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

Rebuilding the Whaleship Charles W. Morgan – First Hull Plank

The Charles W. Morgan was launched in 1841. She is America’s last surviving wooden whaleship and is the “crown jewel” of the Mystic Seaport Museum collection.  She has been undergoing restoration at the Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport … Continue reading

$500 Million Treasure of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes Returning Soon to Spain

Within the next day or so, two Spanish Air Force C-130 transport planes will land at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base to load 17 tons of gold and silver coins and other artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Spanish Navy’s Nuestra … Continue reading

ROV Video – Costa Concordia Perched Perilously on Rocks, Bow & Stern

Video shot by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), roughly a month after the ship ran aground, shows that the Costa Concordia is not sitting evenly on the bottom.  Instead, the 950′ long ship is perched perilously on two rocky outcroppings at the bow … Continue reading

Crisis at PortSide, Help Save the Tanker Mary A. Whalen

PortSide New York is one of the absolutely best waterfront educational organizations in New York harbor.   Centered around the historic coastal tanker Mary A.Whalen, PortSide has sponsored a wide range of great programs ranging from activities for kids and adults, to hosting … Continue reading

Oil on the Water – Barge Spill on the Mississippi, Progress on the Concordia and Chances Missed on the Rena

Three stories this weekend of oil spills, a successful oil transfer and opportunities lost in mitigating a spill.  Two barges collided on the Mississippi River on Friday upriver from New Orleans.  A roughly 3,500 barrel capacity double hulled tank barge suffered damage … Continue reading

French “Superyacht” Yogi Sinks in the Aegean Sea, Eight Rescued

Looking slightly like a miniature Costa Concordia, the  60.2 meter (197′) French yacht Yogi rolled and sank after reporting a ‘mechanical failure’ in high seas and Force 8 winds on Friday.  The yacht sank between the islands of Skyros and Psara, 19 nautical miles … Continue reading

Canadian Submarine HMCS Corner Brook – Damage a “Fender Bender” or is Sub “Totalled”?

Canadian Submarine HMCS Corner Brook ran aground during manoeuvres off Vancouver Island in June 2011.  Two sailors were slightly injured.  The Canadian navy never described the extent of the damage or released a photograph of the damage to the sub.  The sub has now just … Continue reading

Rum Running Documentary on CBC’s Land & Sea

We have previously posted about the CBC’s “Land and Sea,”  a program which for thirty years has been focussed on stories from people who live off the land and the sea on the Canadian Atlantic. In December, they featured a wonderful documentary on Nova … Continue reading

Pirates Kill Bulk Carrier Captain and Chief Engineer in Gulf of Guinea

Pirate attacks are escalating in the Gulf of Guinea, with tragic consequences. The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre posted on its website that eight armed pirates boarded a drifting bulk carrier, awaiting berthing instructions, on Monday in the Gulf of Guinea, 110 … Continue reading