percibir la divisa (entre 30 y 40 CUC) del mes de enero”, indicó un obrero portuario.

Hasta el momento, las autoridades cubanas no han informado sobre las causas del desastre, ni a la prensa ni a los más de 800 obreros que laboran en el astillero.  Luego del hundimiento, algunos de los empleados  fueron expulsados y se espera que muchos más pudieran terminar en la calle por falta de trabajo.

License for ferry to Cuba denied

By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel

Just two weeks after a Fort Lauderdale company publicly complained of government delays on its application for ferry service to Cuba, a U.S. Treasury agency has denied the request.

Officials at Havana Ferry Partners say they will appeal. Its executives see no reason why U.S. authorities allow planes to carry U.S. passengers to Cuba but not ferries. Current U.S. regulations allow both "aircraft and vessels" to serve Cuba as an exception to the U.S. embargo against the communist-led island.

"We're not going away," said Leonard Moecklin Sr., Havana Ferry's managing partner.

The denial came from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees the 50-year-old U.S. embargo against Cuba. Its Feb. 27 letter said ferry service to Cuba is "beyond the scope of current policy."  More >>

Secrets of the Dead: Japanese SuperSub [Documentary]

Watch Japanese SuperSub on PBS. See more from Secrets of the Dead.

How to Refloat a Capsized Liner

Discovery News/ Eric Niiler

How do you turn over a 952-foot cruise ship that’s capsized on a rocky shoreline?

Marine engineers around the world are speculating on the best way to refloat the Costa Concordia, an operation that will begin as soon as authorities account for all the missing passengers.The Italian ship with 4,200 passengers and crew ran aground Friday in 45 feet of water as it was passing the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany. As of Tuesday, 11 people had been killed and more than a dozen were still missing.

Although the ship lies on its starboard side and is in shallow water just offshore, Italian coast guard authorities fear that worsening weather is pushing it into deeper water which could make the rescue and salvage operation more difficult. Italian environmental officials have also asked the ship’s owner, Miami-based Carnival Cruise Cruise Lines, to come up with a plan to remove 2,000 metric tons of diesel fuel that remain in the hull of the stricken liner.

“Nobody wants a wreck removal where you have to chop it up,” said Joe Farrell III, a marine salver and naval architect at Resolve Marine Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “You want to take enough weight off it so it will float off the bottom. The thing is on its side. You’d need to roll it right side up and you would need a crazy amount of force to do that.”

Farrell recently returned from Sri Lanka where he salvaged a group of four ships, and also rescued a stranded cruise ship in the Arctic Canadian waters last year. Once the diesel fuel is removed from the ship, a process that will take at least several weeks, it will become more buoyant.

Salvers also may decide to force air into its ballast tanks in order to blow out water that has leaked through a 165 foot gash along the side. The damage would likely be repaired only after workers cut away the jagged edges around the gash and weld steel plates to the hull. The entire operation can be modeled on computer programs that predict the kinds of stresses that the ship can handle.  Read More >>

Captain's favor to head waiter to blame for cruise ship disaster?

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By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

La Repubblica newspaper has published what it says is a telephone conversation between the port authority and the captain of the Costa Concordia on the night the cruise ship veered off course and crashed into rocks off the coast of Tuscany, NBC News reports.

The transcript of the conversation is in the hands of prosecutors.

The captain, Francesco Schettino, had sailed perilously close to the coast so that the Costa Concordia's head waiter could salute his family on land, according to other media reports.

Here is the translation of the conversation between him and the port authority shortly after the accident, according to NBC News:

00:32amThe port authority asks the captain, Francesco Schettino, how many people are left on board. He says 200-300, therefore claiming unrealistically that 4,000 people were evacuated in only 40 minutes. It quickly becomes clear he has already abandoned ship.

Schettino: "Now I'll go back up", he claims. "I came out to check out to figure out what was happening."

PA (Port Authority):"Will you be the last on board?"

Schsttino:"I will be the last on board."

00:42amPA asks how many people still need to be evacuated.

