US navy declares war on tiny Scottish ferry.

[Blackleaf]

24 October 2006

US NAVY DECLARE WAR ON CLYDE FERRY

Exclusive By Cara Page

The Daily Record
Scotland's Newspaper

An innocent Clyde ferry, similar to one that a US Navy warship nearly decided to blow out of the water whilst full of passengers. The ferries carry passengers between the mainland and some of the many Scottish islands.

THE skipper of a tiny Clyde ferry feared his boat was going to be blown out of the water by a US warship yesterday.​

The Kenilworth was sailing from Kilcreggan to Gourock when the Americans threatened to open fire.​

The US ship had just set out from the nearby Faslane Royal Navy base when it radioed the warning.​

A source said: "The ferry skipper was just toddling across to Gourock when he got a call on the radio.​

"A departing US naval ship warned, 'Unidentified vessel approaching on my starboard side, please identify yourself. If you fail to do so, we will open fire on you with live ammunition.'"​

The source added: "The skipper got a real fright and radioed him back, saying he was just a wee ferry.​

"If you've got a big battleship loaded with guns bearing down on you and threatening to shoot, it's quite scary."​

The incident happened at 9.40am on the first day of a massive international training exercise - Operation Neptune Warrior - off the west coast of Scotland.​

The first phase involved ships and submarines fighting off simulated terrorist attacks by small boats and jetskis manned by Royal Marines.​

But unknown to the US crew, the Kenilworth, owned by Clyde Marine Services, was also in the vicinity.​

In addition to threatening to blow it out of the water, the US ship also ordered the Kenilworth, built 70 years ago, to give it a wide berth of 1000 yards.​

The shaken skipper put as much space between him and the warship as he could in a 10-minute crossing.​

The messages were broadcast on VHF channel 16, which is the international calling and distress frequency.​

Naval operations normally take place on secure channels which other maritime traffic cannot listen in to.​

The source said: "A warning like that should not be broadcast on Channel 16 unless it is a real situation."​

The ferry, carrying around a dozen passengers, arrived safely in Gourock before continuing its timetable.​

A spokeswoman at Faslane confirmed the incident but said it was unclear who had been threatened.​

She said six ships left the Clyde, including a US destroyer and frigate.​

She said: "One of the US ships challenged a vessel to identify itself and its intentions and used channel 16 correctly for navigational safety reasons.​

The ferry identified itself and was requested to keep a 1000-yard clearance which it complied with.​

"The warship then issued a warning, threatening to take action. But it's unclear who they were trying to identify, as there were a number of ships nearby.​

"The ferry heard this and identified itself. But channel 16 was wrongly used.​

It should have been on an excercise frequency."​

But she insisted: "There was absolutely no danger to the ferry or its passengers."​

She said Commander Don Chalmers, the deputy director of the Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff, who organised the excercise, had apologised to the skipper.​

She added: "All participants have been briefed on the correct procedures, to make sure it doesn't happen again."​

A spokesman for the Clyde Coastguard said: "We are reviewing the incident and looking at radio logs."​

dailyrecord.co.uk
********************************************************​

The American military has always been trigger-happy and clumsy.​

What was that rhyme that went around during World War II? It went something like this:​

"When the English shoot the Germans duck.
When the Germans shoot the English duck.
When the Americans shoot everyone ducks."​

 

[thomaska]

24 October 2006

US NAVY DECLARE WAR ON CLYDE FERRY

Exclusive By Cara Page

The Daily Record
Scotland's Newspaper

An innocent Clyde ferry, similar to one that a US Navy warship nearly decided to blow out of the water whilst full of passengers. The ferries carry passengers between the mainland and some of the many Scottish islands.

THE skipper of a tiny Clyde ferry feared his boat was going to be blown out of the water by a US warship yesterday.​

The Kenilworth was sailing from Kilcreggan to Gourock when the Americans threatened to open fire.​

The US ship had just set out from the nearby Faslane Royal Navy base when it radioed the warning.​

A source said: "The ferry skipper was just toddling across to Gourock when he got a call on the radio.​

"A departing US naval ship warned, 'Unidentified vessel approaching on my starboard side, please identify yourself. If you fail to do so, we will open fire on you with live ammunition.'"​

The source added: "The skipper got a real fright and radioed him back, saying he was just a wee ferry.​

"If you've got a big battleship loaded with guns bearing down on you and threatening to shoot, it's quite scary."​

The incident happened at 9.40am on the first day of a massive international training exercise - Operation Neptune Warrior - off the west coast of Scotland.​

The first phase involved ships and submarines fighting off simulated terrorist attacks by small boats and jetskis manned by Royal Marines.​

But unknown to the US crew, the Kenilworth, owned by Clyde Marine Services, was also in the vicinity.​

In addition to threatening to blow it out of the water, the US ship also ordered the Kenilworth, built 70 years ago, to give it a wide berth of 1000 yards.​

The shaken skipper put as much space between him and the warship as he could in a 10-minute crossing.​

The messages were broadcast on VHF channel 16, which is the international calling and distress frequency.​

Naval operations normally take place on secure channels which other maritime traffic cannot listen in to.​

The source said: "A warning like that should not be broadcast on Channel 16 unless it is a real situation."​

The ferry, carrying around a dozen passengers, arrived safely in Gourock before continuing its timetable.​

A spokeswoman at Faslane confirmed the incident but said it was unclear who had been threatened.​

She said six ships left the Clyde, including a US destroyer and frigate.​

She said: "One of the US ships challenged a vessel to identify itself and its intentions and used channel 16 correctly for navigational safety reasons.​

The ferry identified itself and was requested to keep a 1000-yard clearance which it complied with.​

"The warship then issued a warning, threatening to take action. But it's unclear who they were trying to identify, as there were a number of ships nearby.​

"The ferry heard this and identified itself. But channel 16 was wrongly used.​

It should have been on an excercise frequency."​

But she insisted: "There was absolutely no danger to the ferry or its passengers."​

She said Commander Don Chalmers, the deputy director of the Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff, who organised the excercise, had apologised to the skipper.​

She added: "All participants have been briefed on the correct procedures, to make sure it doesn't happen again."​

A spokesman for the Clyde Coastguard said: "We are reviewing the incident and looking at radio logs."​

dailyrecord.co.uk
********************************************************​

The American military has always been trigger-happy and clumsy.​

What was that rhyme that went around during World War II? It went something like this:​

"When the English shoot the Germans duck.
When the Germans shoot the English duck.

When the Americans shoot everyone ducks."​

Oh well, that the British are "wee little fairies" comes as no big surprise

And you'd be spewing that little rhyme in German if not for us.

 

[Curiosity]

Oh Oh those bad Americans - let's have the body count shall we?

 

[Daz_Hockey]

Oh well, that the British are "wee little fairies" comes as no big surprise

And you'd be spewing that little rhyme in German if not for us.

Incredibly insulting, and actually, incredibly wrong, let's not go throwing "you'd be this if it weren't for us" rubbish..

If it wasn't for the mighty british navy, you'd be speaking French.....and ACTUALLY, Britain knew there wasn't actually a REAL possibility of German invasion, they could never get through the British navy blockade, they hardly had a navy and they also lacked air superiority.

No, if anything, we'd probably be on the border with Soviet RUSSIA ACTUALLY....Russia already had the Germans on the run and it was only a matter of time.


Let's get one thing strait you ignoramus...RUSSIA Won the European war virtually single-handedly, and without all their decent Generals....America was just there to clim the glory.

 

[Curiosity]

Daz

You are a hoot!

 

[Daz_Hockey]

Daz

You are a hoot!

But I speak the truth, ok America's manpower ended the war quicker than it would of, but surely you know the Russians were beating Germany anyway, it was only a matter of time, the Japanese knew of their might, why didn't they attack em eh?.

Come on, I just get wound up when claims like that are unfoundedly thrown about.

cus their wrong.

 

[Curiosity]

Well Daz - we'll have to bow to your superior knowledge then eh - don't get in a snit...

Actually it was before my time.....

 

[Daz_Hockey]

Before mine too, but saying stuff like that would be like me walking into America and saying "argh this country is full of ignorant fat self-obsessed jerks who want to rule the world" - I just couldnt claim that because I don't know that for a fact -which it isn't.

What IS true though, is that WITHOUT British Commonwealth countries like Canada and those occupied countries like Poland, who's pilots were so desperately needed, Britain could possibly have been speaking German.

But the Air Battle was long won BEFORE the US got involved. Yes, they may point to all the shipments sent, but in the end, it was Britain and the commonwealth's Airforce and the Royal Navy who stopped Germany, and that basically freed the German's up to go for Operation Barbarossa, with us snapping at their heals as it were, the Nazi's were facing FAR Superior numbers in the russians, and the cold stopped em and they were being pushed back, no doubt Russia would have finished Germany on their own, it's just a question how far they would go.

I certainly don't believe they'd have gone against Britain, who, in the end, used a lot of their naval power to supply the russians.

Yes, you could say i know what I'm talking about.

 

[Colpy]

Ah, Daz, you are partly right, but you don't give the USA enough credit.

Yes, the Germans gave up the idea of invading Britain in the fall of 1940, a year before the USA was in the war, but that was a temporary measure in their view.

The Germans did not LOSE the war in Russia until the winter of 42-43 at Stalingrad.

Those supplies the Royal Navy was running into Murmansk? Made in the US. Six months after entering the war, American military production was twice that of Germany/Japan combined. THAT is what wins modern wars.

Now, if you remove the threat of large allied incursion on the coast of Europe (impossible without American involvement), the Germans could have concentrated their efforts in the east, and perhaps......probably taken the Russians out. Especially if the Russians didn't have AMERICAN material.......

With the Russians out of it, guess who would have been next?

And that ignores the fact the Americans formed the vast majority of forces used in the Pacific theatre.....

Would England be speaking German without American involvement? Well, who knows? The original accusation was a little arrogant.........But as we say about the USA in World War Two......better late than never.

 

[Daz_Hockey]

That's what Churchill said......but he had a vested interest (and he didn't want to upset the memory of his American mother).

I think your forgetting the fact that the troops that pushed back the russians were the siberian brigades who only sent half their units (the rest were guarding against attack by the japs...which never came)...basically, they had a lot more to spare. Sheer numbers alone would have overwhelmed the Germans.

But yes, I take nothing away from America's involvement, but let's not forget, even with superior numbers, what happened to the US Army when Rommel first got his hands on them.....slaughter my man...sheer slaughter.

 

[Hotshot]

Incredibly insulting, and actually, incredibly wrong, let's not go throwing "you'd be this if it weren't for us" rubbish..

If it wasn't for the mighty british navy, you'd be speaking French.....and ACTUALLY, Britain knew there wasn't actually a REAL possibility of German invasion, they could never get through the British navy blockade, they hardly had a navy and they also lacked air superiority.

No, if anything, we'd probably be on the border with Soviet RUSSIA ACTUALLY....Russia already had the Germans on the run and it was only a matter of time.


Let's get one thing strait you ignoramus...RUSSIA Won the European war virtually single-handedly, and without all their decent Generals....America was just there to clim the glory.

I don't know what history book you are reading, but the Canadians were instrumental iin the win on the western front. But you are correct in that the yankees were there just to claim the glory.

 

[Hotshot]

On to the original topic, it certainly is not a surprise to have the yanks throwing their weight around in an arrogant fashion. It is also not surprising that they didn't have a clue what was going on around them.

 

[MikeyDB]

With machine guns mounted on their coast guard ships patrolling the Great Lakes, sooner or later as any examination of "America at War" would reveal, innocent people will be killed. The Scots on that ferry are really lucky that some swashbuckling Yankee patriot didn't have his finger on a machinegun trigger or enable button on a missile launch console.

Someone said.....Walk quietly but carry a big stick....five'l get cha ten that it was an American...

 

[CDNBear]

I wonder if the Captian was just remembering the Cole, and took due action as fast as he/she could. At least he/she used words, not rounds. I think some are a tad to hasty to judge the acts of a Captian with hundreds of men and women in his/her care/command, when he/she takes what is clearly the appropriate course of action to ensurethen the safety of both his/her multimillion dollar ship and its priceless crew.

"Talk softly but carry a big stick" Teddy Roosevelt

 

[Sassylassie]

Good point Bear, there are strict protocals in place when another boat approaches a Distroyer even in Canada. It could of been the Scotish Burr, it can be hard to understand. Maybe a busy shipping lane with lots of traffic and people chattering on the radio?

 

[MikeyDB]

CDNbear

I believe caution is the best policy as well, however I find it a little difficult to imagine that a carier group or an armada of American warships wasn't visible on satellite surveilance, AWACS or any other number of ways that could easily have indicated to the American captain that a ship (ferry) was located near them and if we believe that this was a scheduled ferry, certainly all information regarding the possible meeting with this ship would have already been known. Now it that ferry had been commandeered by raving lunatics bent on destroying the American ships. then yes caution is well advised. Just doesn't sound like good intelligence leading to foreseeable outcomes to me....

 

[Johnny Utah]

Oh Oh those bad Americans - let's have the body count shall we?

The USS Jimmy Carter..

 

[MikeyDB]

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Thats the latest submarine our Canadian Defense department purchased from Britain....

 

[Curiosity]

Johnny - Great one!!!

 

[WilliamAshley]

If they do it in exercises why don't they do it in real life?

(other then this "mistake" of course)

what if the ferry was full of terrorists?