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53-537: Cam Ranh is considered the finest deepwater shelter in Southeast Asia. The continental shelf of Southeast Asia is relatively narrow at Cam Ranh Bay, bringing deep water close to land. Since 2011–2014, Vietnamese authorities have hired Russian consultants and purchased Russian technologies to re-open Cam Ranh Bay (a former United States and later Soviet military base) as the site of a new naval maintenance and logistics facility for foreign warships. Historically,

106-455: A continental shelf differs significantly from the geological definition. UNCLOS states that the shelf extends to the limit of the continental margin , but no less than 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) and no more than 350 nmi (650 km; 400 mi) from the baseline . Thus inhabited volcanic islands such as the Canaries , which have no actual continental shelf, nonetheless have

159-832: A distance where the depth of waters admitted of resource exploitation were claimed by the marine nations that signed the Convention on the Continental Shelf drawn up by the UN's International Law Commission in 1958. This was partly superseded by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The 1982 convention created the 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) exclusive economic zone, plus continental shelf rights for states with physical continental shelves that extend beyond that distance. The legal definition of

212-464: A few exceptions, the shelf break is located at a remarkably uniform depth of roughly 140 m (460 ft); this is likely a hallmark of past ice ages, when sea level was lower than it is now. The continental slope is much steeper than the shelf; the average angle is 3°, but it can be as low as 1° or as high as 10°. The slope is often cut with submarine canyons . The physical mechanisms involved in forming these canyons were not well understood until

265-665: A legal continental shelf, whereas uninhabitable islands have no shelf. DeLong pier A DeLong pier is a type of elonged ersatz pier constructed from prefabricated barge-like sections and simple caissons driven into a harbor's seafloor . First used during the Vietnam War at Cam Ranh Bay , the DeLong pier was originally designed shortly after the Second World War by the DeLong Corporation, and

318-555: A prototype was constructed not long after in Charleston, South Carolina for use by the Transportation Corps in 1952. This prototype would, in late 1965, be the first of four DeLong piers installed in the bay by the 497th Port Engineer Company. To install the pier, component barges carrying tubular caissons and jacks are towed along with a crane-bearing barge directly from the manufacturing or storage site to

371-399: Is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea . Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods . The shelf surrounding an island is known as an insular shelf . The continental margin , between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain , comprises a steep continental slope, surrounded by

424-469: Is evidence that changing wind, rainfall, and regional ocean currents in a warming ocean are having an effect on some shelf seas. Improved data collection via Integrated Ocean Observing Systems in shelf sea regions is making identification of these changes possible. Continental shelves teem with life because of the sunlight available in shallow waters, in contrast to the biotic desert of the oceans' abyssal plain . The pelagic (water column) environment of

477-482: The Persian Gulf . The average width of continental shelves is about 80 km (50 mi). The depth of the shelf also varies, but is generally limited to water shallower than 100 m (330 ft). The slope of the shelf is usually quite low, on the order of 0.5°; vertical relief is also minimal, at less than 20 m (66 ft). Though the continental shelf is treated as a physiographic province of

530-649: The fall of Saigon and the unification of North and South Vietnam, Cam Ranh Bay became an important Cold War naval base for the Soviet Pacific Fleet . In 1979, the Soviet government signed an agreement with Vietnam for a 25-year lease of the base. Cam Ranh Bay was the largest Soviet naval base outside the Soviet Union, allowing it to project increased power in the East Sea. By 1987, they had expanded

583-463: The ocean , it is not part of the deep ocean basin proper, but the flooded margins of the continent. Passive continental margins such as most of the Atlantic coasts have wide and shallow shelves, made of thick sedimentary wedges derived from long erosion of a neighboring continent. Active continental margins have narrow, relatively steep shelves, due to frequent earthquakes that move sediment to

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636-414: The 1960s. Continental shelves cover an area of about 27 million km (10 million sq mi), equal to about 7% of the surface area of the oceans. The width of the continental shelf varies considerably—it is not uncommon for an area to have virtually no shelf at all, particularly where the forward edge of an advancing oceanic plate dives beneath continental crust in an offshore subduction zone such as off

