Last July, workers excavating at the new World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan uncovered the remains of an 18th century wooden merchant ship 20 feet below street level. See our previous posts – here and here. Now researchers have been able to identify where … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
Some times all it takes is a photo to demonstrate how much things have changed and what has stayed the same. I recall as a boy watching jack-up rigs being put into operation off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of … Continue reading
What could possibly be a better venue for a sea chantey festival than the deck of a restored 1863-built iron windjammer? The Maritime Museum of San Diego is holding its “Sea Shanty Festival 2011” on the deck of the … Continue reading
Twenty five years ago, the US Navy contracted to build two fleet oilers, the USNS Bejanmin Isherwood and the USNS Henry Eckford. The Navy spent at least $300 million dollars on their construction. Due to shipyard defaults and various … Continue reading
In July 1945, the Dutch submarine O-19 ran hard aground on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea deep in enemy waters. The Gato class submarine USS Cod was sent to rescue the Dutch sub. After two days of attempting to … Continue reading
This is an interesting and perhaps an unintentionally amusing clip of the Celebrity Silhouette leaving the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The shipyard has just enough room to build the ship but not to turn her around, so she … Continue reading
Recently a very interesting shipwreck was discovered in the waters between the islands of Gotland and Öland off the east coast of Sweden. The article seems to claim that it is the “world’s intact oldest wreck” though most apparently think … Continue reading
Sony and Intel have partnered to sponsor “Project Shiphunt.” The project sponsored a group of Michigan high school students to discover an historic sunken ship in The Great Lakes using Sony VAIO laptops. So far they have assisted in the … Continue reading
On Sunday, the cruise vessel Bulgaria reportedly sank in approximately 3 minutes on the Volga River near Kazan, Russia. Of the 197 passengers reported to be aboard, more than 100, including many children, are believed to have died. Death on Volga: Sinking Bulgaria cried for … Continue reading
This morning, an explosion at a munitions dump at the Evangelos Florakis naval base on the southern coast of Cyprus has killed at least 17 and injured over 40. The explosion knocked out the island’s largest power station at Vassilik and did significant … Continue reading
William Tillman was the first black hero of the American Civil War. He was not a soldier but rather a 27-year-old cook/steward on the schooner S.J. Waring. One hundred and fifty years ago last Thursday, the schooner was captured by … Continue reading
A modified F/A-18D Hornet fighter plane recently landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower controlled by linked computers on the ship and on the plane. A pilot and a flight engineer were on the plane … Continue reading
Bragging rights are kind of fun. Whether they mean anything or not is often an open question. How one strings together the adjective phrases can make all the difference. For example, HMS Victory is said to be “the oldest commissioned … Continue reading
If there are tall ships in port, there must be a party going on. About 60 ships are expected at Greenock’s James Watt Dock from the first leg of the Tall Ships 2011 race from Waterford. Estimates range from 100,000 – … Continue reading
Was there a pirate attack? On Wednesday we posted about the reports that the Suezmax tanker Brillante Virtuoso had been attacked by pirates and set on fire. It is now unclear where such an attack ever took place. There was indeed a … Continue reading
The Tall Ships Race 2011 is off to a great start. The race was kicked off with a festival in Waterford, Ireland, which was declared ‘an awesome success’ by the chairman of Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism authority. (See our previous … Continue reading
For several hundred years, up until just after World War II, cargo moved up and down the East Coast of North America by ships and boats of a range of sizes and shapes. When the interstate highways were built, all but most bulk cargoes shifted to … Continue reading
The semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas, was preparing to move to a new location off the coast of Ghana when the rig developed a serious list and was in danger of sinking. The rig, under contract to Italian oil company Eni, … Continue reading
It has long been predicted and now it has happened – a pirate attack has set fire to a loaded oil tanker. On Wednesday morning, pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden attacked the Suezmax tanker, Brillante Virtuoso, firing a rocket propelled grenade into the deck … Continue reading
At roughly 2AM on Sunday morning, the chartered fishing boat Eric sank in a storm in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Twenty seven American tourists and a crew of 16 were aboard were aboard the fishing boat … Continue reading