Tecnam P2012T Traveller.

 Electric powered testing Halted.

This new Italian and U.S. based innovation P-Volt technical aircraft based on the successful P2012T, traveller has been halted after the power capability of the two new electro engines has run in to issues of loss of power or cut off in mid-flight with not being enabled to control the aircraft.

Last year many believed we were on the beginning of a electric revolution. but now we know that much of what was thought possible is not going to work, as well as land and sea and so conventional power will be staying for some time yet.

Helicopters may see that possibility and many concepts are coming to the fore, but the reality is that the drone is to replace the need for some helicopters since they are more versatile in how they can be deployed.

Ghost Ships?

There are two kinds!

It is strange to know that there are many abandoned ships in our Oceans floating about, and one hopes that they are being tracked?

The Ghost ship comes in two forms the mentioned above, with many in the Pacific ocean after the Japanese Tsunami some years ago and the recent arrival of a research ship on the south-Cork coast this week after Storm Dennis, Republic of Ireland.

The other type is a weather related sea mirage, in which vessels at some distance appear to much nearer or floating about the water. In some cases this has lead to fanciful tales of cities, islands and even seen UFO's?

Despite the modern advances in GPS global positioning there is still so much that we do not now about the vastness and the isolation of our oceans and what is floating out there from the obvious containers and abandoned or ship wrecked vessels? 

Fires at Sea!

Crimea and Sea of Azov!

Accidents will happen at sea, when dangerous processes such as refuelling take place as in this case! We have heard about it because of the disputed waters and the loss of life, but generally something similar happens everyday around the globe and we hear nothing about the tragedies?

Merchant shipping is a more dangerous world that it ever has been in the age of metal ships, prior the wooded vessels were attacked in various piracy incidents. Refuelling and moving cargo such as explosives, along with chemicals and gas are the most dangerous?

We can try to make safety an issue, but we humans are in the habit of making mistakes! We can say oh the Russians were drunk, the Irish are thick and so on, while the English are some of the most arrogant in the world when it comes to safety issues!!!!!

Auxiliary Ships. Part-One

Replenishment at Sea!

Every navy needs and auxiliary fleet to keep it at sea and the British Royal navy, since being the first real power at sea perhaps since the Roman empire has some of the best expertise at this role?

Food is the essential need to survive at sea, post and communications is the other, but today it is fuel, fresh water and weapons supply that are the essentials.

There are many different types of vessels for these roles, from Ships like HMS Argus seen at Falmouth yard in Cornwall for re-fitting and others that are solely tankers either for chemicals or crude oil refuelling at sea.

Other roles are also undertaken by the auxiliary fleets and both Russia and the U.S. have now, with China built up their own to meet their own needs?

Roads? Part-One.

Paths to Roman Roads!

In times past there were not many roads anywhere in the world, most people moved along pathways through forest and swamp, while others travelled by boat on the sea, rivers and lakes of various types?

Important trade routes were the roads of the day and mostly used by the wealthy and merchants selling their wares? The Romans were the first to build roads that networked their cities and settlements, since they were very much into communications and needed to move their armies around the country, where there was no access to big rivers!

What was left after them was still being used up to this day, across Europe and the Middle-East. But the steam engine changed our world two-hundred years ago with the speed of travel and the ability to go through tunnels.

The German auto-ban or Motorway was the big 20th Century revolution in relation to the car, and after 1946 this has been the choke filled way to travel! More money today is spent on building and widening new roads and any other form of travel!

Arms Sales!

Big Business?

There has always been money in weapons from the ancient world right up to the present and the future? Many world conflicts were won through by a third party supplying the appropriate weapons system, from daggers to siege engines to ships and cavalry of one type or another?

One must not think that humans in the past were limited to the types of weapons that could be constructed, because wood was the main source of building material many strange devices were invented to get over walls and to fire pitch or rocks at fortified cities! While many ships were well capable of landing an army with horses, but some where also fitted with catapults, copies of their various land equivalents.

Today we have technology based in the invention of electricity, which powers machines to create machines of the various types land, air, sea and now Space. They say that investing in the arms industry always gives a good return, because there is always a demand for more guns, tanks, fighter aircraft and ships, if not missiles of the various types?

There are also many conflicts around the world some that the media is fixated on, while many more we ever hardly ever or never hear about?

British Royal navy Decline?

Unseen Navy?

Living by the sea, one has the advantage of seeing many kinds of ships and vessels of various types passing by, apart from the wildlife and the carry on of people? Over the years one has noticed a dramatic decline in British Royal naval ships in our waters?

(Thank You for sending HMS SMITER from Padstow in Cornwall).

There are various news items that report that our navy is shrinking, because of costs? Perhaps because Britain still has many rocks and islands around the world to protect so much of the navy is now spread apart to thinly to be of any real effect?

NATO Perhaps has seen its day in relation to the current U.S. administrations unpredictability or our ships have become more powerful, so we need less of them to be physically seen?

Unmanned Craft. Part-One.

At Sea.

We tend to quickly forget that when we come to discuss unmanned its either in the air such as the U.S. Reaper or the Israel Scout drones or other Robotic devices used on land?

But there are as many equally strange under-water counterparts also and many of them have still never been seen from mini-subs (Midgets) to remote torpedoes?

In fact the first remote Torpedo was a development by a man called Brennan at the Chatham British Royal Naval yard in Kent, SE-England. U.K. From the expertise gathered by manned mini-subs during World War-II (1939-45), remote devices have proved very successful ever since.

