14 DAY TRIAL // Nostalgia happens to the best of us, some might want to argue after learning that, later this month, the United States Navy wants to head to Indonesia and visit a ship that has been lying on the ocean floor for decades.
Information shared with the public says that the ship the United States Navy wants to be reunited with, even if only for a short while, is dubbed the USS Houston and sank back in 1942.
Thus, its remains now rest in the waters off the west coast of the island of Java, where the vessel ended up in the aftermath of a confrontation during World War II, Live Science informs.
Despite the fact that it rests in Indonesian waters, the USS Houston is still the property of the United States. Hence the fact that the Navy can pay it a visit whenever it feels like a reunion is in order, the same source explains.
Before people start thinking that the United States Navy has grown soft and turned all mushy, it need be said that the decision to drop by and say “hello” to the USS Houston was not taken out of sheer sentimentality.
On the contrary, it appears that, apart from assessing the condition of the shipwreck, the United States Navy plans to take advantage of its visit to the island of Java to carry out salvage and rescue diving training together with the Indonesian Navy.
To put it in a nutshell, the USS Houston's remains will be used to give salvage and rescue divers an opportunity to carry out various exercises at a real shipwreck site. These exercises are expected to boost maritime security.
Talking to the press, Rear Admiral Cindy Thebaud has explained that the visit to the USS Houston is part and parcel of an annual military training program dubbed the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT, for short).
Apart from allowing the United States Navy and allies in Southeast Asia to discuss shared maritime security concerns, the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training makes it possible to reinforce relationships among various navies.
“Working with our Indonesian navy partners, CARAT offers an excellent opportunity to conduct this diving exchange as part of our shared training goals, while also allowing us to determine the condition of a ship that is an important part of the US Navy's heritage in this region,” Cindy Thebaud says.
The USS Houston measured about 570 feet (174 meters) in length and weighed an impressive 9,050 tons (8,210 metric tons) when it was still floating. In order to inspect its condition, the Navy will use human divers, sonar sensing systems, and a remotely operated vehicle.