Word: vessels
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...months ago, when Somali pirates captured a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 battle tanks, the temptation may have been to laugh them off as a bunch of ragtag local gunmen who had improbably gotten lucky. But the pirates of Somalia proved they have more than dumb luck going for them last Saturday, when they seized the Saudi supertanker MV Sirius Star and its cargo of more than $100 million worth of crude oil. This occurred despite the attention of navies from the U.S., NATO and others that were patrolling the area to protect shipping. (The Ukrainian vessel, MV Faina, remains...
...operations to such great distance, it is going to become an absolutely humongous task to get this thing under control. It does suggest that they are increasing their capacity to stay out at sea for a much longer period of time. They can just sit and wait until a vessel comes along...
...maiden voyage of the taxpayers' newest nearly $2 billion warship stalled for two days in August. That's when the stern gate of the U.S.S. San Antonio - needed to roll vehicles onto and off the nearly 700-ft. vessel - wouldn't work. The Navy eventually got the gate fixed in time for the ship to leave Norfolk and sail to the Persian Gulf, where its mission is to hunt down smugglers. But now the San Antonio has been forced into port in Bahrain for at least two weeks of repairs to leaks in the hefty pipes feeding fuel...
...told Congress in June. "I shouldn't be forced to pay on behalf of taxpayers any price for any level of deficient performance." Still, that's just what the Navy did, forking over an additional $100 million to make it seaworthy after the Navy had taken delivery of the vessel from its builder, Northrop Grumman, in 2006. The service said it needed the new ship to replace an older one it was retiring and could finish the work more cheaply in its own shipyard. The Navy has blamed Northrop Grumman for poor work; the company has blamed the Navy...
...Navy inspectors also recently criticized the U.S.S. New Orleans, the second vessel in the San Antonio's class. It "cannot support embarked troops, cargo or landing craft" - its primary mission - according to a report obtained by the independent Navy Times. Navy officials say the third and fourth vessels are performing much better. The rush to produce the fleet might make military sense if they were needed, but the last time Marines stormed ashore - the key reason the taxpayers are spending $14 billion on the San Antonio and at least eight more ships just like it - was nearly 60 years...