#Ship services for international vessels
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singaporeshipchandler · 1 year ago
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Ship Supplier In Singapore | Singapore Ship Chandler Pte Ltd
Discover Singapore Ship Chandler Pte Ltd, a reliable and trusted ship supplier in Singapore, with a commitment to providing the highest quality of services. Let us help you with all your shipping needs!
ship supplier in Singapore
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slrcargoshipping · 1 year ago
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I'm building a catamaran-style steampunk crane vessel based on sort of a 1920s ocean liner style. Any recommendations to better understand the internals and layout of the ship?
This ask has been sitting in my inbox for MONTHS and I'm DEEPLY sorry it took this long to respond.
So, the thing about the 1920s in regards to ocean liners is that it was a VERY strange era. Almost everything ocean liner related ceased during World War 1, and none of the existing liners were back in service until around 1920 or 1921. The “newest” liners by this point were 10 years old, and it was the Balan trio: Imperator (now Berengaria), Vaterland (now Leviathan) and Bismarck (now Majestic). They were German liners, and they were handed over to the US and Britain as war reparations. They were renamed and renovated to varying Degrees. Majestic was virtually untouched, and Vaterland was basically a brand new ship after the renovations. The first new “big players” on the Atlantic were the Bremen and the Europa, from 1928. They're much more associated with the 30s, though. So, in regards to stylings, most 1920s ocean liners were extremely reminiscent of the 1910s. And one of the most beloved ships of the 1920s was the RMS Olympic, sister to Titanic. So, in regards to your questions, here is what I think would work best.
First, to get a good idea of the interior decor and layout of a ship from this era, I would recommend downloading the free demo of Titanic: Honor and Glory. Titanic was almost identical to Olympic, and had she not sunk, she would have served through the 20s alongside her. So this will give you a really good perspective on what a passenger would experience on one of these voyages. Getting to walk around and explore these areas in first person will give you a really good perspective on what you're looking for. Furthermore, in terms of construction and design, Olympic and Titanic are very similar to the RMS Baltic, RMS Cedric, RMS Celtic, and RMS Adriatic, which all entered service between 1901 and 1907. So exploring Titanic will give you a really good idea of how most White Star liners were laid out and decorated between 1900 and 1930. All White Star liners were also built by the same company, Harland and Wolf, so it makes sense that they're all so similar. The only thing to remember is that Olympic and Titanic are about twice the size of most other White Star Liners, and much more extravagant. If you want a good idea of how the smaller liners were decorated, I'd recommend just looking up “(ship name) interior” on Google or something. Along with these liners, I'd also recommend looking into the Cunard liners, like Lusitania, Mauretania, Carmania, Caronia, Aquitania, etc. These ships were built by many different ship yards, and the interiors were designed by totally different people, so these ships are much more diverse in terms of styling and Decor. Lusitania and Mauretania, for example, barely resemble each other on the inside. They're sisters, so they have the same rooms and deck plans, but Lusitania Was full of bright white plaster with gold accents, and Mauretania was paneled in lots of dark wood. None of the ships I have mentioned thus far were scrapped until the mid 30s, so they all served between 1920 and 1929.
So here's my list Of the liners most popular between 1920 and 1929, in no particular order:
RMS Olympic (1911)
RMS Mauretania (1907)
RMS Aquitania (1914)
RMS Berengaria/SS Imperator (1913)
SS Leviathan/SS Vaterland (1914)
RMS Majestic/SS Bismarck (1914)
RMS Adriatic (1907)
Now, what I said above is how to do it in a historically accurate way. However, lots of people associate the 1920s with art deco, even though the art deco movement in decor didn't kick off until the 30s. Another good resource for the interior layout of ocean liners of this era is the RMS Queen Mary, currently docked permanently in long Beach California, serving as a floating hotel. She was built in the 30s, but many passengers remarked that her layout was remarkably similar to the RMS Aquitania of 1914, even if the decor was completely different. If you can't go to California, I'd recommend looking up a tour on YouTube. Her art deco interiors are GORGEOUS. The most famous and prominent Art Deco liners were The Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Normandie, and Caronia (not the one from 1905, this one was built in the late 40s and they share a name), and I'd also reccomend looking into the Bremen and Europa. They came a bit before art deco became popular, but they still featured a lot of the decor that would ultimately Popularize art deco.
Thank you SO much for your ask. If you have any more questions or need more detailed advice, PLEASE reach out to me! Send another ask or a DM! I love helping people with this kind of stuff!
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vague-humanoid · 3 months ago
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NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (September 25, 2024) The International Longshoremen’s Association’s 85,000 members will continue to honor its century-plus pledge to handle all military cargo, even if there is a coast wide strike beginning next Tuesday, October 1, 2024. The union will also continue to work passenger cruise vessels.
“Dating back to World War 1, the ILA was always proud to note that ‘ILA Also Means Love America’ when it came to its “No Strike Pledge” in handling U.S. military cargo at all its ports,” said ILA President Harold Daggett, who served in the U.S. Navy and saw combat duty during the Vietnam War. “We continue our pledge to never let our brave American troops down for their valour and service and we will proudly continue to work all military shipments beyond October 1st, even if we are engaged in a strike.”
The ILA’s Military Consultant, Gen. (Ret.) Tim McHale, weighed in on the ILA’s “No Strike Pledge” for U.S. Military cargo: “The U.S. Government representatives I have been engaging with are very happy and satisfied with the ILA who have always been there in tough situations, and always successfully accomplished the mission. Our U.S. Military knows that the ILA will conduct military load out operations even if there is a strike by ILA.”
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mariacallous · 3 months ago
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On 2 February 2022, the Russian navy was to begin an exercise in Irish waters. The Irish government had pleaded with the Kremlin not to go ahead, but in vain. Only when Irish fishermen intervened did the Kremlin decide to abandon the exercise. Any day now, Russian warships will return to Irish waters for another exercise, and the Dublin government can’t count on Irish fishermen to once again solve its predicament. Now that the neutral country needs to defend itself and its waters, it can only hope and plead.
‘Defence Forces “hyper aware” as Russian navy expected to conduct drills,’ the Irish Examiner reported on 17 September. The Irish Defence Forces are still hyper aware, for the Russian navy can arrive in Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at any time. After a few embarrassing mishaps in the Black Sea at the hands of Ukraine, it is trying to prove its worth. Earlier this month, Russia conducted the massive Ocean 2024 exercise with the navy of China’s People’s Liberation Army and People’s Liberation Army air force. The mostly Russian exercise involved 400 warships, submarines and support vessels, more than 120 naval aircraft and more than 90,000 personnel.
Ireland’s waters weren’t part of Ocean 2024, but in recent years the Russian navy has shown considerable interest in Ireland. In May last year, for example, several Russian navy ships entered Ireland’s EEZ south of the country  –  and stayed put. ‘[The situation] is carefully monitored by Ireland and by others and that is an ongoing scenario where people track what’s happening within international waters and, indeed, within the Irish exclusive economic zone, which is quite large in itself,’ Tanaiste (Foreign Minister) Micheal Martin said after the ships arrived, adding that ‘I don’t see it as a threat, but it’s something we are very conscious of and we keep a very close eye on.’ It was not the first time Russian naval and merchant ships had mysteriously parked themselves off Ireland’s southern coast, which just happens to be home to an extraordinary concentration of undersea internet cables.
Indeed, some time in late 2021 or early 2022 the Russian navy decided to conduct an exercise in the EEZ. The exercise was to begin on 3 February 2022. The Irish government sought to prevent it from happening by pleading with the Kremlin and calling the exercise ‘unwelcome and unwanted’, but to no avail. Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, declared that ‘there is nothing to be disturbed, concerned, or anguished about and I have extensively explained that to our Irish colleagues’.
The Irish government was powerless to make the exercise go away. In late January, it issued a statement advising Irish fishermen that the exercise would begin on 3 February and that vessels should be aware of ‘serious safety risks’ in the area and avoid entering it. Russia had indicated the exercises would involve naval artillery and rocket launches, the advisory explained. The fishermen were outraged. ‘This is the livelihoods of fishermen and fishing families all around the coastline here,’ Patrick Murphy, the chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, told RTE radio. ‘It’s our waters. Can you imagine if the Russians were applying to go onto the mainland of Ireland to go launching rockets, how far would they get with that?’
