Category Archives: High Seas

With guest hostJane Clayson.

Former NATO top commander Adm. James Stavridis on the geopolitics playing out now on the worlds oceans and on land.

James Stavridis rose through the ranks of the US Navy to commander. Went on to become supreme commander of NATO. All those US military engagements you remember from the news? Gulf War, Haiti, Bosnia, Iraq 2003? He was on the bridge or in the command center. The ocean is still his touchstone as he watches this centurys geopolitics unfold today. This hour On Point: Retired Adm. James Stavridis on a world of challenges, on the ocean and on land.

Adm. James Stavridis, author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the Worlds Oceans. Former allied commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans and piracy off the coast of Africa. Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. (@stavridisj)

Listen to some of the highlights from our conversation with Stavridis.

Bloomberg:America Rules the Waves. But for How Long? China builds fake islands in the South China Sea. Russia fires missiles into Syria from the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas. North Korea launches ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan. The U.S. orders three three! aircraft carrier strike groups to the Western Pacific in response. Houthi rebels shoot rockets at U.S. ships off Yemen. Pacific nations go on a submarine-buying binge. India and China start constructing their first homemade aircraft carriers. Pirates return to the waters off East Africa.

Military.com: Experts: US Must Project Cyber Warfare Capabilities to Deter Attacks The United States must demonstrate its cyber warfare capabilities to help deter sophisticated attacks from Russia and other adversaries while building strategies on a battlefield still misunderstood by commanders and senior officials, a panel of defense experts told lawmakers Thursday.

TIME:Admiral Stavridis: 5 Reasons Trump Should Send More Troops to Afghanistan The Administration and the Congress should support a 5,000-troop increase, apportioned equally between US and the rest of NATO forces, hopefully with significant contributions from the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Norway and Denmark nations who have considerable experience in Afghanistan. While far less likely, we should also approach Canada and the Netherlands. Indeed, all of the NATO nations have good reason to be very forthcoming to prove to President Trump that NATO is the relevant organization he finally admitted it was a month or so ago. All these commitments must be in place as the nations head into President Trumps first NATO summit.

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Geopolitics On The High Seas And In Today's Headlines - WFAE

New York Times

A U-Boat Strikes and Terror Follows on the High Seas New York Times But until the Mid-Week Pictorial of June 7, 1917, you might have had no idea what the final moments looked like before a torpedoed steamer, sinking by the bow, slipped under the waves; its screw and rudder raised helplessly high above the water, a big ...

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A U-Boat Strikes and Terror Follows on the High Seas - New York Times

Published Jun 7, 2017 at 8:00 am (Updated Jun 6, 2017 at 11:07 pm)

Falling away: Artemis Racing lost both races to SoftBank Team Japan (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

Dean Barker had to draw on his vast experience as he steered SoftBank Team Japan to back-to-back wins over Artemis Racing in rough conditions yesterday.

With both boats being battered by the high winds, it was Barker who rose to the challenge to open up a healthy 3-1 lead in the race to first-to-five points in their semi-final.

Bits were flying off both boats during the first race as Team Japan crossed the finish line moments before Artemis confirmed their retirement from the contest.

We had a bit of a stuff just before the start of that first race and blew out a bunch of the fairings, Nathan Outteridge, the Artemis skipper, said.

We spent a lot of time just trying to bandage up the boat and it just shows how fragile these boats are.

It was a disappointing day but you just have to keep chipping away. It was pretty tough but now the boat is back in the shed and we are doing all the checks, and Im sure it will be good for tomorrow.

There was some hastily reupholstering to both boats before the second race, Barker showing his skill with another strong start to give his team an early advantage.

Artemiss woes were further compounded after incurring two costly penalties, awarded against them for sailing out of the racecourse boundary on leg three after avoiding a collision.

Iain Percy, the Artemis tactician and grinder, was left fuming at Richard Slater, the chief umpire, who issued the sanctions that all but ended the Swedes challenge.

Do your f***ing job, the British double Olympic gold medal-winner roared at Slater, before adding: This is ridiculous; you get ready for when I am back on shore.

Percy already had reason to be upset at Slater after he issued the Swedish team with a penalty that cost them victory against Emirates Team New Zealand in the double round-robin stage. That time, Slater admitted that he had got it wrong.

Outteridge said he feared his boat was at risk of a pitch-pole capsize, much like Team New Zealand did in the next race, had he not veered out of bounds.

