FILE: An undated handout photo received from the New Zealand Defense Force on February 8, 2023 shows the Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui retrieving 3.2 tonnes of cocaine adrift in the Pacific in an historic drugs bust estimated to be worth around 316 million US dollars. (Photo by Handout / New Zealand Defence Force / AFP)
SYDNEY, Australia, (AFP) — Australian police said Wednesday they were scouring beaches after mysterious packages believed to contain more than 120 kilograms (260 pounds) of cocaine washed up over the Christmas period.
A first batch of 39 barnacle-encrusted, one-kilogram bricks of suspected cocaine was discovered on Friday near Magenta Beach, north of Sydney, police said.
Since then, another 85 packages of the same size had been spotted along about 80 kilometres (50 miles) of the New South Wales coastline, state police said.
Police urged people to report any suspicious packages, Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein said in a statement.
“Detectives and specialist police are currently combing beaches and coastlines for any outstanding packages and working behind the scenes to make sure we find and hold accountable those responsible,” said Weinstein, who is director of the state’s crime command.
August 6, 1945. “Troops of the 20th Armored Division and units of the 9th Army whoop it up between raindrops as the S.S. John Ericsson nears Pier 84, Hudson River.” Photo by Al Ravenna, New York World Telegram & Sun.
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) pulls into the Republic of Singapore for a scheduled port visit on Dec. 17, 2023. US Navy Photo
Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and its escorts are back underway in the South China Sea following a short port visit to Singapore. The Vinson Carrier Strike Group is one of the few extra-regional naval forces currently operating in South East Asia over the Christmas period with other navies having all wrapped up their deployments.
The strike groups – composed of carrier Vinson with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59) and destroyers USS Kidd (DDG -100) and USS Sterett (DDG-104) – arrived in Singapore for a scheduled port visit on Dec. 17, according to a Navy release,
“The Vinson Strike Group is glad to be back in Singapore following our last visit in 2017,” said Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander, CSG 1, in the release, “the U.S. defense relationship with the Republic of Singapore enables much of what we are working to achieve across the Indo-Pacific; maintain freedom of navigation, international goodwill, and the rules-based order”.
The CSG departed on Thursday and is now in the South China Sea. With the exception of the Royal Navy with OPV HMS Spey (P234) currently in Singapore for end of year maintenance and Indian Navy corvette INS Kadmatt (P29), which concluded a Bangkok, Thailand port call on Friday as part of its long-range deployment to the North Pacific and South China Sea, the U.S. Navy currently is the only extra-regional Navy on a visible presence deployment in South East Asia during the Christmas period. Australia, Canada and Russia wrapped up their Indo-Pacific deployments and returned home after the second half of December.
Australia’s regional presence deployment task group comprising of destroyer HMAS Brisbane (DDG41), frigate HMAS Toowoomba (FFH156) and fleet oiler HMAS Stalwart (A304) set out in September for a three-month regional presence deployment in Southeast and Northeast Asia with Toowoomba operating separately from Brisbane and Stalwart, “This deployment is part of the Australian Defence Force’s robust and long-standing program of regional engagement that demonstrates Australia’s enduring commitment to an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific”, stated an Australian Department release on the conclusion of the deployment. Toowoomba arrived at its homeport of Fleet Base West, Western Australia on Dec.13 while Stalwart returned to Fleet Base West the following day. Brisbane arrived home to Fleet Base East, New South Wales on Dec. 15.
According to the release, the task group completed multiple activities with partner nations including Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Multilateral exercises included the Five Powers Defence Arrangements (FPDA) exercise Bersama Lima held around Malaysia and Singapore in October and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Annual Exercise 2023 held in the Philippine Sea in November. The FPDA consists of Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The JMSDF Annual Exercise (ANNUALEX) included participation with ships and aircraft from the U.S. and Canada along with the Philippines participating as observers. Toowoomba also conducted surveillance patrols in the East China Sea as part of UN sanctions on North Korea leading to an incident on Nov.14 with Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) destroyer CNS Ningbo (139) where Australia accused the PLAN destroyer of unsafe and unprofessional actions in using its sonar while divers from the Australian ship were in the water.
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) recovers aircraft during flight operations on Nov. 19, 2023. US Navy Photo
Canada wrapped up its deployment on Dec. 18 with frigates HCMS Vancouver (FFH331) and HMCS Ottawa (FFH341) along with replenishment ship MV Asterix returning to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt, British Columbia, having set out from the base in early August. A Canada Department of National Defence (DND) release stated that the task group visited seven countries including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States. All three Royal Canadian Navy ships and one Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 Aurora Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) participated in the JMSDF ANNUALEX. Vancouver and the CP-140 also supported Operation Neon, Canada’s contribution to multinational efforts to monitor sanctions placed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council.
