Iran retaliates.
 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/worl...-a4194361.html

geoff

British ships ?


(Yeah right … ) :bad_mad:

The region is on a knife end again thanks to Trumps so called diplomacy.......all it needs is one mistake by either side and the place will go off like a powder keg......
What worries me deeply is that the western powers currently do not have sufficient defence capability against the emerging IRGC naval forces, there is no doubt in my mind that swarm attacks using missile armed fast attack craft, massed mini submarine attacks from up to 30 well armed mini submarines, suplemented by massed surface to surface missiles will be the order of the day if the shooting starts.
I would not currently want to be crew in any of the merchant vessels using the Straits of Hormuz, whatever flag they are sailing under.
There is a really interesting report on savetheroyalnavy.org called 'Choke Point Charlie' which illustrates just how risky the current situation is.

Trump wants this. There's an election next year. We're sliding inexorably toward war while he practices his Nuremberg Rally style campaigns complete with chanting and flag waving with little thought for the global outcome.

I'm going survivalist and getting in an extra 10 cases of beer. :big_tongue:

Listening to any questions on BBC Radio 4 today, Trump was likened to Benito Mussolini with his strutting, posturing and racist rhetoric! They do have a point!
Might be a good strategy to stock up on vast quantities beer though......sound idea Bob, certainly a good excuse for me to use on the long haired admiral - when she can't move in the pantry for cases of ale!

Almost all the Chinese oil and also Japanese feed comes from this area...where are they?

geoff

That's a fair point Geoff, although China do supply Iran with weapons so I suppose it's in thier interest to ensure they don't interrupt Chinese tanker supplies.

Bottom line is all this was initiated by Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear treaty. Good or bad it was better than nothing. Nobody wants nuclear proliferation, but stopping it is trying to put everything back into Pandora's box. It's not going to happen.

Sooner or later somebody, or a lot of somebody's are going to get killed in this situation for the sake of political ego.

I guess there's nothing new in that one. (Orders another ten cases of beer.)

Since the Grace 1 was released from Gibraltar it appears to have changed its name to Adrian Darya and is heading for Greece. I found it on the Ships Plotter site, but the route forecast looks a bit peculiar, going via the Messina Strait !!
Apparently the US is still after it …:shock:
Perhaps there's a bit of 'kidology' going on … :smoking:

I seem to recall that transiting the Messina straits was a tad tricky for deep draft vessels?
Why use that nav track? Are they worried about being ambushed by the USN in open international waters again or is there a secret RV once in inshore Italian waters?

She`s in International waters at present. Not making much headway at 2.5 knots though, skullduggery afoot!

Oh dear, Tom, another tale from the ditty bag. I took London Team (186K tons OBO) through the Straights of Messina myself.

As was my habit I wandered up to the bridge around breakfast time to find the old man, 'Big' Pete Roberts - another great chap to sail with, had relieved the mate for cargo work of some kind.

"Right, Leckie, you hang on here while I go for a crap" and off he goes leaving me with a Chinaman on the wheel, another looking-out and a radar screen which I could see easily was not having difficulty finding targets! None of them, I hope, a warship of any kind intent on engagement.

I can't remember whether we were light or loaded 'though. (And the bridge 'facilities' were only just across the companionway).

Picked up to 8.9 knts.

186K tons! Jesus, thats big...I have never sailed in anything much larger than 22k ton, and that was too big for me! As to being left in command in restricted waters.....albeit for a short period would certainly focus the mind - certainly not something I would be volunteering for!
I recall going through there during a 'night encounter' exercise with NATO back in the early 90's in a storm, quite sobering!

I rather wondered if white was the appropriate boiler suit colour of the day but we didn't carry any brown. You shouldn't have worried 'The Pilot' told us neither Scylla nor Charybdis are anything but shadows of their former selves.

(Not sure I have appreciated straits Vs Straights before. Dire!)

Oops. Before I am corrected she was 106K DWT (57K GRT) Stonehaven was 186K.

