The captain of the Seastreak Wall Street ferry which hit the Pier 11 in New York yesterday morning, injuring more than 70 passengers, told investigators that the ferry suffered a mechanical failure. Captain Jason Reimer said that the engines would not … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
They are the subject of myth and legend, the giant squid who battle massive sperms whales and leave battle scars on the whales’ flesh. Now for the first time in history, a living giant squid has been recorded in its … Continue reading
This morning around 8:45 local time, a Seastreak catamaran ferry carrying approximately 300 commuters slammed into a loading barge at Pier 11 in New York City’s East River, in Lower Manhattan, injuring at least 50 passengers. At least one was reported to be in … Continue reading
The Shell drilling rig, Kulluck, which broke its towline and was blown aground off Alaska’s Sitkalidak Island on New Year’s Eve, is reported to have been refloated and made ready for a thirty mile tow to the sheltered waters of Kodiak Island’s … Continue reading
At the age of 79, Newfoundland master wooden boat builder Henry Vokey decided to build one last schooner. He finished her and she was launched this summer, a few months after his 82nd birthday. CBC’s Land & Sea has produced … Continue reading
The plan was to move Shell’s two drilling rigs from Alaska to Seattle Washington for maintenance and repair. Shell’s tax bill, however, may have also played a role in the timing of the move. Things have definitely not gone according to plan. … Continue reading
The rudder for the composite clipper ship, City of Adelaide, arrived in Australia the week before Christmas Typically, when a ship comes into port, the rudder arrives last. Very little has been typical, however, about the struggle to save the oldest composite clipper ship, the City … Continue reading
Last May, we posted about Giovanni Soldini and the Maserati Sailing Team’s attempt to break the monohull sailing record from the Ambrose Lighthouse in New York to Lizard Point off the south west coast of England. That attempt was stymied … Continue reading
So far, the Shell Oil drilling rig Kulluk is reported to have remained intact with no observed leaks of diesel fuel, lube or hydraulic oil, after grounding on Alaska’s Sitkalidak Island on Monday night. The video below was taken yesterday by … Continue reading
The Dutch merchant sailing ship, Tres Hombres, rescued a 70 year old German sailor who had been adrift in the Atlantic for two weeks after the rudder broke on his sailboat, Fidel. The German sailor was exhausted and dehydrated and was incapable of taking the … Continue reading
On Monday night, the Shell Oil drilling rig, the Kulluk, broke free from its towlines during heavy weather and ran aground on the east coast of Sitkalidak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Sitkalidak Island is an uninhabited island separated … Continue reading
From time to time, it is worth being reminded just how difficult it is to pilot a helicopter over wind and waves. Despite signs warning of dangerous conditions, a swimmer got into trouble in the ocean off Rio de Janeiro ‘s … Continue reading
The impact of the meltdown of nuclear reactors at the Fukishima Daiichi power plant, hit by the following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011, is still unfolding. Last month it was revealed that fish caught near the crippled power plant were … Continue reading
For a handful of ships, the great age of sail has not yet ended. In 2013, the Russian Navy sail training ship Kruzenshtern will call in 20 seaports in 11 countries and will take part in several international regattas. The ship, originally built in … Continue reading
In December we posted about NOAA’s Arctic Report Card 2012, which showed record low ice and snowfall in the Arctic. Nevertheless, some have pointed to the recent growth of Antarctic ice to suggest that climate change may not be a dramatic … Continue reading
Update: The port strike has been averted for now with a 30 day contract extension. In early December we posted about the end of the eight day West Coast dock strike that shut down 10 of the port’s 14 container terminals in the … Continue reading
The world did not end of on 12/21/12 as some had predicted. Nevertheless, there are still a few things to worry about. Last week, marine geologists from Australia’s James Cook University warned that a one cubic kilometer slab of the sea … Continue reading
We recently learned that good Saint Nicholas, long associated with Christmas and gift-giving, is also the patron saint of ships and sailors. The St. Nicholas Center notes: “Many ports, most notably in Greece, have icons of Nicholas, surrounded by ex-votos … Continue reading
The Defense News blog Intercepts recently posted a photo of nine “flattops” home for Christmas at Norfolk naval base. Of the nine, five are aircraft carriers – the DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, GEORGE H. W. BUSH, ENTERPRISE, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, and HARRY S TRUMAN. The other four are the … Continue reading
The MS Queen Elizabeth 2, which was purchased back in 2008 for conversion to a luxury hotel in Dubai, has reportedly been sold for scrap to Chinese interests for £20 million. The original conversion plans were scuttled by a credit crunch in Dubai shortly … Continue reading