“This deployment marked a major milestone for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) presence in the Indo-Pacific. 2023 marks the first year that Canada deployed three warships to the Indo-Pacific region, delivering on the commitment that Canada made when it launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy” stated the release. Earlier in March, frigate HCMS Montreal (FFH336) deployed to the Indo-Pacific and returned to Halifax, Canada on Oct.3.
Like Australia, Canada’s deployment was marked with incidents with China with Peoples Liberation Army Air Force fighter jets twice harassingOttawa’s embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter on Oct.29. Ottawa also conducted two joint Taiwan Strait transit with U.S destroyers during its deployment, the first on Sept.9 and the second on Nov.2
The Russian Navy Pacific Fleet wrapped up its Indo-Pacific deployment on December 20 with the return of destroyers RFS Admiral Panteleyev (548) and RFS Admiral Tributs (564) and fleet oiler Pechenga to Vladivostok where the task group had set out on Oct.7. The deployment was for the Russian Navy to conduct engagements with its partners in the Indo-Pacific. During the deployment, the Russian Navy ships made port calls in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam along with conducting exercises with several of the countries it had visited. Japan tracked the two destroyers on their homeward leg as they passed through the waters near Japan.
A Japan Joint Staff Office (JSO) release on Dec.18 stated on Dec.16 at 10 a.m., the two Russian destroyers were sighted sailing northeast in an area 210km southwest of Miyako Island and then sailed through the Miyako Strait to enter the East China Sea. A JMSDF P-1 MPA of Fleet Air Wing 1 based at JMSDF Kanoya Air Field, Kyushu and a JMSDF P-3C Orion of Fleet Air Wing 5 based at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, tracked the Russian ships. A subsequent release on Dec.19 stated that the Russian ships were observed around noon on Dec.18 transiting the Tsushima Strait. JMSDF fast attack craft JS Otaka (PG-826) and a JMSDF P-1 MPA of Fleet Air Wing 4 based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Honshu tracked the Russian ships, according to the release.
The first USS Newark (C-1) was a United States Navyprotected cruiser, the eighth protected cruiser launched by the United States. In design, she succeeded the “ABC” cruisers Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago with better protection, higher speed, and a uniform 6-inch gun armament. Four additional protected cruisers (C-2 through C-5) were launched for the USN prior to Newark.[1][2]
HMS Renown was the lead ship of her class of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the Revenge-class battleships. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner. Admiral Lord Fisher, upon becoming First Sea Lord, gained approval to restart her construction as a battlecruiser that could be built and enter service quickly. The Director of Naval Construction (DNC), Eustace Tennyson-D’Eyncourt, quickly produced an entirely new design to meet Admiral Lord Fisher’s requirements and the builders agreed to deliver the ships in 15 months. They did not quite meet that ambitious goal, but the ship was delivered a few months after the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Renown, and her sister HMS Repulse, were the world’s fastest capital ships upon completion.
Renown did not see combat during the war and was reconstructed twice between the wars; the 1920s reconstruction increased her armour protection and made other more minor improvements, while the 1930s reconstruction was much more thorough. The ship frequently conveyed royalty on their foreign tours and served as flagship of the Battlecruiser Squadron when Hood was refitting.
During the Second World War, Renown was involved in the search for the Admiral Graf Spee in 1939, participated in the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940 and the search for the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. She spent much of 1940 and 1941 assigned to Force H at Gibraltar, escorting convoys and she participated in the inconclusive Battle of Cape Spartivento. Renown was briefly assigned to the Home Fleet and provided cover to several Arctic convoys in early 1942. The ship was transferred back to Force H for Operation Torch and spent much of 1943 refitting or transporting Winston Churchill and his staff to and from various conferences with various Allied leaders. In early 1944, Renown was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean where she supported numerous attacks on Japanese-occupied facilities in Indonesia and various island groups in the Indian Ocean. The ship returned to the Home Fleet in early 1945 and was refitted before being placed in reserve after the end of the war. Renown was sold for scrap in 1948.
The aircraft carrier George Washington departed Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia in May 2023. The maintenance on the ship kicked off in 2017. (Huntington Ingalls)
The aircraft carrier George Washington is slated to return to Yokosuka, Japan, as the Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier in 2024 — replacing fellow carrier Ronald Reagan.
Yokosuka previously hosted the George Washington from 2008 to 2015. The carrier then started its mid-life refueling and complex overhaul maintenance, known as an RCOH, in 2017 in Virginia.
The maintenance was originally scheduled to conclude in 2021 under a four-year timeline, but delays meant it didn’t wrap up until May 2023.
Unplanned growth in work, labor inefficiencies and the COVID-19 pandemic were all factors that slowed the progress of maintenance, Navy officials previously told Navy Times’ sister publication, Defense News.
