Daily Archives: February 15, 2022

Its Valentines Day, so obviously we all have one big thing on our minds: our favorite ships in fiction.

Fandom has largely claimed the word ships to mean relationships, as in two (or more) people you think belong together, as in I ship Dean Winchester and Castiel from Supernatural. Thats all well and good, but it isnt what were talking about. We mean what ships used to mean before fandoms stole the word vessels designed for transporting people or goods across space, through the air, or on the sea. Isnt there something inherently romantic about being aboard a fearless ship that soars and/or sails through the unknown? As it turns out, there are a lot of fictional ships to get all swoony over especially as they turn from simple vessels to important narrative devices for the characters involved.

There are far too few spaceships that are also traditional sailing ships out there, but Disneys sci-fi take on Treasure Island, 2002s Treasure Planet, helps fill the gap. The movie was a huge flop when it came out, but it has absolutely gorgeous visuals, and it really pushes the button on what that weird blend of CG and traditional animation at the turn of the millennium could accomplish. These things are not mutually exclusive.

The R.L.S. Legacy exemplifies the best that Treasure Planet has to offer. It looks like a traditional galleon, but it soars through space. It embodies all the romance of sailing the high seas, coupled with the splendor of space. Some of the movies most gorgeous scenes come from Jim Hawkins dangling on the rigging and gazing out at the vast expanse of the galaxy. Petrana Radulovic

One of the cutest quirks of the Hunter x Hunter world is that blimp and zeppelin-like airships are the norm for air travel instead of planes. It is a design decision I fully support, especially because theyre also brightly colored and really darn cute! They have little faces!!! I just want to give them all wee kisses on the nose. PR

The best spaceships are ones that become characters in their own right and the Rocinante is a shining example. The ex-Martian Navy ship becomes the centerpiece of the series. Its the escape vessel of a group of coworkers who become a found family. Its a getaway frigate. Its a warship defending the peace. Its the place Jim and Naomi meet, and where the former keeps trying to make a decent cup of coffee. Its the place where Alex Kamal makes Mariner Valley lasagna and attempts to lighten the mood. Its the eternal improvement project of Amos, then Clarissa Peaches, and more. Its the ship where Bobbie makes a stand.

After nine books, read over the course of 10 years, the interior of the ship is as familiar as any place Ive ever lived with even the mention of crash couches and the juice mentally preparing me for action and adventure. The Roci changes so much over the years, starting out as a spritely example of tech that always felt out of reach. Nine books later, with a several-decade time jump, the ships old bones begin to tire, and her tech is outdated. But shes still part of the family! Finally parting with the Roci was just as hard if not harder than parting with the crew. Nicole Clark

Its been a long damn time since Ive read Anne McCaffreys The Ship Who Sang stories, which kicked off in 1961 and were eventually wrapped up into a novel that eventually got several collaboration sequels. I cant speak for how Id feel about it today, but as a teenager, I really enjoyed the tragic, yearning romance of the first book, The Ship Who Sang. In a far-future setting, some people with badly damaged bodies become shell people, encased in life-support systems that interface with the control systems of cities, planets or ships. The protagonist here is a sentient ship (a brain) partnered with a hunky captain (a brawn) and sent out on dangerous missions. Naturally, they fall for each other, and naturally, they cant exactly be together in a conventional way, and naturally, no one who isnt a ship partner can really understand their special relationship. The whole setup is rife with unrequited longing, secret passion, and perilous space adventure. I dont know what more you could want out of your sci-fi ships. Tasha Robinson

Do fictional space vehicles need to be realistic? Of course not! But when time and attention is given to spaceship realism, I believe its worthy of praise. Thats why one of my favorite spaceships is the Interstellar Vehicle Venture Star from Avatar. This spaceship only gets a fraction of the movies runtime on screen, but its bursting with visual details that reveal an incredibly well-thought-out interstellar vehicle.

The Venture Star is designed for travel from Earth to Pandora, a journey that takes approximately seven years. In order to achieve a significant fraction of the speed of light, the Venture Star is actually pushed by an Earth-based laser for half the journey, which explains the large photon shield in the front (back?) of the ship. After a mid-journey flip, the Venture Star pumps the brakes, which in this case are two gigantic antimatter engines. Just like on a real spaceship, the Venture Star needs to get rid of all the heat those engines create, so two huge radiators slowly dissipate the heat from the antimatter reactions. The engines never even fire in the movie: the only hint at their power is the fact that these radiators continue to glow red hot long after.