Well the Messina St didn't figure into it. And Greece is looking dodgy. The next couple of days should be interesting … :smoking:
(Assuming the plots haven't been hacked by Vlad and his boys.)

I'd love to say something about two ***** on one Watch, but I won't.

That is a very unkind remark to make about two professional seamen just because they're Chinese.

[QUOTE=Varley;24390]Oh dear, Tom, another tale from the ditty bag. I took London Team (186K tons OBO) through the Straights of Messina myself.

As was my habit I wandered up to the bridge around breakfast time to find the old man, 'Big' Pete Roberts - another great chap to sail with, had relieved the mate for cargo work of some kind.

"Right, Leckie, you hang on here while I go for a crap" and off he goes leaving me with a Chinaman on the wheel, another looking-out and a radar screen which I could see easily was not having difficulty finding targets! None of them, I hope, a warship of any kind intent on engagement.

I can't remember whether we were light or loaded 'though. (And the bridge 'facilities' were only just across the companionway).[/

Was the London Team extended? Was 56k tons when I was aboard.

Hey, Hey, Hey, back up the truck. Who said anything about John Chinaman. It's the bloody Gwai Lo's I have trouble with.

#19, please see #15. Lots of rules go by GRT, trade goes by deadweight - as does the energy converted into oo-nasty during any sort of -lision.

When were you on her? Me, late 70s. Early 79?

Only one white ghost on that bridge. And only watching between sweating.

(I think the joke you are poaching comes from Sir Stafford Cripps although I cannot find the reference. After his butler (a champagne far leftie) had told visiting peer that he was occupied at his oblutions said peer insisted on audience. Loudly from the near distance "Tell his Lordship I cannot deal with two shits at the same time!"

Why have you interpreted ***** as ***** ?
Although a decent man at heart I believe you have been mixing with the wrong sorts. Nanny will be very cross, no supper for Master David.

Stand corrected.
Late ‘79, PG to Oz, Oz to Redcar with ore, light to Congo River, Angolan crude to US Virgin Isles.

Land's End for orders ? … :eek:

No..Gibraltar

geoff

I was thinking Armageddon as she looked like she was still headed for Syria.

(As in the old Spike Milligan joke: "Armageddon out of here." ) :big_tongue:

Our clients were moderately adept at swapping individual equipments or their IDs so that they appeared to be on different ships. A device, then, to maintain Inmarsat connectivity but would serve well enough to drawer off someone taking AIS as gospel (sorry, Elahspel).

As mentioned earlier I thought it might be hacked. But I'd be surprised if the US weren't keeping a watch on this ship by their own more direct means.

Is Elahspel a palindrome of gospel. If so it is an abomination crying to the Lord for vengeance.

Lepsog? Not palindromic. Elah. As all Abrahamic and pre Abrahamic superstitious referred to their deity.

The thick plottens … :eek:

Do the Americans realise she is in Asia Minor and could be heading for the Levant?

This is better than a John le Carré novel. Or Vlad's hackers are running out of ideas. (I can't accept that the GRU thugs are running this, they'd have nuked something by now.) :sweat:

21 hours off plot. The ship has darkened. Let's hope the world doesn't go dark with it.

Bob, is there any up date on this ship`s position?

Been off plot for 3 days. Last seen as above off the Syrian Coast. I've read several theories about her but it's all speculation as far as I can tell.

I'm afraid nothing much is getting above the noise level of our local news here in UK.

If the military don't have her down to the nearest half metre then perhaps LRIT was not quite the supplier led child begging for bereaved parents that it appeared to be.

I am not sure the White House bribing tactic will not misfire. I have observed and co-operated with the repossession of bankrupt tonnage and it is done with an element of discretion and finesse. Mr Trump's man risks little turbaned Masters queuing up in droves to live in luxury in the US in exchange for their dhows and cargoes of embargoed vegetable oil.

I would hazard the US knows exactly where she is without recourse to bumbling IMO devices.