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As alluded to above, in Britain coal has long been mined from Hueneme, California. One of the requirements to be a UCT mem- under the North Sea and the Firth of Clyde, at depths ranging to as ber is to be "eligible for a secret security clearance".”! much as 1,800 feet below the sea floor.’ In Cornwall, tin mines In other words, there is a unit of specially trained personnel ran out under the Atlantic Ocean in the early years of the 20t within the US Navy that carries out underwater construction pro- century.” In Canada, there have been many undersea mines. jects all over the world and whose members have "secret" security Sixty-five years ago, coal was being mined three miles out to sea, clearances. This is exactly the type of unit that would be neces- off the coast of Nova Scotia, as far as 1,600 feet beneath the sea sary for constructing secret, manned, undersea installations and/or floor." The Wabana iron mine” at Bell Island, Newfoundland, tunnels many miles offshore—perhaps even in the middle of the was mentioned above, but there has also been submarine mining ocean or beneath other bodies of water, large and small. in other places in Canada, including coalmining off Cape Breton As an aside, during the Cold War between the United States Island, Nova Scotia’ and elsewhere offshore from Nova Scotia,‘ —_ and the Soviet Union, clandestine diving units operating from on as well as underwater off Vancouver Island, British Columbia.'* board top-secret American submarines repeatedly conducted There have been other submarine coal mines off the coast of covert, communications cable tapping missions on the sea floor New South Wales, Australia,’ and undersea in Japanese coasta itself, in Russian coastal waters. The divers would never surface. waters, e.g., off the coast of Kyushu and The entire operations were carried out under- elsewhere.” Coal has been mined off South water, using submerged submarines as a America's Pacific coast, in Chile.'* More base. The men would go out from the sub- submarine coal workings that extend out marines and carry out their work on the sea under the Bay of Biscay have been located at floor, and then re-enter the submarines.” Arnao, Spain."” There were even submarine If there are top-secret bases beneath the mine workings in the United States 80 years Tunnelling out under sea floor, the UCTS of the US Naval ago. The rich Treadwell Gold mines on ‘acilities Engineering Command may possi- Alaska's Douglas Island burrowed more than oceans, seas, bays and bly have helped build them, perhaps even on 2,000 feet deep under the Gastineau Channel estuaries has been clandestine, submarine-based missions simi- in the early 20th century.” lar in secrecy and daring to the top-secret Tunnelling out under oceans, seas, bays done for a very, very undersea communications cable tapping and estuaries has been done for a very, very long time, all over the operations in recent decades. long time, all over the world, stretching . way back at least into the 19th century, world, stretching way back at least into the if not before. Undersea tunnels can stretch for miles and reach depths of . 19th century, if not before. Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center If there are secret, undersea manned installations, then it is a safe bet that the US Navy's Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) constructs and maintains them, or knows who does. The NFESC's website says that it is "the Navy's center for specialized facili- ties engineering and technology".” The NFESC's website further advises that it constructs "Specialized Ocean Facilities". It states: 2,000 feet or more beneath the ocean floor. Of course, today's technology is far more powerful and sophisticated than it was 50, 100 or 150 years ago. One can only speculate as to how long, how deep and how elaborate contempo- rary, clandestine, submarine tunnels might be. There are plenty of examples of sub- marine tunnelling in the civil engineer- ing literature. Perhaps the most famous example is the Chunnel, the well-known high-speed rail link that burrows deep under the We can help you with the design, construction, mainte- English Channel between France and England. It is so famous nance and repair of fixed ocean or underwater facilities that it scarcely needs mentioning. from the shoreline to depths of 6,000 meters (20,000 fant) Ala nan nravida anninaarina eanstinas ta mant unaiuir oceans, seas, bays and estuaries has been done for a very, very long time, all over the world, stretching way back at least into the before. We can help you with the design, construction, mainte- nance and repair of fixed ocean or underwater facilities from the shoreline to depths of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). We can provide engineering services to meet your needs... We have an extensive inventory of specialized tools, equipment, vessels, and test facilities... US Navy Underwater Construction Teams Of course, if the US Navy has secretly constructed manned facilities and rail tunnels deep beneath the sea floor, it would need a cadre of trained personnel capable of heavy construction at great depth underwater. Is there evidence of a trained, underwater con- struction unit within the Navy? In fact, there is. The Navy operates special Underwater Construction Teams (UCTs) out of Port Hueneme, California, and Little Creek, Virginia. The UCTs are special Seabee units that carry out under- water construction projects around the globe. These UCTs are deployed literally anywhere in the world "aboard ships and other seagoing platforms". Among the areas where UCTs have been deployed are Africa, the Arctic ice cap, Diego Garcia, Iceland, Bermuda, Australia and the Persian Gulf area. Each of the UCTs consists of three officers and 52 enlisted personnel. After a few years of experience in the UCTs, qualified divers are eligible to complete the Advanced Underwater Construction course at Port Notice that this agency is talking about the design, construction, maintenance and repair of underwater facilities as deep as 20,000 feet. Interestingly, the NFESC's Ocean Fac s Department includes both an Ocean Construction Division and a Seafloor Engineering Division.* This is exactly the sort of bureaucratic structure that one would expect to find if the US Navy has built secret, manned facilities beneath the seabed. US Army Corps of Engineers If secret, manned facilities under the seabed do exist, I would certainly expect to find evidence here and there that points to the possibility of such facilities—evidence of just the sort that I am presenting here. During my research at the US Army Corps of Engineers NEXUS = 29 Tunnelling out under 19th century, if not AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2001 www.nexusmagazine.com