As we posted yesterday, a Chinese naval vessel seized one of USNS Bowditch’s drone gliders. Today there are news reports that the Chinese are giving it back. Unfortunately, in the interim, several news outlets either misinterpreted what transpired, or, at the very least, led with headlines … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
In one of the stranger escalations of tensions between the US and the Chinese, a Chinese naval vessel seized one of USNS Bowditch drone gliders. USNS Bowditch is an oceanographic survey vessel which operates with a mix of civilian and military crew members. The … Continue reading
In the last day or two, there have been numerous press reports of a 19 meter (62.3 ft) wave, recorded by an automated buoy in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the UK off the Outer Hebrides. This is a … Continue reading
On May 27, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck had just sunk the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood. As she was close to escaping into safe waters, Bismarck was attacked by a swarm of obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplanes launched from the carrier HMS … Continue reading
Back in 2012, we posted about Australian billionaire Clive Palmer’s grand plans to build a sorta-replica of RMS Titanic. The Titanic II, as it was to be known, was supposed to be built in a Chinese shipyard enter with a … Continue reading
I am not sure when this actually takes place, but it seems like an appropriate video for a grey cold and rainy Monday. Here is the P&O Cruises Oriana departing Southampton’s City Cruise Terminal for a refit. As per the Rules … Continue reading
Here is a lovely drone video by François Monier of what is left of Mulberry B just offshore near the French village of Arromanches. One of the reasons that the Germans were skeptical of an Allied invasion of Normandy was … Continue reading
I have always thought that our planet was misnamed. Earth is a synonym for dirt, even though 72% is covered by water. Now, it appears that scientists may have discovered two distant water worlds even wetter than our own misnamed … Continue reading
Recently, the New York Times featured an article on 40 recently discovered wooden shipwrecks located deep in the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast. In age, the wrecks span a millennium, from the ninth to the 19th centuries. What is … Continue reading
Our belated congratulations to Captain Radhika Menon, who was awarded the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea at a ceremony at the end of last month. Captain Menon is both the first Indian female merchant marine captain and the first … Continue reading
“The experience of LCS, it broke the Navy,” said Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. The Navy’s ambitious Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program promised low cost, highly flexible, reliable, multi-mission ships. So far they … Continue reading
The three masted barque Statsraad Lehmkuhl is many things. Based in Bergen, Norway, at 102 years old, she is Norway’s largest and oldest square-rigged sailing ship. She is also very beautiful and very fast. In this year’s Tall Ship Races, she … Continue reading
Here is some remarkable video footage of the two leaders of the Vendee Globe single-handed around the world race, shot from a French Navy helicopter from the frigate Nivôse. The helicopter videoed Armel le Cleac’h, sailing Banque Populaire VIII, and … Continue reading
The Justice Department has announced that Princess Cruise Lines will pay a record $40 million fine for “deliberate pollution of the seas and intentional acts to cover it up” in what it called “the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel … Continue reading
Overfishing is a huge problem in the world’s oceans. Exacerbating the problem is fishing piracy. A year ago, we posted “Can Big Data Stop Overfishing? Will Google’s Global Fishing Watch Succeed?” The post described how Oceana, SkyTruth and Google were launching … Continue reading