USN Special Projects Patrol Squadron (VPU) 2 “Wizards” had a spy

Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin faces several counts of espionage and other charges outlined during a April 8 Article 32 hearing in Norfolk, Va. Lin had a career as a signals intelligence specialist on the Navy’s Lockheed Martin EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance aircraft.   The U.S. Naval Institute said Lin also had been a department head with the Special Projects Patrol Squadron  (VPU) 2 “Wizards” at Kaneohe Bay, a highly secretive group that flies specially-modified spy planes and has been known to change aircraft paint schemes and identifying numbers to blend in with other Navy planes.

Lin’s job on the Aries II, which bear a resemblance to the maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare P-3C Orion, was to manage the collection of electronic signals from the aircraft – a central coordinator. The specifics of how the U.S. gathers signals from potential adversaries are among the military’s most closely guarded secrets. Knowing the methodology for how the U.S. gathers signals intelligence – information that Lin would likely have with his Aries II experience – could allow adversaries to devise ways to counter U.S. monitoring.

[July 20 2014 RIMPAC gets four China navy ship participants and one spy ]

Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy electronic surveillance ship Beijixing (pennant number 851). A ship of this class is currently off the coast of Oahu, monitoring RIMPAC 2014.  

 “This AGI is most likely to be the Type 815 Dongdiao-class intelligence collection vessel Beijixing (pennant number 851), home ported in the East Sea Fleet,” Erickson, an associate professor at the Naval War College said.

“Beijixing is the most experienced vessel from the PLAN’s [China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy ] most advanced class of AGI. Based on Internet photos and Japanese government and other media reports, Beijixing is China’s most well-traveled AGI, having operated frequently near and within Japan’s claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”   What’s strange about the Chinese ship monitoring RIMPAC from afar is four PLAN ships and their crews have already been included in most levels of the operation.   RIMPAC — held every two years — includes 50 ships, 200 aircraft and more than 25,000 military personnel from 23 nations. The exercises will run until August.

[March 9 2013]

Chinese Navy's missile destroyer "Harbin" fires during the AMAN-13 exercise in the Arabian Sea, March 8, 2013. Naval ships from 14 countries, including China, the United States, Britain and Pakistan, joined a five-day naval drill in the Arabian Sea from March 4, involving 24 ships, 25 helicopters, and special forces.

The U.S., which traditionally has maintained an impressive array of naval forces comprised of units of the Sixth Fleet, had decided to reduce its naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, but in view of the increased traffic -- from Russia, China and especially the Islamic Republic of Iran -- has now changed its mind and will retain a significant naval force in the area.

Regional security arrangements have changed considerably since the onset of the Arab Spring, and developments in the Middle East have enhanced Cairo’s role within the strategic framework. Reliable sources say the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government has offered Washington “more than facilities” in order to ensure Washington’s continued support during the Muslim Brothers’ crisis-ridden bid to secure control over the state.

Officials at the US embassy in Cairo confirmed the impression of a continuing close relationship between Egypt’s Armed Forces, the US Defense Department and the administration in Washington.

[March 1]The 14th naval squad, sent by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, departed February 16 from China to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters for escort missions.

[February 25 2011]

China said it was sending a navy ship to protect its citizens being evacuated. The PLA Navy has just dispatched Xuzhou,F530, a Type 054 Jiangkai-II class missile frigate, from the ongoing seventh PLAN anti-piracy task force deployment off Somalia to steam to Libyan coast to provide support and protection for the ongoing evacuation mission there. The escort mission has been approved by the Central Military Commission, according to Xinhua, and at least 6,300 of the roughly 30,000 PRC citizens in Libya have been evacuated. Xuzhou incorporates many stealth features: sloped hull design; radar absorbent materials; and reduction of surface equipment and features.

Builders: Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard

Huangpu Shipyard

Operators: People's Liberation Army Navy

Preceded by: Type 054 frigate

Succeeded by: Type 054B frigate

Cost: ¥ 1.58 billion

Completed: 10

Xuzhou

General characteristics

Type: Frigate

Displacement: 4,053 tonnes (full), 3,600 tonnes (standard)

Length: 134 m (440 ft)(CCTV report)

Beam: 16 m (52 ft) (CCTV report)

Propulsion: CODAD, 4 x SEMT Pielstick 16 PA6 STC diesels, 5700 kW (7600+ hp @ 1084 rpm) each

Speed: 30 kn estimated

Range: 3,800 miles estimated

Sensors and processing systems:

