From Science@ MSNBC.com: Long-lost shipwrecks discovered in Lake Huron 'Project Shiphunt' documents remains of ships that went down in 1889 and 1905
PRESQUE ISLE, Mich. — A team of underwater explorers has found two long-lost shipwrecks in northeastern Lake Huron.
Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary on Wednesday announced the discovery of the schooner M.F. Merrick and the steel freighter Etruria in deep water off Presque Isle.
They were detected during an expedition called "Project Shiphunt," which involved scientists and historians from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and five high school students from Saginaw, Mich.
Both ships sank after colliding with steamers in dense fog.
The 138-foot-long Merrick went down in 1889. Five crew members were killed. The intact hull was found resting upright on the lake bottom.
The Etruria, which was 414 feet long, sank in 1905 — just three years after it was launched. Today the steamer sits upside down in deep water.
NOAA said the wrecks are being documented in 3-D imagery for the first time. A documentary about the expedition, sponsored by Sony and Intel, is to air Aug. 30 on the Current cable network.
"This research will help us protect the Great Lakes and their rich history for future generations," Jeff Gray, superintendent of Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary, said in a NOAA news release. "It is also an extraordinary opportunity to inspire the next generation of explorers and introduce them to technology and experiences that could shape their futures."
Monday, August 1, 2011
Roman first-aid kit discovery sheds new light on medicines used in ancient times
From Daily Mail Online: Roman first-aid kit discovery sheds new light on medicines used in ancient times
A first-aid kit discovered on a Roman-era shipwreck has shed new light on the kinds of medicines used in ancient times.
Pills made of ground vegetables, herbs and plants were found in 136 tin-lined wooden vials on a 50ft-long trading vessel wrecked around 130BC off the coast of Tuscany.
The tablets, which were so well sealed they survived more than 2,000 years under water, could have been used to treat sailors suffering from gastrointestinal complaints like dysentery and cholera, scientists believe
They contain ingredients referred to in classical medical texts like celery, alfalfa and chestnuts.
Dr Alain Touwaide, from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington DC told the Sunday Telegraph: 'It's a spectacular find. They were very well sealed.
'The plants and vegetables were probably crushed with a mortar and pestle - we could still see the fibres in the tablets.'
The tablets also contained clay, which is still used by doctors to treat gastrointestinal problems, he added.
They are the oldest known archaeological remains of ancient pharmaceuticals, and the chest also contained spatulas, suction cups and a mortar and pestle.
The vessel on which the medicine chest was found had been transporting wine, glassware, ceramics and oil lamps.
It sank in 60ft of water between the Italian mainland and the island of Elba.
The presence of the chest suggests that the ship may have had a doctor, or at least someone trained in first aid, historians believe.
Dr Touwaide said the discovery indicated ancient Greek medical knowledge was being put into practice in the Roman Empire.
The Romans learned much of their medical knowledge from the ancient Greeks, including use of a range of sophisticated instruments.
The ship was discovered off the port of Piombino in the Seventies, and the medicine box was found in 1989.
But it is only now, with the advent of DNA sequencing technology, that scientists have been able to analyse the contents of the pills.
Gino Fornaciari, a paleo-pathologist from Pisa University, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'As well as understanding how the ancient Romans treated each other, we are learning more about what illnesses they suffered from.'
A first-aid kit discovered on a Roman-era shipwreck has shed new light on the kinds of medicines used in ancient times.
Pills made of ground vegetables, herbs and plants were found in 136 tin-lined wooden vials on a 50ft-long trading vessel wrecked around 130BC off the coast of Tuscany.
The tablets, which were so well sealed they survived more than 2,000 years under water, could have been used to treat sailors suffering from gastrointestinal complaints like dysentery and cholera, scientists believe
They contain ingredients referred to in classical medical texts like celery, alfalfa and chestnuts.
Dr Alain Touwaide, from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington DC told the Sunday Telegraph: 'It's a spectacular find. They were very well sealed.
'The plants and vegetables were probably crushed with a mortar and pestle - we could still see the fibres in the tablets.'
The tablets also contained clay, which is still used by doctors to treat gastrointestinal problems, he added.
They are the oldest known archaeological remains of ancient pharmaceuticals, and the chest also contained spatulas, suction cups and a mortar and pestle.
The vessel on which the medicine chest was found had been transporting wine, glassware, ceramics and oil lamps.
It sank in 60ft of water between the Italian mainland and the island of Elba.
The presence of the chest suggests that the ship may have had a doctor, or at least someone trained in first aid, historians believe.
Dr Touwaide said the discovery indicated ancient Greek medical knowledge was being put into practice in the Roman Empire.
The Romans learned much of their medical knowledge from the ancient Greeks, including use of a range of sophisticated instruments.
The ship was discovered off the port of Piombino in the Seventies, and the medicine box was found in 1989.
But it is only now, with the advent of DNA sequencing technology, that scientists have been able to analyse the contents of the pills.
Gino Fornaciari, a paleo-pathologist from Pisa University, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'As well as understanding how the ancient Romans treated each other, we are learning more about what illnesses they suffered from.'
Friday, July 29, 2011
Michigan students help discover pair of wrecks during shiphunt in Lake Huron
MLive.com: Michigan students help discover pair of wrecks during shiphunt in Lake Huron
ALPENA -- A small, clearly defined image flickered on the screen as the research crew of Project Shiphunt combed the chilly waters of northern Lake Huron this spring.
The double-masted schooner had an obvious hole near the bow along its starboard side, evidence of a collision that sent the 19th-century cargo ship and its crew of five to the lake floor almost exactly 122 years before.
It was literally history come alive.
Within a week, the crew of Project Shiphunt — which included five high school students from Saginaw — had identified two previously undiscovered wrecks in more than 300 feet of water just outside of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
"That was just powerful, to be the first human eyes to look at these since they went to the bottom," said James Delgado, director of Maritime Heritage at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and expedition leader for Project Shiphunt. "We were looking for a ship that was sunk in a collision, and we ended up finding two other ships that were sunk in a collision."
