Russian Navy – A clearer explanation of the current U.S. Navy hypothesis that an explosion of a torpedo during loading or launching is what caused the sinking of the Kursk. The Kursk’s crew was felt to be well trained and it is unlikely that a seamanship error caused the loss.

• New York Times: 2 U.S. submarines recorded death agony of Kursk
• Washington Post: U.S. theory – on board blast sank sub

Canadian Navy – Men and women aboard Canada’s warships are having sex at sea – which is forbidden by regulations – much more often than is officially acknowledged, according to a study commissioned by the Canadian Navy to help determine whether women should serve on its new Upholder-class attack submarines.

• Toronto Star: Canadian navy crews turn warships into Love Boats

Chinese Navy – A Chinese company has acquired the former Russian aircraft carrier Kiev, for the purpose of scrapping her.

• Washington Post: China acquires Russian carrier

U.S. Navy – One of the consequences of the Kursk’s sinking may very well be decreased funding for the U.S. Navy, as one of its potential adversaries is shown to be a paper tiger.

• Washington Post: U.S. Navy hopes sink with Kursk

Russian Navy – Sonar data being analyzed from the U.S.S. Memphis, a Los-Angeles class nuclear attack submarine that was monitoring the Kursk, supports the hypothesis that a torpedo exploded during loading or firing, which then set off a larger explosion nearly 2 minutes later that sunk the submarine.

• Reuters: U.S. sonar tapes support Kursk torpedo theory-paper

Royal Navy – At the present time, 6 out of 7 of the Trafalgar-class nuclear attack submarines are not fit for operational service.

• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Six of seven killer subs unfit for service

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy’s fundamental problem is a lack of funds – “The Kursk got its name because the city of Kursk was taking care of the submarine, supplying it with food, televisions, videos???We are talking about the submarine, which is one of the most important vessels in the Russian navy. And a nonstate initiative is supporting it. It shows the state is unable to run the fleet.”

• Los Angeles Times: Russian Navy adrift in an ocean of problems

Yugoslavian Navy – Yugoslavian forces last week boarded in the Adriatic Sea and detained a U.S. cargo vessel carrying humanitarian food aid to Kosovo.

• Washington Post: Yugoslavs detained U.S. ship

U.S. Marines – the U.S. Marines have suspended all flights of the MV-22 Osprey, AH-1W Cobra, and CH-53 Sea Stallion, for unrelated safety reasons.

• Reuters: Marines suspend flights of three aircraft types

Background: U.S. Forces Readiness – Ready???or not?

• Washington Post: A look at the readiness debate – Part 1
• Washington Post: A look at the readiness debate – Part 2

Russian Navy – Evidence has been uncovered that the cause of the explosions on the Kursk may have been a malfunction occuring during tests of a new version of the Squall torpedo.

• Sunday Times of London (registration required): Secret torpedo test ‘blew sub apart’

Russian Navy – A fascinating seismic analysis of the Kursk’s explosions from Terry Wallace and Dr. Keith Koper at the University of Arizona, which estimates the force of the explosion to be between 0.5 and 1 ton. I am grateful to Micha Schellingerhout from the Netherlands for sharing this!

• University of Arizona: Forensic Seismology and the Sinking of the Kursk
  

U.S. Navy – The U.S. Navy is playing down its work in helping to recover the wreckage of the Gulf Air crash, to avoid offending Arab sensibilities.

• Associated Press: U.S. plays down rescue efforts

Australian Navy – because of the bad press the Collins-class submarines have been receiving, the Australian Navy is not meeting its recruiting goals to man the submarines.

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Navy fails to entice submariners for Collins class

Russian Navy – A Russian Captain who participated in the rescue operation and whose son was lost on the Kursk says the Russian Navy did its best, but fell short due to a lack of equipment. Meanwhile, the Norwegian company whose divers reached the submarine say the earliest it could be raised would be next year.