The long, thin design of the Venture Star allows the crew quarters to be placed a far enough distance from the antimatter engines heat and radiation, another nod to realism. The gigantic truss connecting the two sections evokes the International Space Station and two Valkyrie atmospheric spacecraft evoke NASAs black and white space shuttle design. These references help make the Venture Star feel even more grounded as a spaceship design, while also giving the Venture Star plenty of room for Unobtainium storage.

Even before you reach Pandora, the Venture Star helps communicate how the rapacious Resources Development Administration operates. Though it evokes governmentally designed spaceships, its purpose is clearly more exploitation than exploration. This audacious spaceship is economical and efficient, designed to transport the resources the RDA extracts from Pandora. Clayton Ashley

Though only briefly glimpsed during the games opening cinematic, the asymmetrical lander from 2017s Echo is one of the most eye-catching designs in a game with no shortage of striking imagery. Essentially a personal landing craft designed to transport passengers on and off-world, the lander exemplifies all the qualities that I could want out of a personal spacecraft its compact, nimble, and visually unique. Its the type of design that inspires you to ask a million questions about the technology and civilization that produced it, which makes it the perfect type of fictional vehicle in my opinion. Toussaint Egan

Opinion may be split on Joseph Kosinskis 2013 sci-fi action film Oblivion, but whats not up for debate is the Bubble Ship, the personal reconnaissance aircraft piloted by Tom Cruise in the movie. This ship is fn cool. Vehicle designer Daniel Simon describes it as a dragonfly [combined] with a Bell 47 helicopter. The end result is a memorable, elegant design, soaring through the clouds above a post-apocalyptic Earth with ease and grace. Every moment the Bubble Ship was onscreen was pure bliss, while every moment it wasnt onscreen had me asking, Wheres the Bubble Ship? TE

My favorite ship is the Protoss Mothership from StarCraft 2. Its the sort of vessel that I dont often get to use in multiplayer matches they are expensive and move too slowly to be useful to a incompetent StarCraft 2 player. But in theory, they are perfect machines: Gorgeous to look at, can make things go invisible, call back allied units, and slow time. Its pretty good at base defense, but the build order and tech tree to make one is absolute nonsense to me. Typically, I am not good enough at StarCraft 2 to get to a point in the late-game where the ship is viable. Occasionally, I do enjoy employing a Mothership Rush strategy, which I first saw a pro-player do in 2010.

This is an absolutely mad strategy: Instead of doing things that will ensure a good economy and a powerful army, you simply pivot all resources to getting the Mothership as fast as possible. It sometimes works because its so stupid and no one expects it. However, again, I am not quite as good and often fail. And so I look on the Mothership with awe the sort of vessel that is always out of reach. Nicole Carpenter

Let me start by saying that in many ways, this is a terrible ship. Everyone aboard died, and by the end of the voyage, it was a literal wreck. It is best known for complete and total failure.

But I also love this ship. The real-life disaster story is fascinating, and AMCs highly fictionalized television adaptation is phenomenal. (season 1 of The Terror, based on Dan Simmons novel, is available to watch on Hulu.) I feel like I know the ship inside and out, even though I most certainly do not. Among the many excellent things about the series is the amount of attention devoted to the interior details of the ship. The ship is lived-in, and you live in it with the crew. This ship is a home. Its a doomed home filled with death, but its a home nonetheless. Also, its called the freaking Terror perhaps doom was slightly foreseeable. Pete Volk

Im not a big ship person, unlike some of my friends, who know who they are. I dont have a favorite Star Trek ship, much less one thats appeared in fewer than five episodes of the franchise total. For me, ships are interesting settings, bases of operations, places to explore, but rarely characters in their own right. They dont make me feel feelings.

Except the first time I saw the SSV Normandy pull out of dock, my shitty monitor speakers doing their best to blast the chords of the Mass Effect theme. My heart swelled with a feeling that could only be voiced by the phrase Thats my ship, in the same tone that, say, a total wife guy might say Thats my wife!

