Stephen
6.8K posts
@StephenJBeynon
Linux IT and DevOps engineer with background in storage. EV, clean energy and home automation enthusiast
Don’t see these prices when running on fossil fuel! Role on net zero!
OK, before you stop laughing, hear me out. The problem as we all know is the Strait of Hormuz, which is said by the IRGC to be closed, even though we have not seen any ships hit by mines (only USVs or areal drones). What if we bring back a Q-ship? Q-ships were ships disguised to look like merchant ships but were in fact heavily armed. What if we organized an escorted convoy to run the Strait, but at its front we put minesweepers and an armed oil tanker that is filled with water but not oil. A large tanker, such as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), filled with water instead of oil would likely be more resilient to the sinking effects of mine hits, but would still sustain severe damage. Filling a tanker with water turns it into a ballasted, non-buoyant platform. While this means it cannot easily be sunk by flooding (it is already effectively flooded), but multiple mine hits would still cause catastrophic damage, breaking the hull or severing the ship. While a water-filled tanker would not sink due to "loss of cargo displacement," multiple hits (depending on the size and location, particularly if the ship breaks in two) would still render it non-operational or unrepairable, similar to how capital ships in WWII often required 10–20+ torpedo/bomb hits to fully sink. So, this is where the odds come in. A tanker could sustain at least 2 mine hits and still keep going, but multiple mine hits could sink it. It all depends on how heavily mined the Strait really is. Considering that the Iranians have already let several ships through, it can't be an enormous number. And if this decoy tanker filled with weapons and water is preceded by some minesweepers, the odds could be good of creating a channel for the rest of the convoy to move through. Once through the Strait, if the modern Q-ship is indeed heavily damaged, it can always be abandoned in deep water. As for where to get this decoy tanker? Haven't we already seized 10 of them from the Shadow Fleet? I would certainly rely on the expertise of people like Sal and John who have way more experience and knowledge as to whether or not this is even feasible. It's a gamble, to be sure, but maybe it could also work. @johnkonrad @mercoglianos This photo is of the USS Big Horn refitted as a Q-ship at the Boston Navy Yard. It is shown with expandable living quarters amidships and on the poop deck and some considered the modifications to be a betrayal of the ship’s true purpose.
Look at what Iran has been hitting since Feb. 28: radar systems, SATCOM terminals, tankers, and now an AWACS. That's not random. It's a systematic attack on the infrastructure that makes U.S. air power function. Iran's running an asymmetric counter-air campaign. A 🧵.
Govt reviewing flagship EV sale quotas after biggest car production fall in 73 years trib.al/rCwVKHG