Type 382 Radar (Upgraded from Type 381 Radar "Sea Eagle S/C") 3D air/surface search radar

Type 344 (Mineral-ME Band Stand) OTH target acquisition and SSM fire control radar

4 x Type 345 (MR-90 Front Dome) SAM fire control radars

MR-36A surface search radar, I-band

Type 347G 76 mm gun fire control radar

2 x Racal RM-1290 navigation radars, I-band

MGK-335 medium frequency active/passive sonar system

ZKJ-4B/6 (developed from Thomson-CSF TAVITAC) combat data system

HN-900 Data link (Chinese equivalent of Link 11A/B, to be upgraded)

SNTI-240 SATCOM

Electronic warfare

and decoys: Type 922-1 radar warning receiver

HZ-100 ECM & ELINT system

Armament: 1 x HQ-16 32-cell VLS SAM launcher

2 x 4 C-803 anti-ship / land attack cruise missiles

1 x 76 mm dual purpose gun

2 x Type 730 7-barrel 30 mm CIWS guns

Triple 324 mm YU-7 ASW torpedoes

2 x Type 726-4 18-tube decoy rocket launchers

Aircraft carried: 1 Kamov Ka-28 'Helix' or Harbin Z-9C

Aviation facilities:

earlier

PNS Zulfiqar: attempted hijack of Pakistani frigate stopped

PNS Zulfiqar

An attempt to hijack PNS Zulfiqar [a frigate purchased from China and inducted in July 2009] was stopped by guards.
The attack was carried out by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which said it had inside help.
 Karachi's naval dockyard is about four kilometres from the mouth of Karachi harbor.

Pakistan Navy — a 31,000-man branch of the military – has tried to keep the investigation in its sole control without sharing on the record information with civilian agencies

PNS Zulfiquar (251), is a general purpose frigate built by Pakistan and China for the Pakistan Navy (PN). They are an adaptation of the Type 053H3 frigates of China but include elements of the Type 054 frigates as well.
General characteristics
Type: Frigate
Displacement: 2,500 tonnes (standard)[1][2][3]
3,144 tonnes (full load)[4]
Length: 123.2 m (404 ft)
Beam: 13.8 m (45 ft)
Draught: 3.76 m (12.3 ft)
Propulsion:
CODAD (Combined Diesel and Diesel)
2 × Tognum MTU 12V 1163 TB 83 @ 10.5 MW
2 × MTU cruise diesels @ 6.6 MW
Speed: 29 kn (54 km/h) maximum[1][2]
Range: 4,000 nmi (7,400 km)
Complement: 170 crew
Sensors and
processing systems:
SUR 17 air surveillance radar
SR-60 air/surface search radar
KH 2007 navigation radar
Type 347 CIWS fire-control radar
CIWS electro-optical director
Radar warning receiver suite
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
RWD-8 intercept, NJ8I-3 jammer
Decoy flare, chaff launchers
Armament:
Guns:
1 × 76.2 mm calibre AK–176M main gun
Type 730B CIWS (2 × 30 mm 7-barrel Gatling guns)
Missiles:
1 × 8-cell FM-90N SAM launcher
2 × 4-cell C-802 SSM launchers
Other:
2 × 3-cell ET-52C torpedo launchers
2 × 6-cell RDC-32 anti-submarine rockets
Aircraft carried: 1 × Harbin Z-9EC ASW helicopter
Aviation facilities: Flight deck and enclosed hangar
Notes:
Ships in class include:
PNS Zulfiquar (251)
PNS Shamsheer (252)
PNS Saif (253)
PNS Aslat (254)

[November 2 2008 Saudi-supported Islamists against pirates?


Negotiations between the pirates and the ship's Saudi owners are being conducted through an interpreter on a satellite phone using an outside company that specialises in dealing with kidnaps and ransom demands. Blackwater Maritime Security Services, a division of the firm active in Iraq, is said to be sending it's 183 ft McArthur former NOAA research vessel to the Gulf of Aden from its base in Virginia.

Armed Islamic militants were angry pirates had attacked a ship owned by Muslims. The Sirius Star is owned by a Saudi-controlled company. "The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship," an unnamed local tribal elder said. Militants have entered the port of Haradheere close to where the ship is moored . It is common for Somali pirates to booby-trap vessels they have seized raising the prospect of the Sirius Star being blown up if Islamists start a firefight with those who seized her. Meanwhile, unknown armed young men have started a fierce firefight in the capital. After the Mogadishu attack, another resident Dahir Mohamed said he had seen the bodies of 15 young men.
"They were unfamiliar faces in the our district, so we think they were the insurgents." The Islamists have not commented on the incident.

