The Battle of the Ironclads – USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads, 150 Years Ago Today

The USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia were not the first iron-clad war ships, but they were the first to face each other in battle. One hundred and fifty years ago today, the two ironclads met in Hampton Roads, VA and fought each … Continue reading

Schooner Western Union Designated Florida State Flagship

The Florida Legislature has designated the schooner Western Union as the state’s official flagship. The schooner was built in 1939 and served for 35 years as as a cable vessel for the Western Union Telegraph Company, repairing and maintaining undersea … Continue reading

Titanic and the “Supermoon” – Did the Moon Sink the Titanic? The Answer is No.

The headline writers have been having fun.  The Daily Beast headline reads – Moon to Blame for Titanic Sinking?  Reuters asks and answers its own question – “What sank the Titanic? Scientists point to the moon.”  The Times of India gets alliterative … Continue reading

Faces of the USS Monitor – Using Forensic Reconstruction to Identify Unknown Civil War Sailors

When the revolutionary ironclad warship USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, NC during the Civil War, in December of 1862, 16 of her crew of 62 were lost.  One hundred and forty years later, in August of 2002, when the turret of … Continue reading

Why PortSide New York & the Tanker Mary A. Whalen Must be Saved

Portside New York, based on the historic tanker Mary A. Whalen, has been putting on fantastic educational, cultural and and community programs and events on the Brooklyn waterfront front for the the last six years, without ever having a permanent berth.  Now PortSide is … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Pre-Trial Hearings Begin – Has Anything Changed in Cruise Operations?

In a hearing today in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, Italian Judge Valeria Montesarchio will ask court appointed experts to examine the “black box,” which contains digital recordings of the night of the grounding and sinking of the Costa Concordia off … Continue reading

Giving Away HMS Victory? A Smart Move? Not All Are Happy

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) is giving Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar,  HMS Victory to the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth.  The ship would stay a commissioned warship and thus will be able to retain bragging … Continue reading

Thursday Daydream : the Mayan – David Crosby’s Legendary Schooner

On one hand, this is a very interesting use of Youtube by a yacht broker selling a classic yacht.   Here Bob Craven gives us a tour, a bit of history and low key sales pitch on David Crosby‘s legendary schooner – … Continue reading

Galleon San Jose, the “Holy Grail of Ship Wrecks”

Yesterday, we posted about the lawsuits still ongoing related to the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes and quoted Cecilia Rodriguez, writing for Forbes.  Today Ms. Rodriguez has a wonderful article about the Galleon San Jose, often referred to as the “Holy … Continue reading

Update – Costa Allegra: A Big Catch for the Fishing Vessel Trevignon

The 275′ French tuna purse seiner Trevignon has made a much bigger catch than normal – the 28,430 gross tonne cruise ship Costa Allegra.   The Trevignon is slowly towing the cruise ship to Mahé, in the Seychelles, and is expected to arrive early … Continue reading

Danish Warship Absalon Rescues 16 Hostages from Hijacked Ship, 2 Hostages Die in Attack

Sixteen hostages were freed when the Danish warship HDMS Absalon attacked pirates in control of a hijacker vessel off the coast of Somalia late Sunday.  Two crew from the hijacked ship were found to have severe injuries and subsequently died.   The circumstances of … Continue reading

Plunderers Plundering the Plunder – Peru Claims Share of Coin Treasure

The silver and gold coins valued at $500 million that Odyssey Marine recovered from the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes have now been flown to Spain.  American courts ruled that the coins had been removed illegally and that they … Continue reading

Costa Allegra: Not A Sister Ship – the Unusual Transformation from Container Ship to Cruise Ship

The headlines from several media sources (see here or here) have referred to the Costa Allegra, the cruise ship adrift in the Indian Ocean after an engine room fire, as a sister ship to the Costa Concordia.  A sister ship is generally defined as a “a ship of the … Continue reading

Cruise Ship Costa Allegra Adrift off Seychelles After Fire

Sixteen months after the Carnival Splendor was blacked out by an engine room fire in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico, another Carnival owned cruise ship is drifting, dead in the water, after an engine room fire.  The Costa Allegra, a cruise ship … Continue reading

Peter Maddison Occupying Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Again

Just as preparations for moving the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide, to her namesake city in Australia, are getting underway, Peter Maddison, a former councillor from Sunderland, where the ship was built, has occupied the old clipper, … Continue reading

Update – Slavery at Sea? Abuse of Indonesian Sailors on Chartered Fishing Vessels

Last April we posted, Slavery at Sea ? Abuse of Sailors on New Zealand Chartered Fishing Vessels. Secret papers reveal the government has allowed fishermen from poor countries to be exploited in New Zealand waters.  Workers are fishing in rusting boats turned … Continue reading

Update: Admiral Confirms Nuclear Submarine Ekaterinburg Fully Armed During Fire

Last week we posted about a report by to the Russian magazine Vlast  that claimed that “Russia [was] … on the verge of the largest man-made disaster since Chernobyl” when a fire broke out on December 29th, 2011 on the K-84 Ekaterinburg, a … Continue reading