I saw Team New Zealands incident and we had plenty of close moments ourselves, Outteridge said. You would have seen in the second race how close we got to Dean when we had a little nose stuff.

We bailed out of that situation, turned up and that eventually put us out of bounds. I was a bit nervous that we were going to do something like Pete [Burling] did and we would have gone right on top of [Team Japan].

Although more measured in his criticism of the umpires than Percy, Outteridge also feels his teams treatment was unjust.

When we re-entered the racecourse, we had to lose two boat lengths from SoftBank Team Japan, he said. From what I understand, the umpires decided it was a deliberate intention going out of bounds.

So they added a second penalty and we had to lose four boat lengths.

Outteridge said that most of the damage to Artemiss boat was surface-related and that he had no real concerns.

I was talking to Dean and he said they had little issues with their boat as well, Outteridge added.

Most of the stuff was cosmetic, but there were one or two other bits and pieces that were holding us back as well.

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Barker and Team Japan ruling the high seas | The Royal Gazette ... - Royal Gazette

Already 2-0 down after retiring with wing damage on the first day, in wild conditions the British team took an early lead in the first race of day two, but were overhauled by their opponents and lost the race.

As race two started, Emirates Team New Zealand capsized, resulting in Land Rover BAR being awarded the race win.

And the Land Rover BAR skipper reaffirmed his belief his team can still overhaul their 3-1 deficit in the first-to-five semi-final.

"It was an amazing day of sailing, certainly the most exciting, exhilarating sailing I've ever been involved in," said Ainslie.

"Ultimately we were please with how we sailed as a team, all teams were struggling to get these boats around the course. "It's so physical and if you even get just one manoeuvre wrong it puts you on the back foot for the rest of the race. Our guys did a great job "One loss and one win - considering the conditions today, we are happy with that."

Throughout the day winds were consistently at the upper scale of the 25-knot limit that would see racing postponed.

Immediately after their initial launch, Emirates Team New Zealand suffered wing damage, whilst both Artemis Racing and Softbank Team Japan suffered in tough conditions.

"We were averaging close to 21-23 knots, gusting to 26-27 knots; there was a lot of white water," admitted Ainslie.

"I'd liken it to skiing on ice, if you slow up and play it sage its almost worse, when you sail fast its extremely rewarding. It is incredibly hard for the helm and the wing trimmer, and all guys on the boat. On days like today it's the ultimate team sport."

When Burling and his crew capsized Ainslie immediately ordered his chase boat to assist the stricken yacht as the umpires cancelled the race.

Ainslie said: "It looked like a slight misjudgement on the rake and angle not going to pass judgement, these boats are incredibly hard to sail.

"Thank God everyone is okay and I'm sure they'll recover and be out racing tomorrow or the next day."

In the other semi-final, Artemis Racing lost twice against Softbank Team Japan as both teams struggled in blustery conditions that look set to continue on Wednesday.

The Swedish team featuring British Olympic champions Iain Percy and Paul Goodison suffered boat damage in the first race as they fell 3-1 behind overall.

Sportsbeat 2017

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Ainslie keeps cool of day of high seas drama at America's Cup - Eurosport.com

Rear Admiral Sayyari described Iranian Navys mission as protecting and defending the country's maritimeboundaries as well as national resources and interests in territorial waters, adding since 2009 and upon the directive of Irans Leader saying the Navy is a strategic force, our mission zone and presence on high seas and international waters has expanded, in a way that we have so far dispatched 52 flotillas to high seas.

He went on to add that the Iranian Navy has been also conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 in order to safeguard merchant ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries against piracy.

Sea diplomacy is needed so that the enemy will not assume that Iran is isolated, said Sayyari, adding our presence on high seas neutralizes the Iranophobia campaigns by displaying Iranian culture, science, and identity at various ports in the world.

The Navy commander went on to add, today, we are proud to say that the Iranian Navy receivesall of its required modern equipment, destroyers and vessels from domestic manufacturing.

Sayyari noted that the Navy has so far provided security to 4,000 merchant ships and oil tankers on high seas, adding our presence on high seas is in accordance with the international law. We will not allow an ounce of insecurity in the zone under our patrol and will stand firm against anyone who seeks to cause insecurity.

On Tuesday, Sayyari said up to 25 naval exercises have been planned to be staged by March 2018.

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Navy dispatched 52 flotillas to high seas in 8 years - Mehr News Agency - English Version

Its a question that a passenger boarding a cruise ship might fleetingly ask, but then quickly forget: Who is responsible for law and order when were out on the high seas?