The project was a joint venture sponsored by Sony and Intel corporations that incorporated technology, oceanography, archeology and history into a hands-on curriculum that brought history to life for the Saginaw students during six days in May. The students directed the mission, charted the map in search of the steamer Choctaw, and manned the massive research vessels as they painted the floor of Lake Huron with triple-beam and side-scan sonars.
That was just powerful, to be the first human eyes to look at these since they went to the bottom," said James Delgado, director of Maritime Heritage at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and expedition leader for Project Shiphunt. "We were looking for a ship that was sunk in a collision, and we ended up finding two other ships that were sunk in a collision."
The project was a joint venture sponsored by Sony and Intel corporations that incorporated technology, oceanography, archeology and history into a hands-on curriculum that brought history to life for the Saginaw students during six days in May. The students directed the mission, charted the map in search of the steamer Choctaw, and manned the massive research vessels as they painted the floor of Lake Huron with triple-beam and side-scan sonars.
Shiphunt team member James Willett operate the underwater ROV via a Sony VA10 laptop and joystick.
"We expected them to do everything, other than the diving," Delgado said.
The crew didn’t locate the Choctaw, but instead found the 138-foot schooner M.F. Merrick and the steel freighter Etruria. The students used historical records and diving experts to identify the ships, and helped to document the vessels in 3-D for the newest exhibit at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.
The mission was filmed for a documentary airing on the Current cable channel at 10 p.m. Aug. 30.
Students explored the ships with remote-operated underwater vehicles and directed divers who collected samples of the century-old cargo. Once the identity of the ships was confirmed, students learned that five crew members -- five men and a female cook -- lost their lives on the Merrick in 1889, when the wooden ship collided with a steamer in dense fog off the coast of Alpena.
The Etruria met the same fate in 1905, and the frigid temperatures in the depths of Lake Huron have preserved both vessels relatively undisturbed for more than a century.
Both ships represent what once was the lifeblood of the American economy, transferring cargo along the Great Lakes shorelines. Their discovery reveals a peek into history often eroded on land by weather or human influence, said Jeff Gray, superintendent of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
"Each (shipwreck) really tells a new story and a new chapter in history," Gray said. "It really shows how they fueled the industrial revolution. The men and women who worked these vessels really made that happen.
"It tells the bigger picture story of the economic history of our country, but also the individual stories of the men and women who worked on these ships."
ALPENA -- A small, clearly defined image flickered on the screen as the research crew of Project Shiphunt combed the chilly waters of northern Lake Huron this spring.
The double-masted schooner had an obvious hole near the bow along its starboard side, evidence of a collision that sent the 19th-century cargo ship and its crew of five to the lake floor almost exactly 122 years before.
It was literally history come alive.
Within a week, the crew of Project Shiphunt — which included five high school students from Saginaw — had identified two previously undiscovered wrecks in more than 300 feet of water just outside of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
"That was just powerful, to be the first human eyes to look at these since they went to the bottom," said James Delgado, director of Maritime Heritage at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and expedition leader for Project Shiphunt. "We were looking for a ship that was sunk in a collision, and we ended up finding two other ships that were sunk in a collision."
The project was a joint venture sponsored by Sony and Intel corporations that incorporated technology, oceanography, archeology and history into a hands-on curriculum that brought history to life for the Saginaw students during six days in May. The students directed the mission, charted the map in search of the steamer Choctaw, and manned the massive research vessels as they painted the floor of Lake Huron with triple-beam and side-scan sonars.
That was just powerful, to be the first human eyes to look at these since they went to the bottom," said James Delgado, director of Maritime Heritage at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and expedition leader for Project Shiphunt. "We were looking for a ship that was sunk in a collision, and we ended up finding two other ships that were sunk in a collision."
The project was a joint venture sponsored by Sony and Intel corporations that incorporated technology, oceanography, archeology and history into a hands-on curriculum that brought history to life for the Saginaw students during six days in May. The students directed the mission, charted the map in search of the steamer Choctaw, and manned the massive research vessels as they painted the floor of Lake Huron with triple-beam and side-scan sonars.
Shiphunt team member James Willett operate the underwater ROV via a Sony VA10 laptop and joystick.
"We expected them to do everything, other than the diving," Delgado said.
The crew didn’t locate the Choctaw, but instead found the 138-foot schooner M.F. Merrick and the steel freighter Etruria. The students used historical records and diving experts to identify the ships, and helped to document the vessels in 3-D for the newest exhibit at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.
The mission was filmed for a documentary airing on the Current cable channel at 10 p.m. Aug. 30.
Students explored the ships with remote-operated underwater vehicles and directed divers who collected samples of the century-old cargo. Once the identity of the ships was confirmed, students learned that five crew members -- five men and a female cook -- lost their lives on the Merrick in 1889, when the wooden ship collided with a steamer in dense fog off the coast of Alpena.
The Etruria met the same fate in 1905, and the frigid temperatures in the depths of Lake Huron have preserved both vessels relatively undisturbed for more than a century.
Both ships represent what once was the lifeblood of the American economy, transferring cargo along the Great Lakes shorelines. Their discovery reveals a peek into history often eroded on land by weather or human influence, said Jeff Gray, superintendent of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
"Each (shipwreck) really tells a new story and a new chapter in history," Gray said. "It really shows how they fueled the industrial revolution. The men and women who worked these vessels really made that happen.
"It tells the bigger picture story of the economic history of our country, but also the individual stories of the men and women who worked on these ships."
Diving into the abyss aboard Britain's world-leading submarine rescue system
From Mail Online: Diving into the abyss aboard Britain's world-leading submarine rescue system
Eleven years after 118 submariners met a grisly death at the bottom of the ocean in the Kursk, a British team has developed the most advanced underwater rescue system in the world. Andrew Preston watches them go into action
The British co-pilot of the rescue vehicle speaks slowly and deliberately into his microphone: ‘Lima, Lima, Lima.’