689-424: The 6th CC where they could recover and, if needed, receive further treatment which did not require hospitalization. The "wards" were typical wooden US Army Vietnam-type barracks. Some patients, based on the status of their injuries, were initially admitted to an Intensive Care ward. They were nothing like what one would view as an Intensive Care ward in a regular hospital. They were the normal barracks type "wards," but

742-613: The American construction consortium RMK-BRJ and engineers of the Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN returned to construct a new airfield starting with a temporary 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway with 2.2 million square feet (200,000 square meters) of AM-2 aluminum matting to accommodate jet fighter-bombers. By September, they had employed 1,800 Vietnamese workers for the work, over half of whom were women. The Army engineers and

795-540: The U.S. Air Force. In 1966, four DeLong piers were added to the port. In January 1966, the OICC RVN tasked RMK-BRJ with construction of the Army Ammunition and Logistic Support Facility, consisting of thirty 40-foot (12 m) by 220-foot (67 m) concrete slabs for warehouses and six 140-foot (43 m) by 220-foot (67 m) slabs, 122 ammunition hardstands, and 10 miles (16 km) of roads. This work

848-584: The U.S. Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, and the basing there of P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion patrol aircraft. That summer, the commander of the coastal surveillance force and his staff moved their headquarters from Saigon to Cam Ranh Bay and set up operational command post to control the Operation Market Time effort. Country wide coordination also was enhanced with establishment of the Naval Communications Station. In

901-667: The United States to develop Cam Ranh as a major base. The United States Air Force operated a large cargo/airlift facility called Cam Ranh Air Base , which was also used as a tactical fighter base. It was one of three aerial ports where United States military personnel entered or departed South Vietnam for their 12-month tour of duty. The United States Army operated a major port facility and depot at Cam Ranh. The United States Navy flew various aircraft from Cam Ranh and other bases, conducting aerial surveillance of South Vietnam's coastal waters. The APO for Cam Ranh Air Base

954-725: The Vietnam War. On 2 October 2016, US Navy ships USS  John S. McCain and USS  Frank Cable made the first port visit to Cam Ranh Bay since 1975. Cam Ranh remains a major base of the Vietnam People's Navy , being the headquarter of the 4th Regional Command , headquarter of Vietnam Naval Air Force and home to Vietnam's only submarine base. Ba Ngoi Port is an international commercial port located within Cam Ranh Bay, which has advantageous natural conditions and potential for developing seaport services, such as:

1007-664: The base to four times its original size and often made mock attacks in the direction of the Philippines , according to intelligence of the United States Pacific Fleet . Analysts suggested that the Vietnamese side also saw the Soviet presence there as a counterweight against any potential Chinese threat. The Soviet Union and Vietnam officially denied any presence there. However, as early as 1988, then-Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze had discussed

1060-470: The bay would reopen to foreign navies after a three-year project to upgrade the port's facilities. Vietnam has hired Russian consultants to direct the construction of new ship-repair facilities, which are scheduled to be available to foreign warships. The United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta visited Cam Ranh Bay in June 2012, the first visit by an American official of cabinet rank to Vietnam since

1113-734: The bay has been significant from a military standpoint. The French used it as a naval base for their forces in Indochina . It was also used as a staging area for the 40-ship Imperial Russian fleet under Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky prior to the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, and by the Japanese Imperial Navy in preparation for the invasion of British Malaya and British Borneo (today Malaysia ) in 1942. In January 1945 U.S. Naval Task Force 38 destroyed most Japanese facilities in an action called Operation Gratitude , after which

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1166-471: The bay was abandoned. In 1964, United States Seventh Fleet reconnaissance aircraft, the seaplane tender Currituck , and Mine Flotilla 1 units carried out hydrographic and beach surveys and explored sites for facilities ashore. This preparatory work proved fortuitous when a North Vietnamese trawler was discovered landing munitions and supplies at nearby Vũng Rô Bay in February 1965; the incident led

