On this, the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I thought that it might be interesting to look one year forward to gauge how the US responded to the attack. On December 7, 1942, American shipyards launched … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The BBC is reporting that scientists have discovered marine animals living on plastic debris in an area of the open ocean dubbed “the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. Many of the creatures are coastal species, living miles from their usual habitats, … Continue reading
On April 19, 2021, Captain Dan Sandu, 68, from Romania, master of the general cargo ship MV Vantage Wave, died at sea, apparently from cardiac arrest. The ship was on route from Paradip India to Guangzhou, China, with cargo of … Continue reading
Reuters is reporting that Suiso Frontier, the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier could leave Japan for Australia to pick up its first cargo of hydrogen late this month. The ship will carry 1,250 m3 of liquefied hydrogen cooled to –253°C, … Continue reading
When things are going well, the international shipping supply chain is largely invisible and can be taken for granted by most of us. These days things are not going well. The pandemic has triggered massive trade imbalances. Critical links in … Continue reading
Interesting news from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). While exploring a seamount by ROV from aboard the R/V Western Flyer in 2019 the MBARI team spotted what looked like an elephant’s tusk. The seamount is located 300 kilometers … Continue reading
Divers and scientists recorded the massive spawning of coral in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef last week in a yearly show of life that signals hope that the world’s biggest coral reef ecosystem can recover from climate change. “It’s a sign … Continue reading
Crowdsourcing has arrived on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Thousands of “citizen scientist” volunteers have spent the last 12 weeks participating in the Great Reef Census 2021. Volunteer teams of scientists, divers, tourists, and skippers have ventured to the far corners … Continue reading
The University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center recently used its 3D printer to construct the world’s largest 3D-printed boat. In doing so, the university was awarded three Guinness World Records for the world’s largest prototype polymer 3D printer, … Continue reading
Would you rather take a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic or to the edge of space? A ticket for either happens to start at around $250,000, which makes the likelihood of experiencing either well out of reach for … Continue reading
In what is described as the first carbon-free humanitarian logistics effort, Grain de Sail has announced that it is partnering with two non-profits to deliver unused medical supplies from New York to the Dominican Republic by sail. Grain de Sail … Continue reading
A recent report by the National Academy of Public Administration concluded that the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point has “lost its way.” The congressionally ordered review of the federal merchant marine academy determined that the school was beset … Continue reading
Happy Thanksgiving to those on this side of the pond and below the 49th parallel. (The Canadians celebrated the holiday in October.) Here is an updated repost of a story I think is well worth retelling. Until the Civil War, … Continue reading
In 2017, we posted about an attempt to use Navy-trained dolphins in a last-ditch effort to capture and save the few surviving vaquita. The vaquita is a small porpoise found only in the Gulf of California that is in imminent … Continue reading
In August we posted Yara Birkeland, Crewless Electric Container Ship, First Voyage by Year’s End. We noted that if all went according to plan, the ship would make its first journey between two Norwegian towns before the end of the … Continue reading