The signal is broadcast directly into the Mediterranean Sea via ‘underwater telephone’ using low frequency sound waves. The message is picked up in the control room of the Alrosa, a Russian submarine from the Black Sea fleet. The code words mean that the Nato rescue vehicle, known as Nemo, has successfully ‘mated’, or docked, with the Russian sub.
At the same time a diver clambers through a hatch in the floor of Nemo with a spanner. He follows up the message with two loud taps on the hatch of the submarine casing beneath him, then after a short pause taps a third time. This is the signal that it is now safe for the Russian crew to open the outer hatch. The two vessels have established a hydrostatic water-tight seal, and suction is now the only thing holding them together 300ft underwater.
All this is happening on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Cartagena in south-east Spain. Shortly afterwards the submarine hatch of the diesel submarine opens and a smiling Russian face appears. History has been made.
When it was built during the Cold War, the Kilo-class Alrosa was designed for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare. Its mission was to snoop, avoid detection, and try to track and, if required, attack Nato forces. Now, for the first time, a Russian submarine is actually taking part in a Nato exercise.
Inside the rescue vehicle it is cramped and humid. In the forward compartment, with its bulbous clear acrylic nose on the front, the pilot and co-pilot sit surrounded by joysticks and a myriad of dials and switches. Behind them, a Navy diver acts as the operator for the rescue chamber, which in an emergency can deliver up to 15 people at a time to the surface, or two injured submariners on stretchers.
But today special guests are moving the other way. Squashed together in the back of Nemo, their heads bent forwards and knees touching from benches on either side, are military VIPs from Russia, the U.S. and other Nato nations, who cross from the module into the submarine, led by General Nikolai Makarov, Chief of Defence Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
This exercise comes 11 years after the Kursk disaster, when 118 Russian submariners were left to die 350ft down in the Barents Sea. Back then the Russian government refused to ask for assistance after an explosion onboard sank the submarine.
It is still unclear how many died in the initial explosion and how long the other survivors stayed alive, although grim tales have since come out of tapping being heard from inside the hull. What remains a possibility is that some of those men might have been saved.
‘The Russians learned many lessons after that,’ says Captain David Dittmer of the U.S. Navy.
‘But when a Russian auxiliary sub with seven men on board became entangled in lines and stuck on the Pacific Ocean floor in 2005 they did ask for help, and a British remote vehicle was sent to cut them free. They were just one hour short of their oxygen running out.
‘Now the Russians have changed further and are very enthusiastic to participate. They publicly want to be portrayed as leaders in this field. Submariners are a family too; we all understand that we have an enemy in common: the sea.’
Nato’s submarine rescue system is the most advanced in the world and is based in Faslane just north of the Firth of Clyde.
Nemo was built in North Yorkshire and Britain is a world leader in this technology. The system is jointly owned by Britain, France and Norway, and is now managed by Rolls-Royce. The £75 million cost for development, construction and the first ten years of its life is shared three ways.
Nemo can operate in heavy seas, in waves up to 16ft high, and can rescue from depths of 2,000ft beneath the surface. Beyond that, submariners recognise that there is no hope – their boat will simply implode and be blasted into pieces.
This latest ‘free-swimming’ vehicle replaced an earlier LR5 rescue vehicle, the idea for which came to former Royal Navy submariner Roger Chapman after he almost died when he was trapped 1,575ft down in a civilian mini-submarine in 1973. He and a colleague had been laying a telephone cable in a two-man sub on the bed of the Atlantic, 150 miles off the cost of south-west Ireland. After three and a half days they were found and pulled to safety.
The LR5 has since been leased to Australia, while the British have also sold systems to Singapore, South Korea and the LR7 rescue vehicle to China. At a recent submarine rescue conference a Chinese admiral made it clear to members of the British contingent, through an interpreter, that China would have bought more had our defence export rules not forbidden it.
For the ‘Bold Monarch’ exercise in the Mediterranean, diesel submarines from Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Russia were ‘bottomed’, with rescue vehicles from Italy, the U.S., Russia and Sweden as well as Nemo, along with specialist divers and hyperbaric medical teams working to help rescue them.
The 2,000 participants in the exercise included representatives from more than 20 nations; so as well as a historic meeting for Russian submariners with Nato, it also gave a Greek officer the chance to go onboard a Turkish submarine.
‘By their very nature submarine missions are secretive, except in the conduct of search and rescue, which brings nations together,’ says Rear Admiral Ian Corder, commander for allied submarine operations in the north Atlantic region.
He is based in the Nato building at the high-security military headquarters in Northwood, just outside London. Down a spiral staircase from his office and below ground is the Maritime Operations Centre, with one side wall covered in giant screens.
At the moment counterpiracy is a major focus here, but if a sub were to get into trouble in the north Atlantic region, for which he is responsible (from the North Pole as far south as Gibraltar), then this is where the rescue operation would be co-ordinated.
If a submarine is in danger it will release UHF/VHF indicator buoys, which broadcast using reserved maritime frequencies. They can also release buoys linked to satellites which send signals with an ID for the submarine which can only be recognised by its own country’s authorities.
Rescuers can then log on to a password-protected website, which holds details of all the potential rescue systems around the world, and their availability, and they can plan via instant messaging and in secure chat rooms.
But it’s once they are alerted that the problems begin: how deep is the stricken submarine, how bad is the damage, what is the state of the sea, how is the submarine positioned, is there debris around it, and how many injuries are there?
Submariners can evacuate via escape locks if it is not too deep, but nowadays they are encouraged to wait – they can survive for up to seven days on a bottomed boat, unless something catastrophic has happened. Nemo is designed to make its first rescue within 72 hours.
First, a ‘vessel of opportunity’ has to be chartered. This must have at least 4,400sq ft of deck space, and will deliver Nemo to the location of a stricken submarine. A total of 1,007 such vessels are being tracked at the moment, most of them working in the offshore oil industry. They cost between £17,000 to £40,000 per day to charter. Today’s ‘mother ship’ is Norwegian, the second biggest tug in the world, which is so new it still smells of paint.
