Ship’s Intake Clogged with Sea Snakes

Heroes Remember

Ship’s Intake Clogged with Sea Snakes

The one time I got a little worried about the Terra Nova had water cooled engines. Well the water is kind of hot anyway out in the Persian Gulf and there are sea snakes in the Persian Gulf. They are ten times more venomous than a rattle snake so if you get bitten by one of these things they are called two steppers; you got two steps you die. And there is no anti-venom for getting bitten by a sea snake and unfortunately Terra Nova’s intakes got clogged up with sea snakes. Sometimes you can see them on the surface of the water in the Persian Gulf and there would be one hundred of them and the ship’s companies would come out and look and say, “Oh my goodness!” Anyway the divers had to be well covered to go down and physically remove the sea snakes. I can remember a diver saying to me, “Well, don’t worry sir, they’re all dead!” Well I hope so and I hope you’re all covered up because the last thing we need is to have somebody die from a sea snake bite. Willing to do it but was it easy, no…

Vice Admiral talks about the risk divers took to untangle deadly, poisonous sea snakes from the ship’s intake and the risk of death if one got bitten.

Duncan “Dusty” Miller

Born in the United Kingdom, Duncan “Dusty” Miller immigrated to Canada in 1954. At the age of 15 and having a strong desire to join the military, Mr. Miller went to the recruiting centre but could not be accepted until 16 years of age. He then attended Bishop’s University in Lennoxville. During his career, Mr. Miller rose to the rank of Vice Admiral where he became the Naval Task Commander aboard HMCS Athabaskan during the Persian Gulf War. Vice Admiral Miller later retired from the military and now resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia.