Posted:
November 25, 2013
The following article was submitted by Captain Tom Pearse-Drance, master on the USNS Bowditch, and includes excerpts from a U.S. Navy article by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shannon Heavin. The USNS Bowditch is operated for Military Sealift Command by Maersk Line, Limited subsidiary 3PSC and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.
PHILIPPINE SEA (NNS) - The USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) was first on scene off the coast of Tacloban, Republic of the Philippines, ensuring safe sea lanes in order for the U.S. Navy's George Washington Strike Group (GWSG) to assist the Third Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of Operation Damayan, providing relief in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
The USNS Bowditch left a port call in Cebu City a day early by typhoon sortie order to avoid Typhoon Haiyan (called Yolanda in the Philippines), as Haiyan unleashed violent winds and a powerful storm surge, leaving many cities in a state of total devastation.
Once the storm passed, the Bowditch was released to proceed back to our assigned cooperative survey in the Surigao Strait and Leyte area. Knowing we would be in the area soon, the Bowditch immediately offered any relief services it could render as directed by the U.S. Navy.
The first order of business returning to the survey area was to gather data on previously installed tide gauges. This allowed us to contact and check on several Filipino communities South of Tacloban through our Filipino liaison officers working with NAVOCEANO Det. 129 while checking the tide gauges necessary for survey.
On November 12, 2013, the Bowditch was officially tasked to assist in the humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) effort that was taking place near one of the hardest struck areas, Tacloban. The Bowditch was used to create potable water for Tacloban-area residents and delivered food stocks.
The Bowditch took on the task of conducting a navigability survey of San Pedro Bay in the vicinity of Tacloban. The Bowditch was also tasked to verify a safe passage route into Leyte Gulf for the GWSG, as well as safe anchorages in an area dotted with shoals and reefs toward the entrance of San Pedro Bay, where Tacloban Port is located.
The Bowditch serves as an oceanographic-sampling and data-collection center of surface, mid-water and ocean floor parameters. When a significant storm event passes through an area, surveys of this nature are required to confirm bottom features and identify navigational hazards.
"Bowditch has been a fantastic member of the strike group because, in the wake of a major disaster like this, especially in an area that is known for shifting sands, it's important that we get a very accurate description of the topographic levels of the ocean so that we can safely place our relief-assistance ships, typically the amphibious ships as they get close to shore," said Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, commander, GWSG. "Bowditch was nearly first on scene and has been working the Leyte Gulf aggressively, and she'll be wrapping up in the next 24 to 36 hours. A very impressive work ethic displayed by Bowditch has contributed significantly to the overall success of the maritime component of this disaster relief mission."
The Bowditch gathered data that provided much of the military's information on the ocean environment, which in turn stabilized the safety and mission of sailors and servicemen. The ship's success lies in the multi-beam contour mapping system, and wide-angle side-scan sonar systems, which continuously collect data over a broad strip of ocean floor. The Bowditch also employs two Hydrographic Survey Launches, small boats that use single and multi-beam echo sounders and streamed side-scan sonar systems to collect data in very shallow regions. The waters close to the shoreline tend to have the most significant changes in the ocean bottom due to shifted debris and bottom features. However, relief efforts depend heavily on proximity to the shore to get supplies to where they need to go.
"Bowditch has already provided charted data of safe navigable channels and identified new hazards that will prove invaluable in the relief efforts that have and will continue to occur in the region," said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Murnane, naval oceanographer for GWSG.
The Bowditch is operated by 3PSC, a subsidiary of Maersk Line, Limited, for Military Sealift Command's Naval Oceanographic Office, a component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command headquartered at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The USNS Bowditch is one of six Pathfinder Class ships with an all-civilian crew of professional merchant mariners and scientific support personnel. American Maritime Officers represents all licensed officers onboard the ships. With a 329-foot length and a 58-foot beam, the Bowditch displaces 4,762 long tons.
