A very disturbing article in this months Scientific American suggesting that criminal groups have been scuttling ships containing chemical and pharmaceutical waste, effectively using the Mediterranean as a toxic dump site. Thanks to Steve Phelps for pointing it out. Poisoned Shipments: Are Strange, Illicit Sinkings Making … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
There are twelve tall ships scheduled to participate in Green Bay, Wisconsin’s Tall Ship festival this August, though at this point, only six names have been announced. These are the HMS Bounty, the schooners Roseway, Amistad, the Pride of Baltimore II, the Unicorn … Continue reading
Captain William Curry of the SV Concordia is reporting that the school ship was struck by a microburst, also referred to a white squall, which knocked down the 188′ three masted schooner, rolling the ship 90 degrees. She sank in … Continue reading
The Cutty Sark will be restored and ready for new visitors in time for the 2012 Olympics. The ship was nearly destroyed by fire in 2007. The other, albeit just barely, surviving composite clipper ship, the City of Adelaide, which has … Continue reading
The West Island College “Class Afloat” school ship Concordia, en route between Recife, Brazil and Montevideo, Uruguay, is reported to have sunk last night off the coast of Brazil. All 64 passengers and crew were reported safe after being rescued by the Brazilian Navy and Air Force. … Continue reading
Nuclear power as a propulsion system for merchant ships was the future that never arrived. The Otto Hahn was the second of only four nuclear powered commercial cargo ships ever built. The first was the NS Savannah, which operated between 1962 … Continue reading
Old Navy ship set to depart Va. ‘Ghost Fleet’ The federal Maritime Administration is scheduled to tow another ship from Virginia’s so-called “Ghost Fleet.” A former Navy submarine rescue ship called Kittiwake is set to become the 85th ship to … Continue reading
Containership operations has always been like riding a roller coaster, with many highs and lows and unexpected twists and turns. One sign of this is the fluctuating speeds of container ships over the years, going from slow to fast to … Continue reading
Does politics make for strange shipmates? NATO allies worry about France’s decision to sell big warships to Russia CHAMPAGNE and other French products may soon face declining sales in Tallinn, Tbilisi and places in between. The possible sale by France … Continue reading
The Sea Shepherd farce continues. The ex-captain of the Ady Gil cut through anti-boarding nets to board a Japanese whaler and was immediately arrested. In related news, Sea Shepherd crew onboard the Steve Irwin, a vessel named for the television … Continue reading
Bronze Age shipwreck found off Devon coast One of the world’s oldest shipwrecks has been discovered off the coast of Devon after lying on the seabed for almost 3,000 years. The trading vessel was carrying an extremely valuable cargo of … Continue reading
BMW Oracle easily beat Alinghi in their second race, winning the America’s Cup. The US boat won, literally, by a mile. BMW Oracle claim America’s Cup triumph BMW Oracle won the America’s Cup as victory in Sunday’s second race off … Continue reading
Over thirty years ago when I was in college studying naval architecture, a classmate of mine got a summer job working as a naval architect for Sun Shipyard helping to design some part of the new deep sea mining ship, … Continue reading
The BMW Oracle team easily won the first America’s Cup race in Valencia, Spain, winning by fifteen minutes over the defender Alinghi. BMW Oracle win America’s Cup opener … Continue reading
Last Operational World War II Motor Boats Saved For The Nation Two of the last remaining fully operational high-speed World War II motor boats have been saved for the nation today by Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust, with the help … Continue reading
Many ships carrying civilians were sunk during World War II by both sides. If current estimates are correct, the torpedoing of the M/V Wilhelm Gustloff resulted in the largest loss of life from the sinking of one vessel in maritime … Continue reading
The Scottish Maritime Museum is in dire financial straits. The City of Adelaide, the oldest (just barely) surviving composite clipper ship in the world, has been rotting on a slipway at Irvine, near Glasgow, for almost a decade because the museum lacked the funds to … Continue reading
The New York Times Science section has a fascinating slide show discussing the scientific innovations behind the two sailboats competing in the America’s Cup. The science is intriguing but the photos are simply breathtaking. Innovations in America’s Cup Sailing … Continue reading
A follow-up to our previous post – Free Aircraft Carrier – ex USS John F Kennedy. Maine group in running for decommissioned JFK A nonprofit group in Maine says it’s still in the running to bring the decommissioned carrier John F. Kennedy … Continue reading
In January we posted about the Jewel of Muscat a replica of a 9th-century sailing ship modelled on a famous Tang Treasure ship. Recently Nova broadcast a documentary on far older ships from the region, Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s ships, dating from 1479 BCE. … Continue reading