1219-460: The beginning the shore facilities at Cam Ranh Bay were extremely limited, requiring interim measures to support assigned naval forces. Army depots provided common supplies, while Seventh Fleet light cargo ships USS  Mark and USS  Brule  (AKL-28) delivered Navy-peculiar items from Subic Bay in the Philippines. Until mid-1966 when shore installations were prepared to take over

1272-631: The buildup of combat units. In time, the Cam Ranh Bay facility accomplished major vessel repair and dispensed a greater variety of supply items to the anti-infiltration task force. In addition the naval contingent at the Joint Service Ammunition Depot issued ammunition to the coastal surveillance, river patrol and mobile riverine forces as well as to the Seventh Fleet's gunfire support destroyers and landing ships. Seabee Maintenance unit 302 provided public works assistance to

1325-409: The civilian constructors shared equipment and expertise. The runway was completed in 50 days, with Admiral U.S.G. Sharp, CINCPAC, laying the last AM-2 plank on 16 October 1965. A 1.3 million square feet (120,000 square meters) cargo apron using pierced steel planking, airport facilities and utilities, mess halls, and 25,000 square feet (2,300 square meters) of living quarters were also prepared for use by

1378-706: The coast of Chile or the west coast of Sumatra . The largest shelf—the Siberian Shelf in the Arctic Ocean —stretches to 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) in width. The South China Sea lies over another extensive area of continental shelf, the Sunda Shelf , which joins Borneo , Sumatra, and Java to the Asian mainland. Other familiar bodies of water that overlie continental shelves are the North Sea and

1431-567: The coast; sand is limited to shallow, wave-agitated waters, while silt and clays are deposited in quieter, deep water far offshore. These accumulate 15–40 centimetres (5.9–15.7 in) every millennium, much faster than deep-sea pelagic sediments . "Shelf seas" are the ocean waters on the continental shelf. Their motion is controlled by the combined influences of the tides , wind-forcing and brackish water formed from river inflows ( Regions of Freshwater Influence ). These regions can often be biologically highly productive due to mixing caused by

1484-610: The concentration at Cam Ranh Bay of Market Time headquarters and forces during the summer of 1967, the demand for base support became extraordinary. Accordingly, the Naval Support Activity Saigon, Detachment Cam Ranh Bay, was redesignated the Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, a more autonomous and self-sufficient status. A greater allocation of resources and support forces to the shore installation resulted in an improved ability to cope with

1537-420: The continental shelf constitutes the neritic zone , and the benthic (sea floor) province of the shelf is the sublittoral zone . The shelves make up less than 10% of the ocean, and a rough estimate suggests that only about 30% of the continental shelf sea floor receives enough sunlight to allow benthic photosynthesis. Though the shelves are usually fertile, if anoxic conditions prevail during sedimentation,

1590-428: The deep ocean floor, the abyssal plain . The continental shelf and the slope are part of the continental margin . The shelf area is commonly subdivided into the inner continental shelf , mid continental shelf , and outer continental shelf , each with their specific geomorphology and marine biology . The character of the shelf changes dramatically at the shelf break, where the continental slope begins. With

1643-418: The deep sea. The continental shelves are covered by terrigenous sediments ; that is, those derived from erosion of the continents. However, little of the sediment is from current rivers ; some 60–70% of the sediment on the world's shelves is relict sediment , deposited during the last ice age, when sea level was 100–120 m lower than it is now. Sediments usually become increasingly fine with distance from

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1696-433: The deposits may over geologic time become sources for fossil fuels . The continental shelf is the best understood part of the ocean floor, as it is relatively accessible. Most commercial exploitation of the sea, such as extraction of metallic ore, non-metallic ore, and hydrocarbons , takes place on the continental shelf. Sovereign rights over their continental shelves down to a depth of 100 m (330 ft) or to

