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Thames reveals forgotten wrecksMark Blunden 26.08.08   The largest-ever post-war salvage operation on the Thames has discovered seven shipwrecks up to 350 years old. They include a warship that was blown up in 1665, a yacht converted to a Second World War gunboat, and a mystery wreck in which divers found a personalised gin bottle. The vessels, in the Thames Estuary, are just some of about 1,100 ships which went down in the whole of the river. The salvage by Wessex Archaeology and the Port of London Authority, which regulates the river, was both historical and practical. Jagged metal...

Joy from rescue of 5 Aggie boaters turns grim when 6th member of capsized boat crew is found dead amid wreckage A day that started with the joyous rescue of five crew members of a Texas A&M University at Galveston sailboat closed with the somber discovery of the sixth sailor's body in the wreckage of the sunken ship. Roger Stone, whose body was recovered by a salvage crew Sunday about 27 miles southeast of Freeport, was called a hero for helping two students escape from below decks seconds before the Cynthia Woods capsized. "I'm sure that's what lost his life,"...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush left on Monday for his farewell NATO summit and a final heads-of-state meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin as he tries to salvage a foreign policy legacy frayed by the Iraq war. Seeking to reassert himself on the world stage in the twilight of his term, Bush will press NATO for more troops in Afghanistan, try to keep up momentum in the alliance's eastward expansion and attempt to ease strains with Russia. But with Bush even more unpopular overseas than at home, he could have a hard time swaying world leaders at this...

When the Cougar Ace took on too much water and capsized off the coast of Alaska in July of 2006 while carrying more than 4,700 new Mazda cars, the massive task of recycling them nearly two years later was hardly an immediate concern. But once all 23 crew members were rescued, the ship was towed to Portland for repairs where the cars were off-loaded and stored. And the question was: what to do with all those cars?

BAGHDAD, Dec. 28, 2007 – Fourteen Iraqis began working last week in the Defense Reutilization Material Office yard to reduce damaged and unusable vehicles into scrap metal. The metal will be sold to an outside business and eventually moved to an Iraqi foundry. An Iraqi worker demilitarizes an old Iraqi army vehicle as part of a combined effort by the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment’s Regimental Support Squadron, the Iraqi Business and Industrial Zone and the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to put Iraqis to work demilitarizing old armed vehicles. Photo by Capt. Derek Hoffman, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

SACRAMENTO Dozens of volunteers are rescuing fish from a protected island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta after a federal agency drained some of its water for a levee repair. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are coordinating Saturday's volunteer effort after thousands of fish died last week during the agency's pumping operation on Prospect Island. Bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken says between 45 and 50 fishermen have caught and released more than 1,300 stripped bass into Sacramento's Deep Water Ship Channel. Federal officials blocked local fisherman from helping save fish last week. Volunteers also plan to work Sunday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 4, 2007 – A light breeze rippled over the dark water of Providence Harbor as two divers sank below the water’s surface, leaving behind a long trail of air hoses and the sound of their breathing through the radio. Navy diver Petty Officer 2nd Class William F. Stetson III, right, gives the “OK” sign to let a fellow sailor know he is receiving proper oxigen flow. The U.S. Army Vessel New Orleans is serving as a diving platform for Navy and Army divers working on raising a Russian submarine in Providence Harbor on the Rhode Island...

Investors are dancing in the Streets in Tampa, Florida, and it is not even the Gasparilla Festival yet. Treasure salvers occupy a beloved place in Florida lore, and the work of high tech salver Gregg Stem has hit stratospheric heights with today's announcement. In what is believed to be the largest collection of coins ever excavated from a shipwreck, Odyssey Marine Exploration (Amex symbol OMR) has recovered over 500,000 silver coins weighing more than 17 tons, hundreds of gold coins, ......

WASHINGTON – The federal government spent nearly $11 million to salvage timber from an Oregon wildfire in 2002, yet it stands to get less than $9 million from selling the wood, congressional investigators say. The Bush administration and its Republican allies in Congress have said lawsuits filed by environmentalists caused delays that added to the cost of the fire. The report by the Government Accountability Office acknowledged that the delays cost money, but said the administration's decision to dramatically increase logging, coupled with the size of the fire and the complexity of environmental laws, were actually to blame for the...

Eugene, Ore., social service agency salvages airport toiletries The Associated Press   EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Airport discards in the response to a terror plot have turned into balm for the homeless in Eugene. The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County has started picking up some of the things people have jettisoned for security reasons as they board flights at the Eugene Airport. Charley Harvey, assistant executive director of the charity, dug through trash bags Tuesday and took every bottle of shampoo and shaving cream he could find. The items will be distributed at the organization's First Place...

On July 23, the M/V Cougar Ace, a 654-foot car carrier homeported in Singapore, contacted the US Coast Guard and reported that their vessel was listing at 80 degrees and taking on water. The Alaska Air National Guard and Coast Guard aircraft crews rescued the 23 crewmembers on July 24. Incident Updates As of late August 13, pumping operations have reduced the vessel list to about 18 degrees

The Cougar Ace is shown between Wide Bay and Ider Point on the northern side of Hog Island as it is towed Tuesday into Unalaska Bay. The ship, owned by Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, had been listing since problems arose during a required open-sea transfer of ballast water on July 23, approximately 230 miles south of Adak. Company officials believe the ship rolled while the crew was adjusting the ballast tank, which regulates the ship's weight and balance. The ship's 23 crew members were hoisted to safety. The only injury was a broken ankle.

