The US Navy is sending the rescue and salvage ship, USS Grasp, to Port-au-Prince, Haiti with divers and underwater construction personnel to assess the damage to piers and other port facilities. The USNS Comfort, a hospital ship with a capacity … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
The mega-yachts of the Russian billionaires grow ever larger, more elaborate, and, of course, ever more expensive. Roman Abramovich’s new yacht Eclipse will be the world’s largest yacht, at 557 feet (170 meters), eclipsing, so to speak, the 525-foot luxury yacht owned by … Continue reading
I just read that Lars Hansen died the day before yesterday in a nursing home in Florida. He was 86. For three decades he had been the master rigger of the historic vessels of the South Street Seaport until he suffered … Continue reading
Last May, we posted about the Tall Ship Soren Larsen’s new season of voyages – Tall ship Soren Larsen – Pearls of the Pacific, Voyages across the South Seas 2009. Unfortunately, the ship was hit by a rogue wave on the 1st … Continue reading
In July we posted about the exhibition of Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. There was an interesting symmetry in the display of Nelson’s ship, Victory, in a bottle, on a plinth, in … Continue reading
Let women work on subs, Navy secretary says Women should be allowed to serve aboard submarines, and the Navy is “moving out aggressively” to make it happen, according to the service’s top civilian. “I believe women should have every opportunity … Continue reading
Thanks to Dick and Ben Kooyman for passing along this intriguing account of a new search for the legendary “Mahogany ship” which, if found, may rewrite Australian history. The Mahogany ship is said to be buried beneath the sand in the … Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal today has an article about the SS United States Conservancy, a group of individuals who fervently wish to save the SS United States. I have the somewhat heretical view that the “Big U,” as she is called, is … Continue reading
After sailing into a bulk carrier earlier this month on her first day at sea after apparently dozing off, sixteen year old Jessica Watson has set sail once again on her attempt to circumnavigate the globe singlehanded. While she has received … Continue reading
Saint-Tropez Races Bid Summer Adieu According to legend, a bet in 1981 between two yachtsmen at a fashionable Saint-Tropez restaurant led to a race between Pride, an American-owned Swan 44 sailboat and Ikra, a French-owned International 12-meter rival. On Sunday, … Continue reading
Samoa police say 63 dead in tsunami, toll may rise Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police have confirmed 63 deaths, and officials are still searching the devastated areas, so the number of deaths might rise … Continue reading
Daniel Pauly has an article in this month’s New Republic “Aquacalypse Now – The End of Fish“. It addresses the very real and threatening problem of overfishing. His is a great title for an article but his use of the metaphor of corporate fishing … Continue reading
The Royal Navy in joint operations with the US Coast Guard off South America has seized a £240 million cocaine shipment – the biggest haul in Royal Navy history. HMS Iron Duke’s crew sank the 138ft drug boat with bursts of cannon fire … Continue reading
To provide information about a new Canadian lobster industry financial stimulus program, Canada’s department of fisheries set up a “hot line” which proved somewhat hotter than expected. Instead of hearing information on lobstering, callers were greeted with a woman’s voice saying, “Hey there, hot stuff, … Continue reading
From New Scientist: As new ways of analysing the world around us are developed, new ways to visualise that information are needed. At the recent Eurographics Symposium, held in Berlin, traffic in shipping traffic near Rotterdam was mapped on both calm and … Continue reading
Some Monday mornings feel like I was in a head on collision with a containership. Here is a photo of the bow of the Nirit Pride which did indeed collide earlier this month with the MSC vessel Nikita in shipping lanes near … Continue reading
In honor of our unexpected whale watching in New York harbor, we are taking a brief look at whale watching around the country this summer. It has been an interesting summer indeed. After staying off shore for several years, fin and humpback … Continue reading
As reported by the Stockholm News – WW1 Russian submarine found The submarine wreck was discovered by a research ship of the Swedish Maritime Administration the 10 September. A closer study with a radio-controlled underwater vessel indicate that the submarine … Continue reading
This morning while sailing on the schooner Pioneer in Upper New York Harbor, we were all surprised when the captain shouted “whale”. There, close aboard to starboard, the back and dorsal fin of a whale rose and then disappeared beneath the surface of the harbor. The … Continue reading
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