Jarle Andhøy calls himself as a “Wild Viking.” He has been the subject of the Norwegian television series Berserk mot Nordpolen (“Berserk to the North Pole”), Berserk til Valhall (“Berserk to Valhalla”) and Berserk gjennom Nordvestpassasjen (“Berserk through the Northwest Passage”) which aired on NRK … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Last night around 8PM, the supply ship, MV Delta Mariner, operated by Foss Maritime, struck the Eggner Ferry Bridge on the Tennessee River in Kentucky, taking out a 300′ span. The MV Delta Mariner is a 312-foot long and 8,000 horsepower supply ship, designed … Continue reading
Micky Arison, the chairman, chief executive and part owner of Carnival Corp. has been keeping a very low profile since the grounding and sinking of the Costa Concordia two weeks ago. He has stayed in Miami and let Pier Luigi … Continue reading
The last paragraph of the Associated Press article Navy SEAL Raid in Somalia Shows Campaign Ahead, reads: Several hostages were still being held in Somalia, including a British tourist, two Spanish doctors seized from neighboring Kenya and an American journalist kidnapped on Saturday. Based … Continue reading
The World War II destroyer, USS Laffey, has returned home to Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, near Charleston, South Carolina after a two year $9 million dollar shipyard period to repair her hull plating. The USS Laffey was commissioned … Continue reading
In two separate incidents, US Coast Guard Air Station Kodiac crews rescued eleven fisherman from two boats on Wednesday. The 58-foot fishing vessel Kimberly ran aground on Portage Bay southwest of Kodiak on the Alaska Peninsula Tuesday night around 8 p.m. but severe weather prevented the Coast … Continue reading
Last February, the chronically mismanaged Seaport Museum of New York (the ex-South Street Seaport Museum) laid off its staff and shut its doors. (See our post The Rise and Fall of the South Street Seaport Museum.) Today, under new management, with new funding … Continue reading
Last September we posted about an overloaded ferry boat running between Zanzibar and Pemba, Tanzania which sank after capsizing taking the lives of at least 230 passengers. Recently the captain and crew of the ill-fated ferry, MV Spice Islander, were charged with negligence and murder. … Continue reading
We posted last December about the Maltese flagged 6,600 DWT dry cargo ship, TK Bremen, which was stranded in high winds on Kerminihy beach at Erdeven, in southern Brittany, near the port of Lorient, France. Now a bit over a month … Continue reading
In May 2005, while the cruise ship Costa Fortuna was making a close approach to the island of Sorrento, there was a “loud bang” after which the vessel rolled from left to right according to the ship’s photographer Roberto Cappello, 59. He later would … Continue reading
In a pre-dawn raid, US Navy SEAL commandos freed two hostages; an American, Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a Dane, Poul Thisted, 60; being held for ransom in a pirate compound 12 miles north of the Somali town of Adado. Members of SEAL Team … Continue reading
Crews from the Dutch salvage company SMIT are setting up to begin pumping 2,300 tonnes of diesel fuel from the sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia. A crane barge and temporary tanks have been moved alongside the stricken ship. Pumping is expected to begin … Continue reading
In May of 2010, we posted about a serious rigging failure suffered by the schooner Amistad while in heavy seas off the Florida coast. The schooner limped back to Mystic, CT, where she built, to undergo $100,000 in repairs. She has not sailed … Continue reading
The graves of four ship’s captains and merchants dating from the mid-18th century have been found in Suriname, a former Dutch sugar colony on the northern coast of South America. The graves of privateer Capt. Michael Burnham of Middletown, CT; Capt. William Barbut … Continue reading
Today begins the new lunar year – the Year of the Black Water Dragon. The lunar new year is celebrated for 15 days, from the first day of the first new moon of the year to the first full moon. … Continue reading
The dangerous practice of the “inchino,” Italian for “bow” and often translated as “salute,” appears to be widespread and not limited to Costa. The “inchino” is performed by sailing a ship close to an island or port and blowing the ship’s horn, figuratively bowing … Continue reading
The Volvo Ocean Race is off on the third leg from the Maldives to Sanya, China. The Volvo fleet was again transported from Abu Dhabi by ship to avoid potential attacks by pirates. During the fleet stop over in Abu Dhabi, a number of the Volvo sailors were … Continue reading
Cosmo Power, a Japanese engineering company, has developed the “Noah” a four person mini-ark to help residents along Japan’s coast survive a future tsunami. The “Noah” is a four foot diameter bright yellow sphere made of fiber-reinforced plastic. It is self righting … Continue reading
The death toll from the sinking of the Costa Concordia has risen to thirteen as divers discovered another body of a woman wearing a life jacket in a submerged passageway. Eight of the thirteen victims have now been identified according to Italian officials. Four of the … Continue reading
A well done video by the Maritime Museum of San Diego shot on the 1863 built iron windjammer Star of India. Thanks to the Tall Ship Morgenster for pointing it out on Facebook. Setting square sails [iframe: width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/c97N5Ht_jkY” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] … Continue reading