The Military Sealift Command (MSC) operates approximately 125 replenishment and military transport ships to support the US Navy. Currently, MSC has more ships than it has civilian mariners to sustainably operate them. MSC’s commander confirmed Thursday that the command will … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is facing an existential threat due to rising sea levels, caused by climate change. According to NASA, the sea level in Tuvalu has risen nearly 6 inches in the past 30 years and is expected … Continue reading
We posted yesterday about a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany that was severed Monday morning, and a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island that stopped working on Sunday. Chinese Bulk Carrier Detained … Continue reading
Early Monday morning, a 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany was severed, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said … Continue reading
An interesting story from the Guardian. When the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, approximately 1,500 died. The RMS Carpathia, under the command of Captain Arthur Rostron, rescued 706 passengers and crew from the Titanic‘s lifeboats. A … Continue reading
In November 1878, the wooden schooner James R. Bentley set sail from Chicago bound for Buffalo loaded with a large shipment of rye. It encountered heavy seas and gale-force winds during the voyage, struck a shoal, and sank near 40 … Continue reading
On the chart, it was marked as a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean near the Solomon Islands, but when scientists and filmmakers from the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas took a closer look, they were shocked to find the world’s … Continue reading
Last Saturday morning at Pier 88 on the Hudson River, the US Navy commissioned its newest destroyer, USS John Basilone. With the New York City skyline as a backdrop, the ceremony took place between the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and the … Continue reading
In the US, today is Veteran’s Day, when we honor those who have served in the military. It coincides with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I, on the 11th hour of … Continue reading
In 1964, pop-artist Andy Warhol shocked the art world by making hundreds of replicas of supermarket cartons and presenting them as art. He painted screenprints of soup cans, then sculptures of packaging for Kellogg’s cornflakes and Heinz ketchup. Among the … Continue reading
The decades-long “Fat Leonard” bribery and corruption scandal may finally have come to an end. This week, Malaysian ship-supply contractor, Leonard Glenn Francis, 60, known as “Fat Leonard” was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribing US Navy officials … Continue reading
A sad account that reinforces an old lesson, while also highlighting an unexpected risk of social media. Vice reports that two Brazilian Instagram “influencers” drowned in a boating accident off the coast of São Paulo after opting not to wear … Continue reading
The first American naval ship lost in World War II was not sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Over a month before, on October 31, 1941, the destroyer USS Reuben James, escorting a convoy bound … Continue reading
In August of last year, we bade a sad farewell to the Floating Instrument Platform, known as FLIP, which after 61 years of service, had been retired and was scheduled to be sent to a scrapyard. Fortunately, our reporting was … Continue reading
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought eighty years ago this week between the US and Australian navies and the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some standards the largest naval … Continue reading
After being closed for five years for renovations, the Xiaomeisha Sea World aquarium in Shenzhen, China reopened its doors on October 1. During its week-long trial run, the 60,000 sqm sea park attracted around 100,000 visitors who each paid around … Continue reading
Two hundred and nineteen years ago today, in 1805, the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets in the Atlantic off Cape Trafalgar. The decisive victory ended French plans to use the combined … Continue reading
At least seven people were killed yesterday when part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants. The Georgia Department of … Continue reading
Emirates Team New Zealand clinched match point in the 37th America’s Cup on Saturday, beating INEOS Britannia 7-2 in the best-of-13 finals held just off Barcelona’s beachfront as reported by the AP. The team led by Grant Dalton won its third consecutive … Continue reading
In early August, Mikhail Pichugin, 46, set off in a small inflatable boat to watch whales in the stormy Sea of Okhotsk with his 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew. They went missing after departing from Cape Perovsky bound for Sakhalin … Continue reading