"Mysterious 'stealth' boat plying Columbia River"

[Rigorous Intuition]

<br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.katu.com/news/images/story2005/050630_mystery_ship2_422.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br>PORTLAND, Ore. - People who are used to seeing a variety of boats moving up and down the calm waters of the Columbia River have recently reported seeing a UFO- of sorts.<br><br>...<br><br>The sleek, silvery craft is definitely not designed for pleasure cruises or towing water skiers. It rides very low on the water, so low it looks like even a not-so-large wave could swamp it.<br><br>It has twin cockpits reminiscent of a those seen on F-117 stealth fighter planes. And the nose of the craft culminates in a sharp point, again more like a fighter plane than your typical ChrisCraft.<br><br>Even though the testing of the mysterious ship takes place in broad daylight, questions about who owns it, any technical information about it and its real purpose remain unanswered. Speculation abounds.<br><br>The ship's builder, Oregon Ironworks, is both vague and tight-lipped when it comes to the boat, saying only that it is for a "private customer" who wants to remain anonymous. <br><br>Gregg Herrington, a reporter for The Columbian in Vancouver, Washington, has been following the evolution of the boat for several years. He claims the original test boat, of which he has a photo, was designed for the Israeli Navy. <br><br>Herrington says he believes the original version held a crew of three, and was possibly designed to move teams of eight special forces soldiers.<br><br>The boat recently seen on the Columbia River is visibly larger but similar in design to the model in the old photo.<br><br>The U.S. Navy does have a $9 million contract with Oregon Ironworks to build two boats, but a spokesman for the company says that despite "looking similar to the naked eye", the boat being tested on the river and the boats destined for the Navy are "not similar at all." <br><br>Conspiracy theorists, boat lovers and military hardware enthusiasts will most likely be trying hard to get a glimpse of the needle-nosed craft. Meanwhile, the the questions remain as to who, and for what purpose, it is destined for.<br><br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.katu.com/news/images/story2005/050630_mystery_ship_422.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=78092" target="top">www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=78092</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[thrulookingglass]

Hmm...low profile, stealthy, fast. Great drug runner. <p></p><i></i>

[gwbushmalecheerleader]

Yeah, I wonder what department in the Navy ordered this boat. That might tell us more.<br><br>Any allegations of who the US military uses to move Afghanistan's record opium crop? Or better said, who the CIA uses in the military? SOMEONE, at the very least, is told to look the other way, of THAT there can be no argument, yes?<br><br>Seems whoever is stationed in that part (indeed, if any) of Afghanistan, where the most poppies grow would at least warrant a closer look? And at their bank accounts?<br><br>If it happens Navy Intel ordered these, though, well....that's just speculation, isn't it? <p></p><i></i>

[Jen]

News to me and I live here. This was covered on KATU? Totally missed it. <p></p><i></i>