The fishermen took action. ‘Our boats will be going out to that area on the first of February to go fishing,’ Murphy told Politico on 25 January. ‘When one boat needs to return to port, another will head out so there is a continuous presence on the water. If that is in proximity to where the exercise is going, we are expecting that the Russian naval services abide by the anti-collision regulations.’ It was a clever move. By fielding a constant presence of fishing boats in the planned exercise waters, the fishermen would prevent the Russian navy from carrying out the exercise. The Kremlin backed down. Now the Irish fishermen’s showdown with the Kremlin is headed for the big screen: well-deserved fame for the West’s most unexpected national security strategists.
The Irish government can’t count on Murphy and his men to bail it out once again. Russia is prepared, and fishermen should not have to improvise national-security fixes. The Irish government is on its own, and that means having to face off the Russian navy and other prospective intruders with the means of the Irish Defence Forces. That’s a total of two army brigades, an army training centre, 17 aircraft (including helicopters) and six patrol vessels, some of which seem to be regularly in poor repair.
It’s not much with which to deter an intruder, even one merely wanting to frighten Ireland by loitering on top of the undersea cables connecting the world. No wonder Irish ministers firmly declare that the Irish Defence Forces are ‘hyper aware’ and that the government is ‘keeping a close eye’ on potential intruders: the country can do little more than be hyper aware.
Indeed, Ireland – which was so skillfully on trend during globalisation’s exuberant years and has so richly capitalised on globalised business – has thoroughly failed to spot the deteriorating situation around it. Other European countries are beefing up their armed forces, which, for the most part, were far larger than the Irish Defence Forces to begin with. Sweden and Finland, for so long neutral and then militarily non-aligned, have joined NATO. Neutral Ireland, by contrast, seems frozen in globalisation time – and even if it decided to shore up its defence now, this wouldn’t yield results any time soon.
That makes the many companies that have set up their European headquarters in Ireland (and depend on undersea cables to do business) highly vulnerable. Will they start leaving the island? We can’t know. What’s clear is that Ireland, a nation that bet everything on globalisation, is riding straight into a security dilemma.
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whencyclopedia · 7 months ago
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John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (1747-1792) was a Scottish-born sailor who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). His raid on the English port town of Whitehaven in 1778 and his victory over the HMS Serapis the following year turned him into a war hero and led many to consider him the 'Father of the American Navy'.
Jones began his maritime career at the age of 13, serving aboard various merchant vessels and slave ships. After killing a mutinous sailor in the West Indies, he fled to the British colony of Virginia and joined the Continental Navy when the American Revolution broke out in 1775. He was given command of the USS Ranger, which he used to attack British commercial shipping in the Irish and North Seas. He raided Whitehaven, plotted to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk, and commanded the USS Bonhomme Richard in its grueling, 3-hour naval duel with HMS Serapis. These actions cemented Jones' reputation as one of the best naval commanders in US history. After the war, the Continental Navy was disbanded, leading Jones without prospects. He therefore entered the service of the Russian Empire in 1787 but left in disgrace two years later, after sexual assault allegations against him sparked an international scandal. He died in Paris on 18 July 1792 at the age of 45.
Early Life
On 6 July 1747, John Paul was born at the estate of Arbigland in the county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland – he would not add 'Jones' to his name until he came to America. His father was the head gardener at Arbigland and had seven children, five of whom would survive to adulthood. Though John Paul attended the nearby Kirkbean School, his true education occurred at Carsethorn, the local port. He would spend much of his free time there, breathing in the briny sea air, marveling at the comings and goings of ships, and talking with sailors, learning everything he could about life at sea. Paul could not long resist the call of the sea and, at the age of 13, he obtained an apprenticeship with John Younger, a Scottish merchant and shipowner operating out of the English port town of Whitehaven.
It was not long before John Paul embarked on his first voyage, sailing out of Whitehaven aboard one of Younger's vessels, the Friendship, as a ship's boy. The voyage took Paul across the Americas, stopping first at Barbados before sailing up to the British colony of Virginia. Here, Paul briefly reunited with his older brother, Thomas, who had previously emigrated to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1764, upon returning to Whitehaven, Paul was released from his apprenticeship early, because Younger's business had gone bankrupt. He found work aboard a slave ship and spent the next three years transporting human cargo from Guinea to Jamaica. In 1766, the 19-year-old Paul became first mate of the slave ship Two Friends, a lucrative position. However, he gradually grew disillusioned with the slave trade and became disgusted at his own role in perpetuating it. In 1768, he abandoned the Two Friends while it was docked in Kingston, Jamaica, and booked passage on a ship bound for Scotland.
Not long into the voyage, both the ship's captain and first mate died of yellow fever. Since there was no one else on board who knew how to navigate a ship, Paul took charge and guided the vessel safely to Scotland. The ship's grateful owners rewarded Paul with ten percent of the vessel's cargo. Impressed with his nautical skills, they also offered him the captaincy of a merchant brig named John. Paul accepted and captained two voyages to the West Indies. It was during his second voyage, in 1770, that Paul had the ship's carpenter flogged with cat-o'-nine-tails as punishment for neglect of duty. The carpenter died at sea several weeks later. When the John returned to port, Paul was arrested and imprisoned at Kirkcudbright Tolbooth, charged by the dead man's father of having caused his death. Paul maintained that the carpenter's death had been unrelated to the flogging, that it had instead been caused by yellow fever. After producing several witnesses to substantiate this claim, Paul was acquitted, although the incident left a dark stain on his reputation.
In 1772, Paul once again sailed into the West Indies, this time captaining a merchant vessel called Betsy. Toward the end of the voyage, in 1773, the Betsy arrived at Tobago, where several sailors decided to stage a mutiny. Paul responded to the mutineers' demands by running the ringleader through with his sword, killing him. Although Paul would always claim that he had acted out of self-defense, he knew that the public opinion in Tobago would be against him, since the man he had killed had been a local. To evade a trial, he fled to mainland North America, where he added 'Jones' to his name to help conceal his identity. After the death of his brother William, he went to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to settle his affairs and decided to live there himself.
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scotianostra · 2 months ago
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On the 21st November 1918 the German High Seas Fleet gathered in The Firth of Forth to formally surrender.
I've said it before, but this must have been some sight to see from the coastline along North Edinburgh to South Queensferry.
10 days after the Armistice had been declared, the German High Seas Fleet surrendered to the Allies at the Firth of Forth. The anchorage at the Firth of Forth was merely the first stop for the fleet to ensure complete disarmament; the fleet would subsequently be interned around the Scapa Flow a few days later.
One hundred and six years ago today the crews of the British ships sent to escort the fleet would have observed the historic sight of the diminutive HMS Cardiff leading a convoy of 70 magnificent German battle cruisers and destroyers into internment around the Scottish Isles.
“The greatest naval surrender in the world's history” was how the Glasgow Herald recorded the surrender of the German fleet in the Firth of Forth.It signalled not only the end of German naval power but also the public humiliation of the country that Britain had fought bitterly for four long years.
Some seventy journalists, press photographers and marine painters flocked to Edinburgh to witness “a triumph to which history knows no parallel.” Among them was James Paterson. The artist watched the surrender from the deck of HMS Revenge. This painting is an accurate record of what happened that day. The sun rising through the haze and fog creates a beautiful glow across the water, contrasting against the aggressive forms of the camouflaged vessels, as seen in the painting among the pics, the second painting is from the 22nd and was created and released by the Imperial War Museum taken, or artworks created, by a member of the forces during their active service duties.
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radioactive-metal · 2 months ago
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AL Warship classes
ok I reckon this will be my last long pure conjecture post for the AL. But here we go! Ship classes (Tyler isn’t even a real person and I can tell he is salivating over reading this list lol)
Struck through vessel classes indicate they are out of service.
