100 Years Ago, Harrowing Voyage of the USS Olympia Carrying the Unknown Soldier Home From France

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetary commemorated its 100th year anniversary last Thursday. On November 9, 1921, the cruiser USS Olympia arrived at the Washington Navy Yard on the Anacostia River, carrying the casket of an … Continue reading

USS Enterprise & the Long Goodbye: Scrapping Could Cost $1.5 Billion &Take More Than a Decade

We recently posted about how the US Navy’s last two non-nuclear carriers were sold for scrap for the modest sum of one cent each. By some standards, that was not such a bad deal.  A recent report by the General … Continue reading

Chinese Build US Navy Carrier Group Targets in Desert

The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex, according to photos from satellite imagery company Maxar. USNI News … Continue reading

Sunday Repost : A Sail on the Draken Harald Hårfagre in New York Harbor

What could be more gloriously incongruous than sailing on a replica 9th-century Viking longship and sipping whisky on a blustery Autumn day in New York harbor? Here is an updated repost:  In late October 2018, I was fortunate enough to … Continue reading

Bastø Electric, World’s Largest Electric Ferry in Service in Norway

The Daily Scandinavian reported that last March the world’s largest all-electric ferry went into full operation on the 5.67 nautical mile route between the two Norwegian cities of Moss and Horten, on Norway’s busiest ferry route. The new ferry, named … Continue reading

After Suez Damage, Container Ship Ever Given’s Bow Looks like a Dropped Pumpkin

Photographs have come out of the bow damage to the container ship Ever Given after she ran hard aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the critical waterway for six days last March. The images were taken in Qingdao, China, where … Continue reading

US Merchant Marine Academy Pauses Sea Year Over Sexual Assault Allegations

The United States Maritime Academy at King’s Point has paused Sea Year, a program that sends cadets to sea aboard commercial ships, after a female midshipman at the school shared an account in September of being raped by a crew … Continue reading

Update: USS Connecticut Hit Uncharted Underwater Seamount

The worst way to determine the position of a previously uncharted seamount is to run into it underwater. That is apparently what happened to the Seawolf-class attack submarine, USS Connecticut, when it hit an object while submerged on October 2.   … Continue reading

Golden Ray Salvage Finally Completed, Massive, But Not Necessarily The Largest Wreck Removal

The last section of the car carrier Golden Ray has been removed from St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Georgia, and is on its way to a scrapyard. The 656-foot car carrier was carrying 4,100 vehicles when it capsized in September … Continue reading

Ecuadorian Sail Training Ship Guayas Interdicts Narco Sub

In one of the stranger maritime stories of late, the Ecuadorian Navy announced that last week, their sail training ship, the three-masted barque Guayas stopped and captured a drug-laden high-speed craft; a low profile vessel (LPV) powered by three outboard … Continue reading

Carbon Dating Pinpoints Year of Norse L’Anse aux Meadows Newfoundland Settlement

In 1960, the archaeological remains of Norse buildings were discovered at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Until recently the settlement date was estimated within about a sixty-year span around 1000 CE. On Wednesday, scientists published a study in the journal … Continue reading