Yeah, it just wouldn’t be possible to keep a ship scrubbed and clean…
Not possible for corporate America, that’s for sure.
They swab the decks, heh.
I recall reading that they keep them working about 12 hours a day, because there isn’t much else to do anyway. Plenty of time for cleaning everything.
How does the Navy prevent norovirus?
During the West Nile virus outbreak, Bush II ordered the Navy to launch Tomahawk missiles into the West Nile. Other viruses will think twice before attacking Americans. Mission Accomplished.
Norovirus, ah, I love you. Our annual visitor in London. If you have kids, you get Noro, plain and simple.
It’s 1,000 x more infectious than flu. Hand sanitisers don’t kill it. It spreads by touch (and aerosol / bodily fluids etc).
It’s foul, and has nearly caused me the worst moment of my public life. I was spared by 0.5 seconds, and I’m not kidding.
Strict quarantine and plenty of bleach, that’d do it. Mind you, you’re infectious before and after the expulsion phase - that’s just the dramatic bit.
Gorgeous little organism - rates highly on my chart of well evolved things, in DNA survival terms.
I believe it comes from the oyster beds. Shows up in Autumn, when the UK starts eating oysters after the summer break. Peaks in winter, when it spreads around, then dies off in spring.
How does the Navy protect itself from norovirus? Ask, rather, how does norovirus protect itself from the Navy.
I was stationed on the USS Independence in Japan; this brings back memories.
I still recall the voice over the 1MC (a ship’s public broadcast system) when we were at sea, “Sweepers, sweepers, man your brooms. Sweep down all lower decks, ladder backs and passageways. Dump all garbage clear of the fantail.” This happened several times a day.
I bet there’d be a market for a military-themed cruise. Acquire a decommissioned warship and treat the passengers like actual sailors for a weekend. Not sure how you’d legally enforce discipline though; order a passenger to swab the decks and he tells you to go fuck yourself, there’s probably not a lot you can do about it. Maybe compliance earns chits that can be spent on umbrella drinks during “shore leave” at the beach resort afterwards.
Many years ago, my cub scout pack did this (kind of) on the decomissioned battleship USS Texas. The ship didn’t move, but we were able to spend the night on it sleeping in the bunks etc.
I think the real reason we’ve keep the virus at bay is the East Nile drone attacks Obama’s been keeping secret.
International waters. Shoot mutineers.
Storytime…
Maybe that would be the attraction.
You guys just chuck your trash into the sea?
Some trash is dumped right away - like metal and glass. Most ships have a big grinder to size it down first. Plastic is melted at lowish temps and compressed in to disks. These disks are kept until they are removed during an underway replenishment. Paper and food waste are ground up a discharged overboard.
That’s the usual plan anyway. Plastic still gets dumped which should not happen… All in all the US Navy dumps something like 28K tons of trash in the ocean each year.
@murrayhenson; yes, as dacree stated, there’s a method to the madness. I was there in the mid-90s and the plastic disk process was just getting started. When the call for sweepers came up, junior sailors would carry these large paper bags of the sorted dumpable garbage (anything biodegradable basically) and there would be another junior sailor on the fantail (also the smoking area) armed with a stick. His job was to poke through each trash bag looking for plastic, can of paint, chemicals, etc.
Sometimes the sea will come and get it, but usually we toss it over as a courtesy.
That’s pretty much the M.O. of things like the tall ships race, et al is it not?
A big bag of NOPE, please.
