Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
April 8, 2014
The Strait of Malacca is named after Malacca, now part of Malaysia. In about the year 1400, Parameswana, the last Raja of Singapura, was expelled from the area around present-day Singapore by local rivals. He relocated to the fishing village of Malacca…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
May 4, 2012
Abel Tasman (1603-1659) was a Dutch merchant and explorer. He is credited with the European discovery of Australia and New Zealand. He joined the Dutch United East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie - VOC) in 1633 and was promptly…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
March 23, 2012
When the Union Navy learned that the Confederate Navy was building an iron-clad warship to threaten the wooden-hulled blockade fleet, it launched a crash project to build its own iron-clad warships. Of the 17 proposals submitted, the Union Navy selected three for construction.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
December 9, 2011
Pensacola is the westernmost city in Florida, nearly extending into Alabama. It is the homeport for a number of fishing vessels and small passenger vessels. One of its claims to fame is that it is the site of the first European settlement in…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
December 21, 2010
Nikumaroro (previously known as Gardner Island) is a small coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean situated just south of the Equator and just west of the 180th meridian. It lies in the Phoenix Island Chain and is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
November 5, 2010
The requirement for scanning of 100% of maritime shipping containers in overseas ports prior to loading on a ship bound for the United States was enacted into federal law (with various caveats) by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
August 27, 2010
The Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) is a US Navy program, initiated in the early 1950’s, to track Soviet or other potentially hostile submarines. It consists of a series of hydrophones strategically placed on seamounts and continental slopes…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
April 20, 2010
The Turkish Straits consist of two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and the Sea of Marmara that connects them. The Turkish Straits lie between the Black Sea to the east and the Aegean Sea, which is a region of the much larger Mediterranean Sea.