The US Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) has begun testing and evaluation of several unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) off the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The testing is scheduled to run through early November, conducted in partnership with … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
A rescue is underway to save 62 seafarers stranded on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, one of the most remote islands in the world. The fishing/research vessel, Geo Searcher, is reported to have sunk after hitting rocks about a … Continue reading
Australia’s only home-built icebreaker will soon leave their shores. The icebreaker Aurora Australis, affectionately nicknamed Orange Roughy, is ending her more than thirty-year career serving Australia. Launched at Carrington Slipways in New South Wales in 1989, the ship helped Australia … Continue reading
Venice, Italy is sinking at about 1mm per year. The sea level in the Northern Adriatic is rising. At peak tidal conditions, referred to as acqua alta, almost half of Venice’s streets have been known to flood. None of this … Continue reading
We are a bit late posting about the 2020 Virtual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, but there is still time to join in. In any normal year, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race attracts dozens of schooners on the Bay, … Continue reading
In late August, we posted about how the 99-year-old four-masted steel bark Sedov set off to transit the Arctic by the Northern Sea Route to reach her home port of Kaliningrad. She has now almost completed the voyage, passing the … Continue reading
The biggest World War II bomb ever found in Poland exploded underwater on Tuesday as navy divers tried to defuse it with a remote control device. No one was injured in the explosion. During World War II, the British developed … Continue reading
Whale-watchers aboard the Atlantic Monterey witnessed an amazing show on Sunday when three humpback whales performed an extremely rare triple breach in Monterey Bay, CA. And it was caught on video (see after the page break.) SFGate reports that the … Continue reading
Happy Birthday to the US Navy! This should not be confused, however, with Navy Day, or the day that US Navy was founded by an Act of Congress. If success has many fathers, it might be said that the Navy … Continue reading
Happy Columbus Day, or Indigenous People’s Day, if you prefer. And if you are in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving! Here is an updated repost of when a Viking longship arrived at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The Exposition … Continue reading
Built almost 60 years ago, the 126′ long ferry Bukken-Bruse carried cars and passengers from Bergen, Norway to various coastal ports for close to two decades before being redeployed to operate between Fejø and Kragenæs, Denmark for another 20 years. … Continue reading
Bones left on land can survive for a very long time. The fossil bones of dinosaurs on display in museums around the world are testaments to their durability. Underwater, however, the situation can be very different. Weird and oddly wonderful … Continue reading
If anyone doubts that the coronavirus pandemic is having a negative impact on the national defense of the United States, one need only look at the expanding Covid-19 hotspot in the White House itself. A recent leaked FEMA memo said … Continue reading
Bouchard Transportation recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 102-year-old Long Island petroleum barge operator has been struggling over the last several years, involved financial shortfalls and a string of accidents, including a fatal explosion in 2017. Rather than … Continue reading
Like so many other organizations, the Working Harbor Committee has had to rethink its annual gala, which raises funds for the organization and honors leaders in the Working Waterfront. This year the gala will be virtual on Tuesday, October 20, … Continue reading
On the upcoming 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower, the ongoing pandemic has seriously disrupted plans for the commemoration. The replica ship Mayflower II has returned to its homeport in Plymouth, MA, after completing an … Continue reading
An interesting bit of news from the Sea History Today, the National Maritime Historical Society’s newsletter. One of the more popular programs at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum (WMM) in Manitowoc involves arranging for youth groups to spend the night in … Continue reading
Jeanne Baret is believed to be the first woman ever to circumnavigate the globe. Born in 1740 to a poor family in the Burgundy region of France, Baret became skilled in identifying local plants. While in her early 20s, she … Continue reading
Octopuses are often referred to as being akin to space aliens. With three hearts, nine brains, and blue blood, they are so different from us that they could be from another planet. They are also highly intelligent. While other intelligent … Continue reading
Barrons reports that Spanish police seized more than 30 tonnes of hashish, worth an estimated 63 million euros, stashed onboard four sailboats in what is described as its biggest-ever bust of such drugs at sea. The four boats were intercepted … Continue reading