Sinking of Decommissioned Ships

After a ship is decommissioned from service it is often used as a target to test new weapons or training personnel in the operating of the same weapon. Sometime a ship is sunk to make artificial reef and diving site. A well documented weapon test operation, pictures of which were released by the Navy in the public domain, is the sinking of the HMAS Torrens on 14 June 1999. HMAS Torrens was a destroyer escort of the Royal Australian Navy from 1971 till her decommissioning in 1998. She was sunk by a torpedo from a submarine during the latter's combat system trials.

The explosive power of a torpedo is clearly demonstrated in these photos. The warhead detonates below the keel of the target ship, the resulting pressure wave of the explosion lifts the ship and breaks its keel in the process. As the ship "settles" it is then seemingly hit by a second detonation as the explosion itself rips through the area of the blast. This combined effect often breaks smaller targets in half and can severely disable larger
vessels.







 
Images and footage of the ship sinking have been used and adapted for various purposes. Digitally edited film of the torpedo hitting Torrens was used in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor as part of a black-and-white 'newsreel' montage. Then in 2006 a Hezbollah-operated website released one of these photos claiming to be that of an Israeli warship sunk by a Hezbollah missile.
A more recent sinking operation has been captured in the following images. The ship and the location could not identified at this moment, so I’m unsure whether this was sunk as a test for some weapon or to create a wreck diving site or for some other purposes.


 
  

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Top 8 Most Mysterious Ships in the World

Here’s a story about most mysterious ships in the world. What we’re talking here is about ships that really ever existed, not just live as a legend like Flying Dutchman and The Caleuche. These ships is a real ships that ever sailed in the seas and was built by real human. The mysteries in these ships needed to be solved using nowadays science. So, let’s take a look at those most mysterious ships in the world
8. The SS Valencia
SS Valencia is a ship that sank off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia in 1906. The ship was experiencing bad weather near Cape Mendocino, and after the float, of course, hit a reef and began sinking into the water. 27 years after the sinking of Valencia, one of the raft was found floating peacefully near Barkley Sound.

SS Valencia

7. The Ourang Medan
The story of Medan Ourang began in 1947, when two American ships receive emergency calls while navigating the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Malaysia. The caller introduced himself as a member of the crew Ourang Medan, a Dutch ship, and should state that the captain of the ship and crew are all dead or dying. Messages become jumbled and strange before weakening and ending with the words: “I’m dead.” Vessels quickly ran to the scene to assist. When they arrived, they found that Ourang Medan no damage, but that the whole crew, even the dog was already dead, their bodies and their faces locked in a pose and expression of fear, and many pointed to something that was not there. Before the rescuers can investigate further, a mysterious ship caught fire, and they had to evacuate. Soon after, Medan Ourang said to have exploded and then sank.

Ourang Medan

6. The Carroll A. Deering
Perhaps the most famous ghost ship from the East coast is the Carroll A. Deering, a schooner which foundered near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 1921. The ship had just returned from a trip to deliver coal commercially in South America, and was last seen in the south of Hatteras by a lightship near Cape Lookout. It was stranded on the famous Diamond Shoals, an area famous for causing the wreck, and sat there for several days before any help could reach it. When they arrived, the Coast Guard found that the ship was completely abandoned. Navigation equipment and a notebook is lost, as well as two lifeboats, but otherwise there are no any signs of fraud.

Carrol A Deering

5.  The Baychimo
One of the most astonishing cases from real life about Baychimo ghost ship, a cargo ship that was abandoned and left floating in the sea near Alaska for nearly forty years. The ship was owned by Hudson’s Bay Company, and was launched in the early 1920s and used to trade pelts and feathers with the Inuit in northern Canada. But in 1931, Baychimo became trapped in pack ice near Alaska, and after many attempts to break free, the crew was finally flown out of the area to a safe place. After a heavy snow storm, the ship managed to escape from the ice, but it was badly damaged and abandoned by the Hudson Bay Company, who thinks it will not last the winter. Amazingly, Baychimo successful survive, and for 38 years, it remained floating in the waters of Alaska. The Baychimo was last seen in 1969, once again frozen in the ice of Alaska, but has since disappeared.