Amid Chinese oil rig row, Cinese sinks Vietnam boat

[May 19]

PLAN Type 052B DDG next to Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil drilling rig in South China Sea pic.twitter.com/qynyNdZIH5

— Alert 5 (@alert5) May 14, 2014

Displacement: 5,850 tons standard[1]
6,500 tons full load
Length: 155 m
Beam: 17 m
Draught: 6 m
Propulsion: CODOG 57,000 shp
Speed: 30 knots
Complement: 280
Armament: 16 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles
48 SA-N-12 Grizzly surface-to-air missiles
1× Type 210 100 mm dual purpose gun
2 Type 730 CIWS
2 anti-submarine mortars
6 torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried: 1 helicopter: Kamov Ka-27
Aviation facilities: Single helicopter hangar

[May 10]

Heavy lift Rolldock Star with the HQ-183 Ho Chi Minh City City submarine on board entered Cam Ranh Bay on March 19, 2014.

Submarine. Kilo Class shipped to China

 The submarine has a load of 2,300 tons and can carry a crew of 57. It can operate at a maximum depth of 300 meters at a range of 6,000-7,500 nautical miles for 45 days and nights. The vessel is armed with a Klub-S cruise missile system with 3M-54E1 missiles bearing 450-kg warheads that have a firing range of 220 km. It also has a system of eight Strela-3 anti-aircraft missiles with a firing range of 6 km, six torpedo tubes, and other advanced military equipment.

 China itself has adopted a strategy of building up a submarine force to counter a superior surface opponent (the US Navy). It’s entirely logical for Vietnam to adopt a similar approach vis-a-vis China, especially given that China’s lifeline of raw materials and exported goods from and to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia passes right by Vietnam’s doorstep. Aside from Thyssen Krupp Marine’s U209 family of submarines, the Russian Kilo Class are the world’s most widely exported subs. They’re known for a level of quietness that’s significantly better than other Russian designs, and have been produced in the Project 877EKM, and the Project 636M “Improved Kilo” / Varshavyanka Class variant that Vietnam is receiving. Countries operating or ordering these submarines include Russia, Algeria, China, India, Iran, Poland, and Romania. Vietnam appears to have opted for a longer-range, higher capacity 3,000t submarine. 

 [April 27]

Promenaders watch the docked amphibious assault ship USS Essex embark from Subic Bay in October 2006

Local leaders and business people in Subic Bay confirm that both Philippine and American defense officials have been there recently to examine the options.

Under the terms of the new defense pact due to be signed April28, the U.S. is only allowed “rotational” access to existing Philippine facilities and cannot run its own bases. That means the Philippines will have to set up new facilities at Subic before the Americans can come in.

BRP Ramon Alcaraz

The frigate, BRP Ramon Alcaraz, sailed into the Philippines' Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base.
BRP del Pilar was the country’s first Hamilton-class weather high endurance cutter (WHEC) acquired from the United States, in 2011. It will be used to patrol areas of the South China Sea near the Philippine coast that have become a major source of tension with Beijing.   The Philippines received the latest cutter for free under Washington's foreign military financing program, but spent about $15 million to upgrade its weapons and radar systems.   Hamilton-class ships have the basic modern technology the Philippine Navy needs to train its personnel, and has the size to install current and future weapons and sensors to keep it up-to-date for another decade.
Despite the removal by the US of its original radar systems, the PF-15 has new navigation and surface search radar and a new C&C/Common Operational Picture system. It also has a helicopter hangar and helideck for shipborne helicopter operations, and provisions for new radar and communications systems if the PN decides to install, provisions are also available to upgrade and up-arm the Hamilton-class ships.

The armed forces plan to buy radars, surveillance planes, fighters, and helicopters under the $1.7-billion plan.

Manila has opened talks to acquire a dozen new fighter jets and two frigates from South Korea. It has also ordered 10 coast guard ships from Japan and three more vessels from France.

He said the Hamilton-class ship will be deployed to Palawan and then to the Spratly Islands.

“It is to protect our interest in the natural resources operations that we have, more (specifically) in Malampaya…It is near Spratlys but basically, the objective is to protect our Malampaya (natural gas project)," he said.   the Navy would need to acquire “as many large-hull warships it can possibly get with its limited budget,” to show its presence and patrol the vast areas within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Shahid Qandi: second Mowj-class Frigate?

The Iranian Navy 'destroyer' Shahid Qandi has docked at Tartous, Syria.
Is this the first we have seen of the supposed new Mowj? Iran: The Construction of the 2nd Mowj by Shahid Tamjidi Marine Industries
The military naval order of battle identified on 18 March 2011 included:
1 x Mowj Class Frigate (under construction)

Al Hani: Libyan frigate 212 in rebel hands

213 Al Ghardabia: struck by NATO

in Tripoli Harbour 20th May 2011. Koni class is the NATO reporting name for a anti-submarine warfare frigate built by the Soviet Union. Koni II were made for warmer waters

Hanjin Tianjin: Turks scare, pirates abandon ship

Turkish frigate, TCG Giresun, of NATO’s counter-piracy taskforce, just 80 miles away from the container ship at the time of the pirate attack, first arrived at the scene. It provided necessary information to help South Korea’s 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young which arrived at the scene at 4:40 p.m..
Naval commandos of the Cheonghae Unit, a South Korean anti-piracy contingent operating off the Somali coast, boarded the 75,000-ton Hanjin Tianjin and found that all crew members remained unharmed inside the citadel, a bulletproof safety zone in the ship.

The commandos searched the vessel with 14 South Koreans and six Indonesians aboard and found no pirates aboard, officials said.


The Panamanian-registered ship owned by South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. lost contact at around 5:15 a.m. Thursday when it was in waters some 460 miles east of the Somali coast. It was sailing from Spain to Singapore.

The crew members were found in the zone at around 7:30 p.m. and are currently in good health, officials said.

The commandos also discovered three live bullets of AK rifles presumed to be owned by Somali pirates and multiple footprints of bare feet, all of which indicate that pirates attempted to hijack the vessel, officials said.

here
read

Drazki, Konstantin Olshansky: to Libyan waters

Bulgarian frigate F 41 "Drazki" (i.e. "Daring") is expected to join the operation on April 15 and will be manned by 160-member crew.
In 2009, Bulgaria purchased three second-hand frigates from Belgium - Drazki, Gordi ("Proud"), and "Verni" ("Faithful") and the Tsibar minesweeper.

Ukrainian Navy ship U402 'Konstantin Olshansky' arrived April 11 in Sevastopol with 113 refugees from Libya on board, 85 ethnic Ukrainians among them
The Ropucha (toad), or Project 775 class landing ships are classified in the Russian Navy as "large landing craft" (Bol'shoy Desatnyy Korabl). They were built in Poland in the Stocznia Północna shipyards, in Gdansk.

HNLMS Tromp: helicopter crew released by Libya

Frigate HNLMS Tromp's three Dutch Marines, seized in Sirte, Libya while on a mission to evacuate a Dutch and a Swedish national, were released on March 11. The Tromp helicopter was not released.

The White House announced March 11 that it will send a government aid team into rebel-held parts of Libya
back

Al-Nasser: Egyptian frigate in Tunisian port

Egyptian naval frigate El Nasser (F956) leaves the Tunisian port of Zarzis carrying 383 Egyptian refugees who fled Libya

In the 1950s, the Soviets provided China with four Riga-class frigates by kits. Designed in 1962 and generally based on the Riga frame, the hull form was changed from flush deck to long forecastle to accommodate the very big and heavy medium-speed diesel engine.
a guided missile frigate based on an a little scaled down 053K's hull, which became the Type 053H (Jianghu-I class) frigate (the 'H' here means 'Hai' (anti-ship))


The French helicopter carrier Mistral left the southern port of Toulon Saturday bound for southern Tunisia from where it will help evacuate Egyptian refugees from Libya.

Accompanied by a frigate it is due to repatriate Egyptians from the Tunisian port of Sarzis. The ship is due to arrive March 7 and reach the Egyptian port of Alexandria after three days at sea.

956 Al-Nasser (053H1): ex-PLAN #546

Tourville: Bulgarians told to embark at Benghazi

French frigate last seen at Valletta, Malta

Another option [ for Bulgarians in Libya] is to sign up for the French battle frigate Tourville from the port of Benghazi. For that, nationals have to contact the Consulate of Sweden in Benghazi, with details as follows:

Person of contact: Anders Nilsson. Phone: +218 61 222 51 16, 223 04 30, 223 79 02, Fax: +218 61 222 52 29, 222 22 99, Email: sweconlibya@yahoo.com, address: Consulate of Sweden, 4, El Arish Street, Feuhat El Gharbia, Benghazi.

