No. 5 General Information - World's Largest Ships

No. 5 General Information - World's Largest Ships

AIRCRAFT CARRIER - USS Enterprise

USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CV

A(N)-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E." At 1,123feet (342.3m), she is the longest naval vessel in the world, though her 93,500tons displacement places her as the second heaviest supercarrier, surpassed only by the Nimitz-class.

General Characteristics

Length:	1,123ft (342m)
Beam:	132.8ft (40.5m)
Draft:	39ft (12m)

Enterprise is currently homeported at Norfolk, Virginia. As one of the oldest carriers in the fleet, she is scheduled for decommissioning in 2014-2015. Her intended replacement is the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Her current commanding officer is Captain Ronald Horton.

In 1958 Enterprise’s keel was laid at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. On September 24, 1960 the ship was launched for the first time, sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Franke, wife of the former Secretary of the Navy. On November 25, 1961 the Enterprise was commissioned, with Captain Vincent P. DePoix in command. On January 12, 1962 the ship then made its maiden voyage conducting a three-month shakedown cruise. After commissioning, Enterprise began a lengthy series of tests and training exercises designed to determine the full capabilities of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

USS Enterprise is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2014-2015, with the exact year dependent on the state of the nuclear fuel currently in the carrier’s reactors. The subsequent fate of Enterprise is, as of yet, unknown. One possibility is that the CVN-65 may end up as an aircraft-carrier museum ship, because Enterprise is the world’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier and the only remaining ship in the lineage of U.S. Navy ships named Enterprise. It is also possible that she could end up in the Ship-Submarine recycling program, in which case Enterprise would become the first nuclear powered carrier to be dismantled as part of the program.

Because of the huge cost of her construction, Enterprise was launched and commissioned without the planned Terrier missile launchers. These were never installed and the ship’s self-defense suite instead consisted of three shorter ranged RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, Basic Point Defense Missile System (BPDMS) launchers. Later upgraded to carry two NATO Sea Sparrow (NSSM) and three Mk. 71 Phalanx CIWS gun mounts. One CIWS mount was later removed and two 21 cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers were added.

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No. 4 General Information - World's Largest Ships

No. 4 General Information - World's Largest Ships

BULK CARRIER - BERGE STAHL

The MS Berge Stahl is the largest bulk carrier ship in the world. She is registered in Stavanger, Norway. She was previously registered in Monrovia, Liberia.

General Characteristics

Length:	343m (1,122 ft)
Beam:	65m (208,3ft)
Draft:	23m
Capacity:	364,767

An iron ore carrier, the Berge Stahl has a capacity of 364,767 metric tons of deadweight (DWT) she was built in 1986 by Hyundai Heavy Industries. The Berge Stahl is 1,122 feet (343 m) long, has a beam, or width, of 208.3 feet (65 m), and a draft, or depth in the water, of 23 m.

Her Hyundai B&W 7L90MCE diesel engine is 30feet (9 m) high, drives a single 30foot (9 m) screw, and puts out 27,610 horsepower (20.59 MW), has a top speed of 13.5 knots, and has a 30foot (9 m) high rudder.

She is owned by the Norwegian shipping company Bergesen d.y. ASA.

Because of her massive size, the Berge Stahl can only tie up, fully loaded, at two ports in the world, hauling ore from the Terminal Marítimo de Ponta da Madeira in Brazil to the Europoort near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Even at these ports, passage must be timed to coincide with high tides to prevent the ship running aground. The Berge Stahl makes this trip about ten times each year, or a round-trip about every five weeks. In September of 2006, the ship carried ore to the port of Majishan, China, where she was dry-docked and given her twenty-year inspection. On the return voyage to Rotterdam, she picked up a partial load of ore in Dampier, Western Australia, and Saldanha Bay in South Africa (where the maximum depth permitted is 21 m).

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No. 3 General Information - World's Largest Ships

No. 3 General Information - World's Largest Ships

OCEAN LINER - QUEEN MARY 2

The RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after the earlier Cunard liner Queen Mary, which was in turn named after Mary of Teck, the Queen Consort of George V. At the time of her construction in 2003 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the QM2 was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, and at a gross tonnage(GT)of148,528tons, was also the largest. She lost the gross tonnage distinction to Royal Caribbean International's 154,407GT Freedom of the Seas in April 2006, but QM2 remains the largest ocean liner (as opposed to cruise ship) ever built, and her width, length, and waterline breadth are unsurpassed by any other passenger ship. Also, the QM2 displaces approximately 76,000 tons; the Royal Caribbean Freedom ships displace about 64,000 tons.