Terran Cutter Class picket ship: the original 6 man AL vessel. Huge amounts of these were mothballed after the end of the Terra-Trask war due to a radical shift in TDF doctrine away from Quantity over quality. The AL were effectively given the ships, as the mothball maintenance costs on the TDF were huge. These ships were taken to shipyards orbiting Trask, and given full refits to A: better accommodate their beretreskan crews, and B: receive modernization packages. This vessels had a prodigious service history, with the last one only being removed from frontline service in AL:75. Further Aurora labs upgrade packages means that some hulls still see use as specialist SIGINT, Reconnaissance, and repair craft. 2 base models still in service with the Aurora Legion Memorial Flight.
Kysshakk Class frigate: One of two classes of non AL frigates to serve with the legion, these ships hailed from Trask’s Orbital dockyards, where they had been sitting due to the end of naval conscription. These ships would operate in pairs, and would very rarely not fly with Cutter class vessels, or even later Longbow MK.1s. One remains in service with the ALMF, one is a parts hulk, and the other 4 vessels were lost in the line of duty.
Terran Indomitable Class Destroyer: These were the heavy weapons of the early legion. They exclusively operated Anti-Piracy missions, and even after the introduction of the Stream System, did not carry brains or faces aboard. These were warships, and were the spearpoint of the legion. Multiple times, pirate fleets were noticed fleeing immediately upon the appearance of an Indomitable class in AL colors, due to the reputation these vessels carried. Last vessel retired in AL:90 after a policy ship away from military might.
Terran Dreadnaught Class light Cruiser: These were the weapons of last resort for the legion, only being deployed to combat upstart pirate kings or large scale terrorist organizations. These were officially the only vessels to ever use nuclear warheads while flying under AL colors, during the Centarian succession crisis of AL:80. These vessels remained in service until the Battle of Orion, where the last vessel was destroyed by a Warbreed vessel ID’d as the Andarael.
Titan Class Battleship: The Original flagship of the legion, the Titan class, known as the Indefatigable, was 1.2km of weapons and fighters, but also of Medbays and machine shops and refugee accommodation. She was retrofitted through AL:10, retaining her punching power but also adding facilities for humanitarian aid. She became a Hospital Ship, a Refugee Transport, A battleship, and a Symbol. She was lost in Black ‘63 along with admiral Nari Kim while responding to a Terran colony distress call. Later review of the data after The battle of Orion ID’d the fleet she fought as a Syldrathi Hunter killer fleet.
Long Bow MK.1: The first internally produced AL vessel, the Long Bow MK.1 took all the lessons learn from the Cutter Class and made them into a truely formidable foe. Widely considered to be one of the greatest Naval craft of its Era, the longbow MK.1 was versatile, easy to repair, cheap to produce, punchy, and survivable. In the few outright wars the AL participated in, 9 times out of ten, a total loss of a longbow would have 0 casualties. Quite often downed squads would be issued a new vessel within the week, and the shortest turnaround was Squad 926, who were downed, and flew their next combat sortie 1.5 hours later, a record that stands to this day. Depending on the mission, Longbows were fitted with extra medical equipment, extra armor, more weapons, external cargo pods, and even on rare occasions, a Orbital drop pod for Spec ops. Multiple serving with the ALMF, Aurora Labs as test beds, and Several serving with [DATA REDACTED].
Longbow MK.2: If the MK.1 was one of the best of its time, the MK.2 was THE best. The already famous ease of repair was augmented by auto repair systems, the reactor was uprated, and engine output was increased by 25%. A Longbow MK.2 currently holds the all time speed record (with out gravity assists) of a production vessel at 16% the speed of light. Currently still in active frontline service, though being phased out for the MK.3
Polearm MK.1: the first Frigate to come out of Aurora Yards, the Polearms are designed to fill the roles of the Kysshakk class Frigates, the Indomitable Class destroyers, and Mercy class Hospital ships (not discussed here). Manned by 6 squads, they are stuffed to the gills with the finest tech Aurora Yards could “Borrow” from Aurora Labs. Most of the ship is designed to be swapped out depending on the mission, so everything from fleet defense to hauling is possible. One vessel during the Terra-Syldra War scored a total of 50 victories against Other vessels, and was officially bestowed the honor of the Flagship of AL Group 4.
Blockhouse MK.1 Carrier: Aurora Yards first foray into Capital class ships, The Blockhouse is designed to remain at the back of fleets and provide overwhelming fighter support. Capable of carrying no less than 50 Wraith class Fleet defense fighters, it is the spaceborne equivalent of a wasp nest. And Like any good wasps nest, it has a Queen. Generally a heavily modified cutter class, though recently some have been deployed with Longbow MK.3s with Speical equipment packages, the queen acts as a traffic controller, shuttle, and SWACS (Spaceborne warning and control ship) all in one. On more peaceful missions, the phantom bays are swapped out for launch tube for Hospitaller class aid shuttles and Kindness class orbital supply pods.
Longbow MK.3: the Pinnacle of Aurora yards shipbuilding, the MK.3 is stronger, faster, and hardier than the MK.2. Most electronics have been hardened against electromagnetic interference, hauling capacity has been increased, and fuel burn has been reduced. The auto repair systems have been upgraded to the level where anything besides the reactor can be repaired given enough time. Most functions can be swapped by mission modules, allowing for extra hauling capacity, increased firepower, or even extra speed. Production halted after AL:150 due to resource constraints. Next vessel expected AL:156.
Iron Cannon Class cruisers: a much rarer ship, built from the same basic design as the Blockhouses, but with the fighter wings and control craft replaced with anti vessel railguns and torpedo launchers. These craft are mean lean killing machines, and do not carry faces or brains aboard. They are the spiritual successor to the Dreadnaughts, and inherit the same naming scheme of their ancestors. First three were the Dreadnaught, the Inflexible, and the Formidable. Having seen service at the tail end of the Terra-Syldra war, they maintained a kill ratio of 5:1. Notably, no one of these vessels was seized by the Rahaam, though 3 were lost when their captains overloaded their reactors rather than risk capture and assimilation.
Gladius Class Gunboat: Built from the stripped down hulls of Longbow MK.1s, the Gladius class is the first new class of vessel commissioned by the legion since AL:150. Due to manpower shortages across the legion, these vessels are designed to operate with only 4 crew, with empty positions filled with advanced automated systems. Due to these limitations, these vessels only serve humanitarian missions, and are never used on the front lines unless desperately needed. Due to glaring shortfalls in overall effectiveness, the class is slated for retirement by AL:160.
[Admin Credentials Accepted, Welcome Founder_03]
Longbow MK.4: Equipped with experimental AL manufacture Pulse Cannons, Beretreskan plasma drives, and the finest ballistic grade titanium composite plating the Legion can build, the MK.4 is the crème de la crème of legion ship building. In simulated combat, 3 MK.4s can defeat Iron cannon class Cruisers, 50x their displacement. When these vessels reach mass production and issue, it will represent the largest jump in AL fleet capabilities since the introduction of the MK.1. Current low rate production estimates suggest it will be AL:158 before non spec ops squads are issued the MK.4.
Special Project 274, Codename “Brannock”: The Hulk of TDF carrier Kusanagi was recovered in exceptional condition after it was found in late AL:181. The hulk was then towed to site 00 and gutted. It was decided in AL:183 that the ship was to be converted into the newest flagship for the legion, the Brannock. Currently under development, most hangar bays are being replaced with railgun mounts, torpedo tubes, and in one case, the largest pulse cannon ever manufactured. She will be the red right hand of the legion, and instill a warning into the pirate fleets that ravage the galaxy: “We are coming. Run”
Special Project 275, Codename “Madran”: much like project 274, The Madran is built from a recovered ship hulk, this time the wreck of the original Indefatigable, recovered from an Unbroken salvage fleet circa AL:154. Currently undergoing extensive repair and upgrade, the Madran with be the kind smile of the legion. Almost all weaponry is being stripped, and replaced with further humanitarian facilities, to in effect become the single largest aid vessel in the galaxy. She is designed to be the sister ship to the Brannock, and will, when deployed alongside her, act as a huge Signal jamming and targeting vessel. Giving free rain for rail guns and pulse cannons to shred renegade syldrathi and pirate fleets
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topazadine · 4 months ago
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🐎Story/WIP Tour Tag⛰️
Thank you @the-golden-comet for the tag! This one looks interesting and I am not sure I can do it justice, but I'll give it a shot. I absolutely loved Captain Hart taking us all around the world!
