A Whale Gets Put Through Its Paces

What's billed as the world's largest oil skimmer is being put through its paces by the US Coast Guard to see if it can do what its promoters promise. For the next 48 hours, the A Whale will be tested to see if it can process 600,000 barrels of water per day to separate out the oil slicked contaminants from sea water.

If it does work as advertised, it would be a massive upgrade to the oil gathering capabilities because the ship can work in heavier seas and process far more sea water than existing skimmers.

Three Men Detained After Being Pulled From Submersible In East River

Authorities are questioning three men after pulling them from a submersible vessel in the East River in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to reports from ABC affiliate WABC.

The men were captured near the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in downtown Brooklyn, near the massive cruise ship the Queen Mary 2, just after 11 a.m.

The intent of the three men being held by police remains unclear, but the initial indication is that it did not appear to be terror-related. They have not been identified by police and no charges have been filed.

The orblike vessel, with a circular hatch on the top for entering and exiting, remains moored in the East River in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. It was equipped with oxygen tanks, WABC reported.

This is certainly suspicious as one doesn't see a submersible entering New York harbor every day, let alone one that was discovered near the Queen Mary 2 in Brooklyn's Red Hook.

I'd suggest this is a developing story. One has to wonder what kind of story the three men are telling authorities at this point, even as the authorities are saying that it didn't appear terror related. Perhaps on a cursory examination there was no sign of explosives, but a submersible in the busy New York harbor could cause damage to ships passing over it, including death or injury to the three occupants.

The captain of the vessel was issued a violation by the Coast Guard for operating within a security zone and operating an unsafe vessel.

All in all, this is quite curious.

UPDATE:
When in doubt, go to the submariners to get their take. Bubbleheads is left scratching his head over this one. On the one hand, it has the makings of an almost dry run, but on the other - what the heck were they thinking? What were they thinking pervades Rotini's sub BBS. The tricky currents in NY harbor are dangerous enough for surface craft - recall the crash of the Staten Island Ferry a few years back - let alone a submarine of the kind discovered today.

UPDATE:
Via Ace, Purple Avenger notes this would appear to be a Flickr stream of images about the submersible.

UPDATE:
Gothamist was on to this a guy few years back as well.

Coast Guard Makes Biggest Bust In U.S. History

The price of coke just got VERY expensive.

March 21, 2007 — - At nearly 20 tons, it's the largest maritime cocaine bust in U.S. history. The U.S. Coast Guard announced today that it seized 42,845 pounds of the drug from the Gatun, a Panamanian ship. Two of the Coast Guard's cutters approached the ship Sunday after a patrol plane spotted the vessel about 20 miles southwest of the Panamanian coast.

Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Karen Tandy pointed out that usually drug traffickers store their caches in secret compartments or conceal them with other legitimate cargo, but this shipment wasn't exactly hidden.

"They simply loaded these bales of cocaine into cargo containers on the top of the deck of this freighter. They were hiding in plain sight on the main deck."

Charley Diaz captains of one of the Coast Guard ships that closed in on the Gatun. He said the Gatun's crew did not resist but appeared nervous as the Coast Guard approached the crew's vessel. Diaz acknowledged the Panamanian ship was carrying some legal cargo, but that the "bales [of cocaine] were just piled high" in containers on the ship's deck, "almost up to the ceiling," Diaz described. "To think that any one of those containers, any two containers, can hold this much drugs is eye-opening."

Hitting Drug Traffickers 'Where It Hurts'

Tandy estimated the haul of cocaine could have sold on the street for about $600 million. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said, "Through collaboration, we've been able to strengthen our counternarcotics efforts, and to send a strong message to drug traffickers where it hurts -- in their pocket."

Cash, Drugs and Cartels

This bust blows past the old record of 30,109 pounds, seized from a ship in September 2004.

And the Coast Guard raid comes on the heels of a record-breaking cash seizure by the DEA last week. In cooperation with Mexican officials, that agency confiscated $205 million from chemical brokers who had provided Mexican cartels with the supplies to make methamphetamine.

In January, the DEA announced the extradition of 15 suspects tied to four Mexican drug cartels.

"That makes three big strikes in less than two months against the once untouchable and feared Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for so much of the drug supply in the United States," said Tandy.

Well congrats to the Coast Guard and the DEA. It boggles my mind, although it shouldn't, that there is that much demand for 20 tons of cocaine. 20 tons of something that is sold in grams. I am assuming that is 20 tons uncut. The amount is just mind blowing (literally.)