650 Years of Hanseatic Cities

This is a Joint Issue between Germany and Sweden.

In 1356, representatives of several commercial cities meet in Lubeck, agree on a common strategy to enforce their trade interests against regional rulers to understand. This meeting is now a foundation of the Hanseatic League of Cities considered. Their main trade routes covered by London and Bruges to Reval (now Tallinn in Estonia) and Novgorod (Russia) over the North and Baltic Sea region. But many inland cities such as Cologne or Halle an der Saale were trading ring. In its heyday (until 1400) 200 cities joined the Hanseatic cities under the leadership of Lubeck.

View Larger Map

Click here for more details on The Hanseatic League.

Date of Issue: September 07, 2006

Technical Description:
Text: Joachim Rieb, Chemnitz
Value: €0.70

Cover from Germany

I got this cover for a swap from Mr. B. Moritz from Germany with ship stamps.

I also got some FDCs too, but will upload it some other time.

BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile - 10th Anniversary

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We can view the missile being launched from an Indian Naval Ship

Date of Issue: December 22, 2008

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two great rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world's fastest cruise missile and is about three and a half times faster than the U.S.A's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. A hypersonic version of the missile is also presently under development (Lab Tested with 5.26 Mach Speed).

The missile is in service with the Indian Navy. Talwar class frigate and Shivalik class frigate are frigates of the Indian Navy that can fire the BrahMos. INS Tabar and INS Trishul are Talwar class vessels armed with supersonic BrahMos while INS Shivalik was the first vessel of the Shivalik class to incorporate the BrahMos. Other vessels of the Shivalik Class and Talwar Class are to be armed with BrahMos missiles by 2009 and 2010 respectively. In 2007, the navy promised to arm the Godavari class frigates and Brahmaputra class frigates with the BrahMos too. Rajput class destroyers are Destroyers of the Indian Navy that can fire the BrahMos. The INS Rajput, INS Ranvir (D54) and INS Ranvijay (D55) which are modified versions of Soviet Kashin class destroyers have been fitted with BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile systems. The new class of destroyers namely Kolkata Class are also to be fitted with the BrahMos and there are plans to arm the rest of the vessels of the Rajput Class with BrahMos too. On the other hand the Delhi class destroyers are to be modified to incorporate the BrahMos. The first of the Kolkata Class should roll out in 2012 while the Delhi Class and Rajput will be armed with the Brahmos by 2009.

The submarine launched version of the missile is ready for testing. The missile will be either tested on a Kilo class submarine of the Indian Navy or will be tested in Russia. The land attack version of the missile was fired from Destroyer INS Rajput and the missile hit and destroyed the right target among a group of targets. The vertical launch of Brahmos was conducted on December 18, 2008 from INS Ranvir (D54).

INS Rajput served as the trials ship for the PJ-10 (BrahMos) cruise missile, which is expected to carry part of the strategic second-strike capability of the armed forces. The missile has been test fired four times - 12 February 2003, 23 November 2003, 03 November 2004 and 15 April 2005 - from INS Rajput.

Russian Navy

According to sources the BrahMos could be fitted to the updated Gorshkov class of frigates which will be entering the Russian navy soon. Although it is stated that Russian navy had not originally planned on using the BrahMos system it may still consider doing so under pressure from India. The defense ministry reported that due to the size and hull specifications of the BrahMos, few if any of its new ships will be able to accommodate it.

For more details on BrahMos, click here.

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Technical Description
Stamp and FDC Design: Kamleshwar Singh
Cancellation Design: Alka Sharma
Printer: India Security Press, Nashik
Process: Photogravure
Value: Rs. 25
Printed Quantity: 0.2 million

BrahMos launched vertically from INS Ranvir

Source: wikipedia, bharat-rakshak.com

Battle of Trafalgar MS

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Nelson first visited Gibraltar in 1776 age 18, as a young midshipman serving on board HMS Worcester a third rate, 64-gun ship which was on convoy duty. Nelson went ashore with dispatches to be forwarded to the British Consul in Cadiz.

In June 1803 Nelson embarked on HMS Victory as Commander in Chief in the Mediterranean. The next time he stepped off her on to land was on 20th July 1805 at Gibraltar. During that time he had been either blockading or chasing the French and Spanish fleets. Nelson's connection with Gibraltar was not finished as it was at Rosia Bay, Gibraltar on the 3rd November 1805 that his body was brought ashore from HMS Victory and re-interred in Spirits of Salts before sailing back to Great Britain.

