We recently posted A Look at Venetian Gondolas — Designs New and Old. Here is a post about a very different watercraft that graced Venetian waters last weekend. Named Noah’s Violin, it is a 12-meter electric-powered giant floating violin, the … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The world’s largest offshore floating wind farm has begun operation off Kincardine, approximately 15 kilometers off the southeast coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at water depths ranging between 60 and 80 meters. The five floating turbines are expected to generate up … Continue reading
A.P. Moller – Maersk has announced that Maersk Growth, its venture capital arm, has made a leading investment in Prometheus Fuels, a Silicon Valley-based startup with a promising direct air capture technology to enable cost-efficient, carbon-neutral e-fuels for shipping. From … Continue reading
The Ocean Cleanup‘s latest attempt to clean plastic from the Northern Pacific has proven to be unimpressive. After two offshore supply vessels, donated by Maersk, towed a 520-meter wide boom for 120 hours, they succeeded in collecting around 8 tonnes … Continue reading
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has ordered more than 30 hull air lubrication systems from UK firm Silverstream Technologies to be installed on current orders of newbuild large container ships. The vessels applying the air lubrication systems are expected to be delivered … Continue reading
This is a post about contrasts – new and old, fanciful and time-tested, inspiration and tradition. This is also a post about Venetian gondolas. The gondola, the iconic Venetian rowing boat, has been around since at least the 11th century. … Continue reading
The inhabitants of the Faroe Islands, a windswept archipelago in the North Atlantic roughly halfway between Norway and Iceland, have been hunting long-finned pilot whales and white-sided dolphins for food for almost a thousand years. The summer hunt is known … Continue reading
For only the second time, a “megapod” of humpbacks whales, estimated to be between 100 and 150 animals, was sighted off the south coast of Australia’s New South Wales feasting on baitfish in what was described as a feeding frenzy. … Continue reading
We recently posted about the NTSB determination that the car carrier Golden Ray capsized due to an error in a stability calculation prior to sailing. Now as the salvage operation is wrapping up and the costs are being tallied, the … Continue reading
The UK startup, Oceanways, has been awarded funding to develop an autonomous hydrogen/battery-powered submarine in a UK government competition to tackle emissions from shipping. The firm has been given £380,000 ($525,000 ) to develop the sub to deliver parcels without … Continue reading
AP reports that President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a new U.S. security alliance with Australia and Britain that will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement would make Australia the first country without nuclear … Continue reading
The final report issued yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board Office (NTSB) summarizes what happened on Sept. 8, 2019, when the roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier Golden Ray capsized as it transited outbound through St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Georgia. Less … Continue reading
The Marine Exchange of Southern California reports a new record for congestion in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. As of Monday, of 140 ships in the ports, 85 are container ships. Only 31 containerships are alongside the … Continue reading
The Guardian recently published “The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship.” Thanks to Joan Druett for pointing it out. In 2020, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a pandemic-bargain cruise ship with plans to create a libertarian utopia, … Continue reading
Ever Ace, the newest world’s largest container ship capable of carrying the 23,992 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) transitted the Suez Canal at the beginning of this month. The Ever Ace is notionally 28 TEU larger than the previously largest container … Continue reading