But I confess my full love is reserved for the SSV Normandys resurrection as the SSV Normandy SR-2, a cutting-edge stealth frigate kitted with a luxurious captains quarters, observation deck, and a fucking bar. Granted, she skirts very close to being a humanized ship when her illegal onboard AI, EDI, gets her own body in order to conform to the BTG standard (big tiddy girlfriend). But EDI is my ally and compatriot not the Normandy itself.

One woman cant be the mighty sword with whom I cut through the galaxys myriad struggles, the spot where I go to hang out with my buds, and the place I keep my collection of exotic fish. Only a ship can do that. Susana Polo

I dont even know where I first ran across this toy, which has been around since at least the mid-2010s, and Fisher-Price being largely eternal, maybe long before then. I just know I wish it had been a thing when I was a kid. Its a (probably extremely leaky) pirate ship, but its also a giant shark that eats Fisher-Price people! Also, to judge from the TV ad, it maybe fights crime too for some reason? Exactly what Id do if I was a giant shark someone had turned into a biomechanical monstrosity. Also, it comes with a little shark-pirate, which raises endless questions about the biology or superscience of whatever imaginary world this thing exists in. I like to think of the shark-ship as the Alphonse to the shark-captains Edward, just two brothers with very different bodies, trying to get by in a world thats probably pretty prejudiced against shark-people and shark-ships. At least once theyre both safely out of devouring range. TR

See more here:

The best ships in movies and TV shows - Polygon

JAKARTA Indonesia is pushing for a nationwide harvest strategy for its world-leading tropical tuna fishery, in an effort to protect the countrys wild stock.

Indonesias annual tuna catch is largest of any country. Since 2018, the government has applied an interim harvest strategy that consists of, among others, harvest control rules and monitoring for skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), bigeye (Thunnus obesus) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in its three fishery management areas (WPP). But the countrys fisheries ministry said recently that having a specific nationwide harvest strategy would be crucial for protecting the countrys wild stock.

The planned tuna harvest strategy will also help the governments ongoing push to achieve sustainability certification for its fisheries and subsequently open them to the growing global demand for eco-labeled seafood. Much of Indonesias tuna catch depends on the countrys small-scale handline fishers, according to the ministry.

The certification underpins the access of Indonesian tuna products to the global market, Trian Yunanda, the director of fish resource management at the ministry, said in a statement.

The global tuna fishery is valued at more than $40 billion annually, with Indonesia at the top of the list. The country caught an average of more than 628,000 metric tons of the fish between 2012 and 2018, according to government data.

Some observers have welcomed the proposed establishment of a nationwide tuna harvest strategy. An example of the harvest control rules that could be imposed under such a strategy may be if the stock in a given area falls to less than 40% of its pristine (unfished) level. At that point, a fishery manager would impose a closed season of 100 days, according to Peter Mous, director of the sustainable fisheries program at Bali-based NGO Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN).

Formalizing a harvest strategy is one way to show progress towards [sustainability] certification, and therefore these two concepts are closely linked, Mous said. The challenge for Indonesia, of course, is to demonstrate positive impact at sea, based on actual data and sound analysis.

Indonesia is in the meantime targeting to expand its longline fishing fleet in the high seas as part of its plan for a world-leading sustainable tuna fishery by 2025. The expansion is also part of the countrys efforts to tap into the increased harvest quota granted to Indonesia by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs). These include the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the Inter-Atlantic Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).

Since 2017, Indonesia has worked on building a high-seas tuna fleet after earlier banning foreign fishing vessels from its own waters. Data from the fisheries ministry show the number of authorized tuna vessels larger than 30 gross tonnage nearly doubled to 664 between 2017 and 2020.

In addition to these efforts, the Southeast Asian country is planning to limit the number of operating fish aggregating devices; implement a temporary moratorium on tuna fishing in the Banda Sea to protect juveniles; and reduce the carbon footprint of its vessels. Much of the fishing grounds in the Pacific and Indian oceans, which Indonesia straddles, are already fully exploited, with many tuna species subject to overfishing.