USNS Bowditch ensures safe sea lanes, provides aid in disaster relief effort in Philippines
The following article was submitted by Captain Tom Pearse-Drance, master on the USNS Bowditch, and includes excerpts from a U.S. Navy article by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shannon Heavin. The USNS Bowditch is operated for Military Sealift Command by Maersk Line, Limited subsidiary 3PSC and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.
PHILIPPINE SEA (NNS) - The USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) was first on scene off the coast of Tacloban, Republic of the Philippines, ensuring safe sea lanes in order for the U.S. Navy's George Washington Strike Group (GWSG) to assist the Third Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of Operation Damayan, providing relief in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
The USNS Bowditch left a port call in Cebu City a day early by typhoon sortie order to avoid Typhoon Haiyan (called Yolanda in the Philippines), as Haiyan unleashed violent winds and a powerful storm surge, leaving many cities in a state of total devastation.
Once the storm passed, the Bowditch was released to proceed back to our assigned cooperative survey in the Surigao Strait and Leyte area. Knowing we would be in the area soon, the Bowditch immediately offered any relief services it could render as directed by the U.S. Navy.
The first order of business returning to the survey area was to gather data on previously installed tide gauges. This allowed us to contact and check on several Filipino communities South of Tacloban through our Filipino liaison officers working with NAVOCEANO Det. 129 while checking the tide gauges necessary for survey.
On November 12, 2013, the Bowditch was officially tasked to assist in the humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) effort that was taking place near one of the hardest struck areas, Tacloban. The Bowditch was used to create potable water for Tacloban-area residents and delivered food stocks.
The Bowditch took on the task of conducting a navigability survey of San Pedro Bay in the vicinity of Tacloban. The Bowditch was also tasked to verify a safe passage route into Leyte Gulf for the GWSG, as well as safe anchorages in an area dotted with shoals and reefs toward the entrance of San Pedro Bay, where Tacloban Port is located.
The Bowditch serves as an oceanographic-sampling and data-collection center of surface, mid-water and ocean floor parameters. When a significant storm event passes through an area, surveys of this nature are required to confirm bottom features and identify navigational hazards.
"Bowditch has been a fantastic member of the strike group because, in the wake of a major disaster like this, especially in an area that is known for shifting sands, it's important that we get a very accurate description of the topographic levels of the ocean so that we can safely place our relief-assistance ships, typically the amphibious ships as they get close to shore," said Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, commander, GWSG. "Bowditch was nearly first on scene and has been working the Leyte Gulf aggressively, and she'll be wrapping up in the next 24 to 36 hours. A very impressive work ethic displayed by Bowditch has contributed significantly to the overall success of the maritime component of this disaster relief mission."
The Bowditch gathered data that provided much of the military's information on the ocean environment, which in turn stabilized the safety and mission of sailors and servicemen. The ship's success lies in the multi-beam contour mapping system, and wide-angle side-scan sonar systems, which continuously collect data over a broad strip of ocean floor. The Bowditch also employs two Hydrographic Survey Launches, small boats that use single and multi-beam echo sounders and streamed side-scan sonar systems to collect data in very shallow regions. The waters close to the shoreline tend to have the most significant changes in the ocean bottom due to shifted debris and bottom features. However, relief efforts depend heavily on proximity to the shore to get supplies to where they need to go.
"Bowditch has already provided charted data of safe navigable channels and identified new hazards that will prove invaluable in the relief efforts that have and will continue to occur in the region," said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Murnane, naval oceanographer for GWSG.
The Bowditch is operated by 3PSC, a subsidiary of Maersk Line, Limited, for Military Sealift Command's Naval Oceanographic Office, a component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command headquartered at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The USNS Bowditch is one of six Pathfinder Class ships with an all-civilian crew of professional merchant mariners and scientific support personnel. American Maritime Officers represents all licensed officers onboard the ships. With a 329-foot length and a 58-foot beam, the Bowditch displaces 4,762 long tons.