Extracts from the log book of Manxman Captain John Quilliam on board "Victory" 21st October, 1805 "At 4.15pm the Spanish Rear Admiral to windward struck to some of our ships which had tacked after them, observed one of the enemy's ships blow up and 14 sail standing towards Cadiz and 3 standing to the southward, partial firing occurred until 3.40 when a victory having been reported to Admiral Right Honble Lord Visc't Nelson KB, Commander in Chief died of his wounds."

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Technical Description
Design: John Batchelor
Layout: CASB Studio
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
Process: Offset lithography
No. of colours: 4 colours
Miniature Sheet size: 190 x 90mm
Value: £2

Source: gibraltar-stamps.com

Famous Ships of France

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Technical Description
Issuer: Michel Bez - Jacky Larriviere
Process: Gravure
Sheet Size: 143mm x 105mm
Value: €3.30 (6 stamps of €0.55 each)
Issue Date: June 23, 2008

Grande Hermine: It was the name of the ship that is supposed to have brought Jacques Cartier to Saint-Pierre on 15 June 1535.

Boudeuse (1766): The Boudeuse was a frigate of the French Navy, famous for being the exploration ship of Louis Antoine de Bougainville between 1766 and 1769.

The Boudeuse, under Nicolas Pierre Duclos-Guyot, departed from Nantes on 15 November 1766 for the first French circumnavigation, along with the Étoile.

Boussole: The Boussole was a ship of the French Navy, famous for its exploration of the Pacific with Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse.

It departed Brest on 1st August 1785 under La Pérouse, accompanied by the Astrolabe under Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle.

The expedition vanished mysteriously in 1788 after leaving Botany Bay on 10 March 1788. The fate of the expedition was eventually solved by Captain Peter Dillon in 1827 when he found remnants of the ships the Astrolabe and the Boussole at Vanikoro Island in the New Hebrides. The ships had been wrecked in a storm. Survivors from one ship had been massacred while survivors from the other ship had constructed their own small boat and sailed off the island, never to be heard from again.

Hermione (1779): The Hermione was a 12-pounder frigate of the French Navy. She ferried General La Fayette to the United States in 1780 to allow him to join the American side in the American Revolutionary War.

She was one of a series of four similar frigates built at Rochefort; the others were Courageuse, Concorde and Fée.

Astrolabe: Named after the instrument astrolabe. It is ship of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse (1781), a converted fluyt.

Confiance: A fast 18-gun ship from Bordeaux under command of Robert Surcouf (nickname - King of Corsairs)

500th Death Anniversary of Columbus - 2006

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After five centuries, Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure who has been described as one of the greatest mariners in history and a visionary genius. Columbus's enterprise to find a westward route to Asia grew out of the practical experience of a long and varied maritime career, as well as out of his considerable reading in geographical and theological literature.

The widely published report of his voyage of 1492 in command of three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria made Columbus famous throughout Europe and secured for him the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and further royal patronage. Columbus, who never abandoned the belief that he had reached Asia, led three more expeditions to the Caribbean in 1493, 1498 and 1502.

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Technical Description
Illustrations: Christian Hook
Stamp layout: Stephen Perera
Printer: Lowe-Martin (Canada)
Process: Offset Lithography
No of Colours: 4 Colours
Stamp Size: 30mm x 40mm
Value: £1.60
Issue Date: 1st November 2006

Click here to buy this stamp online.

Source: gibraltar-stamps.com

Used cover from Singapore - 1957

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I got this wonderful used cover today from a stamp dealer. This cover sent from Singapore to Madurai (My city), India.

These four stamps in the cover are part of a set of 12 stamps issued on September 04, 1955. The date cancellation in the cover is June 12, 1957.

All stamps have perforation - 13-1/2 x 14-1/2
Denom. - Color - Design
1c - Sepia - Chinese Sampans
2c - Orange yellow - Malay Kolek
8c - Aqua - Palari
12c - Rose Red - Hylam trader

Sampans - A relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from 3.5 to 4.5 m (approximately twelve to fifteen feet) long.

Kolek - Sampan, a.k.a. kolek, small wooden boat, skiff, a canoe-like coastal craft usually propelled by oars. Also known as Chinese shoe-boats, it is a common native craft sometimes with a sail, used for fishing and short range transportation. The word originates from the Chinese word sanpan meaning "boat"; san means "three", pan means "board". It is also spelt champana, champan, sampane, siampan, sampaan, and sampang. Used all over the Asian region, it was once seen in great numbers at the Singapore River, until 1983. Now, only a few remain. Others still can be seen in the coastal areas of mainland Singapore and the surrounding islands.

Palari - click here for detailed explanation.