Our tour guide through Breme and Sina today will be Mordrek Willets, spy with the Sinan Intelligence Services. He doesn't appear until the fourth book in The Eirenic Verses, but you'll get a little sneak peak of him today.
Here, we're looking at his diary entries of the different places he has visted in Sina and Breme, which will be coded with the country color.
Kulniryi
Capital of Sina, home to the Royal Ocean Palace, Queen Alnan College, and of course, Thieves' Quarter, home to yours truly. Major international port, which would likely be the perfect place to launch an attack if the Fuarese Union gets sick of being Sina's vassal state. Kulniryi Harbor is one of the deepest and largest ports in the world - or so Queen Susuma says. Able to accommodate dozens of merchant ships at a time, it's no wonder that vessels from all across the globe come here. At least I can always be assured a beautiful woman to romance at one of the dozens of pubs. Loud, ugly, but perhaps the most beautiful city I've ever seen. So clean, and I must grudgingly admit that the black Royal Ocean Palace looks striking against the pale granite cliffs.
Santal
Suburb of Kulniryi. Most notable for Wet Cat Tavern, run by my good friend Ganbold. He's done me far too many favors over the years. Given that he was able to gracefully exit the Sinan Intelligence Services in a much more ... diplomatic way than me, it's always brimming with good intel. And Ganbold is more than happy to calmly and rationally persuade anyone who may not be behaving correctly to leave. Without any dangerous tactics, of course. Also home to the Haratshi family. I don't really want to talk much more about that.
Heretic's Way
This was the path that the heretical Princess Yiella took out of the future land of Sina with her lover, Seinn Luridalr Breme, who subsequently blocked their exit in quite a fantastical way. Anyway, Heretic's Way is perfect for those seeking a more discreet way to travel around Sina, given that everyone's terrified of the place. Not really sure why. Sinans aren't known for being particularly superstitious, but it seems the entire country has thrown away their brains when it comes to this one little path. Or maybe it's because they keep finding half-eaten bodies scattered willy-nilly about the premises. Briar bears, to be sure. I wouldn't know anything about that. Just secondhand information.
Eavelnen
Utter piece of shit town. Ugly, useless, and the one single pub is filthy. I was pretty sure I caught multiple diseases, but at least the alcohol's strong enough to burn away any parasites that might have got their hooks into me. Can't really say much more than that the air is perfumed with horse manure and body odor. You can smell the place from a mile away.
Traifalnar
What a strange little place - like one of those fairytales they read to children. It's built on a swamp, so there are dozens of little bridges that create a lacey network of streets. The buildings are sunk into the murky soil by heavy timber pylons that are probably rotted half to hell by now, so they're girded by strong wires that hold them all up, leaning against one another and distributing the weight. The townsfolk use these wires to send baskets or messages across the streets when they're too lazy to get out and walk. Its pub, Firefly's Rest, is pretty cute, I must admit. But god, the bugs. No wonder all the townsfolk wear citronella cloaks all year round.
Wieleiss
A forgettable town. It's one of the smaller military outposts but damn, do they take themselves far too seriously. The rolling foothills of the Rimuk Mountains - aftershocks of Breme's Saint Luridalr creating her fantastical barrier - start around here, so the town has a lovely view of the hills if you're staying at the Inn Wieleiss, the tallest building in town. I will admit that their inn is excellent: clean, with a well-stocked bar. The security leaves something to be desired, though. Probably because the soldiers themselves are not of the finest quality this far from Kulniryi. Of course they're taking bribes. The place has almost no industry. They're basically private security at this point.
Yunnoun
Spooky town. Butting right up against the Rimuk Mountains, it's the most fortified outpost in the entire country, always ready at a moment's notice to attack. Most of the populace is connected to the armed forces in some way, whether they're soldiers, military wives, or contractors. Their stables are enormous and maintained with almost neurotic precision. Of course, the Sinan army does not use horses in warfare - most of the soldiers have to go right up the Rimuk Pass to engage - but they are very useful for ferrying supplies, and most soldiers are accomplished in equestrianism anyway, as they may be asked to ferry messages to other outposts. Horseback riding is a good way to keep them from getting lazy, too. There are four entrances, each guarded by multiple soldiers who do not take kindly to those without proper identification. The military headquarters squats in the center of the town, with the barracks stretching out like spiders. Its training grounds is incredibly extensive and can accommodate hundreds of soldiers at a time.
Nyulinsk Defensive Tower
A tower hammered into the Rimuk Mountains, which has always been a sore spot for the Bremish. We stuck a military fortification on their most sacred mountain: Mt. Luridalr, so named after their beloved saint. Of course Queen Kulni did that just to piss them off, and it has worked marvelously for hundreds of years. More than a few soldiers have been picked off the top while trying to perform maintenance, so the poor tower is beat all to hell. There are singe marks from flaming arrows on the interior - it has always fascinated me how well the Bremish archers can get their arrows into those tiny slits. I imagine it has something to do with their precious High Poetry. I have not been inside so cannot speak much about the interior. Queen Susuma doesn't trust me enough, I suppose. As well she should not.
Rimuk Pass
This was supposedly where Saint Luridalr stood while bringing up the mountains: it's almost like an empty doorway in the middle of the enormous range that spans the length of the continent. Well, it used to be an open door. The Bremish have fortified it to hell and back with layers upon layers of brick; I imagine dozens of their soldiers have died attempting to protect their country by building a bigger wall. And, of course, during battles, which take place almost exclusively at the Pass. Our army has installed convenient footholds to climb up the side and drop down into enemy territory. Once they are beyond the Sinan border, most know that they are unlikely to return. Many have defected upon realizing how defenseless they will be on the other side - and how little Queen Susuma cares about getting them back unless they are somehow related to the royal family.
Dropbone Caverns
A strange, curving, and terrifying network of caverns buried under the Rimuk Mountains: impurities in the rock when it was wrenched from deep in the earth. There are at least two rivers that wind through it, having percolated from the very top of the mountains on their way into the groundwater. I can confirm that this long filtration process makes for very hard water. Delicious, though. The Bremish, being superstitious fools, refuse to use the Dropbone Caverns - or any caverns under the Rimuks - as points of attack. They believe that their dead reside in some mythical Cave of All Fallen, where Saint Luridalr waits with them for the end of the world. From there, they believe that their goddess Poesy will rewrite the world and they will reincarnate with their loved ones after a long "dream." Utterly ridiculous notion and very tactically unwise, but the taboo is so strong that the Bremish Army sporadically performs sweeps through a small section to ensure that none of their people have set up camp there. Being as they only check perhaps once or twice a year, and daren't traverse very far, most of the caverns remain unmapped. There are deep ravines that can easily become one's tomb if they aren't careful.
Vieleste
Beautiful Vieleste is a military outpost close to the Bremish entrance of the Dropbone Caverns. It is also home to the Vieleste Meronym, one of the High Poet Society's religious centers. An easy rule of thumb is that if there is a meronym, there is likely a military presence as well. The High Poets and the Bremish Army are closely entangled, given that the poets help enchant weapons for the military's use. I have never heard of anywhere in Breme where there is not at least the tiniest military outpost near an official meronym, though the High Poets have retreats throughout the country where their members can work in privacy. Anyway, Vieleste is a unique place in that some of the buildings have been erected atop the ruins of older homes that were crushed by boulders triggered by the Sinans. To think that they live atop the graves of their ancestors ... very disturbing, to be honest. I have been told this is because they believe though the boulders were sent from malice, they are hewed from the Rimuk Mountains, and thus they are sacred.
Gold Cascade
Oh, how can one even speak of the Gold Cascade without breaking down in tears at its beauty? It is born from a lake at the top of one of the Rimuk Mountains, which few have ever seen. The Bremish refuse to climb the mountains, and the Sinans rarely go for pleasure. I find myself deeply curious about what it may look like up there, at the top of the world .... This thunderous waterfall is so named because at sundrop, it is lit up in glorious golden hues, making it seem a stream of citrine pouring down the mountain. Some also believe that Saint Luridalr herself hid a treasure trove at its base, but I doubt it. She did not seem the avaricious type from what I have been told. At certain times, the Gold Cascade is wreathed in rainbows, while it steams during the summer. A unique ecosystem has grown up around it, including hardy fish and beautiful ferns. However, its strength has carved out underclings through the rock that surrounds it, creating vortices that could easily drown anyone who attempts to swim there. There are a number of superstitions about damned souls, and some believe that the Cave of All Fallen begins at its base.
Miskinint Lake
Technically a sinkhole, but I'm not about to argue with the Bremish about this. It is fed from the Gold Cascade further upstream, which then turns into the Great Gold River that nourishes most of the populace until it peters out into smaller rivers around the Windswept. I have been told this is a popular swimming hole and diving spot because of its steep cliffs and great width. There are specialized species that live here, including the Miskinint crayfish. Absolutely delicious with sheep's butter.
Caichaille
A very small, isolated town near the Rimuk Mountains, upways from Vieleste and its ilk. Perhaps 100 people live here, though it may be less. There is a cave entrance close by that has been firmly closed with a large iron door, and only the High Poets are allowed inside this cave to provide alms to the dead. The town itself is ringed with a defensive boulder wall, but there is a poet's retreats on its outskirts. A really ugly one, to be honest. It looks like someone just threw together a bunch of boulders and called it a day. I imagine it was probably a young High Poet forced to do this to prove her power.
Vercingetorix
Previously named Paulemaule, its current name is in honor of one of Breme's five saints, whose claim to fame was learning how to poison arrows and kill scores of Sinans through some incurable disease. Saint Vercingetorix was eventually caught and tortured by Sinan forces, and the secret to this poetry died with her. Some of her body parts were recovered by the Bremish and are kept as relics at the meronym. Given that she killed Sinans through an epidemic, Saint Vercingetorix is the patron saint of healing, and her meronym is renowned for its focus on the medical arts. Many desperately ill Bremish come here in hopes of finding a cure for their ailments. There is also a small military outpost, as expected, but I have seen that it is poorly maintained and ill-equipped to deal with an invasion.
Bewerian
The capital of Breme, it is the largest and most prosperous town. It is separated from its adjoining suburb, Goldnin, by Mermina's Bridge, which spans the Great Gold River. Mermina was one of Breme's five saints, who reversed a terrible drought of the Great Gold River through her poetry. Bewerian is home to the Bremish Council and the War Committee, which is their central place of governance. The War Committee is subordinate to the Bremish Council, and both are informally whipped by the High Poet Society, which works autonomously and could rescind its promise to help the military at any time. There is also a court here, where the most serious of crimes are prosecuted: sedition, treason, murder, child abuse, and assault. I have been told that the trials are mostly perfunctionary and that being convicted is a near-certainty. The punishments are brutal yet appropriate, such as castration for a serial sexual offender. Can't say I have many complaints about that.
Goldnin
The primary suburb of Bewerian, this is the home to Breme's principal marketplace and the Goldnin Meronym, where the most powerful High Poets train and perform their arts. I suspect that placing the meronym in the suburb was to demonstrate their independence from the government and military, forcing high-ranking officials from the Bremish Council to make the commute if they wish to consult with the poets. This is also the location of the War Academy, where soldiers train or wait for deployment. The training grounds are large and well-equipped, while there are numerous dormitories and barracks. One can see child soldiers here, as young as 11 years old, developing their bloodlust. There are also children they title "Future Boys," who can be thrown there by their parents when as young as 6 or 7. They are forced to perform manual labor until they reach the age of entrance into the Academy.
The Windswept
A vague and mysterious area of Breme set aside for the nomadic tribes: the original inhabitants of Breme, who were slowly pushed aside as more people turned to an agrarian lifestyle. While the nomads have representation on the Bremish Council and their own system of governance, they are often treated as second-class citizens by the settled peoples, who view them as backwards and archaic. In many ways, it feels like they are an enclave within the overall country, making their own rules and settling their own disputes through ancient processes. This area is less resource-rich than the settlements, yet carefully maintained by the tribes for maximum efficiency. Seasonal migrations help to cycle the soil and allow it to rest. There are large herds of feral horses, wolves, wild pigs, and even some strange, savage flightless birds that frequently cause problems. Large herbivorous creatures known as auraks live here and are hunted down using the fearless Bremish wolfhounds, domesticated from wolves and known for their indefatigability. Apparently the settled peoples think aurak meat is disgusting and prefer their livestock.
All these fascinating places will feature, at sometime or another, in the Eirenic Verses. If you'd like to get a good idea of what Goldnin and Bewerian are like, check out 9 Years Yearning, the first book in the series!
Tumblr tag list: @kuebiko-writing, @ryns-ramblings, @cain-e-brookman, @halfbit, @macabremoons,
@theverumproject, @aquadestinyswriting, @urlocalwitch555, @sarahswriting, @drchenquill,
@davycoquette, @mysticstarlightduck, @aalinaaaaaa, @gioiaalbanoart, @theaistired,
@somethingclevermahogony, @wyked-ao3, @avaseofpeonies,
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lonestarbattleship · 11 months ago
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February 4, 2024 Update from the Battleship Texas Foundation
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"Battleship Texas just after sunset.
DRY DOCK TOURS
Tours in February are SOLD OUT. We will announce if new dates become available.
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A Dry Dock Tour just for our volunteers and their friends and families!
A quality control check was conducted on January 30th, 2024. Leaks were expected and the team has successfully located them. Work will continue to ensure that Battleship Texas is leak free.
Above the boot top (above the black band) the ship has been painted Navy Blue 5-N. This color was matched from existing examples found aboard (both internally and externally) the vessel.
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Battleship Texas with a new paint job on the hull. The rest of the ship will be blasted, repaired, and painted at a later date.
The ship was painted in the Measure 21 camouflage scheme prior to deploying to the Pacific Theater during World War II. At this time Battleship Texas is the ONLY museum ship painted in this camouflage scheme and only one of two battleships in their WWII measure.
The ship’s hull has been coated with PPG SIGMASHIELD 880 GF. Historically the ship would be coated with an anti-fouling coat that is red in color, but that coating is no longer needed as the ship is not in service.
The new hull numbers have been extensively researched so each number is not only the correct font, but applied in the appropriate position as it was in 1945. The numbers have been applied to both bow and stern.
Yes, the rest of the ship will receive a new coat of paint once repairs conclude at a later date.
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Work continues on and in the ship’s aft fire control tower.
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Looking forward from aft fire control.
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Looking aft from main battery control in the ship’s aft fire control.
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Looking to the starboard side from secondary battery control in the ship’s aft fire control.
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Looking to port while in the second battery control in the ship’s aft fire control tower.
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Mullions have been installed in secondary battery control level within aft fire control for preparation of the windows needed to present the ship to its 1945 configuration.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
WHAT’S NEXT? - Battleship Texas will remain at Gulf Copper Shipyard for the time being. Additional steel work, removal and replacement of the ship’s deck, and superstructure/aft fire control restoration will continue.
SPLASH! - The ship will be put back into the water in mid to late February 2024.
KEEL BLOCKS - Yes, the keel blocks supporting Battleship Texas can be moved. Each block is moved so the area atop of them can be blasted, repaired (if need be), and coated.
WHAT ABOUT THE RUDDER? - The rudder will remain where it is. Funding is best spent elsewhere.
WILL THE SHIP RUN AGAIN? - No, the ship will never be able to run under its own power again.
TOURING? - The Battleship Texas Foundation is working on new touring opportunities before the ship reopens.
