Vessel

With guns bristling, police officers in full tactical gear sweep across the vast deck of a cargo ship and creep up the stairs to the bridge. Their mission: Take the vessel back from armed intruders. Twice a month, the Natural Resources Police Tactical Response Team practices its craft. Tuesday morning's exercise was aboard the USNS Gilliland, a 956-foot vessel operated by the Navy Military Sealift Command and tied up at the Clinton Street Marine Terminal. "Basically it's a high-rise lying on its side, but it's a lot more complicated," said Sgt. Mel Adam, the squad leader, of the vessel.

A photo caption in Sunday's editions incorrectly characterized the commissioning of the USS Stethem. It is not the first U.S. Navy vessel named after an enlisted sailor.The Sun regrets the errors.

A photo caption in Sunday's editions incorrectly characterized the commissioning of the USS Stethem. It is not the first U.S. Navy vessel named after an enlisted sailor.+ The Sun regrets the errors.

Critic's Pick-- Salvagers on a mystery vessel are greeted by something evil in Ghost Ship (10 p.m.-11:30 p.m., Cinemax), starring Julianna Margulies (above).

The book "Guardians of the Capes" asserts that "most of the marine casualties on the bay have been minor in nature. " But 33 years ago, the bay was the scene of a spectacular tragedy. On Oct. 20, 1978, the collier M/V Santa Cruz II, loaded with 19,500 tons of coal, was steaming southbound on the Chesapeake Bay when it collided with a northbound Coast Guard cutter, the Cuyahoga. The collision happened 3.5 miles from Smith Point, at the mouth of the Potomac River, near the Maryland-Virginia border.

Mission: The restoration, care and maintenance of the only surviving Civil War-era vessel and the last sailing warship ever built by the U.S. Navy. And the promotion of the vessel as a cultural and educational resource -- all under the stewardship of the Constellation Historical Preservation Corp. Inc. The vessel, built in 1854, was active for 100 years. The ship carried its fight against slavery into the Civil War; aided the 1880 famine relief in Ireland; and was the primary training ship of the U.S. Naval Academy for more than two decades.

A man who ferries schoolchildren between their homes on Smith Island and their classes in the Eastern Shore town of Crisfield has been charged with operating the vessel while drunk. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, the Coast Guard boarded the 60-foot school boat Wednesday while the operator was taking five children to the island. The department said the operator tested positive for alcohol use and was detained until a DNR police officer arrived to arrest him and to take the children home.

A Cecil County grand jury has indicted a New Jersey man on charges of manslaughter in the death of a 21-year-old Philadelphia woman during a boating accident on the Elk River last summer, authorities said. Mark D. Rosati, 51, of Mount Laurel has been charged with manslaughter by vessel, homicide by vessel while under the influence of alcohol, operating a vessel in a reckless or dangerous manner, reckless operation and negligent operation. The Cecil County Sheriff's Office served Rosati with the indictment Monday.

About two weeks from now, a cargo ship 21/2 football fields long will squeeze under the Key Bridge and deliver the future of the port of Baltimore. On its deck are four massive cranes built in China that state officials and the maritime industry hope will turn the already bustling Seagirt Marine Terminal into a conduit for mountains of goods delivered by the world's largest ships. Baltimore will join Norfolk, Va., as the only East Coast ports with 50-foot-deep berths and cranes able to accommodate vessels up to 1,200 feet long, which will begin using a widened Panama Canal in 2014.

The Albatross IV, a federal research vessel, will berth at the Columbus Center dock at Pier 5 tomorrow and remain throughout the weekend for on-board tours.The vessel, based in Woods Hole, Mass., collects data on marine life for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The open houses will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.The ship's arrival coincides with a five-day conference beginning tomorrow at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.Pub Date: 9/24/97