Tourville (D 610) is a F67 type large high-sea frigate of the French Marine Nationale specialised in anti-submarine warfare, though it also has anti-air and anti-surface capabilities.

Class and type: Tourville class frigate
Displacement: 4580 tonnes (6100 tonnes fully loaded)
Length: 152.75 m
Beam: 15.80 m
Draught: 6.60 m
Propulsion:

2 Rateau steam turbines, double reduction
4 multitubular boilers
Fuel: Gazoil
Propellers : 2 fixed propellers
Power : 58000 hp (42630 kW)
Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h)
Range:

1900 nautical miles (3500 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h)
4500 nautical miles (8300 km) and 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement:

24 officers
160 non-commissioned officers
115 men
Sensors and
processing systems:

Detection

* 1 DRBV 51B surface sentry radar
* 1 DRBV 26A air sentry radar
* 1 DRBC 32D targeting radar
* 2 DRBN 34 navigation radars
* 1 DUBV 23 hull sonar
* 1 ETBF DSBV 62C sonar
* 1 DSBX 1 tugged sonar
* 1 Syva torpedo alert system

Tactical information

* SENIT 3
* SEAO/OPSMER

Transmissions

* HF, UHF, VHF and SHF liaison systems
* Syracuse 2
* Inmarsat
* Link 11

Electronic warfare
and decoys:

1 ARBB 32 jammer
1 ARBR 16 radar interceptor
2 Syllex decoy launchers
bubble belt
Armament:

Anti-ship;

* 6 × Exocet MM38 anti-ship missiles

Anti-submarine;

* 2 × L5 torpedo launchers, 10 torpedoes on board (L5 mod 4)

Guns;

* 2 × 100 mm turrets (1968 model)
* 2 × 20 mm cannons
* 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns

CIWS;

* 1 x Crotale EDIR CIWS anti-air missiles (8 missiles on launcher, 16 in magazine)

Aircraft carried:

* 2 x Lynx WG13 anti-ship helicopter

Alvand, Kharg: Iranian navy ships Latkia-bound

Iran frigate DE 71 Alvand and replenishment ship 431 Kharg will passage the Suez Canal toward the Mediterranean Sea on February 21.
The two ships will dock at the Syrian port of Latkia, the first Iranian naval ships to pass through the canal since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.



71 Alvand
LENGTH 94.50m
BEAM 11.07m
DISPLACEMENT 1250 tons / 1540 tons (fl)
ARMAMENT 4 / C-802 SSM
1 / 114mm 55-cal. Vickers Mk 8 DP
2 / 35mm 90-cal. Oerlikon AA (II x 1)
3 / 20mm 90-cal. Oerlikon AA (I x 3)
2 / 12.7mm machine guns (I x 2)
2 / 81mm mortar (I x 2)
1 / 3 round Limbo Mk 10 ASW mortar
6 / 324mm ASW torpedo tubes (III x 2)
MACHINERY CODOG; 2 Rolls Royce Olympus TM-3A gas turbines; 2 Paxman 16-cyl. Ventura diesels; 2 CP props; 46000 shp (turbines) 3800 bhp (diesels)
SPEED 39 knots
RANGE 5000 / 15
COMPLEMENT 135
United Kingdom-built originally armed with nine Sea Cat anti-air missiles and five Sea Killer anti-ship missiles. The Iranian Navy has since replaced these missiles with Chinese equivalents.


431 Kharg
LENGTH 207.15m
BEAM 25.50m
DISPLACEMENT 33014 tons (fl)
ARMAMENT 1 / 76mm 62-cal. OTO Melara Compact DP
12 / 23mm 87-cal. ZU-23-2 AA
MACHINERY 1 set Westinghouse geared steam turbines; 1 prop; 26870shp
SPEED 21 knots
RANGE -
COMPLEMENT 248
Can accommodate Sea-King size helicopters

Horten: old frigates and Yemeni guards

Maybe a submarine?


ISIM Sinin Ltd. is the Maltese corporation owning the handymax bulker Sinin
ISI Maritime Ltd. (Malta)

• Tehran, Iran
• Founded in 2008
• Registered in Malta
ISI Maritime Ltd. is the registered owner of the Sattar. According to IHS Fairplay, this company is a subsidiary of the IranoHind Shipping company, a company the United States Treasury Department has designated as linked to Irisl and therefore subject to sanctions. ISI Maritime also is a major shareholder in Isim Sinin Ltd. and Isim ATR Ltd., two other Irisl-linked companies.

