Another container fire has claimed another ship. On Sunday, a fire broke out in a weather-deck container on the roll on/roll off container ship MV Grande America while in the Bay of Biscay, 150 miles off the French coast. The … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
It is remarkable how little we really know about orcas, also known as killer whales. In January, a team of NOAA scientists located and began to study a likely new species of orca about 60 miles off the coast of … Continue reading
We recently posted about a planned statue honoring Kate Walker, the lighthouse keeper of the Robbins Reef Light in New York harbor for close to 35 years. Kate took over as keeper when her husband died of pneumonia in 1886. … Continue reading
Recently, an official with the Trump administration testified repeatedly at a hearing of the House Natural Resources subcommittee that the firing of commercial air guns under water every 10 seconds over a period of months in search of oil and … Continue reading
New York City has announced a new statue of the late Robbins Reef Lighthouse keeper Katherine Walker which will be installed at the Staten Island Ferry landing. Though standing only 4’10” tall and weighing around 100 pounds, Katherine Walker served … Continue reading
The bottom of the Mariana Trench, in the western Pacific Ocean, is the deepest point in any ocean of the world. At its deepest, the bottom is over 36,000 feet below the surface. In comparison, Mount Everest is 29,000 above … Continue reading
Congratulations to Lt. Ronaqua Russell, the first African-American female aviator in the Coast Guard to receive the Air Medal. From the Coast Guard press release: The Air Medal is awarded to an individual who distinguishes themselves by heroic or meritorious … Continue reading
The Norwegian Escape was struck by extreme wind gusts of around 100 knots, eight hours after the ship sailed from New York on a seven-night cruise to the Bahamas. The ship heeled to the port side in the high winds. … Continue reading
It has been a long and difficult journey for the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide. The ship has still not quite found a home. In 2014, the ship was rescued from likely scrapping and carried by … Continue reading
Almost a month ago, the bulk carrier Solomon Trader was driven onto a reef on Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands by Cyclone Oma. Since then the 74,000 DWT ship has been leaking oil which threatens to destroy a world … Continue reading
What does death metal music sound like to you? Apparently to sharks, death metal sounds like struggling fish. (Funny, that is kind of what it sounds like to me too.) Recently a documentary crew for the Discovery Channel experimented with … Continue reading
Earlier this month we posted that the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division had filed a public notification that the historic windjammer, Falls of Clyde, was being offered for sale by auction. The auction ended yesterday with no successful … Continue reading
The Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad, which collided with the tanker Sola TS near Bergen, has now largely been raised from where it sank last November. The ship has been moored to the two crane lifts Gulliver and Rambiz which were used … Continue reading
As Black History Month comes to a close, it is worthwhile to remember early African-American shipmasters. Who was the first? That is hard to say. Paul Cuffe is a good candidate. Paul Cuffe was born on Cuttyhunk Island, MA on January 17, 1759, … Continue reading
Great news! Congress has restored $675 million in funding for new Coast Guard icebreakers that Homeland Security had diverted last year to build a border wall with Mexico. The funding is not coming a moment too soon. The US has … Continue reading