But Nemo is just one part of an entire rescue system. First an ROV (Remotely Operated Vessel) is sent to check the state of the sub, look for debris and, if required, deliver a pod containing equipment for oxygen generation and carbon dioxide extraction, as well as water and food
If a submarine is damaged then those on board will more than likely be experiencing high levels of pressure deep under the sea – so the other vital part of the Nato set-up is the TUP (transfer under pressure) system, which is designed to prevent rescued men suffering decompression sickness, or the bends. If Nemo acts like an ambulance then this is the hospital.
When it returns to the surface and is raised into its cradle it docks with two decompression chambers, which can house 72 crew members. A special medical chamber holds up to six. If required there are also two pods, which look like Apollo capsules, which can be used to air-transport under pressure anyone seriously injured to a hospital.
A control room above the chambers is manned by British and French divers who together monitor those inside using CCTV cameras, and watch gauges that measure the oxygen, carbon dioxide and pressure levels. It takes 28 lorries and seven giant transport planes (four C-17s and three Antonov AN124s) to carry the entire system.
The Affray was the last British submarine to be lost with all hands, off the coast of Alderney in 1951, but there have been many accidents since.
Most of these have been in relatively shallow water,’ says Commander Charlie Neve, the UK authority on submarine escape and rescue.
‘Accidents are most likely to happen in busy shipping lanes when a submarine is on the surface and also at night when the black submarine is difficult to see.
‘There have been plenty of potential disasters. In 2002 Trafalgar hit the seabed off the Isle of Skye, in 2008 Superb struck an underwater pinnacle in the Red Sea, and then last year the new Astute ran aground. There’s also the memory of the Thetis in Liverpool Bay in 1939, which stunned people at the time. The water was not that deep, only about 150ft, and her bow became wedged on the bottom while her stern was sticking up in the air. People couldn’t believe that we couldn’t get the men out – it just seemed unbelievable – but we lost 99 men there.’
Once the Alrosa has surfaced again, some of the submariners come out into the light to gather on the upper deck of the Spanish ship Galicia, to mingle with other nationalities and shake hands in the early evening sun. One Royal Navy medic, who is back from a trip to see how Russian sailors live and work aboard one of their ships, says they were ‘surprisingly welcoming. It was just like one of ours really, with family pictures everywhere and lots of dead pot plants.’
The next time they will all gather will be in three years’ time in the seas around Poland.
‘We all hope never to have to use these skills but it does give confidence that it won’t matter who or where you are, help will be there,’ says Captain Damiar Shaykhutdinov of the Russian navy.
‘Maybe one day Russia can host a similar exercise in our waters.’
Then, for his submarine crew, it’s back down below to return to Sevastopol or wherever the Alrosa is ordered to go, once more unseen and unheard.
Eleven years after 118 submariners met a grisly death at the bottom of the ocean in the Kursk, a British team has developed the most advanced underwater rescue system in the world. Andrew Preston watches them go into action
The British co-pilot of the rescue vehicle speaks slowly and deliberately into his microphone: ‘Lima, Lima, Lima.’
The signal is broadcast directly into the Mediterranean Sea via ‘underwater telephone’ using low frequency sound waves. The message is picked up in the control room of the Alrosa, a Russian submarine from the Black Sea fleet. The code words mean that the Nato rescue vehicle, known as Nemo, has successfully ‘mated’, or docked, with the Russian sub.
At the same time a diver clambers through a hatch in the floor of Nemo with a spanner. He follows up the message with two loud taps on the hatch of the submarine casing beneath him, then after a short pause taps a third time. This is the signal that it is now safe for the Russian crew to open the outer hatch. The two vessels have established a hydrostatic water-tight seal, and suction is now the only thing holding them together 300ft underwater.
All this is happening on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Cartagena in south-east Spain. Shortly afterwards the submarine hatch of the diesel submarine opens and a smiling Russian face appears. History has been made.
When it was built during the Cold War, the Kilo-class Alrosa was designed for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare. Its mission was to snoop, avoid detection, and try to track and, if required, attack Nato forces. Now, for the first time, a Russian submarine is actually taking part in a Nato exercise.
Inside the rescue vehicle it is cramped and humid. In the forward compartment, with its bulbous clear acrylic nose on the front, the pilot and co-pilot sit surrounded by joysticks and a myriad of dials and switches. Behind them, a Navy diver acts as the operator for the rescue chamber, which in an emergency can deliver up to 15 people at a time to the surface, or two injured submariners on stretchers.
But today special guests are moving the other way. Squashed together in the back of Nemo, their heads bent forwards and knees touching from benches on either side, are military VIPs from Russia, the U.S. and other Nato nations, who cross from the module into the submarine, led by General Nikolai Makarov, Chief of Defence Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
This exercise comes 11 years after the Kursk disaster, when 118 Russian submariners were left to die 350ft down in the Barents Sea. Back then the Russian government refused to ask for assistance after an explosion onboard sank the submarine.
It is still unclear how many died in the initial explosion and how long the other survivors stayed alive, although grim tales have since come out of tapping being heard from inside the hull. What remains a possibility is that some of those men might have been saved.
‘The Russians learned many lessons after that,’ says Captain David Dittmer of the U.S. Navy.
‘But when a Russian auxiliary sub with seven men on board became entangled in lines and stuck on the Pacific Ocean floor in 2005 they did ask for help, and a British remote vehicle was sent to cut them free. They were just one hour short of their oxygen running out.
‘Now the Russians have changed further and are very enthusiastic to participate. They publicly want to be portrayed as leaders in this field. Submariners are a family too; we all understand that we have an enemy in common: the sea.’
Nato’s submarine rescue system is the most advanced in the world and is based in Faslane just north of the Firth of Clyde.
Nemo was built in North Yorkshire and Britain is a world leader in this technology. The system is jointly owned by Britain, France and Norway, and is now managed by Rolls-Royce. The £75 million cost for development, construction and the first ten years of its life is shared three ways.
Nemo can operate in heavy seas, in waves up to 16ft high, and can rescue from depths of 2,000ft beneath the surface. Beyond that, submariners recognise that there is no hope – their boat will simply implode and be blasted into pieces.