Related listening from Mongabays podcast: The conservation status of four tuna species was recently upgraded. Is it really OK to eat such tuna now, as has been reported in the mainstream media? Its complicated, listen here:

FEEDBACK:Use this formto send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

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Indonesia to tighten regulation of tuna harvest in bid for sustainability - Mongabay.com

A hidden forest of algae sponges and hydroids photographed at low tide; a stunning night image of green button polyps under ultraviolet light; and a beautiful shot of a honeycomb moray eel stuck on a ledge on a rocky shore. Mumbai may be a bustling metropolis, but photographer Sarang Naiks aesthetic and vibrant images of marine life show a different side of the city.

When Naik first started exploring the coast of urban Mumbai, Indias financial capital and home to Bollywood stars, he was astounded by the diversity of creatures that he came across from hermit crabs, barnacles and a baby octopus to zoanthids (colourful disc-shaped relatives of coral) and prickly sea urchins. The intertidal zone or foreshore where the land is exposed at low tide and is under water at high tide is home to diverse marine life over different terrains, from mudflats to beaches and mangroves.

Most of my images have the creatures against the city in the background, reminding us that these creatures have been here way before us, says Naik. Even after three years of taking these shore walks, I am often blown away by the sight of some new coral or rare species. You dont expect this kind of biodiversity in this concrete jungle.

Naik, who was born in the city, is a member of the Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM), a collective of volunteers, marine biologists and enthusiasts co-founded by Pradip Patade, who played on Girgaum Chowpatty beach in southern Mumbai as a child. After he quit his job in human resources, Patade started teaching water sports and would walk along the shore taking pictures of the creatures he found there. He started MLOM with Abhishek Jamalabad, a marine biologist and certified diver, and Siddharth Chakravarty, an independent researcher in industrial fisheries, in February 2017.

Members upload their findings to iNaturalist, a biodiversity database accessed by expertsand have logged more than 484 species to date. MLOMs Instagram page has records of sightings from common hairy crabs to pistol shrimp, nassa mud snails and even portuguese man o war.

Jamalabad, who was born and raised in Mumbai, believes the intertidal zone has been largely neglected, not only in India, but across the world. This is ironic because its one of the most accessible of all marine habitats and has a multitude of unique creatures. It also plays an important part in the ecology and lifecycle of creatures which live in the deeper parts of the ocean.

The Indian Ocean squid, a commercially important species, breeds and lays its eggs in the intertidal zone. Many reef fish spend their juvenile period in this zone to avoid predatory creatures. Many fishermen not only depend on the high seas for their catch but also on the intertidal zone. Oyster picking is restricted to this zone and is a female-dominated occupation, unlike fishing. It is also important for the physical integrity of the coast, as it keeps it safe from the impact of storms, he says.

Sejal Mehta, editor at MLOM, says that the resilience of the creatures found on Mumbais shores is constantly surprising. As I started discovering the shores on different walks, from Haji Ali to Nepean Sea Road, what hit me was how prolific the marine life was in spite of all the plastic, sewage and marine pollution. It reminded me of the resilience of Mumbaikars who, despite all odds, thrive in this crowded and chaotic city.

Some creatures, like the gorgonian sea fan corals, which you expect to only see in crystal clear pristine waters, are found here along the shores. Every time the tide recedes, its a new world that you are looking at. Its as dynamic as the ebb and flow of the tides, she adds.

A sea fan coral at Breach Candy; sponges, zoanthids, hydroids and algae at the Marine Drive shore; colourful nudibranch sea slugs

Shaunak Modi, director of Coastal Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that evolved from MLOM in 2019 to extend the model beyond citizen science and take it to other parts of India, says: Though I grew up close to Juhu Beach, the narrative was always about the pollution, dirt and garbage, and I never expected to find any life on these shores. On one of my shore walks, I saw a cratena sea slug, an alien-looking creature that wowed me and cemented my place in MOLM. I was amazed at how much biodiversity existed on these shores.

The diverse marine life exists despite the constant onslaught of development in the city. We clearly should not build over the intertidal zone, but over 200 to 300 years this has been happening in Mumbai, with the shores getting landfilled for development, says Jamalabad.

The controversial Coastal Road project, which will run alongside the Arabian sea for 18 miles (29.2km), threatens corals and olive ridley sea turtles among other creatures, say campaigners. There was a lot of noise about the corals and some of it was translocated, but what about the other creatures and their habitats that would be affected by this development? says Modi.