Norwegian navy has sold its frigate Horten to a former military officer and UN captain, Svein Johnsen and an anonymous partner,will use it to keep pirates at bay. Financing for Clear Ocean was in place Clear Ocean, will include the frigate, up to eight new ships, six helicopters and a surveillance plane, to patrol the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.

The vessels will be armed, and the helicopters will be used to localize pirates. Officially, Clear Ocean has a 10-year contract with the government of Somalia to protect Somalia’s fishing fleet. “We are to protect fishing vessels who will pay for the fishing rights which again will increase the revenue in the fisheries for the government,” Clear Ocean was “not in the business of chasing or arresting pirates” and that the weapons on board are “to protect our own assets and customers, if we are asked to protect Norwegian shipowners, we will of course do so,” for a price to be negotiated.
Clear Ocean’s vessels will have a weapons system on board that can stop a boat from a distance of two kilometers. “If the pirates don’t stop before getting within 800 meters of us, they will be stopped,”
The defense ministry said it had no qualms about the planned operations for the Horten, which even has served as a temporary royal yacht in Norway. “We are glad the ship was sold and we got a good price (NOK 45 million) for it.” “We have no opinions about how it will now be outfitted or used. We hope it can be used in a positive way in the area.”
The boss of Norwegian shipowning company Stolt-Nielsen announced his family-owned firm now has armed guards on board Stolt-Nielsen vessels off the coast of Africa.

“We would gladly avoid having to do this, but we have no choice,” Niels G Stolt-Nielsen, “When we don’t have a convoy or patrol boats in the area, we’re hiring in armed guards from Yemen’s naval defense forces.”

Stolt-Nielsen called the pirates “terrorists,” and claimed that “the only language (they) understand is warning shots. Then they’ll back off.” He said armed guards are necessary. “There are people on board the ships who need to be protected,” he said, along with the value of the vessels and their cargoes.

Stolt-Nielsen, Frontline and Fred Olsen are trying to fight back. Frontline, controlled by tanker tycoon John Fredriksen, and veteran shipowner Fred Olsen are considering having armed staff on board, but won’t go into detail.

“We don’t have any weapons on board, not yet,” Olsen“the entire industry is drafting this now.” Olav Eikrem, technical director at Frontline also said he wouldn’t rule out having armed guards on board “soon.”

earlier

Beluga Fortune: ducked into panic room, cut fuel

Hijackers fled a heavy-lift cargo ship and a British frigate took charge.
Beluga Fortune's crew sent out an emergency call, barricaded themselves in a special security room, shut off the fuel supply and the bridge and informed the military. "This way the pirates could not bring the ship under their control or take the sailors at ransom." Beluga Shipping GmbH says that a British frigate, a surveillance plane and a helicopter were involved in freeing the German cargo ship. The rescue was peaceful because by the time the military entered the Beluga Fortune the pirates had already fled. The crew had trained for an emergency situation like this many times over the years. here



Ship Name: BELUGA FORTUNE
IMO: 9402067
MMSI: 305222000
Callsign: V2D13
Flag: Antigua and Barbuda

Category: Cargo
Beam: 21
Length: 138
Draught: 8.3

The oil and gas industry, the offshore wind sector, port construction and expansion, production and modernisation of power plants and virtually anything big, heavy and difficult: these are the core worldwide activities of the more than 500 experienced experts and the powerful fleet of Beluga Shipping GmbH. As the innovative world market leader in the project and heavy-lift segment, we open new corridors and take unbeaten paths in efficiently meeting our clients’ requirements. The vessels in our fleet (currently 69 units, strategic target for the end of 2012: 75 units) are equipped with cargo handling gear that can lift a combinable load of up to 1400 tons on the most powerful units.

Additional capabilities include adjustable tweendecks and a top cruising speed of up to 18 knots. Thanks to their design, the ships are also able to operate on routes off the beaten track of the large global flows of goods. Our constantly growing fleet with an average age of three years numbers among the most modern of its kind. The vessels optimally combine a large cargo carrying capacity with low fuel consumption.

Looking to the future, a new generation of Beluga vessels is already taking shape at the shipyards: In 2010 multipurpose heavy-lift cargo carriers with lifting capacities of up to 1400 tons will sail in the service of Beluga Shipping. The unique combination of capability and efficiency of the P1- and P2 series will set higher benchmarks in heavy-lift business.