1749-615: The depth of anchorage area, airtight and wide bay, nearby International Marine route (about 10 km), Cam Ranh Airport (about 25 km), National Highway No.1A (about 1.5 km) and National Railway (about 3 km). Therefore, it has been an important centre of marine traffic covering the economic zone of south Khanh Hoa and neighbouring provinces for a long time. 11°59′53″N 109°13′10″E  /  11.998153°N 109.219372°E  / 11.998153; 109.219372 Videos of Cam Rahn's development can be found at: Ghost town Continental shelf A continental shelf

1802-506: The desert sand using red laterite soil for a base and crushed granite rock for a topping. Once the roads were in place to carry heavy equipment, the engineers lengthened the existing pier to 600 feet (180 m) to provide an additional berth for deep-water freighters. By the end of the year, the Army engineers had added equipment storage platforms, a petrol-oil-lubricants storage area, and port cantonment and support facilities. Also in mid-1965,

1855-707: The early spring of 1975 North Vietnam realized the time was right to conquer South Vietnam , so they launched a series of small ground attacks to test U.S. reaction. With the fall of the Central Highlands and the northern provinces of South Vietnam, a general panic had set in. By 30 March, order in the city of Da Nang and in Da Nang harbor had completely broken down. Forward North Vietnamese forces fired on American vessels in Da Nang harbor and sent sappers ahead to destroy port facilities, and refugees sought to board any boat or craft afloat. Initially, Cam Ranh Bay

1908-590: The first Sea-Land ship arrived in November 1967. In January 1970, the port received its first containerized shipment of ammunition on Sea-Land's "Azalea City". The depot was operated by the 504th Army Depot. Power ships anchored in the lower harbor provided electricity to the Support Command facilities. Cam Ranh Bay became the center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of

1961-410: The flatter continental rise , in which sediment from the continent above cascades down the slope and accumulates as a pile of sediment at the base of the slope. Extending as far as 500 km (310 mi) from the slope, it consists of thick sediments deposited by turbidity currents from the shelf and slope. The continental rise 's gradient is intermediate between the gradients of the slope and

2014-624: The listening station remaining. On 17 October that year, the Russian government announced that it would withdraw from Cam Ranh Bay completely before its rent-free lease was to expire in 2004. The reversion of the base back to sole Vietnamese control took place on 2 May 2002. That same day, the Russian flag was lowered for the last time. On October 7, 2016, Russia indicated it was reconsidering if possible to return to naval facilities in Vietnam. Though as of 2024, their hasn’t been any talks of such between

2067-676: The many dispersed Naval Support Activity, Saigon detachments. As a vital logistic complex, Cam Ranh Bay continued to function long after the Navy's combat forces withdrew from South Vietnam as part of the Vietnamization of the war. However, between January and April 1972 the Naval Air Facility, and the Naval Communications Station turned over their installations to the Republic of Vietnam Navy and were duly disestablished. By

2120-480: The patients were more closely monitored. When well enough, patients were moved to a regular ward, from which they were ultimately discharged when recovered enough to return to duty with their units. Shortly after midnight on 7 August 1969 a Viet Cong sapper attack on the base penetrated the north perimeter and the sappers threw Satchel charges into the 6th CC killing 2 Americans and wounding 98 and damaging 19 buildings for no VC losses. The Cam Ranh Support Command

2173-505: The port, and added a DeLong pier to the causeway at the ammunition depot. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army maintained the 6th Convalescent Center (6th CC) at Cam Ranh Bay enabling most wounded soldiers to be treated in country. Only those who required advanced treatment not available in Vietnam got sent out of country. Injured and wounded soldiers whose injuries had received initial treatment, usually at an evacuation hospital unit, but who could not immediately return to duty, were sent to

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2226-452: The possibility of a withdrawal from Cam Ranh Bay, and concrete naval reductions were realised by 1990. As the original 25-year lease was nearing its end, the Vietnamese government announced that following the expiration of Russia's lease in 2004, Vietnam would "not sign an agreement with any country to use Cam Ranh Bay for military purposes". By this time, almost all personnel and naval vessels had been withdrawn, with only technical support for