The people who come on our walks are an extremely diverse bunch from graphic designers to doctors and architects. All want to get to know their city better, says Mehta. Hopefully, this will translate into an increasing awareness and desire to protect the precious shores so that future generations can enjoy them.

Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features

Originally posted here:

'Every time the tide recedes, it's a new world': Mumbai's marine life revealed - The Guardian

Cruises: Holidays on the high seas

Cruises: Holidays on the high seas

Every year more tourists set sail. Cruises are becoming increasingly popular around the world. More and more Germans are also vacationing on the high seas.

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Good news for cruise-Fans!

After almost two years of corona stress, the time has finally come: the masks are falling! You can find out here which cruises you can do without the mouth and nose cover on in the future.

After almost two years with Corona, there is hope for travelers. Even if the omicron wave has not yet swept over, some tour operators have now decided that one or the other measure on their ship can be overturned, as reported by Merkur.

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Cruise: You will no longer need masks on these trips! (archive image)

Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Cati Cladera

++++ Cruise: Will costs explode soon? This news does not bode well ++++

The shipping company Royal Caribbean is the first to abolish the mask requirement on Valentines Day, February 14th. As long as sufficient space is kept between guests, it is no longer necessary to wear a mask outdoors.

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Cruise: On some ships, the mask requirement outdoors is now lifted. (icon picture)

Photo: IMAGO / Sven Simon

Unfortunately, guests are still not allowed to do without mouth and nose protection indoors. The same applies here as usual: Bars, lounges, restaurants and shows to which vaccinated travelers have access are excluded.

Another shipping company is relaxing the measures for passengers.

More cruise-Subjects:

Cruise: Film star goes for Tui Even as a child I refused

Cruise: Aida has a new idea vacationers make it clear what they think of it

Cruise: Passenger has an accident on board and is shocked by what happens next

The same applies to the Norwegian Cruise Line: Here, too, guests can do without wearing a mask outdoors from March 1st. In the interiors, however, it is required again here. In addition, there is a vaccination requirement from the age of five, according to the Merkur. (ali)

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Cruise: THESE shipping companies are surprisingly relaxing the corona rules even the masks are falling - Then24.com

uxury cruising conjures many connotations: expansive ships, cultural excursions, myriad amenities, but not necessarily romance. Or so you thought. Celebrity Cruises is playing cupid this Valentines Day by offering an enticing array of amorous experiences, from ambient dinners and wine tastings beneath the stars to spoiling spa treatments for two, set against a backdrop of Europes most stunning cities.

An undisputed innovator when it comes to the high seas, Celebrity Cruises has shaken up the status quo with its pioneering fleet of luxury ships, which are akin to floating five-star resorts. The brand boasts Gwyneth Paltrow as its wellbeing advisor, consulting on everything from spa treatments to fitness classes, while world-class entertainment includes West End-level productions and enthralling performances created in partnership with American Ballet Theatre.Wake up every day to your own private balcony, as a new port glides into view.

Select from Celebrity Cruises considered line-up of European itineraries, setting sail this spring. Spark romance onboard a ten-night European cruise, where you will quaff red wine in Bordeaux; bask in ancient architecture in Bilbao; sample seafood in the soulful Portuguese capital of Lisbon and watch the sunset from Castillo de Montjuic in Barcelona.

Alternatively, revel in Renaissance architecture and ochre sunsets while cruising through the Italian Riviera and France, with ports in Provence, Nice and Florence. Enjoy leisurely, sun-soaked lunches in the wine region of Tuscany, frescoes and feasting in Sicily and Rome, or take a day trip to the ever-glamorous Capri.

Most excitingly, both of these voyages welcome you aboard the hotly anticipated new Celebrity Beyond cruise ship. Part of the Celebrity Edge series of ships, this trailblazing feat of architecture boasts an innovative, outward-facing design that houses no less than 32 different food and beverage experiences.

Intimacy and cruising may sound like an oxymoron, but Celebrity Beyond offers an extensive edit of onboard indulgences, designed with romance in mind. Sip cocktails in the multi-level, seriously cool Sunset Bar, imagined by American designer Nate Berkus, or lock eyes over fine dining cuisine at Le Voyage, the first-ever restaurant at sea by French chef Daniel Boulud. Mood-lit interiors are equally inviting, in soothing tones of amber and dusty pink.