This latest ‘free-swimming’ vehicle replaced an earlier LR5 rescue vehicle, the idea for which came to former Royal Navy submariner Roger Chapman after he almost died when he was trapped 1,575ft down in a civilian mini-submarine in 1973. He and a colleague had been laying a telephone cable in a two-man sub on the bed of the Atlantic, 150 miles off the cost of south-west Ireland. After three and a half days they were found and pulled to safety.
The LR5 has since been leased to Australia, while the British have also sold systems to Singapore, South Korea and the LR7 rescue vehicle to China. At a recent submarine rescue conference a Chinese admiral made it clear to members of the British contingent, through an interpreter, that China would have bought more had our defence export rules not forbidden it.
For the ‘Bold Monarch’ exercise in the Mediterranean, diesel submarines from Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Russia were ‘bottomed’, with rescue vehicles from Italy, the U.S., Russia and Sweden as well as Nemo, along with specialist divers and hyperbaric medical teams working to help rescue them.
The 2,000 participants in the exercise included representatives from more than 20 nations; so as well as a historic meeting for Russian submariners with Nato, it also gave a Greek officer the chance to go onboard a Turkish submarine.
‘By their very nature submarine missions are secretive, except in the conduct of search and rescue, which brings nations together,’ says Rear Admiral Ian Corder, commander for allied submarine operations in the north Atlantic region.
He is based in the Nato building at the high-security military headquarters in Northwood, just outside London. Down a spiral staircase from his office and below ground is the Maritime Operations Centre, with one side wall covered in giant screens.
At the moment counterpiracy is a major focus here, but if a sub were to get into trouble in the north Atlantic region, for which he is responsible (from the North Pole as far south as Gibraltar), then this is where the rescue operation would be co-ordinated.
If a submarine is in danger it will release UHF/VHF indicator buoys, which broadcast using reserved maritime frequencies. They can also release buoys linked to satellites which send signals with an ID for the submarine which can only be recognised by its own country’s authorities.
Rescuers can then log on to a password-protected website, which holds details of all the potential rescue systems around the world, and their availability, and they can plan via instant messaging and in secure chat rooms.
But it’s once they are alerted that the problems begin: how deep is the stricken submarine, how bad is the damage, what is the state of the sea, how is the submarine positioned, is there debris around it, and how many injuries are there?
Submariners can evacuate via escape locks if it is not too deep, but nowadays they are encouraged to wait – they can survive for up to seven days on a bottomed boat, unless something catastrophic has happened. Nemo is designed to make its first rescue within 72 hours.
First, a ‘vessel of opportunity’ has to be chartered. This must have at least 4,400sq ft of deck space, and will deliver Nemo to the location of a stricken submarine. A total of 1,007 such vessels are being tracked at the moment, most of them working in the offshore oil industry. They cost between £17,000 to £40,000 per day to charter. Today’s ‘mother ship’ is Norwegian, the second biggest tug in the world, which is so new it still smells of paint.
But Nemo is just one part of an entire rescue system. First an ROV (Remotely Operated Vessel) is sent to check the state of the sub, look for debris and, if required, deliver a pod containing equipment for oxygen generation and carbon dioxide extraction, as well as water and food
If a submarine is damaged then those on board will more than likely be experiencing high levels of pressure deep under the sea – so the other vital part of the Nato set-up is the TUP (transfer under pressure) system, which is designed to prevent rescued men suffering decompression sickness, or the bends. If Nemo acts like an ambulance then this is the hospital.
When it returns to the surface and is raised into its cradle it docks with two decompression chambers, which can house 72 crew members. A special medical chamber holds up to six. If required there are also two pods, which look like Apollo capsules, which can be used to air-transport under pressure anyone seriously injured to a hospital.
A control room above the chambers is manned by British and French divers who together monitor those inside using CCTV cameras, and watch gauges that measure the oxygen, carbon dioxide and pressure levels. It takes 28 lorries and seven giant transport planes (four C-17s and three Antonov AN124s) to carry the entire system.
The Affray was the last British submarine to be lost with all hands, off the coast of Alderney in 1951, but there have been many accidents since.
Most of these have been in relatively shallow water,’ says Commander Charlie Neve, the UK authority on submarine escape and rescue.
‘Accidents are most likely to happen in busy shipping lanes when a submarine is on the surface and also at night when the black submarine is difficult to see.
‘There have been plenty of potential disasters. In 2002 Trafalgar hit the seabed off the Isle of Skye, in 2008 Superb struck an underwater pinnacle in the Red Sea, and then last year the new Astute ran aground. There’s also the memory of the Thetis in Liverpool Bay in 1939, which stunned people at the time. The water was not that deep, only about 150ft, and her bow became wedged on the bottom while her stern was sticking up in the air. People couldn’t believe that we couldn’t get the men out – it just seemed unbelievable – but we lost 99 men there.’
Once the Alrosa has surfaced again, some of the submariners come out into the light to gather on the upper deck of the Spanish ship Galicia, to mingle with other nationalities and shake hands in the early evening sun. One Royal Navy medic, who is back from a trip to see how Russian sailors live and work aboard one of their ships, says they were ‘surprisingly welcoming. It was just like one of ours really, with family pictures everywhere and lots of dead pot plants.’
The next time they will all gather will be in three years’ time in the seas around Poland.
‘We all hope never to have to use these skills but it does give confidence that it won’t matter who or where you are, help will be there,’ says Captain Damiar Shaykhutdinov of the Russian navy.
‘Maybe one day Russia can host a similar exercise in our waters.’
Then, for his submarine crew, it’s back down below to return to Sevastopol or wherever the Alrosa is ordered to go, once more unseen and unheard.
Monday, July 25, 2011
What happened to the Amber Room?
I would say that, since the amber blocks were too fragile to move, obviously when the Red Army tried to do so, they destroyed the room. Rather than admit this, they just buried the shattered remains somewhere.
From Wikipedia
The Amber Room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg is a complete chamber decoration of amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. Due to its singular beauty, it was sometimes dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World".