2279-400: The shallower waters and the enhanced current speeds. Despite covering only about 8% of Earth's ocean surface area, shelf seas support 15–20% of global primary productivity . In temperate continental shelf seas, three distinctive oceanographic regimes are found, as a consequence of the interplay between surface heating, lateral buoyancy gradients (due to river inflow), and turbulent mixing by

2332-519: The shelf. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , the name continental shelf was given a legal definition as the stretch of the seabed adjacent to the shores of a particular country to which it belongs. The shelf usually ends at a point of increasing slope (called the shelf break ). The sea floor below the break is the continental slope . Below the slope is the continental rise , which finally merges into

2385-420: The target location. The barges are then placed in position near shore, where the crane-bearing barge then unloads the caissons and threads them through the wells of the component barges. The crane then operates a pile driver on each caisson to drive it into the seafloor. After this, the specially designed pneumatic jacks are lowered over the caissons, secured to the decks of the component barges, and begin to lift

2438-492: The task, messing and quartering of personnel were handled by APL-55, anchored in the harbor. Also, a pontoon dock was installed to permit the repair of the coastal patrol vessels. Gradually the Naval Support Activity Saigon , Detachment Cam Ranh Bay, improved the provision of maintenance and repair, supply, finance, communications, transportation, postal service, recreation, and security support. While

2491-459: The tides and to a lesser extent the wind. Indian Ocean shelf seas are dominated by major river systems, including the Ganges and Indus rivers. The shelf seas around New Zealand are complicated because the submerged continent of Zealandia creates wide plateaus. Shelf seas around Antarctica and the shores of the Arctic Ocean are influenced by sea ice production and polynya . There

2544-507: The two countries. After the Russian withdrawal, the United States negotiated with Vietnam to open Cam Ranh Bay to calls by foreign warships, as it previously had done with the ports of Haiphong in northern Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. In a move that security commentators say is aimed at countering China's build-up of naval power in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced on October 31, 2010, that

2597-542: Was APO San Francisco 96326. In May 1972, Cam Ranh facilities were turned over to the South Vietnam government. In 1963, Admiral Harry D. Felt , the U.S. Commander in Chief, Pacific ( CINCPAC ) foresaw that pier facilities at the natural deep-water bay at Cam Ranh might be useful in the future. At the direction of the Navy's Officer in Charge of Construction RVN (OICC RVN), the American construction consortium RMK

2650-525: Was chosen as the safe haven for these South Vietnamese troops and civilians transported by boat from Da Nang. But, even Cam Ranh Bay was soon in peril. Between 1 and 3 April, many of the refugees just landed at Cam Ranh reembarked for further passage south and west to Phú Quốc Island in the Gulf of Siam, and ARVN forces pulled out of the facility. On 3 April 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Cam Ranh Bay and all of its military facilities. Four years after

2703-463: Was completed by June 1966, and then RMK-BRJ turned to construction of a new 10,000-foot (3,000 m) concrete runway and taxiway at the air base. Later in 1966, RMK-BRJ filled in swamp land with sand at the southern end of the peninsula and constructed a naval base for Operation Market Time coastal patrols. On 1 January 1966, the 20th and 39th Engineer Battalions and the 572nd Light Equipment Company arrived at Cam Ranh Bay to construct another pier at

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2756-477: Was directed to begin construction of a 350-foot (110 m) long pier and causeway. This project was completed in mid-1964. In mid-1965, military engineers of the U.S. Army 35th Engineer Construction Group debarked at Cam Ranh Bay via LST's to set up camp and start building roads for the Cam Ranh Base. They started by establishing a quarry and then building a road leading from the quarry to the base through

2809-416: Was the logistical organization controlling the port and depot at Cam Ranh. As of 31 July 1970, its authorized strength was 7,927, assigned 7,848. The 124th Transportation Command ran the port and truck transportation units. The port had 5 piers, 4 for general cargo (including one with Sea-Land cranes) and one further north for ammunition, plus a jetty for tankers. Sea-Land installed its cranes on pier 4 in 1967;

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