Hylam Trader - A type of Chinese Junk type boats once common in the Gulf of Siam Trade

The Coral Sea Battle

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This FDC was issued by Australia on May o4, 1955, to commemorate The Coral Sea Battle and friendship of two countries Australia and USA.

The drawing on the left side of this cover (the fragment of waves and the ship, its mast, the words R.A.N. and U.S.N. etc.,) are printed in embossed format, so one can feel with touch.

R.A.N stands for Royal Australian Navy
U.S.N stands for United States Navy

The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought between May 4 – May 8, 1942, with most of the action occurring on May 7 and May 8, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Allied forces of the United States Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. It was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other. It was also the first naval battle in history in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other.

To know more about the Coral Sea Battle, click here.

125 Years of Mumbai Port Trust

Mumbai Port - Known as the 'Gateway of India' or the 'Nations Window to the outside World' - has made a significant contribution to the nation's trade and commerce.

The port has now 50 berths in three docks (Prince's Dock, Victoria Dock, and Indira Dock [previously known as Alexandra dock]) for handling general cargo and containers and 6 berths for liquid cargo at Jawahar Dweep and Pir Pau.

Date of Issue: June 26, 1999
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Technical Description
Stamp, FDC, and Cancellation Design: Mumbai Port Trust
Printer: India Security Press, Nashik
Process: Photogravure
Stamps Printed: 0.7 million
Denomination: 300p (Rs. 3)

Cable Ship KDD Maru and map of Japan

This stamp of Japan, issued on June 25, 1969, received through postcrossing by me on December 2008 (nearly 40 years after issue date).

It was released on the occasion of completion of the Japan sea cable between Naoetsu, Japan and Nakhodka, Russia.

This ship, KDD Maru was the main cable layer for KDD (Kokusai Denshin Denwa Company) and was built in 1967, Mitsubishi, Shimonoseki Shipyard, Japan.

Scott catalogue #: A650
Denomination: 15y

The POWER of INDIAN NAVY

Shipbuilding in Ukraine

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Date of Issue: February 21, 2004
Printed Quantity: 85,000

The text at the bottom of the sheet describes "Shipbuilding in Ukraine: from chaikas (Kozak's boats) to cruisers"

This miniature sheet is printed with special technology that the fragments of waves, elements of the tanker, ship, and aircraft are designed to glow when seen under UV (ultraviolet) light.

The ship in the stamp with value 2.50 is a big anti-submarine ship "Mykolaiv." The second one is tanker "Kriti Amber" and the third one is an aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Soviet Union Fleet Kuznetsov"

Card from USA

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I found this beautiful card in my mail box today from Ms. Mary Ellen Bertram from Illinois, USA through postcrossing. Wow..how colorful it is. This is the first time I'm seeing a cruise ship at night with lights on. A special thanks to Ms. Mary Ellen Bertram for sending card of my favorite theme.

VE Day 50th Anniversary (1995)

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Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) was May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies during the Second World War formally celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Reich.

On that date, massive celebrations took place, notably in London, where over a million people celebrated in a carnival atmosphere the end of the European war, though rationing of food and clothing was to continue for a number of years. In London, crowds massed in particular in Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the Palace to cheering crowds. Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister, Princess Margaret were allowed to wander anonymously among the crowds and take part in the celebrations in London.

The Allies had agreed to mark May 9, 1945 as VE day, but western journalists broke the news of Germany's surrender prematurely, precipitating the earlier celebration.

Source: gibraltar-stamps.com

Cruise Ships - IV series - Gibraltar

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The issue features the ‘Queen Victoria’ (90,000 gross tons); the ‘Grand Princess’ (109,000 gross tons), the ‘Century’ (71,145 gross tons) and the ‘Costa Mediterranea’ (86,000 gross tons) all of which are callers to the Rock of Gibraltar during the year. It is truly a fantastic sight to view these magnificent ships coming in through the Strait of Gibraltar, early in the morning, with the sun rising off its back and the mountains of Africa in the background on a sharp, clear day.

The Queen Victoria is of the same basic design as other Vista class passenger vessels, though slightly longer and more in keeping with Cunard’s interior style. At 90,000 tons, she is the second largest Cunard ship ever built, after the RMS Queen Mary 2. Interestingly, she will not carry mail and thus will not receive Royal Mail Ship (RMS) status.

The Grand Princess is a large cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises. Built by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone, Italy, at a cost of approximately US$450 million, she was the largest and most expensive ship ever built at the time, a distinction now carried by Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas. Grand Princess primarily operates in Europe during the summer to early autumn, and then operates in the Caribbean during winter to late spring.