A four-man salvage team was able to access and survey the Cougar Ace yesterday, determining that at least some cargo remains in place and that the vessel remains stable. However, while conducting the survey, one of the team members fell and died from injuries sustained in the fall. ....... snip ...... The team determined that the cargo on the number one deck, the highest deck, remains in place. Cargo on the ninth deck has also remained in place. The engine room is intact and there is no sign of water. There are a total of fourteen car cargo decks on...

A member of a salvage team looking at how to stabilize a listing ship in the Aleutian Islands died when he lost his footing, slid down the ship’s deck and hit his head, the Coast Guard said Monday.

WINDS: Salvage tugs head for Cougar Ace as it is blown into U.S. waters. A disabled, crewless ship loaded with nearly 5,000 autos has crossed into U.S. waters, drifting Friday toward Alaska's Aleutian chain. The Cougar Ace was still listing on its side as it floated in choppy seas about 130 miles south of Atka Island, the Coast Guard said. The 654-foot car carrier had zigzagged more than 120 miles since it tilted sharply Sunday night, its crew rescued 24 hours later, said Petty Officer Richard Reichenbach. The Coast Guard cutter Rush was tracking the ship as it slowly moved...

The Cougar Ace was thrown sideways when the massive ship's ballast tank was adjusted in the open seas of the North Pacific, a representative of the vessel owner said Wednesday. "There clearly was imbalance in the intake of ballast water. The company investigation ultimately will tell us what caused that imbalance," said Greg Beuerman, a spokesman for Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, which owns the 654-foot car carrier. Two days after the bruised and battered crew was hoisted to safety, the disabled ship remained floating on its side 230 miles south of Adak Island in Alaska's Aleutian chain. ..... ....... Crowley...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After suffering a defeat on a bill to slash education and health care programs this year, Republican leaders tweaked a broader budget plan for the rest of the decade facing similar opposition from party moderates because of cuts across an array of programs for the poor, students and farmers. GOP leaders recessed the House for five hours as they hunted for votes to salvage what President Bush made his top budget priority last February - trimming back entitlement programs like Medicaid and farm subsidies that grow automatically with inflation and population increases. Regrouping with new concessions on...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- In the market for a good used car? Watch out for vehicles that sat submerged for days in the flooded streets of New Orleans, Biloxi or other Gulf Coast cities ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Insurance companies usually purchase such vehicles from policyholders, declare them "totaled" and then sell them at auction to be resold for parts, many of which will still be suitable for use in other cars and trucks. But some unscrupulous dealers and wholesalers buy flood-damaged cars at scrap prices, clean them up, retitle them and resell them. The vehicles may look good, but...

GULFPORT, Miss. (Sept. 9, 2005) -- A detachment of Marines and a sailor from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, Calif., helped members of the American, British and Spanish Red Crosses to salvage a warehouse decimated by Hurricane Katrina here. The warehouse will be used as a distribution point for food, water and other essential supplies to be distributed by the relief organization. The detachment came from the MEU Service Support Group-11, who are part of a larger contingent of approximately 400 Marines and sailors who came to help in the Gulf Coast. The Marines and sailors were working...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said. "We have confirmed at least 20 rigs or platforms missing, either sunk or adrift, and one confirmed fire where a rig was," Petty Officer Robert Reed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP. All of the missing rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, Reed said citing Coast Guard overflights of the area and information from oil companies. He could not confirm...

Nautical Research Group has returned from a highly successful scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic. In the course of processing the high quality digital video shot on Titanic last week, two startling observations of note were discovered. Preliminary findings have revealed that Titanic is in an advanced state of deterioration and some data may provide new clues to how she broke up near the surface. The first significant observation was that the mast has finally collapsed in the area above the bell stanchion. In a recent scientific article that Nautical Research Group president, David Bright will present at Oceans 2005,...

First section of Tricolor raised The stern, weighing 3,000 tons, is the first section to be raised The first section of a freight ship which sank in the English Channel last year has been raised to the surface.The 190 metre-long Tricolor has been a major obstacle to shipping in the Channel since it sank about 30 miles off Kent in December. The 20,000 ton ship was carrying a cargo of luxury cars when it sank after colliding with the container ship Kariba. Click here to see a graphic showing how the Tricolor will be raised It is being raised in...

U.S. Government Needs to Lead on Infectious Diseases WASHINGTON, DC, March 18, 2003 (ENS) - The U.S. government needs to take on a strong leadership role at home and abroad to combat the growing threat from microbes that trigger infectious diseases such as West Nile encephalitis, AIDS and tuberculosis, says a new report from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine. The U.S. public health system should be revamped to meet the threat, according to the committee that produced the report, and the U.S. government should provide funding and expertise to the world's poorer nations so they can better monitor,...

<p>It’s the kind of pride that comes wrapped in hard heartache, watching a boy go off to become a man. Matthew Draughon left his parents’ house that summer of 1998, following a Navy path already worn by his father and again by his older brother. This younger son wanted to catch the ocean, too. He wanted the best underwater training the world offers. He wanted to be a Navy diver.</p>