• BBC News: Captain who tried to save his son
• BBC News: Reforming Russia’s military
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Sub crew ‘entombed until next summer’

U.S. Navy – U.S. Navy helicopters are assisting in the search for survivors from yesterday’s Gulf Air Airbus 320 crash off Bahrain.

• CNN: Flight recorder found in wreckage of Gulf Air crash

U.S. Navy – The U.S. Navy claims that although it has been asked to double the number of intelligence missions its submarines have undertaken in the last 10 years, the number of submarines in service has been cut nearly in half in the same time.

• Associated Press: U.S. wants more subs for intelligence missions

Russian Navy – more on the Kursk.

• Daily Telegraph (registration required): British team hits at Russian ‘Cold War’ deceit
• Times of London (registration required): British homage to the dead
• Janes: Did collision trigger explosion?

Russian Navy – Norwegian divers are helping the Russians to more fully investigate the site around the Kursk. The Russians are interested in raising the submarine.

• BBC News: Russia mourns Kursk crew
• BBC News: Kursk crew’s last words
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Divers end rescue after finding Kursk flooded
• Times of London: The Kursk: British divers confirm that all crew are dead
• Times of London: Nuclear fleet a disaster in waiting

Russian Navy – Norwegian divers have successfully opened the outer and inner hatch of the Kursk, and found the compartment behind it totally flooded. There is now no hope of finding anyone alive on the Kursk. The British submersible LR5 will not be used.

• BBC News: Sub crew ‘all dead’
• BBC News: Disaster exposes military decline
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Russians argue as divers give the go-ahead for submarine rescue
• Times of London (registration required): Sealed hatch foils divers

Russian Navy – Norwegian divers have been unsuccessful in unscrewing Kursk’s rescue hatch. There is a crack in the hatch and the British rescue submarine may be unable to dock with it. The Russians now believe the crew is dead.

• BBC News: Divers struggle with Kursk hatch
• CNN: Nuclear sub video reveals ‘massive damage’
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): British rescue team told: submarine crew are dead
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): War games

Piracy – An account of a pirate attack on a merchant ship in specific, and an overview of piracy in general.

• New York Times Magazine: Bandits in the global shipping lanes

Russian Navy – Russian rescue submersibles continue to attempt docking with the Kursk’s rescue hatch, without success. The British rescue submersible LR5 should be on the scene today.

• BBC News: Frantic push to reach Kursk crew
• Janes’ Defence Weekly: Did collision trigger explosion?
• Times of London (registration required): Russia pins last hopes on British rescue team

Russian Navy – What does the future hold for the Russian Navy after the Kursk crisis? The outlook remains bleak???

• BBC News: Russia’s rusting navy
• Janes’ Defence Weekly: Tradgedy may lead to purge, but no new funds
• Janes’ Sentinnel: Russian Navy: assessment

Taiwanese Navy – Taiwan has outlined an invasion scenario, detailing the forces available on each side.

• Janes’ Defence Weekly: Taiwan paints a scenario of invasion by China

Russian Navy – A Russian rescue capsule reached the escape hatch on the Kursk, but was unable to latch on. The Royal Navy rescue team should reach the Kursk tomorrow.

• BBC News: Rescuers reach stricken sub
• CNN: Setback for sub rescue mission
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Obstacle course faces Navy team bound for Kursk
• Times of London (registration required): Sub blast may have killed most of crew

Russian Navy – the Royal Navy rescue crew which is proceeding to the site of the Kursk report seeing a video of the sub on the ocean bottom which shows she suffered a high energy explosion from the bow to the conning tower. It appears less and less likely that there are survivors left. U.S. intelligence reports there has been no sign of life onboard since the explosion.

• BBC News: Stricken sub ‘severely damaged’
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Putin attacked over delay as trapped crew fall silent
• Times of London (registration required): Russians accept British help to save sub

Russian Navy – Rescue attempts continue for the Kursk’s crew. The Royal Navy may be involved in future rescue attempts.