Many more countries have developed their own types from the major powers, some are simple while others expensive and very complex.

Wind Turbines.

Love or hate Them?

Me I don't like them, they have ruined Wales, but it seems they must be making money?

One has to get up close to them to see their size, a windmill is amazing but these are bland. Currently BBC Chatering ships are bringing them into Swansea to then be taken by road from the docks to various hill tops in south-Wales.

Wind farming work out at sea, where one may not always see them, but inland they are an eyesore. The Welsh government seems to be dragging their feet over the Swansea lagoon and the two elections may have excused them from dealing with the crises at Port Talbot.

Two years ago these turbines were being here in east-Wales, but now they are coming in from Denmark. It is a pity and a disappointment that when the company was in production Cardiff would not make up its mind?

Sea Power In the Med. Part-One.

European Force. 

There at this time two major areas of European involvement with Naval vessels, the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and northern-Somalia protecting western shipping from being hijacked. The other is in the Mediterranean dealing with refugees fleeing Libya or north-Africa.

Ireland last year donated their Emer Class Corvette LE Aoife P22, to the Maltese Navy as P65. It is the first warship for Malta, since the Crusades 1091-1340. It is now part of the European force, that has seen the U.K. deploy two Frigates and one support ship HMS Hermes.

Everyday the Italian Navy is overwhelmed by the number of crap boats trying to get to the island of Lampadusa, many hundreds of people are drowned each day on these fatal crossings. 

Finland and Sweden, along with France and perhaps the British patrol the Arabia sea, Gulf of Aden and the narrows into the Red sea. The task here is to protect gas and oil tankers heading to Europe with their cargoes from the Persian Gulf. Hijacking and hostage taking is big business for Al-Shabab and other affiliated Al-Quida militants in this region.

Fire Engines. Part-Three.

Aviation and at Sea.

Every airport across the world has employed specialist fire engines to deal with burning aviation fuel. We generally see this as foam being sprayed from powerful jets, it from years of gathered experience that this method has become a standard. 

Meanwhile fires at sea are extremely dangerous and can be fatal on most types of shipping, if they are not brought under control very quickly. It is the good old faithful Tugboat that has become the mainstay of the sea fire man. These vessels handle much more than towing and assisting shipping, they are fitted with extremely powerful jets and carry large tanks of sea water, than can be continually refilled.

Both in aviation and sea fire, much was learned from the Battle of Britain and the bombing by Nazi-Germany's Luftwaffe of the Port of London docks during World-War-II (1939-45). Tugboat on the river Thames were the most vital piece of sophisticated equipment at the time in fire fighting.

Tugboats. Part-Three.

Gas/Oil Rig Support Tugs.

These are perhaps some of the largest tugs that are in operation today around the world, they perform the moving of Rig platforms from builder shipyard to deployment for drilling in their various fields. Recently two tugs of this class came from the west of Ireland Bellmullet Gas field to Swansea Bay, the Mainport Ash and the Sentinel Star.

In recent filming one can compare the sizes of these vessels compared to the local Svitzer tugboats who deal with Bulk Carriers in and out of the Port Talbot roads, serving the TATA steel works.


This is where the money is today in tugboat work from large shipping to the oil and gas industry. I noticed in a recent TV programme that India was still using the older steam tugboats, that Britain had in the 1950s. 

Meanwhile some of the former Svitzer Tugs have now been sold to the Ukraine and are operating in the Black Sea from Odessa.

Pleasure Boats.

From the Sea to Rivers.

No matter where you go around the world, you will see pleasure craft they are usually small and can navigate between rivers and the sea, lakes and some large canals.

People like to be their own Captains of the water world, but they are a relaxing form of transport. The pleasure boat industry is big business, after Yachting and Speed boats. 

These boats still can be turned into profitable money making ventures, such as line fishing at sea.

Hovercraft. Part-One.

A British Invention.

Sadly the 'Hoverspeed hovercraft Saunders-Roe SR.N4 Mk3 Mountbatten Class came to a demise with the completion of the Channel Tunnel. This vessel weighed 200 tons, travelled at 70 knots and carried 20,450 litres of fuel. She was powered by four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines and carried 282 passengers and 37 cars.

As a child it was always my ambition to travel on that particular craft to Calais and back, just for the experience. 

The Hovercraft began with Sir. Christopher Cockerill in the 1950's and by 1956 aircushon sea vehicles were in commercial service.  

Twenty five years ago I got the opportunity to travel to the isle of Wight and then enjoyed travelling on a much smaller  craft. It was a bumpy ride across the Solent, but nice to be flying so low to the sea.

That is what the hovercraft does and they are still popular today around the world as they ever were. The RNLI have a few employed in large sandy areas of Britain to rescue those who get stuck in quicksand.

Mine Sweepers.

In Defence of the Seas.

We tend to forget this form of warfare still exists? 
Former British Princess Diana fought very well to try to ride the world of land mines and other similar weapons, with some success. But the Seas are another area, where it would seem unlikely for the innocents to be effected?

A boat was developed prior to World War-I (1914-18) in which to both track enemy mines and also to lay their own. Thousands of such vessels have been built since World War-II(1939-45) to do the same. 

It was the development of radar and its sea equivalent Sonar that has pushed new design. Nearly every navy in the world employ minesweepers, either in that primary role or joint such as patrol.

Today the occasional World War-I mine does surface in the English Channel and the North sea. Fishing trawlers have the unfortunate task of drawing them up from the sea bed in their nets.