The Mystery of the Osberg Viking Ship – Seaworthy or Only Decorative ?

In 1904 and 1905, archaeologists Haakon Shetelig and Gabriel Gustafson excavated a burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway that contained a well-preserved Viking ship.   The Osberg ship was reconstructed and has became Norway’s largest tourist … Continue reading

MSC Fabiola, Largest Containership Ever in a US Port, Calls at Long Beach

Way back in 1984, I worked for Malcom McLean’s United States Lines, when the 4,400 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) containership, the American New York, was delivered. She was this first of McLean’s fleet of “Jumbo Econships.”   In those days, he … Continue reading

Evacuation Near Port of Marseille to Remove 1-ton World War II German Bomb

In November, we posted about how a drought on the Rhine River was exposing unexploded World War II munitions, and then in December about the evacuation of half of the German city of Koblenz, when several large bombs were found buried in … Continue reading

Damn the Right Whales, Full Speed Ahead? Judge Hears Case on Navy & Right Whales

The US Navy wants to install a $100 million offshore training range, which would include an undersea array of cables and sensors for training warships, submarines and aircraft about 50 miles off the Atlantic coast of southern Georgia and northern Florida.  Environmentalists … Continue reading

Berserker Jarle Andhøy in Trouble Again

Norwegian Jarle Andhøy, 34, who calls himself a “Wild Viking,” is in trouble again. Andhøy and two others are sailing the 54-foot yacht, Nilaya, off Antarctica. They have reported that the yacht has a broken boom and that they are heading for an unspecified  Argentine … Continue reading

“Pirates Like To Tweet” – Tracking Somali Pirates on Social Media

At first this sounded like a joke. Pirates like to tweet, have blogs and are on Facebook.  Really? According to security expert, Jessica Lincoln, director of intelligence at Rubicon Resolution, “Somalia is a very sophisticated economy, it has one of the best mobile phone communication systems … Continue reading

Not Just Kiribati – Rising Sea Levels a Threat to Coastal U.S.

This week we posted that the Pacific nation of Kiribati is considering purchasing land on Fiji as a possible site to relocate as rising waters threaten to submerge their home islands.  As distant and exotic as  Kiribati’s problem may sound an article in the … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Updates – Ship’s Bell Missing, Salvage Estimate More than 100 Million Euros

The ship’s bell on the Costa Concordia has gone missing.  According to Reuters, “underwater thieves have evaded an array of laser systems that measure millimetric shifts in the Costa Concordia shipwreck and 24-hour surveillance by the Italian coast guard and … Continue reading

New Battle for the Battleship New Jersey

Retirement has not been easy for the Battleship New Jersey. After serving with distinction for 45 years in World War II, the Korean Conflict and the War in Vietnam, the highly decorated battleship became a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey in … Continue reading

Barque Picton Castle Goes Into Drydock

In preparation for a busy summer of sailing and an upcoming Atlantic voyage, the barque Picton Castle was hauled up on the marine railway at Lunenburg Foundry today. PICTON CASTLE Going Into Drydock March 14, 2012 [iframe: width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/rg_3HbYNF-E” … Continue reading

At Least 114 Dead After Ferry MV-Shariatpur-1 Capsizes in Bangladesh

Yesterday, the MV-Shariatpur-1, a ferry crossing the the Meghna River, just south of the capital, Dhaka, in Bangladesh, collided with a cargo vessel in early morning darkness. The ferry capsized and sank, killing at least 114 of the more than 200 passengers believed to be aboard. … Continue reading

Voices of the Sea: The Poetry and Song of Maine’s Fishermen and Those Who Work on the Water

Not long ago, we posted about the Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon.  There are indeed fisherman poets on all coasts and this Thursday, March 15th, the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine is hosting “Voices of the Sea: The Poetry and Song … Continue reading

A Rebuilt Hōkūle‘a for the Next Generation of Pacific Voyagers

After 18 months in dry dock and 15,500 volunteer hours of labor, a wholly rebuilt Hōkūle‘a, a Hawaiian voyaging canoe, was launched last week at Sand Island, Oahu, 37 years to the day after she was first launched.  Following sea trials and outfitting, she … Continue reading

Pacific Nation of Kiribati Considers Relocating to Fiji to Avoid Rising Ocean

The Pacific nation of Kiribati is sinking. Or, more accurately, the ocean is rising, which from a practical perspective amounts to the same thing. The nation of 33 tiny atolls and coral islands, scattered across an area of the Pacific Ocean more than … Continue reading

One Year After the Tsunami – No.18 Kyotoku-maru, Remains As Tsunami Monument or Scar

One year ago today, the largest earthquake in Japan’s history, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck 70 miles offshore, triggering a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland smashing towns, airports and highways across the north-eastern Japanese coast. Over 16,000 people are known … Continue reading

Busy Saturday at Sea – Container Ship Aground Off Norway & Tanker Aground off Sicily

There are no weekends off at sea and this has been a busy Saturday. Off Sicily, the 18,000 DWT Italian tanker Gelso M ran aground in a storm, with reports of engine room flooding. The crew of 19 was evacuated by helicopter without injury. … Continue reading