Two recent incidents at sea have drawn unfavourable attention to the business of moving a large objects around on the water. The first was an error large enough to be visible from space and bunged up a canal that carries a significant percentage of global trade: The second, fortunately, was only visible from The Sun: … Continue reading The art, science and bluff of ship handling
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MV Ever Given – lessons from the Suez Canal
Now that the MV Ever Given is underway and making way there is time for a brief period of reflection as the silt settles but before the incident fades from the public eye. It is probably worth noting that we are not out of this yet. Not only is there a giant ship whose hull … Continue reading MV Ever Given – lessons from the Suez Canal
Water, water, everywhere, and yet you wouldn’t think
Today’s Times Weekend published an article called Horrible Histories: The Woeful Second World War. What follows is 2800 really interesting words on the blitz, the home guard, the RAF, shelters, rationing and then a chronology of how the war unfolded. It was only when I got to the end that I realised there wasn’t a … Continue reading Water, water, everywhere, and yet you wouldn’t think
The Chief of the Defence Staff
First published on 21 Feb 21 There has been a spate of coverage recently speculating that the current Chief of the Defence Staff’s (CDS) time-in-post is coming to an end. It has quietened down for now, and indeed the date may now have slipped until after the Integrated Review. Of one thing we can be … Continue reading The Chief of the Defence Staff
Plane Sailing
When warships and warplanes go off to die – a comparison Author's note. I wrote this well over a year ago when the Tornado fighter jet flew for the last time after 40 years of service. This week's decommissioning of HMS Bristol and the dismembering of ex-HMS Berkeley, and associated outpourings of grief, reminded me … Continue reading Plane Sailing
A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
But what if they're the wrong words? Recently, HMS Queen Elizabeth posted the latest in a long line of epic photos from her recent exploits. The one in question was of her and her task group all steaming along in perfect formation or ‘the photex’ as it’s known. HMS Queen Elizabeth's Task Group in close … Continue reading A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
Mind the gap
HMS Queen Elizabeth delayed sailing today due to strong easterly winds in what is a good example of risk-vs-operational imperative decision making. The following short read is a counter to the resulting ‘what if we had to go to war and it was windy’ commentary. Let me start this by saying I have only ever … Continue reading Mind the gap
A Rank Issue
It was recently announced by the Royal Navy that the internationally respected position of Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) is to be discontinued. The new position is one rank lower (Commodore) and in an intelligent bit of branding, to be called Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training. So still FOST, basically. The response to this across … Continue reading A Rank Issue
Walking the Hunt
Many of a Hunt Class’s mine-hunter's hull-design characteristics are based on the requirement for it to accurately hold position at sea whilst prosecuting mines. Relatively large propellers & rudders, a bow-thruster, a rounded hull form & shallow draft all assist with this. These same characteristics also mean that it can ‘walk’ sideways during berthing and … Continue reading Walking the Hunt
Sabering Seahorses
Yesterday, it was announced that there is to be Principal Warfare Officer badge. Noting that the crowd that care about this is small but passionate, here are my thoughts. Background. A Principal Warfare Officer (PWO), in very brief, is the person who fights the ship. They sit in the operations room and aggregate multiple sources … Continue reading Sabering Seahorses
