On Wednesday, much of the world will be able to watch a blue moon, a supermoon and a blood moon, all at once. A blue moon is a term for a second full moon in a given month. There was … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
On Tuesday, a reporter in Alabama announced that he believed that he had found the burned wreckage of the schooner Clotilda, the last vessel to carry slaves to the United States. The wreckage was exposed following a winter “bomb cyclone” … Continue reading
“Vampire Squid from Hell” sounds like a low budget horror movie from the 1950s. It isn’t. It is a small cephalopod which lives in the deep oceans. There are two important things that one should know about the species with … Continue reading
Around 30 NM from Hong Kong, the Volvo Ocean racer Vestas 11th Hour collided with a Chinese fishing vessel on Friday night around 1:20 a.m. local time, which resulted in the death of a Chinese fisherman. The Vestas 11th Hour … Continue reading
The Great Lakes are rightly referred to the United State’s “fourth coast.” Here is a fascinating short video about shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, off Lake Michigan. Historic Door County – Shipbuilding … Continue reading
Several years ago, my wife and I went snorkeling in the Dos Ojos cenote in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula near Tulum. A cenote is a deep, water-filled sinkhole in limestone, often connected to freshwater underwater caverns and tunnels. The limestone filtered water was crystal … Continue reading
A lump of paper wadding found in a cannon from the pirate Blackbeard‘s ship Queen Anne’s Revenge has been identified as containing scraps of paper from a book by Captain Edward Cooke written in 1712. Researchers were able to identify … Continue reading
The Navy has announced that five officers involved in two deadly ship collisions are facing a variety of criminal charges including negligent homicide. The officers facing charges include Cmdr. Bryce Benson, former captain of the USS Fitzgerald, and Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez, former captain … Continue reading
On January 6th, the Iranian tanker Sanchi carrying 130,000 tonnes of condensate collided with the Chinese bulk carrier CF Crystal. The condensate on the Sanchi caught fire, resulting in the death of all 32 of the tanker’s crew. The tanker … Continue reading
A fire broke out on the casino shuttle boat, Island Lady, around 4PM on Sunday, in the Gulf near Port Richey, Fl. The 34 passengers and 14 crew aboard were forced into the 59-degree water. At least one passenger, a … Continue reading
Recently, biologist Nan Hauser was snorkeling in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, when she was approached by a humpback whale. The whale nudged her forward with its closed mouth, tucked her under its pectoral fin, and even maneuvered … Continue reading
Here is a look at a modern sailing ship, Star Clipper’s Royal Clipper, a high-tech square-rigger whose technology is not always obvious. Click here for a photo tour of the Royal Clipper recently featured in USA Today. We recently posted about … Continue reading
An Iranian tanker, Sanchi, carrying 134,000 tonnes of cargo collided with the Chinese bulk, CF Crystal, on Saturday, in the East China Sea off Singapore. Sanchi’s crew of 32 were killed or are missing in the resulting fire. There has … Continue reading
Response teams are struggling to bring a fire aboard the Iranian Suezmax tanker Sanchi under control following a collision on Saturday night with the Chinese bulk carrier CF Crystal. The body of one crew member from the tanker has been … Continue reading
Thirty-two crew are reported to be missing from an Iranian Suezmax tanker which collided with a Chinese bulk carrier in the East China Sea on Saturday night. The 160,000 DWT tanker, Sanchi, collided with the bulk carrier CF Crystal, which was loaded with … Continue reading
A half-scale notional replica of Noah’s Ark went adrift in storm winds of 70 mph in the Dutch port of Urk last Wednesday, damaging several boats. People and animals aboard the “ark” were rescued, possibly two by two. To be … Continue reading
Today, the East Coast is being pummeled by what meterologists are referring to as a “bomb cyclone,” a term which is equal parts concerning and confusing. A “bomb cyclone” is simply a rapidly intensifying low pressure front, which is now … Continue reading
HMS Ocean, amphibious assault ship and flagship of the Royal Navy has reportedly been sold to Brazil for £84.3million. HMS Ocean is the last British warship capable of launching aircraft. The Ocean carries 18 helicopters. Britain has lacked the capacity to launch and land … Continue reading
Sanctions do not mean much if they are not enforced. The UN has been imposing increasingly stricter limitations on the importation of crude and refined oil to North Korea. Still, oil has been getting through. In the past few days, South Korea … Continue reading
Back in June, we posted about a 50-hour, 5,500 square-mile man-overboard search across the Philippine Sea on the USS Shiloh. The search effort also included Japanese Coast Guard and naval forces. The sailor who was thought to have fallen overboard showed … Continue reading