The passengers on an average cruise ship amount to a small town of 2,000 to 5,000 people, and there might be situations when one or a few of them misbehave, even break the law.

What then? Who can detain a troublemaker? Is there even a jail cell?

There are actually detention rooms on some ships, says Helge Grammertsdorf, whose job it is to worry about these problems. These usually are ferry vessels, says the expert from Germanys international cruise lines association CLIA.

On a cruise ship this can, if need be, a cabin used for the purpose. Tui Cruises is one such line to use this practice.

The person that lays down the law on a vessel is almost always the ships captain, says Grammertsdorf. Its his decision whether a suspect will be arrested. Additionally, there are also specially trained security personnel on board, he points out.

Theres a small town on board a cruise ship and there might be situations when one or a few of the residents misbehave, even break the law. Photo: dpa/Stefan Sauer

Tui Cruises says it even has a department that acts as a security service on its fleet. The department is headed by a chief security officer who usually has a military or police service background and is versed in the basics of crime investigation.

At Aida Cruises, a spokeswoman says the company likewise employs an experienced and highly trained international team of security personnel on board. The security team is on call to resort, at any given moment, to measures needed to protect guests, the crew and the ship itself.

If the situation actually does require a passenger to be arrested, then as a rule the person is handed over to local authorities or police at the next port of call. Tui Cruises says it has laid down the procedures throughout its entire fleet for such cases. dpa

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Cruise ship crime: Who's in charge of law and order on the high seas? - Star2.com

Launched on World Environment Day at the United Nations first global Ocean Conference, the Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration aims to stop illegal tuna from coming to market. It is supported by 18 civil-society organisations including the Benioff Ocean Initiative (University of California, Santa Barbara), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Marine Stewardship Council, the Nature Conservancy, and OceanElders.

The declaration, which is available at http://www.wef.ch/tunadeclaration, sends a clear message to organisations on the tuna supply chain from fishing companies to producers to retailers that the net is closing in on illegally fished tuna and forced labour on the high seas.

To help deliver on the outcomes in the declaration, the World Economic Forum (WEF) says it will mobilise an Ocean Data Alliance, an open-source collaboration among leading tech companies, governments and research institutes. This will bring together the data needed for comprehensive monitoring of ocean resources.

Such traceability of stocks and the elimination of illegal activities are possible through new Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as blockchain, big data, machine learning and satellite tracking.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing represents a global theft of about 26 million tonnes of fish, or US$24 billion (Bt816 billion), each year. Around a billion people rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein, particularly in developing countries.

Tuna is one of the most overfished and at-risk groups of fish. Many are keystone species, meaning that overfishing can have a significant impact on ocean health. Bluefin tuna have seen their populations collapse by more than 90 per cent and will take decades to recover fully.

IUU tuna fishing is a source of forced labour in many countries, violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisations Conventions and Recommendations.

The Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration is an unprecedented commitment to stop illegal tuna from coming to market, said Dominic Waughray, WEFs head of public-private partnership and member of the groups executive committee.

Multi-stakeholder collaboration combined with Fourth Industrial Revolution innovations such as advanced remote sensing, the latest generation of satellites and new computing technologies provide real opportunity to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals to make this happen.

Meg Caldwell, deputy director for oceans for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, a US-based provider of funding to non-profit organisations, said recent analysis showed that IUU fishing might be 50 per cent more than the officially reported catch.

The good news is that there are solutions for responsible and evidence-based marine resource management. This intersection with our strategic priorities is why tackling IUU fishing has become an increasing priority for us, she said.

The Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration came out of discussions at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January among industry stakeholders, governments, civil society and the Peter Thomson, president of the United Nations General Assembly. They called for further collaboration between the public and private sectors to accelerate efforts to address the IUU fishing of tuna in line with Sustainable Development Goal 14 on oceans.

"SDG 14 is critical for the health and economies of many nations, particularly coastal countries and small island states. This declaration is a bold step towards ending illegal fishing and empowering countries to make fisheries more sustainable," said Arni Mathiesen, assistant director-general of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The UN Ocean Conference, which began on Monday and runs until Friday, marks the first time since the 1982 passage of the Law of the Sea that so many world leaders are convening to discuss the future of the worlds oceans, including its impact on economic growth, environmental sustainability, human health and the achievement of the SDGs.

