More Carrier Work for Scottish Yards in the Spring

Last month the consortium building the UK's two new aircraft carriers had announced a 50% increase in the amount of construction work coming to Scotland.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance said two major sections of each ship, instead of one, would now be built at BVT's yards at Govan and Scotstoun on the Clyde.

Both ships will be built in sections and assembled at Rosyth, Fife.

The revised build strategy is expected to sustain 4,000 jobs at Scottish yards until the middle of the next decade.

The new 65,000 tonne carriers will be the Royal Navy's largest vessels.

Changes to the delivery of the £4bn contract were announced on Monday.

This provides greater certainty for our supplier base and keeps the project on a sure footing as we enter full scale manufacture Tony Graham MoD

The previous build strategy had planned for one of the sections of the carriers to be built at BAE Systems Submarine Solutions in Barrow.

But the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) said existing and future workloads there had led to a lack of capacity to take on the additional carrier work.

In agreement with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), ACA has now transferred the work to BVT's yards in Glasgow.

Geoff Searle, programme director for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, said: "The ACA has developed a cost effective and low risk build strategy that I am confident will deliver the two carriers in line with the MoD's requirements.

"It will also ensure that we retain the essential core skills in the UK maritime industry to deliver sovereign naval capability long into the future."

'Confident future'

Tony Graham, head of capital ships at the MoD, said: "Alongside the developing build strategy, we are very pleased to announce additional shipbuilding work for the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers which further extends involvement across the UK.

"This provides greater certainty for our supplier base and keeps the project on a sure footing as we enter full-scale manufacture."

The SNP welcomed the increase in the amount of work awarded to Scotland.

The party's Westminster leader and defence spokesperson, Angus Robertson MP, said: "This is terrific news for the workforce in Glasgow and Rosyth and reinforces the reputation of Scottish yards as the best in the world.

"Shipbuilding plays an important role within Scotland's manufacturing base, and it is clear that the industry can have a confident future."

Labour accused the SNP of hypocrisy.

John Robertson MP said: "This is brilliant news for Glasgow and Scotland. It will mean more opportunities and more jobs for young people and older workers alike.

If the SNP had their way, these jobs would be heading down south. Willie Rennie MP Lib Dem defence spoksperson

"It is totally hypocritical for the SNP to welcome a move like this, when their core policy - separating Scotland from the rest of the UK - would mean the death of these jobs."

He added: "Without the United Kingdom, there would be no defence work on the Clyde.

"The SNP should have the decency to be honest with people about what their plans would mean for Scots."

The Liberal Democrats reiterated that view. The party's defence spokesperson, Willie Rennie MP, said: "If the SNP had their way, these jobs would be heading down south.

"Independence would decimate the Clyde."

Last year, the government announced that there would be a delay on the carrier contracts following a review of MoD spending.

The vessels, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, were due to enter service in 2014 and 2016, but that will now be pushed back a year or two.

Contracts were signed in July 2008 and the work is expected to begin in spring 2009.

The future Aircraft Carriers for the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be the largest and most powerful surface warships ever built in the UK.

They will displace approximately 65,000 tonnes, a size between the USA's 100,000 tonne Nimitz class and the French 43,000 tonne Charles de Gaulle class aircraft carriers, and three times larger than the Invincible class carriers.

The carrier will have a maximum speed of 25 knots. At 15 knots the range will be 10,000 nautical miles and the ship carries food, fuel and stores for an endurance of seven days between replenishments. Each ship will have a complement of typically 1,200, including 600 aircrew.

In order to maximise the flexibility that CVF can offer over its potential 50 year service life, the carriers will be built to an innovative adaptable design. Although CV-based, the ships will initially be fitted with a ramp for STOVL operations. Post JSF, the design will be capable of modification to operate aircraft requiring a catapult launch and arrested recovery.

Russian Navy Not Kidding Around: Somali Pirates No Match

Just a reminder "Russian Navy is not old news even a month after incident."

The Russian large Udaloy-class anti-submarine destroyer "Admiral Vinogradov" has defended on Tuesday at 08h20 GMT a 278m long UK-owned and Dutch-managed container ship MV NEDLLOYD BARENTSZ from a Somali pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden.

The captain of the Dutch vessel under Netherlands-flag sent a distress signal to the Russian ship saying that pirate boats were approaching his ship and shooting at it, Russian Navy spokesman from the Information Service of the RF Navy Department Captain I. Rank Igor Dygalo informed. There was battle alarm on the "Admiral Vinogradov" and Ка-27 helicopter took off.

The pirates chased the vessel for about 30 minutes. The vessel was recommended to rise speed and change course abruptly. The pirates made an attempt to board the Dutch ship, but the Russian crew fired warning shots from the helicopter, forcing the pirates to halt. One of the three boats was stopped and two others were seized by the crew of the Admiral Vinogradov.

The one skiff was halted and believed sunk near Yemeni waters and Russian teams boarded the other two, finding ropes with grappling hooks and gas canisters, but no fishing equipment. The ship´s doctor gave the necessary medical assistance to three pirates who were wounded by ricochet fire. "The pirates didn´t seem to feel the pain from the wounds, which can be a result of the fact that they were under the influence of drugs", Igor Dygalo said. The boats manned by the pirates were handed over to Yemeni coast guards.