Schettino:"I called and they told me there are about 100 people. I am coordinating the operations. But I can't go back on it. We have abandoned the ship."

PA:"Captain, did you really abandon the ship??"

Schettino:"No, no, I am here, I am coordinating the evacuation."

PA:"Captain, this is an order, now I am in charge. Get back on that ship and coordinate the operations. There are already casualties."

Enzo Russo/AFP/Getty Images

The captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, is escorted by an Italian policeman in Grosseto on Saturday.

Schettino:"How many?"

PA:"You should tell me that! What do you want to do, go home? Now you get back on that ship and tell us what can be done, how many people are still there and what do they need."

Schettino:"OK, OK, I am going."

(The captain will not get back on the ship)

Meanwhile, Italian coast guard officials late Monday raised number of missing from Friday's shipwreck to 29 -- four crew members and 25 passengers, a top coast guard official, Marco Brusco, said on state TV. That total is up from 16 cited by authorities earlier in the day. Bruno didn't immediately explain the rise. Six bodies have been recovered.

Story updated 4:53 p.m. ET: The captain of the luxury cruise ship that capsized after hitting rocks off Italy had sailed perilously close to the coast to "make a bow" to people on a Tuscan island, according to media reports.
Francesco Schettino made the dangerous maneuver so that the Costa Concordia's head waiter could salute his family on land, according to reports.
Schettino denies charges of manslaughter and his lawyer has said his actions had saved many lives. More >>

High speed catamarans ordered for planned Florida-Cuba ferry service

www.marinelog.com/

Kona Catamaran, LLC, Fort Lauderdale, FL, has reportedly signed a deal with CubaKat, Inc. to build three high speed catamarans that will operate between Marathon, Florida and Havana, Cuba. The ferries will be designed to make the trip in less than three hours.

CubaKat is currently seeking licensing through United States and Cuban agencies for its ferry operations.

The catamarans will be designed by Boksa Marine Design, Inc of Tampa, Florida and Noah Thompson Design of New Zealand. They will be constructed by Kona Catamaran in Titusville, FL at Vectorworks Marine, LLC, a manufacturer of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composite vessels, and will feature FPT diesel engines with HamiltonJet Drives installed by Motor Services Hugo Stamp, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, FL.

According to Boksma Marine Design, the 85 ft x 33 ft vessels will  carry up to 200 passengers and five crew members and will be designed to cruise at speeds above 30 knots.

The Most Expensive Military Weapon Ever Made: Navy’s USS Gerald Ford

Question: What do you get when you combine a massive, super-advanced aircraft carrier with some of the best fighter planes on the planet?

Answer: 100,000 tons of U.S. diplomacy.

Meet the USS Gerald Ford.

The Gerald Ford will be the lead ship of the Gerald Ford Class, which is an update to the Nimitz Class Navy Aircraft Carriers that have given the U.S. sea and aerial dominance around the globe for decades. It’s also slated to be the most expensive weapon ever created at around $11.5 billion– far and away the Navy’s most expensive warship.

Given recent Iranian provocations regarding the Persian Gulf and its threat to close the Straits of Hormuz, the possibility of a deteriorating Iraq in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, and the climate for another Arab-Israeli conflict, the need for “4.5 acres of mobile and sovereign U.S. territory” has perhaps never been more apparent.

Business Insider has put together some slides that show the design of the ship, and below you can also see  some of the state-of-the-art fighter planes and missiles that will make the USS Ford the most tactically dominant naval vessel ever built.

South Korea icebreaker arrives to rescue Russian fishing boat

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Russian fishing boat stuck near the Antarctic

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Dec 17, 2011[Al Jazeera's Roza Kazan reports].

A Russian fishing boat is stuck near the Antarctic. Underwater ice tore a hole in it which caused water to rush in. 32 crew members were on board the ship but most of them are now on lifeboats waiting for help.

Sinking Hitler's Supership [Video]

PIETRASZE

Containers Falling From Ship Grounded Off NZ