General Characteristics

Tonnage:	148,528GT
Length:	345m (1,132ft)
Beam:	41m (135ft) waterline, 45m (147.6ft) extreme (bridge wings)
Draft:	10m (32.8ft)
Capacity:	2,620 passengers

The Queen Mary 2 is the current Cunard flagship and makes regular transatlantic crossings. The ship was constructed to complement the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)—the Cunard flagship from 1969 to 2004—replacing it on the transatlantic route. The first RMSQueen Mary sailed the Atlantic from 1936 to 1967. QM2 had the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) title conferred on her, as a gesture to Cunard's history, by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route.

On 12 January 2004, the Queen Mary 2 set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the United States, carrying 2,620 passengers under the command of her first captain Ronald Warwick, who had previously commanded the Queen Elizabeth 2. Warwick is the son of William (Bil) Warwick who had also been a Cunard officer and had also been the QE2's first captain.

During the XXVIII Olympics the QM2 sailed to Athens and docked at Piraeus for two weeks for use as a hotel-ship, serving the then Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair and his wife Cherie, the French President Jacques Chirac, US president George H. W. Bush, and the US Olympic men's basketball team.

In January 2006 the QM2 embarked on a circumnavigation of South America (the ship is too large to pass through the Panama Canal). Upon departure from Fort Lauderdale one of her propeller pods was damaged when it struck a channel wall, forcing the ship to sail at a reduced speed, which resulted in Commodore Warwick's decision to skip several calls on its voyage to Rio de Janeiro. Many of her passengers threatened to stage a sit-in protest because of the missed calls, before Cunard offered to refund the voyage costs. The QM2 continued to operate at a reduced service speed, and several itinerary changes were necessary until repairs had been completed after the ship returned to Europe in June, where the QM2 paid a visit to dry dock, and the damaged propeller pod was unseated. In November the QM2 was dry-docked once more at the Blohm + Voss yard in Hamburg (drydock Elbe 17) for the reinstallation of the repaired propeller pod. At the same time, sprinkler systems were installed in all of the vessel's balconies to comply with new safety regulations which had come into effect since the MV Star Princess fire. Additionally, both bridge wings were extended by 2 metres to improve visibility.

After completing the journey around South America, on 23 February 2006, the QM2 met her namesake, the original RMS Queen Mary, which is permanently docked at Long Beach, California. Escorted by a flotilla of smaller ships, the two Queens exchanged a "whistle salute" which was heard throughout the city of Long Beach.

On 10 January 2007 the QM2 started her first world cruise, circling the globe in 81 days. On 20 February, she met her fleet-mate, the Queen Elizabeth 2, also on her 2007 world cruise, in Sydney harbour. This is the first time two Cunard Queens have been together in Sydney since the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth served as troop ships in 1941. Despite the early arrival time of 5:42 am, the QM2's presence attracted so many viewers that the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Anzac Bridge were blocked. With 1,600 passengers leaving the ships in Sydney, Cunard estimated the stopovers injected more than $1 million into the local economy.

Famous passengers and/or guests of the QM2 include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, former French President Jacques Chirac, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, jazz musician Dave Brubeck, former US president George H. W. Bush, comedian and actor John Cleese, actor Richard Dreyfuss, author and editor Harold Evans, director George Lucas, singer Carly Simon, singer Rod Stewart, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, and financier Donald Trump.

Following the retirement of QE2, Queen Mary 2 will be the only operational ocean liner left in active passenger service.

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May I please borrow $25?'

May I please borrow $25?'

May I please borrow $25

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard every day for such childish frivolities. '

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've bee n thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

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SN: 8762

SN: 8762

Everyone Is Different

Everyone is individual and different, in the same way as everyone's handprints are unique.

"We should acknowledge differences, we should greet differences, until difference makes no difference anymore." — Adela Allen

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PMMA CADETS EMBARKATION MOVED TO JUNE 14

PMMA CADETS EMBARKATION MOVED TO JUNE 14

As a precautionary measure against A(H1N1), Philippine Merchant Marine Academy has postponed its opening of classes to June 14.

PMMA CADETS EMBARKATION MOVED TO JUNE 14...
June 8 2009, 0800H

PMMA Cadets embarkation to the Academy has been moved to 14th June 2009 based on the original embarkation time.

The changes are deemed needed to enable Academy administration in sanitizing all classrooms and billeting quarters to ensure the safety and welfare of all students pursuant to CHED urgent memo.

Please be guided accordingly.

Thank you,

PMMA ADMINISTRATION

Source: Pmma Website

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