Mna Circular 1002
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MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #12 23rd June 2020 The Pulse The MISSION of The Merchant Navy Association is to bring all serving and retired Seafarers together in a spirit of companionship, consideration and commitment towards a united lobby for the Community of the Sea Hi Shipmates, Please find below more snippets of information since circular #11 was published 8th June 2020. My thanks to MNA National Secretary, Pete Sinke’s daily publication “Maasmond Maritime - Shipping News Clippings”, Lloyds List, gCaptain, Maritime London, Flashlight and many others from the T’internet, not forgetting the items sent in by Readers and any other source I can access. MNA National Contact Points National Secretary, David Parsons = Email: [email protected] Tel: 01935 414 765 Welfare & Events, Tim Brant, - Tel: 01733 205001, Email : [email protected] National Membership Secretary, Roy Glencross - Mobile: 07738 425875 Email: [email protected] MNA Slop Chest, The Supply Officer:- Sandra Broom [email protected] 0121 244 0190 If you call her, it may go to an answerphone. Please leave a message and she will call you. Change of Address???? If any member has changed any of their contact details (Postal, E- mail or Telephone) it is important that you inform the following people by email:- [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Please Note the Change of Contact Details of the above _____________________________________________________________________________________ The evacuation of Dunkirk, as painted by Charles Cundall CREDIT: Underwood Archives / Archive Photos 1 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #12 23rd June 2020 The Pulse Naval and Maritime Matters The little ships cross the Channel on their voyage to Dunkirk, France, for the 75th anniversary of Operation Dynamo CREDIT: Gareth Fuller/PA SIR – This week marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo – the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. Although it would be wrong to characterise this event as anything other than a comprehensive defeat for the British and Allied forces, it was nevertheless a seminal moment in our history. The phrase “Dunkirk spirit” has entered our lexicon for good reason. The heroic action of all our forces – but particularly that of the Royal Navy – has never been fully acknowledged. With the passing of the last of the Dunkirk veterans, the little ships that played a crucial role in that evacuation will become the last tangible link to events that many historians consider the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. As the honorary vice-admiral of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, I have written to Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans, to request that the Dunkirk Little Ships be designated “veterans” under the Armed Forces Covenant. The covenant is a commitment to treat veterans fairly and with respect. Our little ships are all privately owned; their owners receive no support of any kind. The average age of such a ship is 85. Even the best boat builder in the Thirties would never have expected any creation to last more than three decades. Our owners are now cosseting boats that, by rights, should have been firewood 60 years ago. These are the boats that we take to commemorative events all over the country and had planned to take to Dunkirk last weekend. We are not seeking direct financial assistance, but recognition for the unique role these little boats played in one of the most important events in our history. Ian Gilbert Honorary Vice- Admiral, Association of Dunkirk Little Ships ____________________________________________________________________________________ Dunkirk’s remaining 'Little Ships' should be granted veteran status ahead of its 80th anniversary The Armed Forces Covenant commits to treating veterans fairly and with respect and could be applied to Little Ships, the Association says The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships has written to Johnny Mercer asking "that it be considered that the Little Ships be recognised for their unique role in our heritage by being designated as ‘Veterans’ under the Armed Forces Covenant". 2 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #12 23rd June 2020 The Pulse Dunkirk’s remaining 'Little Ships' should be granted veteran status ahead of its 80th anniversary, so that they are protected like listed buildings, the Veterans Minister has been urged. Ian Gilbert, Vice Admiral of Association of Dunkirk Little Ships on his boat 'Lady Lou' CREDIT: Jeff Gilbert I am in contact with the Little Ship Association to offer possible MNA support _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ We are pleased to say we are now able to offer our supporters the facility to make donations via our Just Giving page. This is a secure means of making payments and enables us to claim Gift Aid from the Treasury. Go to www.justgiving.com Click on ‘Search' at the top right- hand side and type in Merchant Navy Association. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 3 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #12 23rd June 2020 The Pulse TECLA RETURNED SAFELY IN DEN HELDER AFTER 14 MONTHS NAVIGATING THE WORLD On Friday 5th of June in the morning, the logger TECLA has entered the port of Den Helder. For the past 14 months, the TECLA and her crew have circumnavigated the American continent. She left on April 12, 2019 and on September 16 she announced her first major milestone of this voyage, making her way through the North West Passage. As the 312th ship, she has found her way through the ice since the first ship (roughly the same size as the TECLA) found its way through this impressive area in 1906, under the direction of Roald Amundsen. After this passage, another great challenge lay ahead. A trip of over 6000NM to the Galapagos Islands. From there to Easter Island and round Cape Horn which was completed in 28 days. A second successful Cape Horn rounding East to West. After the first 28-day visit to Antarctica, the journey continued with a 55-day trip through South Georgia, to South Africa, Cape Town. This trip started on February 2. The first reports about the spread of the COVID-19 virus already started to emerge. However, the impact that the virus would have on the world 55 days later was unprecedented. The TECLA arrived in Cape Town 4 days after the stringent South African lockdown. This meant for the crew and guests of the TECLA that they were not allowed to enter the country. After a lot of pressure from embassies and a lot of help from BBZ, RBG and friends at home, they finally got permission to fly their guests home, after 3 weeks sitting in portquarantaine. Unfortunately, the new crew waiting in Cape Town ashore, was not allowed on board, so the old crew had to continue on board to their next destination in Holland.Now, with more than 7,000 NM under their belt, a short stop for fresh food and diesel in the Azores, and no permission for crew / guest changes at Horta, they arrived in Den Helder, Willemsoord last Friday morning. The crew of the TECLA is home after 56 days at sea. Instead of complicated administrative burdens, the Port of Den Helder welcomed the TECLA friendly and with open arms, knowing how important a homeport call is for this family owned and operated beautiful sailing vessel. _____________________________________________________________________________________ PGS Completes East Shetlands Basin Survey The acquisition of PGS East Shetland Basin 2020 survey has completed successfully and the first results will be available in August. The RAMFORM TETHYS is now heading north to the Barents Sea. PGS and the survey prefunder are very pleased with the performance on the East Shetlands Basin project. Despite the ongoing challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, crew changes were carried out safely and efficiently. The seismic data quality is excellent and the coverage is good. Both the exclusion Research vessel RAMFORM TETHYS - Image zones of the Western Isles FPSO and the Tern platform led to expected coveragecourtesy Juanholes that will be filled with vintage data to deliver full coverage within the entire survey area. The seismic data is being processed in our Weybridge Imaging center and early results will be available in August. The RAMFORM TETHYS is now in transit to the Barents Sea and will acquire another MultiClient survey, extending our coverage in the Hammerfest basin later in the season. Source: PGS _____________________________________________________________________________________ 4 MNA CIRCULAR 2020 - #12 23rd June 2020 The Pulse Ponant to Offer Cruises from France Starting in July Ponant is offering cruises to the local market, sailing from French ports, starting in early July. The company is offering five different itineraries, with LE DUMONT D'URVILLE sailing week long cruises from roundtrip Le Havre from July through September. There is scenic cruising on the Seine River along with zodiac tours in Étretat. LE CHAMPLAIN will sail from roundtirp from Saint-Malo on week-long cruises, as well the JACQUES CARTIER. Bordeaux Cruises From Bordeaux, guests can board LE BOUGAINVILLE for week-long cruises from July 4 to Sept. 19. L'AUSTRAL will be deployed from Marseilles, also on week-long cruises through early October.Finally, LE LYRIAL will sail until mid October on week-long cruises from Nice. Source : cruiseindustrynews. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Burial at Sea - WWII Avenger Aircraft and thoughts today of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice At the link below is a very touching video, actually a piece of historical naval archive film that has been made into a short video, this is not photo-shopped, it's real. Notice in the opening shot - the plane landing on the carrier deck the gunner's position is all shot to pieces while the pilot's cockpit ahead of it is undamaged. Later notice the corpsman taking the fingerprints of the deceased gunner who was so badly shot up he was otherwise unidentifiable.