Update: Egyptian Dive Boat Sinking — 5 Survivors Rescued After 30 Hours Trapped in Air Pocket

After the Egyptian liveaboard dive boat, Sea Story, capsized and sank in heavy weather in the Red Sea early Monday morning, 28 of the 44 passengers and crew were rescued. On Tuesday, divers rescued five additional survivors trapped in air … Continue reading

New Zealand Community Rallies to Save 30 Stranded Pilot Whales

Good news for change. On Sunday, a pod of more than 30 pilot whales became stranded on Ruakākā Beach near Whangārei in northern New Zealand. Hundreds of residents joined forces with conservationists to save the pod. The rescue effort was … Continue reading

Egyptian Liveaboard Dive Boat Sinks in Red Sea, Sixteen Missing

The Sea Story, a 44m Egyptian tourist liveaboard dive boat, sank in the Red Sea early this morning. Of the 44 aboard, including 13 crew, 28 were rescued while 16 remain missing. The crew was all Egyptian, while the tourists … Continue reading

US Navy’s Military Sealift Command to Sideline 17 Ships Due to Mariner Shortage

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) operates approximately 125 replenishment and military transport ships to support the US Navy. Currently, MSC has more ships than it has civilian mariners to sustainably operate them.  MSC’s commander confirmed Thursday that the command will … Continue reading

Facing Rising Seas, Can Tuvalu Become the First Digital Nation?

The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is facing an existential threat due to rising sea levels, caused by climate change. According to NASA, the sea level in Tuvalu has risen nearly 6 inches in the past 30 years and is expected … Continue reading

Update: Undersea Cables Cut — Chinese Bulk Carrier Suspected, Irish Navy Intercepts Russian Spy Ship

We posted yesterday about a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany that was severed Monday morning, and a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island that stopped working on Sunday. Chinese Bulk Carrier Detained … Continue reading

Baltic Sea Communications Cables Severed — Sabotage Suspected

Early Monday morning, a 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany was severed, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said … Continue reading

Watch Given to Captain of Carpathia, Rescuer of 700 on Titanic, Sells for Record £1.56M at Auction

An interesting story from the Guardian. When the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, approximately 1,500 died. The RMS Carpathia, under the command of Captain Arthur Rostron, rescued 706 passengers and crew from the Titanic‘s lifeboats. A … Continue reading

Rescuing Rye Seeds From 146 Year Old Shipwreck in Hopes of Resurrecting Michigan Crop

In November 1878, the wooden schooner James R. Bentley set sail from Chicago bound for Buffalo loaded with a large shipment of rye. It encountered heavy seas and gale-force winds during the voyage, struck a shoal, and sank near 40 … Continue reading

New Destroyer USS John Basilone Commissioned on Hudson River in New York City

Last Saturday morning at Pier 88 on the Hudson River, the US Navy commissioned its newest destroyer, USS John Basilone. With the New York City skyline as a backdrop, the ceremony took place between the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and the … Continue reading

Art on Superyachts — $3 Million Warhol “Brillo Pad Box” Sculpture Thrown Out With the Trash

In 1964, pop-artist Andy Warhol shocked the art world by making hundreds of replicas of supermarket cartons and presenting them as art. He painted screenprints of soup cans, then sculptures of packaging for Kellogg’s cornflakes and Heinz ketchup. Among the … Continue reading

The Cost of Corruption — Legacy of the US Navy Fat Leonard Scandal

The decades-long “Fat Leonard” bribery and corruption scandal may finally have come to an end.  This week, Malaysian ship-supply contractor, Leonard Glenn Francis, 60, known as “Fat Leonard” was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribing US Navy officials … Continue reading

A Lesson Un-Learned: Two “Influencers” Drown After Refusing to Wear Life Jackets So Not to Ruin Their Tans

A sad account that reinforces an old lesson, while also highlighting an unexpected risk of social media.  Vice reports that two Brazilian Instagram “influencers” drowned in a boating accident off the coast of São Paulo after opting not to wear … Continue reading

Collapse of Ferry Dock on Georgia’s Sapelo Island Kills 7

At least seven people were killed yesterday when part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants. The Georgia Department of … Continue reading

Team New Zealand First Syndicate to Win the America’s Cup Three Times in a Row

Emirates Team New Zealand clinched match point in the 37th America’s Cup on Saturday, beating INEOS Britannia 7-2 in the best-of-13 finals held just off Barcelona’s beachfront as reported by the AP. The team led by Grant Dalton won its third consecutive … Continue reading

Russian Man Rescued After 67 Days Adrift on Sea of Okhotsk

In early August, Mikhail Pichugin, 46, set off in a small inflatable boat to watch whales in the stormy Sea of Okhotsk with his 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew. They went missing after departing from Cape Perovsky bound for Sakhalin … Continue reading

Endurance — New Documentary Reveals Shackleton’s Ship as Never Seen Before

A new National Geographic documentary “Endurance,” will premiere at the London Film Festival on Saturday before being released in UK cinemas from Monday and on Disney+ later in the year. The documentary includes a 3D digital scan of Sir Ernest … Continue reading