The Century is the lead ship of the Century Class of cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises, and the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Millennium class ship Constellation. Century was launched in 1995 and went into a 5 week dry-dock in April 2006 whilst undergoing complete refurbishment. Designed to incorporate a variety of Celebrity’s most popular Millennium-class attributes, the revitalization of Century is the line’s most extensive refurbishment to-date, and the largest cruise ship modification completed by Fincantieri’s Palermo, Italy, shipyard.

The Costa Mediterranea is a Spirit class cruise ship operated by Costa Cruises. She was constructed at the Kvaerner Masa-Yards (currently Aker Finnyards) in Helsinki, Finland at a cost of over 400 million euros. Her design, like sister ship Costa Atlantica’s, was derived from Carnival Cruise Lines’ Spirit Class ships (Carnival Spirit, Carnival Pride, Carnival Legend and Carnival Miracle). On June 16 2003 she departed on her maiden voyage from Genoa to Spain and Portugal.

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Technical Description
Illustrations: Simon Williams
Design: Stephen Perera
Printer: Lowe-Martin Security Printers, Canada
Process: Offset Lithography
Stamps: 40.5 x 30mm
Miniature Sheet: 168 x 67mm Values: 42p, 44p, 51p, 73p
Issue date: 15/9/08

Source: gibraltar-stamps.com

Indian Navy: Reaching out to Maritime Neighbors

Date of Issue: December 04, 2008

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Technical Description
Design: Sankha Samant
Cancellation: Alka Sharma
Printer: Security Printing Press, Hyderabad
Process: Wet-Offset
Stamps Printed: 0.8 million
Denomination: 500p (Rs. 5)

In India, December 4 is celebrated as Navy Day. On this day, Indian Navy
played a significant role in the bombing of Karachi harbor in the 1971
war in Operation Trident which was launched on December 4. Owing to its
success, the day of the attack has been celebrated as Navy Day since
then.

Items For Exchange

Click here to see my Items for Exchange/sale in Delcampe.

2nd Card from Japan

Today I got this beautiful card with a large cruise ship and another small vessel with two ship stamps on the back of the card from Ms. Yukari, Japan through postcrossing.

Thank you, Ms. Yukari for sending such a nice card with beautiful stamps.

In the smaller vessel one can notice painted image of an Octopus. Right from olden days, it is believed that these type of drawings and marks such as dragons, snakes, etc., in the boats and ships will protect the crew from sea monsters, ghosts, etc.,

Maritime Heritage

Muthupex 2006

Date of Issue - January 06, 2006.

Tuticorin has been a center for maritime trade pearl and fishery for many centuries. One among the major Ports of India, Tuticorin has produced many stalwarts in shipping industry. C.I.R. MACHADO is one of them. He started his career as a salt manufacturer and boat owner. He was actively involved in shipping trade and affectionately called “Kadalarasan” (meaning King of Seas). He was honored with the title “Knight of St. Gregory the Great” for his philanthropic deeds by His Holyness Pope Paul VI and thus popularly known as “Chevalier.” Department of Posts honor C.I.R. MACHADO for his association in Tuticorin shipping trade and relentless service for poor by releasing a special cover on the occasion of Muthupex 2006.

UN Conference on Trade and Development

Date of Issue: February 01, 1968

IMCO - 10th Anniversary

Date of Issue: October 14, 1969

10th Anniversary of Inter-Governmental Maritime Consulative Organisation

National Maritime Day

Date of Issue: April 05, 1965

Indian Coast Guard

Date of Issue: August 12, 2008

Trishna - First Indian Circumnavigation of World

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Date of Issue: October 01, 1987

President's Review of the Fleet - 1984

Date of Issue: February 12, 1984

Picture Postcard of India

Picture Postcard of India

A houseboat in the backwaters of Kerala large enough to house six people with beds, kitchen, etc.

Picture Postcard of India

Famous Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race - (Vallamkali), held on second Thursday of August every year near Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kerala, India.

Picture Postcard of India

A ship in Cochin, Kerala, India.

Card from Singapore

These two beautiful cards are sent by Ms. Julie Wong, Malaysia, my best swap friend from Orkut

Card from Finland

Card from Aland

Card from Japan

Thanks to Sayaka from Japan for sending this beautiful card with a ship stamp on the back (as shown above). It is a ship used for laying cables undersea.

Card from Finland

Card from Estonia

INS Tarangini

Date of Issue: April 25, 2004

Indian Coast Guard

Date of Issue: August 12, 2008

International Fleet Review 2001

Date of Issue: 2001

Indian Navy: Reaching out to maritime neighbors

Date of Issue: December 04, 2008