REOPENING? - There is a lot to be done before the ship is ready for touring at its new home in Galveston, Texas. Reopening is projected to happen sometime in 2025 or 2026.
Live, Laugh, And Flood your Torpedo Blisters.
To donate to the preservation and operation of Battleship Texas, please visit: https://battleshiptexas.org/
Support Battleship Texas by making a purchase through the ship's store: https://store.battleshiptexas.org"
Posted on the Battleship Texas Foundation Facebook page: link
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beardedmrbean · 3 months ago
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South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul Monday to criticise Pyongyang’s decision to send thousands of soldiers to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said, calling for their immediate withdrawal.
About 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers are already in Russia acclimatising, likely to head to the front lines soon, Seoul’s spy agency said Friday, with additional troops set to depart soon, Pyongyang’s first such deployment overseas.
South Korea, which has long claimed the nuclear-armed North is supplying Russia with weaponry for use in Ukraine, has expressed alarm over the deployment, which comes after Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a military deal in June.
Vice foreign minister Kim Hong-kyun expressed Seoul’s “grave concerns regarding North Korea’s recent dispatch of troops to Russia and strongly urged the immediate withdrawal of North Korean forces and the cessation of related cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.
Kim told the Russian ambassador to South Korea, Georgiy Zinoviev, that North Korea supplying Russia with weaponry and troops for the war in Ukraine “poses a significant security threat not only to South Korea but to the international community.”
He also “emphasised that such actions violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions and the UN Charter.”
North Koreans in Ukraine?
On Friday, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) released detailed satellite images it said showed the first deployment of elite North Korean soldiers being moved by Russian military vessels to Vladivostok.
Seoul’s spy agency said that between October 8 and 13, “North Korea transported its special forces to Russia via a Russian Navy transport ship, confirming the start of North Korea’s military participation” in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The first contingent of troops—which South Korean media said were from an elite unit under North Korea’s Special Operations Forces, also known as the “Storm Corps”—are currently stationed in military bases across Russia’s Far East.
The special forces “are expected to be deployed to the front lines (of the Ukraine conflict) as soon as they complete acclimatisation training,” according to the NIS.
The NIS also said Friday that the North had “provided Russia with more than 13,000 containers’ worth of artillery shells, missiles, anti-tank rockets and other lethal weapons” since last August.
Pyongyang and Moscow have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II, and have drawn even closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flagged intelligence reports saying North Korea was training 10,000 soldiers to support Russia in its fight against Kyiv and said Moscow was relying on the North to make up for its substantial losses.
Ukrainian media reported earlier this month that six North Korean military officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk—which South Korea’s defence minister said at the time was “highly likely” to be true.
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singaporeshipchandler · 1 year ago
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girlactionfigure · 1 year ago
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*ISRAEL REALTIME* - "Connecting the World to Israel in Realtime"
HAPPY CHANUKAH !!! Chanukah night 7 TONIGHT 🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎
◾️MORE SHIP ATTACKS BY THE HOUTHIS… a Marshall islands-flagged chemical tanker reported an "exchange of fire" with a speedboat 55 nautical miles (around 102 kilometres) off Yemen.  A speedboat with armed men aboard approached two vessels transiting off the coast of Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah.  (AP) the Houthis launched two missiles at a commercial ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait but missed, according to US officials. An American vessel intercepted another drone launched by the Houthis. (The ship that the Houthis tried to hit is the Ardmore Encounter tanker that carries the flag of the Marshall Islands.
Also reports of a shipping attack on the other Yemen coast near Oman.  Quickly becoming a major disruption to world shipping.
◾️THE TOLL… we previously reported on 8 lost in battle, two more are reported killed yesterday as well - the worst day since the first day of the war.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/ten-soldiers-including-two-senior-officers-killed-in-gaza-fighting-and-deadly-ambush/
◾️JENIN… (Arab city, West Bank, terror center)  Firefights with IDF forces still going on, day and half continuous.
◾️FALSE ALERT - MODI’IN MACCABIM REUT… siren alert malfunction.  Homefront Command is working to fix.
◾️INCREASING RESERVE AGE… the Ministry of Defense distributed a memorandum of law to increase the exemption age from reserve service to be raised in order to prevent damage to the IDF's combat capability in the midst of war. According to the plan, the exemption age will be increased by one year for regular soldiers, officers and certain positions. 
◾️GAZA, WEAPONS EVERYWHERE (no innocent / civilian spaces)… Lt. Col. Oz, Nahal's 931st Brigade: We entered about 500 houses in Jabaliya. In 90% of them we found weapons, inside wardrobes, in the kitchen, in UNWRA sacks and under babies' beds. There were grenades, weapons, guns, rifles, RPGs and many other weapons.  We arrived at the mosque, which apparently looked innocent. When we broke the door on the third floor, we were surprised to discover an advanced combat space there: they built a training facility there, like we train in the bases, they managed to build it in the mosque! We killed more than ten terrorists there.
◾️SOLDIERS MOTHER’S SAY… ( https://m.facebook.com/Mothers.Soldier ) "Our sons in battle, not Biden's son or Blinken's son - our soldier's life comes before the enemy's citizens.”  Ilanit Dedosh, mother of a commander in Golani "Don't be influenced by foreign considerations - bomb from above.” 
“We are in the most just war, against a cruel enemy who slaughtered, raped, massacred babies, women and hundreds of our brothers and sisters. We must trample him, and kill them to the last - and not stop until victory! We call on the IDF and the government - do not endanger our soldiers without a real operational need, do not put before your eyes any other consideration, not legal, not humanitarian or international pressure, Our sons are the ones in battle, not Biden's son nor Blinken's son, tell everyone in a clear voice - the lives of our soldiers come before the citizens of the enemy. We as mothers will not accept any risk to our soldiers that is not from operational considerations only. Loving, trusting, and strong - we are behind you! Fight until victory!" added the mothers.  “You promised that you would not surrender and that you would not change the plan of action, do not endanger fighters in vain!”
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your-resident-boat-person · 3 months ago
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I noticed there are dates on your top liners list, ranging from the 1870s to the 2000's. I think on my alt you told me it was one of the last made, and the last in current use (as a hotel [and apparently haunted house according to the third video?]).
Anyway, I was wondering if you had an overview on the history of Ocean Liner design and how they've changed over the years, both technical in terms of operation, and aesthetic from the point of view both as a theoretical passenger and a learned liner enthusiast!
Plus any fun details about your examples would be nice as well.
Svjsvphsvpusvpusv okay. I am going to need to split this up into multiple posts, because I can not convey all this information with the 10 Pic limit. So periodically, check the reblogs of this post. I will periodically be adding more to it over time. Also, I'm not really citing any sources because this is mostly from memory, so there MAY be some mistakes. Also, I'm typing all this on my phone, so... please forgive the formatting, grammar, and spelling mistakes.
To begin, let's quickly discuss what an ocean liner is. An ocean liner is a ship you travel on to cross the ocean. It's called a liner because it goes in a line across the ocean. In this sense, “cruise liners” don't really exist. The proper term is cruise ship. Many people mistake liners for cruise ships and vice versa, but they are different in both function and design. As wikipedia puts it, “Though ocean liners share certain similarities with cruise ships, they must be able to travel between continents from point A to point B on a fixed schedule”. This means liners need to be both durable, and fast, something cruise ships are neither of. Cruise ships also almost never do trans-Atlantic crossings unless absolutely necessary. They just aren't built to handle the Atlantic at its worst. Cruise ships usually stay relatively close to land and reschedule for bad weather. For example, the only liner still in service is the RMS Queen Mary 2, built in 2004. Her construction used 60% more steel than a cruise ship of the same size. She also has a top speed of about 30 knots, whereas a cruise ship never really needs to exceed about 18. So, to summarize, an ocean liner is a ship you use to cross the ocean. A cruise ship, while it may take you to numerous excursions, is essentially the destination itself, and it will return you to where you started once the voyage is over. Last thing before we start, GRT. Gross Registered Tonnage is essentially a measure of the total usable internal volume of a ship. Generally, this is a much better measure of the size of a ship than length. For example, the RMS Adriatic was 729 ft long. The Titanic was 882 feet long. Only 150 feet longer, no big difference, right? WRONG. The Adriatic was 25,000 GRT. Titanic was 46,000 GRT. Britannic, which was the same length as Titanic, but 2 feet wider, was 48,000 GRT. Nearly double the size of Adriatic, even though she's not much longer. The Lusitania was 787 feet, and she was 31,000 GRT. So even though Britannic was only about 12% longer, she was about 55% bigger. Last thing, a knot is a unit of speed 1 knot is 1.150779 miles per hour, or 1.852 kilometers per hour.