Baychimo

4.  The Octavius
Although now considered more legend than anything, the story of Octavius remains one of the most famous of all ghost ship story. The story dates back to 1775, when it is said that a whaler called the Herald stumbled across Octavius floating aimlessly off the coast of Greenland. Crewmembers from the Herald up Octavius, where they found the bodies of the crew and passengers of all frozen by the arctic cold. Most prominently, the crew found the ship’s captain was still sitting at his desk, the middle of completing a log entry from 1762, which means that Octavius had been floating for 13 years. According to legend, he eventually discovered that the captain had risked to make a quick return to England from the East through the Northwest Passage, but that ship has become trapped in the ice.

Octavius

3. The Joyita
The Joyita was a fisherman and charter boat found abandoned in the South Pacific in 1955. The ship, along with 25 passengers and crew, was on his way to the Tokelau Islands when something happens, and not until hours later that the Joyita late reported and rescue efforts launched. A massive air search conducted, but failed to find the missing ship, and not until five weeks later that the Joyita stumble upon merchant ship drifted about 600 miles from its original course. There are no signs of the passengers, crew, cargo, or a life raft, and the ship was quite badly damaged and listing to one side. Further examination by the authorities discovered that the ship radio tuned to the universal distress signal, and the search of the deck to find a doctor bag and some bloody bandages.

Joyita

2. The Lady Lovibond
England has a long tradition of legends about the ghost ship, and the Lady Lovibond is probably the most famous. As the story goes, the captain of the Lady Lovibond, Simon Peel, had just married, and decided to take the boat on a cruise ship to celebrate. He brought his new bride, will take place along the long voyage to the belief that bringing a woman on board the boat is bad luck-and sail on February 13, 1748. Unfortunately for Peel, his first mate, also falls in love with his new wife, and after watching the celebrations, people become angry and overwhelmed with jealousy and intentionally directing the boat to turn off Goodwind Sands, a sand bar known for causing an accident of the ship. As the  legend runs, since the accident Lady Lovibond can be seen sailing in the waters around the Kent every 50 years. Lady Lovibond again seen in 1948.

Lady Lovibond

1. The Mary Celeste
No doubt the most famous of all real-life ghost ship Mary Celeste is a merchant ship found in homeless and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872. The ship was in seaworthy condition, with all of the screen was still awake and full of food stores in the cargo hold, but his boat, the captain of the log book and, more importantly, the entire crew, disappeared mysteriously. There are no signs of struggle, and personal belongings of crew and cargo of more than 1500 barrels of alcohol was touched, apparently rule out the possibility of piracy as an explanation.

Mary Caleste

Have you ever seen those most mysterious ships above?

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The Largest Cruise Ship in the World is Five Times the Size of the Titanic

Five times larger than the Titanic, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas is the world’s largest passenger vessel ever built. Oasis left her shipyard in Finland on Friday (Oct. 30, 2009) and is set to arrive at her home, Port Everglades, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 20th. With her Maiden voyage set for December 5th, let’s take a closer look at this $1.5 billion behemoth of the seas.


HISTORY
The vessel was ordered in February 2006 and designed under the name “Project Genesis”. Its keel was laid down on November 12th, 2007 at STX Europe in Turku, Finland. The company announced that full funding for Oasis of the Seas was secured on April 15th, 2009. The name, Oasis of the Seas resulted from a ship-naming competition in May of 2008.

MEET THE SEVEN NEIGHBOURHOODS
The Oasis of the Seas will include a new concept in cruise ship design—one that bears resemblance to theme park planning. She will have seven ‘neighbourhoods’ on board, each with its own distinct characteristics.
Boardwalk
The Royal Promenade
Central Park
The Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center
The Pool and Sports Zone
The Entertainment Place
The Youth Zone
*Is it just me or do the last four areas not really have a ‘neighbourhood’ feel with their namesake?

NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS

- The AquaTheater is an outdoor venue at the stern of Oasis of the Seas with a backdrop of the ocean across the horizon. The AquaTheater Pool will be the largest and deepest freshwater pool at sea at 21.9 feet (6.6 meters) by 51.6 feet wide (15.7 meters), with a depth of 17.9 feet (5.4 meters)

- Fitted with three stage machinery devices, the pool’s depth will rise or fall to meet the needs of each performance and for its various functions throughout the day. Three custom lifts built into the pool will allow for intricate and multilevel performances, and underwater cameras will film performers and project images onto two giant LED screens that will flank the stage

- A first-ever and one-of-a-kind sea carousel will be the centerpiece of the Boardwalk. The full-sized, traditional carousel will feature 21 figures suspended from stainless steel poles

- A zip line, suspended nine decks above Boardwalk. Adventurers will take in a birds-eye view of the action below, as the rider speeds diagonally across the open air atrium – a distance of more than 82 feet (25 meters)

- Central Park will be located on Deck 8 (of 16) of the ship, with dimensions of 62 feet (19 meters) wide and 328 feet (100 meters) long. The Central Park Neighborhood will be the first ever living park at sea, with 12,175 plants, 62

vine plants, 56 trees and bamboo, some over 24 feet (7.3 meters) in length

- The Oasis of the Seas will feature 4 pools and 10 whirlpools, there are also several vantage points of Central Park from the pool areas. The Beach Pool is intended to have a beach theme, the typical H2O Zone, a giant octopus and other water features. There is also a main pool, surrounded by 3 bars in the pool area

- The sports deck will feature: basketball courts, two flowriders (wave pools), two rock walls, and mini-golf

- The Entertainment Place will feature an ice skating rink, a large casino, the Opal Theater (main theater), and some other theaters that will include dance lessons and competitions

- The 28 contemporary two-level loft suites will feature spectacular views of the ocean with floor-to-ceiling, double-height windows to ensure the view will be enjoyed from each and every vantage point

- Each loft will measure 545 square feet (51 square meters) or larger (over 1,600 sq ft) and will be fitted with a Caribbean influence. The design will include an upper-level bedroom that overlooks the living area below and extended ocean views

CONSTRUCTION FACTS
- 181 grand blocks were used to construct Oasis of the Seas, each block weighed appx. 1,200,00 lbs.(600 metric tons)
- 150 miles (241 km) of piping throughout
- 3,300 miles (5310 km) of electrical cables throughout
- 158,503 gallons (600,000 litres) of paint were used
- Oasis was constructed out of 500,000 individual steel parts

- It took approximately 8,000 work years of labour to build Oasis of the Seas

- There were more than 3,200 workers at any given time helping build Oasis of the Seas

SPECS AND RANDOM FACTS
- 225,282 GRT (Gross registered tonnage), 1,187 feet (360 meters) long, 208 feet (65 meters) wide, and approximately 20 storeys high
- Cruising speed of 22.6 knots
- 16 passenger decks, 24 passenger elevators, and 4 bow thrusters with 7,500 horse power each
- 5,400 guests (double occupancy), 6,296 guests (total), and 2,165 crew members (from over 65 countries)
- 7,000 works of specially commissioned art
- 5,070,632 lbs. (2,300 tonnes) of water in the 21 swimming pools and jacuzzis
- 110,231 lbs. (50 tonnes) of ice cubes made every day
- 4,700,000 lbs. (2,350 metric tons) of fresh water consumption per 24 hours
- Diameters of the propellers are 20 feet (6.1. meters)


All information courtesy of: www.oasisoftheseas.com

For more information, videos, and images, as well as the latest updates, please visit their official site

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Oasis of the Seas, The World’s Largest Cruise Ship

Oasis of the Seas is a luxury cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International fleet. Oasis gross weight is 225,282 tons, several times the size of the titanic ship. The power comes from the six ship diesel engines, each machine can produce 18,860 kilowatts of electricity and three 12-cylinder engine with each producing 13,860 kilowatts.

Oasis have facilities such as two level roof and luxury room sized 1600 square feet (150m2) with balcony facing the sea off, a casino, a miniature golf course, four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball field, theme parks, and playground for children and Mall.
Here’s how this super luxury cruise ship looks like:

Oasis from 500 meters

Oasis from Above

Oasis bedroom

Oasis from top

Oasis park

Oasis mall

Oasis swimming pool

Anyone wanna join Oasis of the seas this end year holiday?

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