The RCOHs are completed at the 25-year mark in a carrier’s service life and are designed to refuel the nuclear power reactor and address other major maintenance issues and upgrades.
The Reagan, which joined U.S. 7th Fleet in 2015, will head to Bremerton, Washington, for maintenance work, according to U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The U.S. Navy river gunboat USS Oahu (PR-6) in the 1930s.
USS OAHU 1920
The first USS Oahu (PR-6), a Yangtze River gunboat, was laid down by Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China, 18 December 1926; launched as PG–46 on 26 November 1927; sponsored by Mrs. Bryson Bruce, wife of Comdr. Bruce; and commissioned 22 October 1928, Lt. Comdr. A. C. Thomas in command.
One of six river gunboats built for use on the Yangtze Kiang in south central China, Oahu departed Shanghai on her shakedown cruise 3 November 1928, proceeding upriver to Chongqing, 1,300 miles (2,100 km) inland, stopping at the open treaty ports en route and returning to Shanghai 2 June 1929. She then operated all along the Yangtze from the river’s mouth to Chongqing and in the tributaries in protection of American lives and property into the 1930s. In the course of her service with the Yangtze Patrol Force, the gunboat convoyed American and foreign merchantmen up and down the river, supplied armed guards to U.S. and British river craft, landed bluejackets at treaty ports threatened by unrest and evacuated foreign nationals in times of danger.
Beginning in 1934, Oahu took up duty as station ship at various Yangtze ports supplying the increasing river traffic with naval armed guard detachments on a regular basis. Serving station ship duty at Yichang, Chongqing, Hankou, Wuhu, and Nanjing into 1937, the gunboat made intermittent patrols down the length of the river on convoy duty and then following the Japanese invasion of China in July, served as escort for merchantmen and protected American neutrality in the conflict. Following the sinking of sister gunboat Panay off Nanjing by Japanese planes 12 December 1937, Oahu picked up the survivors and carried them to Shanghai, returning to the scene of the incident to conduct salvage operations.
As the Japanese campaign in China grew, the gunboat operated only on the lower river as far as Wuhu and Hankou, in addition serving as station ship and radio relay vessel for American officials at the temporary U.S. embassy at Nanjing. Whenever the warship attempted to cruise the river on regular patrol, she was convoyed by Japanese minesweepers that kept watch on her movements while protecting her from attacks by their planes. Oahu remained as station ship at ports below Hankou, returning to the latter city to refit and give liberty to her crew until late in November 1941 and then, under orders of Commander, Asiatic Fleet departed Shanghai for the Philippines as signs of approaching war with Japan became clearer.
Following a long and difficult voyage across the South China Sea, the gunboat, never designed for open sea operations, arrived at Manila Bay in the week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. When war began, the warship operated in and around Manila Bay and Cavite Navy Yard on inshore patrol and in support of U.S.-Filipino forces on Bataan until after the fall of that peninsula 8 April 1942, and then continued to operate about the island fortress of Corregidor until sunk by enemy gunfire on 5 May. She was struck from the Navy List three days later.
On the night of 5 April, during the Battle of Bataan, the Mindanao and Oahu engaged the Japanese 21st Independent Engineer Regiment sailing south off Bataan’s east coast, sinking several enemy craft.[2]
Oahu, one of the last “old China hands”, never actually voyaged to the U.S. She received one battle star for World War II service. She is sunk at the “tadpole’s tail end” at Corregidor (in 20 feet of water). The only thing showing is the ship’s railing. Everything else is buried in the very small coral gravel. She may have sunk and washed up in the bay at the end of the island, and slowly settled down into the sand and gravel and still lies there.
The old (twin 4,5 inch inch naval guns) used in the Type 12, 12M ,12 i, Leander-class frigates, County-class destroyers, other frigates and old Daring class destroyers of the British Royal Navy.
The Daring-class destroyers were both the largest and most heavily armed ships serving in British Commonwealth navies to be classified as destroyers.
They were intended to fill some of the duties of cruisers, which post-Second World War. were considered both expensive and obsolete by British naval planners, and the ships were briefly officially considered a hybrid type (Darings) before being rated as destroyers. They were also the last destroyers of the Royal Navt and Royal Australian Navy to have guns as their main armament (instead of guided missile systems), which the ships use during the Indonesian Confrontation from January 20th 1963 to August 11th, 1966, and the Vietnam War.
The Daring-class destroyers were in service in the British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, from the 1950s to the 1980s. Following decommissioning, two British Darings were sold to the Peruvian Navy, which operated one ship until 1993 and the other until 2007. One ship of the class is preserved: the HMAS Vampire as a museum ship at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
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