Anyway, now that we have that sorted out, let's get into the history >:3
So, it starts with the steam engine. At the start of the 19th century, if you wanted to get from Europe to America (or vice Versa), you needed to book passage in a sailing ship. In just 4 short months, you can cross the ocean :D! Between extremely unsanitary conditions and the high chance of you not making it to your destination at all, something needed to change. There were some experiments with bolting steam engines to old sailing vessels, and these were very successful, but really only proofs of concept. Railway engineer Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel realized that if ocean travel could work like the railway, travel between continents could be much more efficient and safe. With a sailing ship, you were dependent on the wind and weather, so your departure and arrival dates couldn't be predicted with any guarantee of certainty. With a steam engine, the ship could move at a consistent speed over a set distance, regardless of the conditions. Now, ocean travel was consistent, regimented, and much safer. All of these came together in 1838 with the launch of Brunel's SS Great Western, which crossed the Atlantic in 18 days, going at 8.66 knots. She was 1,700 Gross Registered Tons (GRT, a measure of internal volume) and 234 ft 11 in long (71.6 meters). She was the first ocean liner. Granted, she was essentially just a sailing ship with paddle wheels attached to a very rudimentary steam engine, she even Still had sails, and she had a hull made from oak, but she was the first commercial venture to bring passengers across the ocean on a regimented schedule. She was also the first purpose built liner.
Now, these very early years of ocean liners aren't really my specialty, so I'll cover some major events.
In 1839, Sir Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and in 1840, formed what would later be known as the Cunard Line, one of the most famous lines ever, And still around to this day.
In 1858, Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel was back at it again with the SS Great Eastern. With this ship, Brunel set out to solve a problem: He wanted to make a ship big enough to carry enough coal to not need to stop and refuel on the voyage to Australia. The Great Eastern was the largest ship in the world by a WIDE margin. Before Great Eastern, the largest ship in the world was the SS Adriatic of the Colin's Line. She was 3,670 GRT, and 354 feet (108 meters) long. The Great Eastern was a whopping 18,915 GROSS REGISTERED TONS. 5.5 TIMES BIGGER! SHE WAS 692 FEET LONG. As wikipedia puts it, “Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was surpassed only in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic, her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 701-foot (214 m) 20,904-gross-ton RMS Celtic and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by the 4,234-passenger SS Imperator.” IT IS WITH HONOR THAT I INTRODUCE YOU TO BRUNEL'S “GREAT BABE”, THE SS GREAT EASTERN.
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LOOK AT ‘ER! AIN'T SHE A BEAUT? IN A WORLD WHERE MOST SHIPS DIDN'T HAVE ANY FUNNELS, AND THE ONES THAT DID ONLY HAD ONE, THE GREAT EASTERN WAS THE ONE AND ONLY F I V E F U N N E L E D L I N E R. Even though she later lost one in an explosion, which was never replaced. She was rigorously mocked for her size and number of funnels, which is strange considering the 4 funneled superliner boom just 50 years later.
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She FAMOUSLY didn't work, and the stress of trying to MAKE her work ended up sending Brunel to an early grave. SHE INDIRECTLY KILLED ONE OF THE GREATEST ENGINEERS OF ALL TIME! She then spent nearly a decade laid up as a glorified billboard:
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She damaged or sunk at least 10 ships in her short Career, had a penchant for spontaneously exploding (which is where her 5th funnel went), and when she was scrapped in 1890, all of her size records were still at least 9 years from being bested. She was NEVER profitable, and the DEFINITION of an outlier. Whenever discussing the largest ships in the world from 1848 to 1890, it goes without saying that the Great Eastern is not included. There is a REASON she's on my top 25, and I've only skimmed the surface. She was a hot mess, and I love her for it. I'd be happy to make a post entirely dedicated to her.
Next, we have the birth of the White Star Line. In 1870, they got their first ship: The SS Oceanic. (Not the RMS Oceanic of 1899 mentioned previously).
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Many consider her and her 5 sisters to be the first “modern” liners, in the sense that they were starting to evolve past glorified sailing ships. She was 420 ft 4 in (128.12 meters) and 3,707 GRT. While her size PALED in comparison to the MIGHTY GREAT EASTERN, she was the “largest” ship in the world. Again, the great eastern kinda doesn't count. As modern as she was, Oceanic still had sails, and she had an INCREDIBLE top speed of… 14.5 knots. It was fast for the time. In fact, she won White Star Line their first Blue Riband for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing. The ships of the Oceanic class were the Oceanic, Atlantic, Baltic, Republic, Adriatic (not the aforementioned RMS Adriatic, OR the SS Adriatic of the Colins Line), and Celtic. One of the big innovations of these ships was that they had a longer length to width ratio. Most sailing ships have a 6:1 ratio of length to width. The Oceanic class increased it to 9:1. With a thinner hull form, it reduced drag and allowed for a higher speed, albeit at the cost of stability. She was also one of the first ships at sea to use electricity. Not for lights, though. Those were still oil lamps. No, the electricity was for buttons in the cabins, which, when pressed, would summon a steward. Founder of the White Star Line, Thomas Ismay, realized that most of the profits of shipping lines came from The hundreds of steerage passengers, rather than the ultra wealthy first class/saloon Class passengers, so he made sure that he had THE BEST steerage accommodations by a scenic mile. He wanted to make sure that he'd be the one getting their business. Her steerage accommodations (3rd class) were fuckimg REVOLUTIONARY in their standards. In an era where poor people were treated like literal cattle, the steerage accommodations on the Oceanic class must have seemed like heaven on earth. Certainly better than anything they would have ever experienced on land. Steerage passengers had FRIGGIN PORTHOLES, which was a new thing for them because, like I said, before White Star, no one gave a shit about poor people. Also, for decks beneath the water line, there were skylights that reached all the way down to the bottom decks. The designers went through great pains to make sure everyone had fresh air and natural sunlight. Which, again, not something you'd find on other ships of the era, as basic as it seems. Anyway, the SS Atlantic, the White Star Line's second ever ship, was their first loss at sea. While we associate the line with Disaster today, history shows quite a different story. In their 65 years of operation, from 1870 to 1935, they operated at least 89 ships. They only lost 5 during peacetime disasters. This is a genuinely phenomenal track record, especially for the time. The aforementioned Collins Line lost literally 2/5ths of their ships (although they did have a much smaller fleet, so it's not an entirely fair comparison). Anyway, the SS Atlantic ran aground near Halifax Nova Scotia, with a loss of 535 people, leaving only 429 survivors. In the 30 minutes the ship took to fully sink, not a single lifeboat could be launched. I'd highly recommend Part-Time Explorer's videos on the subject.
In part 2, we'll cover from 1874 to 1900, with some of the most famous ships of all time. Like I said, this early stuff is where I'm weakest. Part 2 is where I'll become REALLY knowledgeable. >:3
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theculturedmarxist · 2 years ago
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On Friday, the US Chamber of Commerce issued an open letter to President Joe Biden imploring him to appoint a “mediator” and force through a tentative agreement between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the over 22,000 dockworkers in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
In the letter addressed to Biden and acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, Suzanne P. Clark, the CEO and president of the Chamber, wrote that the group was “very concerned by the premeditated and disruptive service actions that are slowing operations at several major ports along the West Coast.”
