Mr Smith took a degree in Ocean Science and Marine Navigation at the University of Plymouth.

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And on 5 December last year, a Proton carrying three navigation spacecraft fell into the Pacific Ocean.

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The Bush administration is urging the Senate to consent this summer to the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the complex and sprawling treaty that governs shipping, navigation, mining, fishing and other ocean activities.

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As a seafaring nation, Britain depended on accurate navigation, and determining longitude on the open ocean depended on comparing local time to the time in a place where the longitude was known.

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Containers lost at sea are not only hazards for navigation but also contribute to the growing amount of debris in the ocean.

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