Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…the recent sinking of a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine while under construction is one of several recent Chinese naval developments. Naval analyst and veteran submariner Tom Shugart is back with us to dive into multiple submarines, aircraft carriers and a growing and ever-more-menacing Chinese Coast Guard.
Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
This Week’s Naval News:
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said October 7th that a Ukrainian sabotage operation damaged the Russian minesweeper ALEKSANDR OBUKHOV in Russia’s Kaliningrad region in the Baltic Sea. The agency said the sabotage caused water to enter an engine on board the ship through a quote, “mysterious hole.” It was the second attack on a Russian ship in the Baltic reported by GUR this year, following a reported arson attack on a Russian warship in April. Russia’s Baltic Fleet is based in Kaliningrad and around Saint Petersburg in northern Europe.
The New Zealand Navy’s multi-purpose support ship MANAWANUI grounded on a reef off Upolu Island in Samoa on October 5th. The ship took on a severe list and all 75 on board were safely evacuated. Within a few hours the ship caught fire and sank. The MANAWANUI became the first New Zealand Navy ship to be lost at sea since World War Two. The ship, a converted oil and gas survey ship built in 2003, had been commissioned into naval service during 2019.
The amphibious assault ship USS BOXER with elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked is providing humanitarian assistance to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Krathon, the Pentagon announced October 10. The Philippines government requested the assistance, which includes providing air transport to local relief agencies.
Japan’s light aircraft carrier KAGA arrived at San Diego October 5th for F-35B qualifications. KAGA, along with sistership IZUMO, was built as a helicopter-carrying destroyer but both ships are being modified to operate the F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter.
The destroyers DONALD COOK, LASSEN and THOMAS HUDNER were among the US Navy ships that sortied from Naval Base Mayport in northeast Florida on October 7th in advance of approaching Hurricane Milton. A number of US Coast Guard cutters also left port on Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts to avoid being caught by the storm. While the hurricane caused widespread damage throughout Florida there were no reported serious damages to US Navy or Coast Guard installations.
In new ship news, the amphibious transport dock HARRISBURG LPD 30 was launched October 5 at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ship is the first Flight II variant of the San Antonio class of amphibious ships. In addition to the HARRISBURG, five more Flight II LPDs are under construction or on order at Ingalls.
And in old ship news, the United States Conservancy announced October 11th it intends to formally transfer title of the passenger liner SS UNITED STATES to Okaloosa County, Florida. The transfer is to take place October 12th, and soon after the ship is expected to leave Philadelphia under tow for Norfolk, Virginia to undergo extensive preparations for reefing, probably at a site south of Fort Walton Beach in the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps the greatest transatlantic passenger ship ever built, the UNITED STATES entered service in 1952 and was withdrawn from active operations in 1969. Since 1996 she has been tied up at Philadelphia, where the pier’s owner now has successfully compelled the ship’s owners, the United States Conservancy, to remove her. With all hopes of restoration or rebuilding now exhausted, the 990-foot-long ship is expected to be sunk in 2025 as a diving attraction. The liner is thought to be the fastest passenger ship ever built, and was intended to carry more than 14,000 troops at a time should the need arise.