The Admiral Vinogradov is patrolling Somali waters to help maintain security in the area that is threatened with frequent raids by the pirates. MV Nedlloyd Barentsz is registered in the Netherlands MAERSK Ship Management BV as manager of the A.P. Moller-Maersk group, but has as registered owner UK-based Scotland Structured Asset. The container ship, built in 2000, has a transportation capacity of 5,468 TEU (including the possibility for 500 refrigerated containers) and a gross tonnage of 66,526 to.

So just where is the second Destroyer? Two Russian Destroyers is definitely "Double Your Trouble."

Italian Carrier Cavour (550): Future to reckon with Lockheed F35B's

Cavour (550) is an Italian aircraft carrier (CVH) of the Marina Militare, the Italian Navy. She is named after the Italian statesman and politician Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour.

Cavour was laid down by Fincantieri on 17 July 2001, and she was launched from the Riva Trigoso shipyard (Sestri Levante) on 20 July 2004. Sea trials began in December 2006, and she was officially commissioned March 27, 2008. Full Operational Capability (FOC) is expected in early 2009 after completion of finishing work at Muggiano (Lerici) in summer 2008 and transfer to the new naval station on Mar Grande in Taranto. Cavour will be the new flagship of the Italian Navy.

Cavour will initially operate the AV-8B Harrier II, but will receive the Lockheed F-35B in the future. While the Cavour will not be able to serve as a serious power projection platform along the lines of Russia's Kuznetsov or America's CVNs due to her much smaller air wing and lack of serious surface-to-surface weapon systems, she will serve alongside the Giuseppi Garibaldi (551) to provide Italy with a modern naval air arm capable of performing small-scale operations.

French Le Clem joins ghost fleet: 60 Year Carrier Being Dismantled

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

HUNDREDS of people lined the coast to a huge aircraft carrier finally arrive in Hartlepool.
The former French Navy ship Le Clemenceau docked at Able UK's Graythorp site following a four-day journey.

Work on the £8.7m dismantling contract can now get underway following months of delays through poor weather and legal wrangles.

But the vessel – which is carrying 700 tonnes of asbestos contaminated material – may not be the last ship to enter Able UK's Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC) before the dam is closed to create a dry dock.

Able UK chiefs have confirmed that they are continuing negotiations that could see a further two British ships brought to the facility to be dismantled.

Hundreds of people lined the seafront at Seaton Carew while many more headed to the Headland and the North Gare for the best view of the ship coming in yesterday.

Dozens of English and French journalists and television crews were at Able UK's site, on the outskirts of Hartlepool, to witness the vessel being towed in.

Offshore tug the Anglian Earl had towed the vessel from France to the Tees Turning Circle, where it was then brought into the Seaton Channel by four river tugs.

The whole operation took a couple of hours before the ship was berthed inside the huge dry dock shortly before 4pm.

The dismantling of Le Clemenceau - which is also known as the Q790 - is the largest ship recycling project ever undertaken in Europe.

The 32,000 tonne ship, which was towed from Brest Harbour, in France, is berthed between four American and three British vessels which are waiting to be recycled.

The actual dismantling process is expected to start after Easter and last for around a year with the creation of 200 jobs, many of which expected go to people from Hartlepool.

Peter Stephenson, the chairman and chief executive of Able UK, told the Mail: "This is a very proud day for myself and everyone at Able and I would hope it is a proud day for the town of Hartlepool.

"This is the end of a very long five year process and we are delighted to finally get the ship in.

"Hundreds of jobs have been lost to the area over the years as a result of the delays, but we are hoping we can now move forward."

Launched in 1957, Le Clemenceau was the mainstay of the French naval fleet and sailed more than one million nautical miles before being withdrawn from active service in 1997.

Capt. John Carroll Relieved of Duties

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

The Rear Admiral's decision was swifter than the Captains Command Blunder

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) -- The commanding officer of a $1 billion warship that ran aground along the coast of Honolulu has been relieved of duty, the Navy said Monday.

Rear Adm. Dixon R. Smith, commander of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, relieved Capt. John Carroll of his duties pending the results of an investigation into Thursday's incident. The Navy on Monday freed the vessel, which had been stuck for more than three days.

Carroll had taken command of the USS Port Royal in October. Capt. John T. Lauer III, who is currently assigned to the staff of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, was temporarily assigned as the guided missile cruiser's commanding officer.

The ship - one of the Navy's most advanced - ran aground when it was offloading sailors, contractors and shipyard personnel late Thursday. Efforts to refloat the vessel over the weekend were unsuccessful.

The Port Royal was extracted from a rock and sand shoal about 2 a.m. Monday after officials removed about 500 tons of seawater and 100 tons of anchors and other equipment, the Navy said in a statement. Officials said they plan to examine the wreck site to determine if there was a fuel leak or spill.

After an initial assessment, the ship was being towed to Naval Station Pearl Harbor for inspection. Dry docking at the shipyard should be completed in approximately one week, officials said.

The Navy has not discussed what may have caused the grounding.

The vessel had just finished its first day of sea trials after wrapping up a four-month routine maintenance stay at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The 15-year-old Port Royal usually has about 24 officers and 340 enlisted sailors on board.

The Pearl Harbor-based Port Royal is capable of firing interceptors into space to shoot down missiles. It's also equipped with Aegis ballistic missile tracking technology.