In the late 60s, the first VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carrier) were initially referred to as Malaccamax tankers, as they were the largest tankers that could navigate through the Straits of Malacca. Maersk Line has recently ordered ten Malaccamax container … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
Carnival Cruise Lines seems to be working the “Rendezvous Circuit” for all its worth with the three Queens of its subsidiary, Cunard Line. Last month we posted about the “Royal Rendezvous” in New York harbor – “Cunard Takes Manhattan … Continue reading
On Tuesday, we posted about the first northbound transit by two Iranian Navy ships through the Suez Canal since 1979. Yesterday these ships docked in Syria on a training mission. Thanks to Phil Leon for passing the article along. Iran … Continue reading
On January 14th we posted about the Royal Rendezvous in New York harbor, the rendezvous of the three Queens of the Cunard Line, the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria, and the Queen Elizabeth. Now just over a month later the Queen Mary … Continue reading
Why did the pirates kill their for American hostages aboard the sailing yacht Quest? We may never know. Naval officers are speculating that the close approach of the destroyer USS Sterett may have panicked some of the pirates. The Sterett reportedly drew closer … Continue reading
For the first time since the Iranian revolution in 1979, two ships of the Iranian Navy are transiting the Suez Canal bound for the Mediterranean Sea. The two ships, Alvand, a patrol frigate and Kharg, a supply ship, entered the … Continue reading
A glimpse at what trans-Atlantic travel used to be – the RMS Queen Elizabeth of 1948 Top Liner 1948 [iframe: title=”YouTube video player” width=”480″ height=”390″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/tN3jVlNBEWQ” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] … Continue reading
Four Americans on the S/V Quest were seized by pirates this afternoon 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. Jean and Scott Adam, owners of the S/V Quest, have been sailing around the world … Continue reading
Last week the Danish warship Esbern Snare captured a hijacked fishing vessel and freed two Yemeni hostages. In addition to 16 pirates aboard the ship, the Danes found rocket launchers, assault rifles, ammunition, large quantities of fuel and two skiffs. … Continue reading
Last November we posted about a plan by Finnish authorities to allow one or several modern breweries to replicate the recipe of beer found in a Baltic Sea shipwreck dated between 1800 to 1830. In addition to cases of champagne, the … Continue reading
Update: The Seaport Museum “temporarily” laid-off another twelve staff members on Monday afternoon. More bad news from the South Street Seaport. Last week the Seaport Museum laid off the captain of the schooner Pioneer, as well a marine educator … Continue reading
The tank barge Waldhof which capsized a month ago in the Rhine River near Lorelei Rock was finally raised today after its cargo of sulfuric acid was allowed to slowly drain off. Two sailors where lost in the capsize. One of … Continue reading
Last November, we posted about the sale by tender, through an internet site, of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. The highest bidder was a Turkish scrapper. HMS Invincible sold to Turkish ship recyclers Leyal Ship Recycling, which is based near Izmir, … Continue reading
In response to our post, Sail this summer on the Picton Castle, Greg Winter commented, “Or try the same in the beautiful South Pacific, on the brigantine Soren Larsen. Sails out of Auckland New Zealand to the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, … Continue reading
The wreck of the whale ship Two Brothers, which sank 188 years ago on French Frigate Shoals, 600 miles northwest of Honolulu, was recently located by divers. The captain of the whale ship was George Pollard Jr., whose previous ship, … Continue reading
The Carnival Splendor, which was crippled by an engine room fire on November 8th, leaving it drifting for days off the coast of Mexico with nearly 4,500 crew members and passengers aboard, is expected to sail from San Francisco on Friday … Continue reading
Salvors are now reported to be beginning a slow release of sulphuric acid from the capsized tank barge, Waldhof, which capsized in the Rhine on January 13th near the infamous Lorelei Rock, in hope of averting a larger uncontrolled acid spill on … Continue reading
Yesterday, the Italian-owned Aframax tanker MV Savina Caylyn was hijacked by pirates approximately 670 nautical miles East of Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean. Today, the Greek-owned VLCC MV Irene SL was hijacked approximately 350 nautical miles South East of … Continue reading
On this day, sixty nine years ago, the great French luxury liner SS Normandie caught fire at Pier 88 on the Hudson River in New York City. The fire burned out of control and the next day the ship capsized at the dock. … Continue reading
On this the 183th anniversary of the birth of Jules Verne, it seems worthwhile to look at the submarines named Nautilus. Click on any of the thumbnails for a larger image. … Continue reading