Development Driller: moving out of hurricane's way

GSF Development Driller II IMO 8765515 , DEVELOPMENT DRILLER III IMO 8769121 Both Vanuatu-flag and owned ultimately by Transocean
will be preparing to move out of harm's way beginning tonight "This includes the rig drilling the relief well that will ultimately kill the well, as well as other vessels needed for containment.

UBT Ocean, Sakoba" pirates get their ransom

Somali pirates released the fishing ship Sakoba yesterday after a $3 million ransom was paid.They also released UBT Ocean today and took $4 million in ransom,"
The ransom claims could not be independently verified.

BMP3: faster

BMP3 here

Arctic Sea: Russia's beefed up presence

Arctoc Sea in Cadiz anchorage


The recent easy escape and disappearance of Russian spy "Christopher R. Metsos" may draw more attention to Russia's beefed up presence of intelligence operatives throughout the Mediterranean. The DOJ complaint says that in 2004 Metsos "was surreptitiously handed money in New York by a Russian government official ... a purported diplomat associated with the Manhattan-based Russian Mission." Metsos purportedly buried a portion of the money (said to be $40,000), which was later dug up by Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills, whom the FBI named "the Seattle Conspirators.

Pirates As the senior Western officials who addressed the German Marshall Fund indicated, these efforts to suppress piracy are largely cosmetic. But there is no need for Western navies to do the dirty work. It’s cheaper to engage the locals, as the US army does regularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Yes, there will be some collateral damage. more

Arctic Sea: Russian spy still out there from Med

The laptop and "more than one" USB memory stick belonging to 54-year-old Christopher Robert Metsos U.S. authorities have requested .

The laptop and USB memory sticks were confiscated on June 29 when Metsos was arrested trying to board a flight to Budapest, Hungary. The items were not returned to Metsos after a Cyprus court released him on $33,000 bail on June 30, after which he promptly disappeared.

Motivator: Kriton Lendoudis chemtanker hijacked

The Marshall Islands Flagged Evalend chemical products tanker, lubricant cargo,
MOTIVATOR IMO: 9340386
2009 july 30, Maasvlakte, inbound Rotterdam
Call Sign : V7LQ5
Gross tonnage : 8539
Year of build : 2007

Lendoudis once sold his yacht to Slobodan Milosevic and a Facebook page uses his name and this picture

Arctic Sea: Russian Spy from Med still loose

Christopher Robert Metsos is the spy who got away, Greek Cypriot officials believe he fled the divided island, and crossing into the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north may have offered an avenue of escape. But the U.S. Embassy said it had not asked Turkish Cypriot authorities for help in tracking the fugitive.
Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias has deflected U.S. Justice Department criticism over Metsos' release, saying U.S. authorities were slow in providing certain documents to Cypriot police.
Arctic Sea circles and circles and slows to 0.7 knots, does not enter Algeciras or Gibraltar.