Before it was lost, the original Amber Room represented a joint effort of German and Russian craftsmen. Construction of the Amber Room began in 1701 to 1709 in Prussia. The room was designed by German baroque sculptor Andreas Schlüter and constructed by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram and remained at Charlottenburg Palace until 1716 when it was given by Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I to his then ally, Tsar Peter the Great of the Russian Empire. In Russia it was expanded and after several renovations, it covered more than 55 square meters and contained over six tons of amber. The Amber Room was looted during World War II by Nazi Germany and brought to Königsberg. Knowledge of its whereabouts was lost in the chaos at the end of the war.
In 1979 efforts began to rebuild the Amber room at Tsarskoye Selo. In 2003, after decades of work by Russian craftsmen, the reconstructed Amber Room was inaugurated in the Catherine Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
History
Creation
The Amber Room was made from 1701 onwards in order to be installed at Charlottenburg Palace, home of Friedrich I, the first king of Prussia, at the urging of his second wife, Sophie Charlotte. The concept of the room and its design was by Andreas Schlüter. It was crafted by Gottfried Wolfram, master craftsman to the Danish court of King Frederick IV of Denmark, with help from the amber masters Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau from Danzig (now Gdańsk).
It did not, however, remain at Charlottenburg for long. Peter the Great admired it on a visit and in 1716, Friedrich Wilhelm I, the first king's son, presented it to him, and with that act cemented a Prussian-Russian alliance against Sweden.
In 1755 Tsarina Elizabeth of Russia had it transferred and installed, first in the Winter Palace, and then in the Catherine Palace. From Berlin, Frederick II the Great sent her more Baltic amber, in order to fill out the originals in the new design by the tsarina's Italian court architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
The Amber Room represented a joint effort of German and Russian craftsmen. After several other 18th-century renovations, it covered more than 55 square meters and contained over six tonnes of amber. It took over ten years to construct.
World War II evacuation
Shortly after the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II (Operation Barbarossa), the curators responsible for removing the art treasures in Leningrad tried to disassemble and remove the Amber Room. Over the years the amber had dried out and become brittle, so that when they tried to remove it, the fragile amber started to crumble. The Amber Room was therefore hidden behind mundane wallpaper, in an attempt to keep Nazi forces from seizing it. However, the attempt to hide such a well-known piece of art failed.
German soldiers disassembled the Amber Room within 36 hours under the supervision of two experts. On 14 October 1941, Rittmeister Graf Solms-Laubach commanded the evacuation of 27 crates to Königsberg in East Prussia, for storage and display in the town's castle. On 13 November 1941, the newspaper Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung reported on an exhibition of part of the Bernsteinzimmer in Königsberg Castle.
Last days in Königsberg
Orders by Hitler given on 21 January 1945 and 24 January 1945 allowed the movement of possessions. From that day onwards, Albert Speer's administration could move culture goods of priority "I (o)". Erich Koch was in charge in Königsberg. Eyewitnesses claimed that crates had been sighted at the railway station. They might have been put aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff which left Gotenhafen (Gdynia) on 30 January 1945, and was sunk by a Soviet submarine.
Later in the war, Königsberg was heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force. It suffered further extensive damage at the hands of the advancing Soviets before and after its fall on 9 April 1945. It remained thereafter under Soviet control, eventually renamed Kaliningrad. The remains of the castle were destroyed by the Red Army during the 1960s.
Disappearance and mystery
The Amber Room was never seen again, though reports have occasionally surfaced stating that components of the Amber Room survived the war. Indeed, two elements of the room's decoration (but not the amber panels themselves) were eventually rediscovered (see below).
There have been numerous conflicting reports and theories, among them that the Amber Room was destroyed by bombing, hidden in a now-lost subterranean bunker in Königsberg, buried in mines in the Ore Mountains, or taken onto a ship or submarine which was sunk by Soviet forces in the Baltic Sea.
Many different individuals and groups, including a number of different entities from the government of the Soviet Union, have mounted extensive searches for it at various times since the war, without any success. At one point in 1998, two separate teams (one in Germany, the other in Lithuania) announced that they had located the Amber Room, the first in a silver mine, the second buried in a lagoon; neither produced the Amber Room.
However, in 1997 one Italian stone mosaic that was part of a set of four which had decorated the Amber Room did turn up in western Germany, in the possession of the family of a soldier who had helped pack up the Amber Room.
The latest discovery, as reported in February 2008, is of a 20-metre pit in Deutschneudorf, a small town near the German-Czech border. The site reportedly matches intelligence from survivors who helped loot the fabled room, and initial probe reports are said to indicate the presence of a large quantity of gold or silver. Hans-Peter Haustein, mayor of the town, said "We're confident it's part of the Amber Room".
On 20 February 2008, German treasure hunters claimed to have found the Amber room. The discovery of an estimated two tons of gold or silver was made at the weekend when electromagnetic pulse measurements located the man-made cavern 20 meters underground near the village of Deutschneudorf on Germany's border with the Czech Republic.
Opening the cavern to get into the chamber cannot be completed until approximately mid-April because it may contain booby traps and has to be secured by explosives experts and engineers.
According to a recent article in Der Spiegel, Heinz-Peter Haustein - who has been leading the most recent searches into the Erzgebirge/Ore Mountains region of Germany - believes that he has found the Amber Room. Digging resumed 26 February 2008 at a site in the southeastern German town of Deutschneudorf, where treasure hunters believe there are close to two tons of Nazi gold and possibly clues to the whereabouts of the legendary Amber Room.[6] Treasure hunter Christian Hanisch said on 28 February 2008 that the hunt for Nazi Gold and possibly the legendary Amber Room will end 29 February 2008 after the two men leading the expedition disagreed.
Another recent discovery was made by the Amber Room Organization in the mountains about 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Weimar. Henry Hatt, the German spokesman told the media that he knows where the Amber Room is hidden. According to him, it was brought to Weimar together with a treasure of the Hohenzollern and Prussian Crown Insignia. From Weimar, it was transported to the county of Saalfeld and hidden in an old underground mining chamber. Currently, the group is searching for a production company to make a movie about the discovery. The ARO claims to have solved the "biggest mystery of WWII".
