Captain & Chief Engineer of Tanker Aegean Angel Killed in Heavy Weather in the Atlantic

The 160,000 dwt  tanker Aegean Angel was en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Houston, Texas when it encountered heavy weather northeast of Bermuda on Thursday.  A large wave is reported to have struck the ship, killing the captain and the … Continue reading

Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires and Carnival Confetti

A weird dissonance between two cruise stories struck me recently.   On one hand, Carnival Cruise Lines is “the official confetti sponsor of the Times Square New Year’s Eve 2011 celebration.”   As reported by the the Maritime Executive “the sponsorship includes multiple opportunities to associate the … Continue reading

South Street Seaport Museum May Sell Off Historic Schooner Lettie G Howard

The South Street Seaport Museum in New York City is reported to be attempting to sell off the historic schooner, Lettie G. Howard.   The Lettie G. Howard is a wooden Fredonia schooner built in 1893 in Essex, Massachusetts, USA.   In past … Continue reading

The Last Voyage of the Lakonia – Deadly Christmas Cruise

Forty seven years ago, passengers on the cruise ship Lakonia were promised  “a marvelous Christmas cruise to sunny Madeira and the Canary Islands.”   The brochure read –  “Have your holiday with all risk eliminated. Enjoy a holiday you will remember for … Continue reading

USS Pegasus and the Littoral Combat Ships

David Hayes passed along a video of the USS Pegasus, a hydrofoil patrol boat that was billed as the “vanguard of the new navy,”  thirty five years ago.   While the Pegasus was not the first of many hydrofoils as was intended in 1975, the development … Continue reading

What is AMVER?

What is AMVER?  They are the most amazing world-wide maritime search and rescue network that you probably have never heard of.  AMVER stands for the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System. It was founded over fifty years ago, in 1958, and currently over 19,000 ships … Continue reading

HMS Temeraire, USS Olympia, and the American Racer – A Few Thoughts on Ship Preservation

Bernard Cornwell‘s introduction to his review of  Sam Willis’s book, “The Fighting Temeraire,”  is as dramatic as it is sadly accurate. He writes:  At Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, the battle-cruiser USS Olympia lies glorious and doomed. The oldest steel warship in … Continue reading

Statue Cruises fuel cell powered hybrid ferry for New York harbor

Earlier this week we posted about Cakewalk, a luxury yacht built at Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Conn.   Here is quite different vessel now under construction at Derecktor.    Statue Cruises, a subsidiary of Hornblower Cruises, has hired Derecktor to construct the world’s … Continue reading

Tragedy on Christmas Island – Asylum Seekers Die in Shipwreck

A horrific story from Australia’s Christmas Island where a boat carrying asylum-seekers believed to be from Iraq and Iran broke up in rough after striking rocks offshore.  Forty two people were been rescued and twenty seven have been confirmed dead, though that … Continue reading

Armed Japanese Coast Guard to Face off against Sea Shepherd “Godzilla”

It sounds like like a joke, and indeed it has many elements of farce, but nevertheless when the TV reality-show pirates of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars, the Sea Shepherds, meet the Japanese whalers this season in the Southern Ocean, matters could … Continue reading

James Craig Sails Again

The almost 30 year restoration of the James Craig is a wonderful story of volunteers rescuing an old windjammer, rusting away on a Tasmanian beach.  The three masted iron barque, James Craig, originally named Clan Macleod, was built by Bartram, … Continue reading