In the holistic spa, enjoy a couples coconut melt massage or unwind in the therapeutic Salt Room, mosaic wrapped Hamman or Thermal Suite, with bubbling hot tubs and steamy saunas.

Kelly Hoppen CBE has lent her interior prowess to The Retreat, an exclusive space with a members club feel, which is only available to suite guests. It features a private lounge, restaurant and two-storey sundeck, where a dedicated concierge team will cater to your every whim.

Further afield, fall head over heels for the Galpagos Islands, a remote archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. Effortlessly segue from one island to the next aboard Celebrity Flora, a luxurious all-suite mega yacht that sleeps just 100 guests. Ideal for adventurers and nature enthusiasts, explore black turtle coves and secluded bays, while spotting dolphins and marine iguanas. Snorkel with sea lions, frolic with flamingos and enjoy al fresco meals against a breathtaking backdrop of azure water and rugged volcanic mountains.

For a fabulously fresh spin on romance, take to the waters where idyllic destinations, nightly sunsets and sumptuous surrounds make for a loved-up sojourn like no other.

Book before 28 February 2022 and save up to 2,400 per stateroom or 1,200 per person on Caribbean or European cruises and enjoy free flights to Europe. Celebrity Cruises is also offering 20% off cruise fares to the Galpagos, in addition to discounts on flights if booked as a package.

Every Celebrity Cruise includes drinks, wifi and tips as standard. Discover more here.

The rest is here:

The most romantic cruises to book in 2022 | International | Travel - Luxury London

OPED By Loro Horta

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia is expected to build 8 nuclear attack submarines with American and British assistance, in part to counter China. Australias SSNs when operational could become vital reinforcements to the 14 US SSNs in a potential conflict with China. However, China is not sitting idly and is getting ready to confront its adversaries.

With 80 submarines, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has the highest proportion of submarines in relation to surface vessels than any other navy.

While the PLAN has about 67 conventionally powered subs, its nuclear attack submarine force remains rather small, at 6 ships. At a time when Australia is investing in nuclear attack submarines, China is focused elsewhere. Why is China not so enthusiastic about nuclear attack submarines, or at least for now?

SSNs have several advantages over conventional subs, which are usually electric diesel-powered. Nuclear attack submarines are faster, can dive deeper and have larger ranges of operations. As such they are much harder to detect and destroy than conventional submarines.

However, such vessels are much more expensive, costing on average 3 times more than conventional submarines, and technologically complex to build and maintain. Still, the proponents for SSNs argue that nuclear submarines are superior to conventional ones and the costs are worth it.

In the past decade, advances in conventional submarine technology have called into question some of the past assumptions concerning the advantages of nuclear attack submarines. Modern conventionally powered submarines are being equipped with diesel-electric engines with more advanced batteries that increase their speed and range.

Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology has made conventional subs stealthier. While conventional submarines cannot match SSNs in terms of range and speed, their stealth capabilities do not lag far behind.

The United States only operates nuclear-powered submarines, separated from the rest of the world by two large oceans and with military bases spread across the globe. The US navy needs nuclear-powered submarines because of their limitless range. SSNs are also used to escort American aircraft carrier battle groups as they traverse the vast expanses of the worlds oceans.

However, the PLANs immediate priority is to prepare for a possible conflict with the US Navy over Taiwan or in regional waters such as the South China Sea. Therefore, the advantages of SSNs are at least for now not that relevant for China.

For the PLAN, the range of SSNs is not terribly important during a conflict over Taiwan, for its the US Navy, which has to come all the way to meet the PLAN.

SSNs can dive deeper than conventional submarines. However, in the relatively shallow waters surrounding Taiwan and the South China Sea, such an advantage is questionable. When it comes to speed, modern conventional submarines can move quite fast within a small area of operations.

In a possible conflict over Taiwan, the 14 SSNs the US currently operates, not all deployed in the region, would have to get closer to the Chinese coast to support their surface fleet and hunt for Chinese submarines. As they get closer to the Chinese coast, the PLANs numeric superiority in submarines will be an enormous challenge.