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Pledge to stop illegal tuna fishing, related forced labour on high seas by 2020 - The Nation

Sean F. Driscoll @SeanFDriscoll

HYANNIS When Than Drake initially bought a 30-foot boat with the intention of doing day sailing trips, it didnt catch on. The boat was rough, too rough for the clientele he was trying to capture out of Hyannis Inner Harbor.

So instead of providing posh rides for adults, Drake switched gears to a swashbuckling adventures for young kids. Now he owns Cape Cod Pirate Adventures, a business thats kept him on the high seas for more than 20 years.

I said to myself It looks like a pirate ship, he said. So I credit the boat with helping me with the idea.

Drakes boat, the 40-foot Sea Gypsy VIII, can carry up to 45 passengers, with a typical sailing being a mix of 20 kids and 20 adults, he said. He and his crew run as many as five 75-minute trips a day during the summer, giving kids age 4 to 8 a chance to wear pirate gear, battle a rival crew and find some buried treasure.

What is the most important thing your business does? It opens up (kids) imaginations. We throw a lot of questions at the kids that never get answered about where are we going, where do you think the treasure is, what do you think it is? We really get them to wonder, because for a lot of the kids they think its real and they really strain their brain thinking about whats going to happen.

How long have you been in business? Since 1995.

What did you do before? I wasnt making much money as a carpenter. I painted houses and stuff, but I didnt really have a career going on at all. But I went to a boat-building school that helped with the construction of these sea gypsies and I did other things working with kids, so I saw the importance of focusing and prioritizing on them and making a trip for them and not adults.

How big is your staff? Five to operate the boat, and two in the office.

How has the market changed since your business started? Business fell off in '07-'08, and it never came back to the prerecession years. Now there are more things for the kids to do, there are more kid activities on the Cape. It just gets diluted.

What are your plans for your business' future? I build these boats for other people, and they have a license agreement for Pirate Adventures. Theres seven or eight similar boats up and down the East Coast. It keeps the association going and pays the legal bills for maintaining the license.

What's your most memorable moment with this business? Its that one-on-one with children. One reason we do the face painting is it allows us to get close, to get in that comfort zone with children and make eye contact with them. Its just a precious time. They are full of anticipation and excitement.

Video:Take 10 feature with Than Drake, owner of Cape Cod Pirate Adventures

What advice do you have for someone starting out in business? Focus on the kids. A lot of people get into boats for the sunset cruises and the adult trips, and people think dealing with kids is difficult. I think its more difficult to deal with inebriated adults.

What's the biggest challenge about having a business on Cape Cod? The weather, of course. A hurricane can end the season abruptly. My business has a smaller window than most, so if I miss a day in August, its gone. It never comes back.

What's the best thing about having a business on Cape Cod? That its a short season. Its nice to be done by Labor Day.

Follow Sean F. Driscoll on Twitter: @seanfdriscoll.

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Take 10: Swashbuckling on the high seas of Hyannis - Cape Cod Times (subscription)

Anyone who respects the Law of Diminishing Returns mustve wondered if the world needed another Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Theyd lost their snap and sparkle in recent outings, and Johnny Depps turn as Captain Jack Sparrow became forced.

My hopes werent high for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and the reviews werent good.

But the movie, the fifth one of the series, turns out to be an unexpected return to form. By that, I mean its fun, the actions over the top and the laughs often come straight from the belly.

Brenton Thwaites plays Henry Turner, whos trying to break the curse on his father, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). Along the way, he runs into the fetching Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), who also has unresolved issues with her father.

Its clear the newcomers have feelings for each other, even if they cant see. Luckily, Sparrow is there to point it out. Hes also there to make sure things work out in his drunken, haphazard way.

But this isnt exactly the old Jack. Henry and Carina find him in the dumps. His old enemy Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) makes an alliance with another old enemy, Salazar (Javier Bardem), and they have Jack in their sights.

Because this is a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Salazar and his crew are cursed. They all resemble the mangled corpses they became after their first run-in with Jack. The filmmakers do an excellent job of mixing makeup and computer effects to render the characters in a believable way.

There are some problems. A crucial part of the story contradicts the way things happened in an earlier installment. Another inconsistency isnt as important, but it is distracting. Im sure a close watching of the movie would reveal other logical lapses.

But, hey, nobody expects consistency from a Jerry Bruckheimer production. What they expect are fight scenes, daring escapes and explosions not necessarily in that order. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales delivers all three, along with plenty of laughs.

Captain Jack Sparrow has his mojo back, and thats probably because the film doesnt rest on Depps performance. Henry and Carina have missions to complete and falling in love to do; Salazar needs his long-sought revenge; and Barbossa shows a side of his character hes never revealed before.