Please note that the below links are to the main stories on each site. There are related stories on each site as well, which can be gotten to from these main story pages. Finally, if you have not registered for the Times of London and the Daily Telegraph, I encourage you to do so. They are, I believe, amongst the finest papers available on the Internet.

• BBC News: New sub rescue attempt launched
• BBC News: UK sub rescue flight takes off
• Times of London (registration required): Save our souls comes cry from the deep
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Submarine running out of air as first rescue attempt fails

Russian Navy – A rescue operation is underway to evacuate more than 100 sailors from the Oscar II class submarine on the bottom of the Barents Sea.

• BBC News: Submarine rescue ‘under way’
• Janes: Russian Submarine Disaster – Update
• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Russia launches sub evacuation operation
• Times of London (registration required): Kursk hits Putin’s dream of naval glory

Russian Navy – A Russian Navy Oscar II class nuclear submarine is stranded at the bottom of the Barents Sea; the commander of the Russian Navy says rescue efforts are unlikely to succeed.

• BBC News: Russian submarine in ‘serious’ danger

NOSI will resume a normal daily publication schedule on Tuesday.

Chinese Navy – Two Chinese Navy ships will visit the Everett Naval Station next month, as part of an exchange with the U.S. Navy.

• Herald of Everett: 2 Chinese warships to dock in Everett

Chinese Navy – Recent Chinese excursions into Japan’s economic exclusion zone may cause Japan to cancel loans to China.

• Reuters: Japan may drop planned China loans on naval spat

Australian Navy – HMAS Tobruk has returned from its peacekeeping mission in the Solomon Islands.

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Australian warship arriving home from Pacific peace mission

U.S. Navy – The Amphibious Ready Group comprising the U.S.S. Wasp, U.S.S Oak Hill and U.S.S. Trenton and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have returned home after a 6 month deployment, during which they participated in Exercise Dynamic Mix 2000.

• Virginian Pilot: Three Navy ships return as two leave

Indian Navy – INS Mysore, which is currently on an around-the-world cruise, will exercise with the French Navy off France and Africa later this month. This will be the second exercise this year between the Indian and French navies.

• Rediff.com: INS Mysore to take part in exercises with French Navy

Uruguayian Navy – The Uruguayan minesweeper Valiented collided with a Panamanian-flagged freighter and was cut in half and sunk.

• FoxNews: Uruguayan Navy minesweeper sinks, 8 dead

Pakistan Navy – A recent Indian Navy intelligence report states that the Pakistan Navy is more of a threat to India than was previously thought.

• Frontier Post: Pakistan ahead of India in naval technology

Canadian Navy – A description of the training undergone by and scenarios faced by the Canadian Navy’s boarding parties.

• Canadian Press: High-seas boardings commonplace for
  navy commandos

Canadian Navy – The Canadian Navy boarded the ship GTS Katie in order to free its cargo of Canadian Army equipment, which was being held hostage as part of a contract dispute.

• Ottawa Citizen: ‘We have attack from helicopters’
• Ottawa Citizen: The storming of the Katie

Nigerian Navy – The Nigerian Navy attacked a gang of pirates in the waterways near Warri.

• This Day: Navy smashes gang of sea pirates

Canadian Navy – It appears the Canadian Navy will board the ship GTS Katie and return it to port with its cargo of Canadian Army supplies.

• Ottawa Citizen: Military set to seize GTS Katie

Royal Australian Navy – The annual northern fleet concentration period, one of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest naval exercises, begins today off Darwin.

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Ships arrive in Darwin for big naval exercise

Canadian Navy – Two Canadian warships – HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Montreal – have drawn alongside a cargo vessel that is effectively holding hostage Canadian Army military equipment that is being returned from Kosovo to Canada.

• Toronto Star: Ship, military cargo staying put
• Washington Post: Canada’s Army embroiled in conflict on the high seas

Russian Navy – The Russian President is attempting to implement a new military strategy which will siphon resources from the Strategic Rocket Forces to the Navy, Army and Air Force which are resource starved.

• Christian Science Monitor: Putin tries big shift in military strategy