The worst way to determine the position of a previously uncharted seamount is to run into it underwater. That is apparently what happened to the Seawolf-class attack submarine, USS Connecticut, when it hit an object while submerged on October 2. … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Between 1865-80, four forts were built in the Solent to protect Portsmouth and its harbor from sea attack and bombardment. Locally known as “Palmerston’s Follies” after the Prime Minister of the time, they were built in response to an invasion … Continue reading
“Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James?” (If you do, it may be from the Woodie Guthrie song.) The destroyer USS Reuben James was sunk by a German torpedo while on convoy duty 80 years ago … Continue reading
Thousands of dead crabs, lobsters, and fish washed up recently along Teesside beaches on the UK’s North East coast. Waist deep piles of seaweed and dead and dying crustaceans and fish have been reported. Variously described as the “worst case … Continue reading
On Halloween, Sunday, October 31, at 2:30 Pacific Time (5:30 Eastern TIme), William Pint and Felicia Dale are hosting Spooky Songs of the Sea in an online live streaming Facebook event. They will perform songs about ghostly sailors, haunted ships, … Continue reading
For years, we have been following the valiant efforts to keep the battleship USS Texas afloat at its berth in the Buffalo Bayou at the San Jacinto Battleground Historic Site in La Porte, Texas. Now, the Battleship Texas Foundation has … Continue reading
The last section of the car carrier Golden Ray has been removed from St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Georgia, and is on its way to a scrapyard. The 656-foot car carrier was carrying 4,100 vehicles when it capsized in September … Continue reading
In one of the stranger maritime stories of late, the Ecuadorian Navy announced that last week, their sail training ship, the three-masted barque Guayas stopped and captured a drug-laden high-speed craft; a low profile vessel (LPV) powered by three outboard … Continue reading
One of the traditions of US icebreakers operating in the Arctic is “ice liberty.” When an icebreaker encounters a thick ice floe, the crew is allowed liberty to get off the vessel to walk about or play games from touch … Continue reading
In 1960, the archaeological remains of Norse buildings were discovered at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Until recently the settlement date was estimated within about a sixty-year span around 1000 CE. On Wednesday, scientists published a study in the journal … Continue reading
The USS Constitution left its berth in the Charleston Navy Yard last Friday for a short cruise in Boston Harbor. CBS Boston reports that the ship fired a 21-gun salute while carrying 120 newly-trained Navy sailors. The sailors were recently selected … Continue reading
On Thursday, Water’s Soul, an 80-foot tall sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa was dedicated on the Hudson River in Jersey City. Located directly across the river from Lower Manhattan, Water’s Soul depicts the serene face of a young woman … Continue reading
Happy Trafalgar Day, one day late. A story for Trafalgar Day, plus one. When one of the masts of Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory was removed for restoration work, a conservator found a Victorian-era coin that had been placed beneath the … Continue reading
Following an investigation of the fire that destroyed the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, Admiral Bill Lescher, the Navy’s No. 2 officer said, “The loss of this ship was completely preventable.” USNI News reported that a cascade … Continue reading
Nine major shippers including Amazon, Ikea and Unilever have signed an “ambition statement” to pledge to only move cargo on ships using zero-carbon fuel by 2040. This pledge is part of a new initiative by the non-profit Aspen Insititute called … Continue reading
While under tow in the Guayas River, near Guayaquil, Ecuador, the 250′ long Brazilian sail training ship Cisne Branco was carried sideways in the current into a pedestrian bridge that connects Guayaquil to Santay Island. The sailing ship damaged its … Continue reading
In early October, a crack in a pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach, California spilled some 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. On Saturday, the US Coast Guard announced that it had determined that … Continue reading
Alaric Bond was kind enough to pass along an article from the Eastbourne Herald titled, Killer ‘jellyfish’ which can grow to 160ft long are washing up on Britain’s beaches. While more common in tropical waters, Portuguese man o’ wars have … Continue reading
For several years, the FSO Safer, a floating oil storage and offloading vessel, moored in the Red Sea north of the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah, may be an environmental disaster waiting to happen. The ship has been held as … Continue reading
The wreck of the legendary cutter USS Bear was recently identified off Cape Sable. The wreck was located in 2019 but it was only in August of this year that a team of experts looking at the evidence came to … Continue reading