US Navy Naming Replenishment Oiler for Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has announced that the US Navy will name a replenishment oiler now on order in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The new ship will be the eighth of the John Lewis … Continue reading

Holland America Cruise Ship Volendam to Provide Housing For Ukrainian Refugees

Cruise Industry News reports that Holland America Line‘s Volendam will be used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees as part of an agreement announced by Netherlands and City of Rotterdam government officials. According to a press release, the ship will dock in … Continue reading

Toronto’s 161st Annual Top Hat Ceremony Celebrates the First Ship of Spring

Some watch for the first robin to signify the arrival of Spring. In the Port of Toronto, Canada, the coming of spring has been marked by the arrival of the first ocean-going ship of the season; an arrival that has … Continue reading

Great Barrier Reef Suffers Unprecedented Sixth Mass Coral Bleaching Event

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been hit with a sixth mass coral bleaching event, the marine park’s authority has confirmed, with aerial surveys showing almost no reefs across a 1,200km stretch escaping the heat, as reported by the Guardian. The … Continue reading

Conger Ice Shelf in Eastern Antarctica Collapses in Extreme Heat Wave

Reuters reports that an East Antarctica ice shelf almost the size of Los Angeles disintegrated this month following a period of extreme heat in the region, according to scientists. Satellite images show the 1,200 square-kilometer Conger Ice Shelf collapsed completely … Continue reading

Japanese Singlehander Kenichi Horie, Setting Sail to Cross the Pacific at 83

Sixty years after his first singlehanded Pacific crossing from Japan to San Francisco, Kenichi Horie is ready to go again. If all goes well, famed Japanese singlehander Kenichi Horie, 83, will set sail today from San Francisco bound for Japan. … Continue reading

The Dual Discovery of the Whaling Brig Industry and Her Crew’s Fate Link to US Racial History

The shipwreck in 6,000 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico, 70 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River, had first been spotted in 2011, by a geological data company scanning an oil lease area. The wreck was … Continue reading

Russian Landing Ship Destroyed by Ukrainian Attack in Occupied Port of Berdyansk

The Ukrainian military claims to have destroyed the Russian Alligator Class landing ship Orsk in the Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk, which Russia captured in late February.  “The destroyed ship in Berdyansk could carry up to 20 tanks, 45 armored … Continue reading

Rediscovered Fossil of 10 Armed Vampire Squid Named after President Biden

NPR reports that researchers say they have found the oldest known relative of octopuses and vampire squids, in a fossil dug up decades ago in Montana. The official name of the newly discovered species is Syllipsimopodi bideni, named after President Joe … Continue reading

Update: Submarine USS Clamagore to be Scrapped

The Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in South Carolina has decided after years of debate to scrap USS Clamagore, a Cold War-era submarine, and save some of its artifacts for an exhibit.  “Unfortunately, we cannot financially sustain the maintenance … Continue reading

Janet MacPherson, Pioneering Female Surfer, Dies at 84

When Janet MacPherson started surfing around 1955, she was a rarity in a sport dominated by men. In those days, male surfers would sometimes throw rocks at her because they didn’t want a woman on their waves. She overcame the … Continue reading

Aftermath of Norwegian Escape Grounding — ‘a Freaking Madhouse’

A cruise on the Norwegian Escape that sailed from Port Canaveral, Florida last Monday didn’t go well, and for a change, had little to do with Covid 19. On the second day of the cruise, the ship ran aground in … Continue reading

Mischarted Pacific Islands: Henderson & Pitcairn

The Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Spey was on a mission to check and update charts of waters around British Overseas Territories scattered around the globe. It recently observed that Henderson Island in the South Pacific is one mile south … Continue reading

Tim Severin and the Voyage of St. Brendan

On St. Patrick’s Day, a post about another Irish saint, St. Brendan the Navigator, and the adventurer who sought to replicate his epic voyage. Who was the first European to sail to North America? According to Irish tradition, it was … Continue reading

Update: Russian Superyacht, Nearly Sunk by Ukrainian Engineer, Seized by Spain Along With Two Others

Spain has recently seized three Russian superyachts believed to be subject to EU sanctions, including the 48-meter-long $7 million Lady Anastasia, which was partially sunk when sabotaged by its Ukrainian chief engineer. Taras Ostapchuk, 55, the engineer was said to … Continue reading

Container Ship Ever Forward Aground in Chesapeake Bay

Almost one year ago, the container ship Ever Given ran aground, blocking the Suez Canal for six days. Now, another ship operated by the same shipping company, Evergreen Marine Corporation, has run hard aground. The Ever Forward, a 1,095-foot, 12,000 … Continue reading