Beginning last week, and continuing through this writing, dockworkers at several West Coast ports have refused to show up to work after it was revealed that the PMA was proposing an across-the-board $1.56 “raise” for dockworkers, well below the rate of inflation. The fury of rank-and-file workers across all three tiers, A, B, and casual, prompted the ILWU, worried that workers would take matters into their own hands, to unofficially authorize job actions that led to the near-shutdown of major ports and terminals.
Dockworkers have been laboring on 29 ports, from Washington to California, without a contract since last July, while the PMA and ILWU have been negotiating in secret for 13 months. These secret negotiations, Andy, a Los Angeles-area dockworker told the WSWS, have left him and his coworkers “frustrated...we don’t know what is going on. We have no say in anything, it is outrageous.”
Commenting on the long hours that dockworkers put in during the pandemic, and the “thanks” they have received so far from the PMA, Andy said, “Me and a lot of other people got over 2,000 hours. We didn’t step out of line, we did everything they asked. The PMA are talking about not giving us enough retroactive pay, that insulting $1.56 pay increase.”
On Friday, June 9, the PMA issued another statement confirming that while job actions had lessened at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, the “Ports of Seattle and Tacoma continue to suffer significant slowdowns as a result of targeted ILWU actions.”
The PMA asserted that the ILWU was refusing to dispatch lashers, leaving ships idle and resulting in “a backup of incoming vessels.”
Terrified at the prospect that these limited actions could spiral into a “serious work stoppage at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach” that “would be devastating to...businesses,” Chamber Commerce CEO Clark, on behalf of Wall Street, urged Biden “to appoint an independent mediator to help the parties reach a voluntary agreement.” Clarke wrote that this “step is necessary to avoid potentially billions of dollars in economic damage to the American economy.”
Raising the prospect of invoking the anti-union Taft-Hartley law against dockworkers, and possibly deploying soldiers in the case of a strike, Clarke added that Biden should “consider additional steps that may be necessary in the event of a widespread work stoppage.”
This is the third statement issued by a major big business lobby over the last week calling on Biden to intervene in the dockworker negotiations, on the side of capital. On Monday, representatives from the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation also called on the White House to impose a contract on dockworkers.
While Biden himself has not directly commented, his actions last year show that the self-declared most “pro-union” president is more than willing to run roughshod over workers’ democratic rights in order to satiate Wall Street’s unquenchable hunger for profits. Furthermore, high-level officials, in his administration and outside of it, have made clear that the White House has been actively involved in the dockworker negotiations from the outset.
In an interview on CNBC on Thursday, Gene Seroka, the executive director at the Port of Los Angeles, confirmed that the same labor officials who blocked a railroad strike last year, and subsequently dictatorially forced through a rotten pro-company agreement rail workers had already rejected, were again intervening in the contract talks.
“Here’s what’s been happening,” Seroka said. “Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su has been working with both sides, individually and collectively, trying to keep these talks moving.” Su was the deputy labor secretary under Marty Walsh last year during the railroad betrayal.
“Julie and her staff have been working tirelessly, not putting out press releases or coming on TV. They are talking with both sides to keep this progress moving,” Seroka continued, adding, “From the secretary of labor’s seat, this continues to be a top priority.”
While he claimed not to know the exact details, Seroka confirmed that the major conflicts in the contract remain pay and “robotics.” Seroka noted that during the pandemic, “Dockworkers were out on the job six days a week.” The ILWU has confirmed that at least 43 members died of COVID-19, no doubt a significant undercount.
While dockworkers were risking infection and death to move cargo, the companies have pulled in record profits. Shipping giant Maersk, one of several companies represented by the PMA, posted $30.9 billion in profit in 2022. And while shipping rates have declined from their 2021 highs, last month Maesrk still reported a first-quarter profit just under $4 billion.
In interviews with WSWS reporters on Thursday, Los Angeles area dockworkers reflected on the precarious and dangerous character of their work, the hated tier system, which was negotiated in by former ILWU President Harry Bridges in the 1960 Mechanization and Modernization agreement, and the need for dockworkers to unite as a class against the major corporations.
A casual worker said that she has been “a casual for 19 years. I need four more years to make it to Class A. It’s been a long, long time, and we don’t have any rights. My brother is an A man, we were always taught in our family to get union jobs, but things are very tough these days. It’s stressful. I had an accident last month because I had a seizure, which was caused because I was so angry with my boss.”
Commenting on the anti-Asian sentiment that has been whipped up by both big business parties as part of the war drive against China, the dockworker said she was “against all this anti-Asian violence and hate. They are trying to blame Asian people for all the problems, trying to pit worker against worker. We are all facing the same problems.”
A longshoreman who has been a Class A man for 15 years noted that the ILWU along the West Coast had yet to conduct a strike authorization vote nearly a year after the contract expired. “The Canadian longshoremen are having strike authorization votes [Thursday] and Friday. That’s important because the PMA was trying to use the Canadian access from their ports to railways to Chicago and back East to reroute shipping since West Coast longshore have been carrying out job actions here.”
Commenting on the miserly $1.56 raise, a pay cut in real terms, given that inflation in California is over 7 percent, he said, “For us here, I wasn’t happy about that tiny raise the PMA is offering us.”
In a message to other dockworkers, Andy warned about the ongoing conspiracy between Biden, the ILWU and the PMA. “They are all just oligarchs. Biden is doing the same thing Trump would do. The same thing George Bush would do.”
“It really is an international struggle,” he added, “That’s why the internationalism is so important. I mean if me, and all the other dockworkers in the world, got together and decided we weren’t going to move cargo until our demands were met? That would be amazing.”
The fight to link up workers in a joint struggle against the major international carriers requires the development of rank-and-file committees, controlled by the workers and independent of the ILWU union bureaucracy.
Workers cannot let the initiative remain in the hands of the ruling class and its state! It is urgent that workers begin communicating among themselves and coordinating actions to counter the conspiracy between the companies and the Biden administration, assisted by the union apparatus.
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mariacallous · 3 months ago
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On a chilly spring morning in March, British coast guards spotted something unusual around 100 kilometers off the Scottish shoreline: a dark stain, stretching 23 kilometers into the North Atlantic Ocean.
According to an internal analysis prepared by the coast guard’s satellite services and seen by POLITICO, the likely source of that stain was Innova, a tanker roughly the size of the Eiffel Tower that at the time was hauling 1 million barrels of sanctioned oil from Russia on its way to a refinery in India.
Yet the coast guard did little to investigate further, and the tanker — free from any repercussion — continues to trade oil today, helping fill the Kremlin’s war chest more than two years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Innova is just one of hundreds in the world’s so-called shadow fleet, a collection of often aging, poorly maintained ships sailing in defiance of Western sanctions — and spreading environmental harm without consequences. 
A joint investigation by POLITICO and the not-for-profit journalism group SourceMaterial found at least nine instances of covert shadow fleet vessels leaving spills in the world’s waters since 2021, using satellite images from the SkyTruth NGO paired with shipping data from market analysis firm Lloyd’s List and commodity platform Kpler.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told POLITICO the ships posed a “significant danger” to the marine environment. “The incidents [here] illustrate this.”
It’s a problem that’s only grown worse following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With Moscow under Western sanctions, an increasing number of tankers are ferrying illicit goods — and potential environmental devastation — across the globe. Not only are these vessels creaky and largely unregulated, they’re often uninsured, meaning that in case of a leak, or more serious spill, a government would struggle to hold them accountable. 
POLITICO and SourceMaterial identified discharges everywhere from Thailand to Vietnam to Italy and Mexico, all linked to the shadow fleet. The tankers also passed through busy shipping corridors like the Red Sea and the Panama Canal, meaning any serious accident could rupture international trade routes. 
Experts believe it’s only a matter of time before one of these ships suffers a catastrophe with major environmental — and economic — devastation.
“The oil spills and risk of slicks are horrendous,” said Isaac Levi, Europe-Russia lead and a shadow fleet expert at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a think tank. “Beyond the environmental damage, some of which will be irreversible, it’s a huge impact to coastal states that have to bear the cost of cleaning this up.”
In short: “It’s a ticking time bomb,” Levi said.
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