The filmmakers have a question to ask before they decide to make another sequel and tempt the Law of Diminishing Returns: Wouldnt it be better to end on a high note?

Because Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is frothy fun on the high seas. I give it a B plus.

Its showing at Malcos in Tupelo, Oxford, Corinth and Columbus, as well as Hollywood Premier Cinemas in Starkville and Movie Reel 4 in New Albany.

Look for movie reviews in Scene on Thursdays, and listen each Tuesday on Wizard 106.7 between 4:30 and 5 p.m.

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Latest 'Pirates' sequel rides on high seas - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

SIXTH-GRADERS SET SAIL DURING SCIENCE CLASS

ABOVE: Students in Charlene Tuttles sixth-grade science class sail past the Dutch Island Light on a privately owned sailboat. The West Passage field trip was part of their study of forces. Never has science class been such a breeze.

Lawn School students from Charlene Tuttles sixth-grade class sailed through Dutch Harbor last week aboard Hobie catamarans to learn about force and forward motion. The fledgling skippers were tasked with translating lessons they learned in the classroom into a circumnavigation of Dutch Island, located about one-third of a mile from West Ferry. Not only did the students heed Tuttles instructions, Meg Myles from the Conanicut Island Sailing Foundation led dry runs in the schools courtyard. The classmates took turns sailing on the pavement to get used to the boats controls.

Myles and the foundation supervised the May 25 live exercises and also provided the boats. Crews of four students with an instructor onboard set sail from Dutch Harbor Boat Yard while the remainder joined Tuttle on a privately owned yacht.

BELOW: Eva Junge, instructor Haley Barber, Reese Montoya, Polina Wright and Maren Kalberer, left to right, sail toward the Jamestown bridge aboard a Hobie Cat during the science lesson. PHOTOS BY ANDREA VON HOHENLEITEN Theyre learning aerodynamics, where the wind is coming from and how sailboats work, Tuttle said. We live on an island and the world is seventh-eighths water, so its important to know how to sail and be on the water.

The idea sprung from a discussion between Tuttle and Myles late last year.

It was a really beautiful stroke of luck, Tuttle said. We were looking ahead at upcoming units, and we were talking about the potential to maybe go sailing as part of the forces unit.

Before setting sail on Dutch Harbor, students learned the basics of sailing in the Lawn School courtyard. Meg Myles from the Conanicut Island Sailing Foundation led the lessons. PHOTO BY ANDREA VON HOHENLEITEN Incorporating the sport not only would teach the class how forces affected real-life situations, Myles said, but it would be a memorable way to learn. After the idea was approved by the schools administration, two dry sailing lessons were added to Tuttles agenda, one in the morning and the other in the early afternoon. Both of her classes participated.

The first sailing lesson was May 22, when the students completed dry-land drills aboard a wooden pram and a Hobie, a small double-hulled sailboat typically used by beginners. Following a crash course on the basics of sailing, the classes were taught science concepts that tied into their adventure.

We talked about how sails work and how they work together, and how air hits the sail and moves from high to low pressure, Myles said. It was a great example of science in real life.

T.J. Coleman, a student in Tuttles class, said the practice helped him prepare for the real deal two days later.

I didnt know how to sail before, but now Im more experienced than I used to be, he said. When youre learning to sail, youre learning to do new things.

Apart from one Hobie venturing off track toward the Jamestown bridge, the excursions were a success. As they were sailing on open water, the students took turns steering their boats and operating the sails. After circling Dutch Island, the students returned to the boatyard with 90 minutes of sailing under their belts.

Stephanie Holland said she has a newfound knowledge about how pressure affects sailing vessels. I learned that a lot of the pressure is from the wind, the water and the current, she said.

It was really helpful to see how all the difference forces are used together, especially out there in the environment where we actually do things for real, not just in class, added classmate

McKenzie Gardner.

Although Gardner had sailed before, she had never circumnavigated Dutch Island. She said that the experience varied in its difficulty.

It was a little bit hard, she said. We had to sail against the current because it was stronger out in the front of Dutch, but once we got around, it was easier.

Jackson Fortenberry, who was one of the students that manned the private yacht, said he learned how the wind affected the boats movement.

There were some points where we were really slow, and there was no real wind there, he said. And then there were some points where there was a lot of wind and we were going really fast.

Fortenberry also got a chance to steer the yacht, an experience he called one of a kind.

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LEARNING ON THE HIGH SEAS - Jamestown Press