Exclusive – US warship sails near islands Beijing claims in South China Sea: US officials

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, three U.S. officials told Reuters, even as President Donald Trump's administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. FILE PHOTO: USS Chafee, a US Navy destroyer which operates 100 percent on biofuel, sails about 150 miles north of the island of Oahu during the RIMPAC Naval exercises off Hawaii July 18,2012.

USNS Comfort responds to second hospital generator failure

The U.S. Health and Human Services and Puerto Rico Department of Health representatives are prioritizing patients at each stop prior to Comfort's arrival. The Department of Defense is supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Maria to minimize suffering and is one component of the overall whole-of-government response effort.

Puerto Rico still devastated, storm Nate threatens

We end today's show where we began the week: in Puerto Rico . Doctors say the island's health system remains crippled two weeks after Hurricane Maria hit the island , leaving more than 90 percent of the island without electricity and half of its residents without drinking water.

APNewsBreak: US military halts exercises over Qatar crisis

In this Aug. 21, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Defense Department, Qatari special operations personnel conduct a military free-fall Friendship Jump over Qatar. The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017.

Hurricane deployments stretch US military thin

The extended deployment of military cargo jets and Navy ships to help with Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma relief efforts is causing military planners to scramble and recalculate future deployments all the way from Afghanistan to the Korean Peninsula, according to several defense officials familiar with the current discussions underway inside the Defense Department. Due to security concerns, officials refused to discuss specific changes in deployment timelines or the units involved, but sketched out how they could impact overseas deployments into 2018.

Suez Canal Orders Two Cutter Suction Dredgers

The Egyptian Suez Canal Authority has placed an order for two custom-built 29,190kW heavy-duty rock cutter suction dredgers . SCA has signed a contract with Royal IHC for the design and construction of two CSDs, which will be built in The Netherlands and are expected to be delivered in 2020 The vessels will have an overall length of 147.4 meters and provide a maximum dredging depth of 35 meters.

Rolls-Royce, Google Cloud Sign Landmark Deal

The maritime industry's exhaustive push toward autonomy just received a boost in the form of a deal signed between Rolls-Royce and Google to develop further its intelligent awareness systems. The agreement was signed at the Google Cloud Summit in Sweden, and it allows Rolls-Royce to use Google's Cloud Machine Learning Engine to further train the company's artificial intelligence based object classification system for detecting, identifying and tracking the objects a vessel can encounter at sea.

CGG Wins Creditor Support for Chapter 11 Plan

CGG SA announces that all creditor classes entitled to vote on the chapter 11 plan proposed in the chapter 11 cases commenced on 14 June 2017 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York by CGG SA's 14 main foreign, direct and indirect subsidiaries, each a borrower or guarantor in respect of CGG Group's funded financial indebtedness, have accepted the plan overwhelmingly. Specifically, all holders who have cast ballots in respect of the Secured Loans, and 97.14% in number and 97.96% in amount of those casting ballots in respect of the Senior Notes, voted in favour of the plan.

Royal Navy to investigate – inappropriate relationship’ on board nuclear submarine

The Daily Mirror reported that the Ministry of Defence was probing an "inappropriate relationship" between crew members and that the captain of the vessel, who has not been named, had been relieved of his duties pending the outcome. The MoD refused to confirm the nature of the inquiry but said in a statement: "We can confirm the Royal Navy is undertaking an investigation.

Rhoads Selected by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for IDIQ Contract

Philadelphia, PA, October 01, 2017 -- -- Rhoads Industries, Inc. , a strategic partner and total solution provider of industrial fabrication, installation and maintenance services and facilities, announced it was awarded a three-year IDIQ contract from the Army Corps of Engineers that will amount to $49 million in Navy work. The contract extends the Company's ten-year relationship with the Navy and will entail supplying skilled labor and custom fabrication to support their activities at the Navy Yard.

U.S. Navy conducts drills amid North Korea tensions, as China keeps watch

As the commanders of the largest U.S. warship in Asia seek to maintain operational readiness amid protracted tensions over North Korea , they find themselves keeping one eye on China , too. On Saturday, as F-18 Super Hornet jet fighters roared from the decks of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier during routine drills deep in the South China Sea , two Chinese frigates maintained a constant line-of-sight vigil.

Japan-based U.S. carrier navigates crowded waters as North Korea tensions mount

As the commanders of the largest U.S. warship in Asia seek to maintain operational readiness amid protracted tensions over North Korea, they find themselves keeping one eye on China, too. On Saturday, as F-18 Super Hornet jet fighters roared from the decks of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier during routine drills deep in the South China Sea, two Chinese frigates maintained a constant line-of-sight vigil.

Trump lashes out at San Juan mayor who begged for more help

President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at the mayor of San Juan and other officials in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, contemptuous of their claims of a laggard U.S. response to the natural disaster that has imperiled the island's future. "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help," Trump said in a series of tweets a day after the capital city's mayor appealed for help "to save us from dying."