As of July 2010, none of these discoveries have proven true, and with no new verifiable leads surfacing, new claims are met with a great deal of skepticism.
Destruction theory
Recently, British investigative journalists Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy, conducted lengthy research on the fate of the Amber Room, including extensive archival research in Russia. In 2004 their book, The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure, concluded that the Amber Room was most likely destroyed when Königsberg Castle was burned down, shortly after Königsberg surrendered to occupying Soviet forces.
Documents from the archives showed that that was also the conclusion of the report of Alexander Brusov, chief of the first formal mission sent by the Soviet government to find the Amber Room, who wrote in June, 1945: "Summarizing all the facts, we can say that the Amber Room was destroyed between 9 and 11 April 1945". Some years later, Brusov gave a contrary opinion; the book authors insinuate that this change of opinion was likely due to pressure from other Soviet officials, who did not want to be seen as responsible for the loss of the Amber Room.
Among other information from the archives was the revelation that the remains of the rest of the set of Italian stone mosaics were found in the burned debris of the castle.
The authors' reasoning as to why the Soviets conducted extensive searches for the Amber Room in the years after WWII, even though their own experts had concluded that it was destroyed, is that it served the differing motives of several elements in the Soviet government: some wished to obscure (even from other branches of the Soviet government) the fact that Soviet soldiers may have been responsible for its destruction; others found the theft of the Amber Room a useful Cold War propaganda tool, and did not want to let go of a grievance that could be aired advantageously; still others did not want to share the blame for its destruction (through their failure to evacuate the Amber Room to safety at the start of the war).
Russian officials have denied the book's conclusions - angrily, in some cases. According to Adelaida Yolkina, senior researcher at the Pavlovsk Museum Estate: "It is impossible to see the Red Army being so careless that they let the Amber Room be destroyed." Other Russian experts were less sceptical, and had a different emphasis in their responses. Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage Museum, was very cautious in his comments, and said: "Most importantly, the destruction of the Amber Room during the Second World War is fault of the people who started the war". In reply, Catherine Scott-Clark, one of the authors, indicated that they only came to their conclusions with reluctance: "when we started working on this issue we were hoping to be able to find the Amber Room."
Since the book came out, a Russian veteran has given an interview in which he confirmed their basic conclusion as to the fate of the Amber Room, although he denies that the fires were deliberate. "I probably was one of the last people who saw the Amber Room", said Leonid Arinshtein, a literature expert with the nongovernmental Russian Culture Foundation, who was a Red Army lieutenant in charge of a rifle platoon in Königsberg in 1945. "The Red Army didn't burn anything", he said.
A variation of this theory is common currency amongst present-day residents of Kaliningrad. This is that part at least of the room was found in the cellars after WWII by the Red Army, in relatively good condition. This was not admitted at the time in order that blame should continue to rest upon the Germans. To preserve this story access to the ruins of the castle, which were substantial after WWII, was restricted, even to historical/archaeological surveys. During the 1960s, access to the site was suddenly withheld and the ruins were blown up by the Army, sealing any access to the underground area. The Dom Sovetov was built over the central area. The remains of the room may still be sited underground; however, as mentioned above, amber which is not cared for will crumble into dust. It is presumed that this is what has happened and that the Russian authorities, even after the fall of Communism, have been unwilling to admit this.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Gold rush shipwreck offers up treasures off Welsh coast after 150 years
From The Telegraph: Gold rush shipwreck offers up treasures off Welsh coast after 150 years
For more than 150 years it has lain tantalisingly close to the shore. Now the ship that sank in a storm in 1859, claiming 450 lives, is giving up its most precious secret: gold.
But this treasure trove is not in a distant tropical lagoon – it is near the Welsh ferry port of Holyhead, in the remains of an ironclad steam clipper called the Royal Charter.
A team of explorers diving to the ship, which sank off Anglesey while returning laden with riches from the Australian gold rush of the 1850s, has brought gold coins and nuggets to the surface and expects to retrieve more.
The ship foundered on rocks just yards from the shore after a hurricane hit on the final leg of its journey from Melbourne to Liverpool, on Oct 26, 1859. On board were gold prospectors returning with their fortunes.
By daybreak the ship had sunk and about 450 passengers and crew, along with the gold, had been lost.
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[what's this]
Vincent Thurkettle, a full-time gold planner who is
leading the expedition, said: "We have got some gold dust, nuggets and coins, as well as about 200 artefacts. And there is more gold down there."
The finds have all been reported to the Receiver of Wreck, who administers all shipwrecks. People connected to the passengers can claim ownership – although claims are thought to be unlikely. The gold will then be returned to the team or sold to a museum, with a fee passed to the explorers.
The treasure has yet to be valued and the team have declined to say how big their haul is. However, the value, particularly of the coins, will be inflated because of where they were found.
Mr Thurkettle said: "To have a coin from the Royal Charter will probably be worth double or treble what it would otherwise be worth."
His team of about 12 divers and gold planners have been visiting the wreck for the past seven summers, but only now have they agreed to reveal details. They estimate there's another two years' worth of exploring left.
The wreck lies just off the village of Moelfre, on
Anglesey's east coast, in clay beneath about 15ft of water, and sand. To search for gold, the team blow away the top sand. They then use a machine to suck up sand and clay to be sifted for gold fragments. Mr Thurkettle has been to
Melbourne to find out how much gold was on board. He said: "But you find yourself getting absorbed in the story. These people were coming home having struck gold and were only two to three hours away from Liverpool.
"And yet they go from such hope to such disaster, yards from safety."
The tale of the ship's loss gripped Victorian Britain. Her captain had tried to anchor in Moelfre Bay to escape the storm but the vessel's chain broke and her engine was not strong enough to keep her off the rocks, where she was battered by 60ft waves and 100mph winds. The ship snapped in two while less than 50 yards from the coast.
A Maltese seaman made it to shore with a lifeline, allowing a few survivors to reach land. But only 39 of the estimated 490 on board were saved. Many of the dead were killed by being dashed on to the rocks. Others drowned, weighed down by the gold in their money belts.