While the PLANs submarine fleet will pose a formidable threat to the US Navy, its troubles are far from over. In recent years, China has been investing significant resources in advanced underwater sensors, sonar, and anti-submarine lasers technology to better identify and target US submarines.

The result is a growing transparency in the seas surrounding China. Chinas ability to detect American submarines at great distances is improving by the day. China has deployed underwater sensors that allow it to monitor US submarine activity as far as Guam.

Last year, a Chinese underwater drone was washed off the Indonesian island of Selayar close to Northern Australia.

Anti-submarine mines have also received substantial attention from the PLAN and underwater drones to attack American submarines are under development. While these underwater drones seem to be in a developmental stage, the fact that China now has one of the most advanced drone industries in the world should worry the US.

Some analysts have gone as far as predicting that in the next two decades, anti-submarine warfare will be so advanced as to make the submarine redundant. While this remains to be seen, it is certain that new technologies are making submarine operations far more dangerous.

With their limitless range, Australias planned 8 SSNs could reach the waters around Taiwan fast and substantially reinforce American submarine forces. Once they reach their objective, it remains to be seen how useful they will be. The PLAN doesnt seem to have any desire to fight a midway-type battle in the high seas.

China plans to fight the US and its allies closer to its shore where it has deployed thousands of missiles, drones, hundreds of modern fighters, advanced air defense systems, and where the waters are becoming transparently deadly by the day.

(The author is an academic and diplomat from Timor Leste. He is a graduate of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, the Chinese National Defense University, the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School and the American National Defense University.)

Mail us at: [emailprotected]

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Battle Of Submarines: Worlds Biggest Navy, Why China Could Be Ill-Prepared For A Deep-Sea Encounter With The US - EurAsian Times

It comes as a church Minister says he's used a church hall to isolate 14 boys, 13 of whom have tested positive.

The Efikasa Church was hit hard during Delta and now it's happening again with Omicron. There are 136 households linked to this church and two other partner churches are isolating.

"All of our houses were not designed to have a special place for isolation and I think all families, we are struggling because of that," says Victor Pouasi, Efikasa Church Minister.

Fourteen boys are isolating in the church hall. They'd been away on a trip when they learned their parents had the virus.

"When they came back, they were not allowed to stay home so they were forced to stay together," Pouasi says.

He says the support the boys have received has been excellent, although the isolation clock restarts for all 14 each time one tests positive.

"That could be part of the learning curve for the Government and for the health department and for everyone to learn from this case."

South Seas Healthcare is overseeing the church cluster and says overcrowding and a lack of options are frustrating families.

"Households that have families of 10-plus end up staying in isolation periods for up to 45 days," says Cherry Elisaia, South Seas community support isolation quarantine lead.

At the South Seas community isolation headquarters, the cluster's growth is monitored in real-time and shows in some cases up to 16 people are living in one house.

"Our experience is that we've got big families that have got elderly folks and also people with multiple health conditions," says Lemalu Silao Vaisola Sefo, South Seas CEO.

He says 15 families were escalated for alternative accommodation, but only three got a room in MIQ.

Health Minister Andrew Little told Newshub he's aware of the issues and is talking with DHBs about alternative accommodation. He said MBIE had access to 125 campervans but they'd only be allowed to be used in "exceptional" circumstances.

But the concern is campervans are not the solution.

"A campervan doesn't quite go far enough. We need to look at alternatives where big families can self-isolate," Sefo says.

Auckland is the epicentre of the Omicron outbreak, but Counties Manukau is the hardest-hit DHB with 2602 active cases, compared with 890 in Auckland and 580 in Waitemat.

Fifteen health and welfare providers met to discuss the overcrowding issue in Mngere.

"It is urgent, it's growing pretty rapidly at the moment," says Ula Letele, Grace Foundation CEO.

Between them they say they have access to houses that'll ease the pressure.

"We've got capacity for around 60 between us, but we don't have the funding to be able to fund it," Letele says.

In the meantime, the workload mounts.

"In the work that we've experienced in the past week, it definitely feels like we're in phase 3," Sefo says.

We're only in phase 2, and it's predicted the coming weeks will just get more intense.

More here:

Coronavirus: Campervans being used to isolate high-risk people in overcrowded households - Newshub