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
Category Archives: Ships
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
Last month we posted about a rendezvous of the “Three Queens,” the RMS Queen Mary II, the MS Queen Elizabeth and the MS Queen Victoria in New York harbor. Of the three ships only the Queen Mary II has the distinction of … Continue reading
The sinking of the frigate INS Vindhyagiri, following a collision with the container ship MV Nordlake, last Sunday near Mumbai harbor, is the worst-ever peacetime loss for the Indian Navy. That the accident occurred as the warship was returning … Continue reading
“Spice” is apparently the generic name for so-called “synthetic marijuana” or “fake pot.” In most states, it is still perfectly legal, though that may be changing. “Spice” is, however, not OK with the US Navy. At the end of last … Continue reading
The barque Picton Castle, known for its around the world voyages, is offering cruises this summer sailing around Newfoundland. It sounds fantastic. Sail Around Newfoundland Starkly stunning coastline. Incredible whales, seabirds and maybe even icebergs. Hospitable folks in big towns and small outport … Continue reading
A wonderful video highlighting the educational programs on the schooner Spirit of South Carolina. Spirit of South Carolina Tall Ship program [iframe: title=”YouTube video player” class=”youtube-player” type=”text/html” width=”480″ height=”295″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/TQVS21CoBcQ” frameborder=”0″ allowFullScreen] Thanks to Troy LeBoeuf for pointing it out. … Continue reading
On Monday, the Polar Star struck a rock while at anchor near Detaille Island, a small island off the Northern end of Arrowsmith Peninsula in Antarctica. The grounding damaged the outer hull of the double hulled ship. The ship sailed for the Arctowski Station, … Continue reading
Jim Turton, from Colchester, Ontario, turned 45 years old today. Because of the efforts of the officers and crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay, a 140 foot Bay class icebreaker, he just may have a shot at … Continue reading
Now that the SS United States Conservancy has acquired the S.S. United States, the next question is – what they are going to do with her? Her interior was gutted in 1994 to remove considerable quantities of asbestos. … Continue reading
Today, the SS United States Conservancy purchased the S.S. United States from Norwegian Cruise Line. As we posted last July, the sale was made possible by a reported $5.8 million pledge by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest. The sale was delayed when the … Continue reading
There are an estimated two million protesters in the streets on Cairo today; most rail, trucking and buses are shut down across Egypt, yet the Suez Canal, which can represent up 8 percent of global seaborne trade, remains open and in operation. Military escorts for protection … Continue reading
Mumbai can be tough on container ships. Last August the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 steered into the containership MSC Chitra , sinking her, causing a significant spill and closing the port for five days. Yesterday, the Indian warship, INS Vindhyagiri and Cyprus-flagged … Continue reading
Last July, we posted about North Carolina’s oldest shipwreck which was moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for preservation. Now the curators at the museum are trying to learn,as quickly as possible, how to preserve the crumbling … Continue reading
An update to a post from last week: A backlog of close to 400 ships is still bottled up on the Rhine River following the capsizing of the 110M chemical tank barge, Waldhof, on January 13th near the Lorelei … Continue reading