The storm was one of the worst of the 19th century and became known as the "Royal Charter gale" with about 200 vessels lost around the British coast. Charles Dickens, at the height of his fame, went to north Wales to report on the aftermath.
At least 79,000 ounces of gold were on the boat – worth £77.6 million today. Soldiers and coastguards salvaged some before many of the bodies had been recovered. The press upset villagers by accusing them of stealing the gold.
About 80 per cent of the haul was recovered, leaving the tantalising prospect that, even after the latest find,
millions of pounds' worth of gold remain on the sea bed.
For more than 150 years it has lain tantalisingly close to the shore. Now the ship that sank in a storm in 1859, claiming 450 lives, is giving up its most precious secret: gold.
But this treasure trove is not in a distant tropical lagoon – it is near the Welsh ferry port of Holyhead, in the remains of an ironclad steam clipper called the Royal Charter.
A team of explorers diving to the ship, which sank off Anglesey while returning laden with riches from the Australian gold rush of the 1850s, has brought gold coins and nuggets to the surface and expects to retrieve more.
The ship foundered on rocks just yards from the shore after a hurricane hit on the final leg of its journey from Melbourne to Liverpool, on Oct 26, 1859. On board were gold prospectors returning with their fortunes.
By daybreak the ship had sunk and about 450 passengers and crew, along with the gold, had been lost.
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Top Chinese gymnast found begging on the street18 Jul 2011(Telegraph News)
Girls urged to strip to support Vladimir Putin as president17 Jul 2011(Telegraph News)
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:5 Tips on How to Handle Sudden Wealth12 May 2011(Black Enterprise)
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The Best Treasure Hunting Beaches in Vero Area, Florida31 Dec 1969(USA Today)
[what's this]
Vincent Thurkettle, a full-time gold planner who is
leading the expedition, said: "We have got some gold dust, nuggets and coins, as well as about 200 artefacts. And there is more gold down there."
The finds have all been reported to the Receiver of Wreck, who administers all shipwrecks. People connected to the passengers can claim ownership – although claims are thought to be unlikely. The gold will then be returned to the team or sold to a museum, with a fee passed to the explorers.
The treasure has yet to be valued and the team have declined to say how big their haul is. However, the value, particularly of the coins, will be inflated because of where they were found.
Mr Thurkettle said: "To have a coin from the Royal Charter will probably be worth double or treble what it would otherwise be worth."
His team of about 12 divers and gold planners have been visiting the wreck for the past seven summers, but only now have they agreed to reveal details. They estimate there's another two years' worth of exploring left.
The wreck lies just off the village of Moelfre, on
Anglesey's east coast, in clay beneath about 15ft of water, and sand. To search for gold, the team blow away the top sand. They then use a machine to suck up sand and clay to be sifted for gold fragments. Mr Thurkettle has been to
Melbourne to find out how much gold was on board. He said: "But you find yourself getting absorbed in the story. These people were coming home having struck gold and were only two to three hours away from Liverpool.
"And yet they go from such hope to such disaster, yards from safety."
The tale of the ship's loss gripped Victorian Britain. Her captain had tried to anchor in Moelfre Bay to escape the storm but the vessel's chain broke and her engine was not strong enough to keep her off the rocks, where she was battered by 60ft waves and 100mph winds. The ship snapped in two while less than 50 yards from the coast.
A Maltese seaman made it to shore with a lifeline, allowing a few survivors to reach land. But only 39 of the estimated 490 on board were saved. Many of the dead were killed by being dashed on to the rocks. Others drowned, weighed down by the gold in their money belts.
The storm was one of the worst of the 19th century and became known as the "Royal Charter gale" with about 200 vessels lost around the British coast. Charles Dickens, at the height of his fame, went to north Wales to report on the aftermath.
At least 79,000 ounces of gold were on the boat – worth £77.6 million today. Soldiers and coastguards salvaged some before many of the bodies had been recovered. The press upset villagers by accusing them of stealing the gold.
About 80 per cent of the haul was recovered, leaving the tantalising prospect that, even after the latest find,
millions of pounds' worth of gold remain on the sea bed.
Weather hits bid to detonate mine
From Suffolk Free Press (from 17 July): Weather hits bid to detonate mine
Attempts to detonate a live 2,000lb Second World War mine picked up by a dredger off the Essex coast have been hampered by the weather.
The device was found eight nautical miles off the coast of Clacton on Friday morning and experts had planned to discharge it on Saturday.
But conditions have stopped Royal Navy divers from making contact with the mine - which they moved from the dredger onto the sea bed - in order to carry out a controlled explosion.
A Royal Navy spokesman said high winds and poor sea conditions meant it was not possible to dive on Saturday morning.
"It is looking unlikely they can dive safely today because of the weather," he said.
Stewart Oxley, spokesman for RNLI Walton and Frinton, said the mine was believed to be "in very good condition" and "was still a viable destructive force".
The Royal Navy has denied reports that it had lost the mine.
"They know where it is. When it's safe to do so they will get down to it and dive on it. They put it on the sea bed safely," a spokesman said.
A one-mile exclusion zone remains in place around the area.
Attempts to detonate a live 2,000lb Second World War mine picked up by a dredger off the Essex coast have been hampered by the weather.
The device was found eight nautical miles off the coast of Clacton on Friday morning and experts had planned to discharge it on Saturday.
But conditions have stopped Royal Navy divers from making contact with the mine - which they moved from the dredger onto the sea bed - in order to carry out a controlled explosion.
A Royal Navy spokesman said high winds and poor sea conditions meant it was not possible to dive on Saturday morning.
"It is looking unlikely they can dive safely today because of the weather," he said.
Stewart Oxley, spokesman for RNLI Walton and Frinton, said the mine was believed to be "in very good condition" and "was still a viable destructive force".
The Royal Navy has denied reports that it had lost the mine.
"They know where it is. When it's safe to do so they will get down to it and dive on it. They put it on the sea bed safely," a spokesman said.
A one-mile exclusion zone remains in place around the area.
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