One Year After Pearl Harbor — Launching of the Battleship USS New Jersey, December 7, 1942

On this, the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I thought that it might be interesting to look one year forward to gauge how the US responded to the attack. On December 7, 1942, American shipyards launched … Continue reading

Captain of MV Vantage Wave Died at Sea. Six Months Later, His Body Was Still in the Freezer

On April 19, 2021, Captain Dan Sandu, 68, from Romania, master of the general cargo ship MV Vantage Wave, died at sea, apparently from cardiac arrest. The ship was on route from Paradip India to Guangzhou, China, with cargo of … Continue reading

Suiso Frontier, World’s First Liquefied Hydrogen Carrier Readies to Sail From Japanese Shipyard

Reuters is reporting that Suiso Frontier, the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier could leave Japan for Australia to pick up its first cargo of hydrogen late this month. The ship will carry 1,250 m3 of liquefied hydrogen cooled to –253°C, … Continue reading

Freight Expectations — 60 Minutes Looks at America’s Supply Chain Crunch

When things are going well, the international shipping supply chain is largely invisible and can be taken for granted by most of us.  These days things are not going well. The pandemic has triggered massive trade imbalances. Critical links in … Continue reading

Grain de Sail to Deliver Medical Supplies to Dominican Republic by Sail

In what is described as the first carbon-free humanitarian logistics effort, Grain de Sail has announced that it is partnering with two non-profits to deliver unused medical supplies from New York to the Dominican Republic by sail. Grain de Sail … Continue reading

Yara Birkeland — Electric, Not-Yet-Autonomous, Container Ship Makes Maiden Voyage

In August we posted Yara Birkeland, Crewless Electric Container Ship, First Voyage by Year’s End.  We noted that if all went according to plan, the ship would make its first journey between two Norwegian towns before the end of the … Continue reading

Construction Halted at Secret Chinese Facility in UAE Container Port

Following pressure from the United States, work has been halted on what intelligence agencies believe was a secret Chinese military facility under construction in a commercial port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Wall Street Journal reported that satellite imagery … Continue reading

Sails of Change Set to Begin Fossil Fuel-Free Attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy

The maxi-trimaran Sails of Change (ex-Spindrift 2) and its crew of 11, led by Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard, are awaiting a favorable weather window to set off from La Trinité-sur-Mer, in southwest Brittany, on their latest attempt to claim … Continue reading

Hawaii Accepts Falls of Clyde International’s Bid to Remove Historic Ship From Honolulu

Great news! David O’Neill, director of the Falls of Clyde International, announced yesterday on Facebook that their bid to remove the historic tall ship Falls of Clyde, from Honolulu harbor, has been accepted by the state officials at the Department … Continue reading

Early Freeze in Arctic Northern Sea Route Traps Ships, Icebreakers Dispatched

The Barents Observer reports that more than 20 ships are either stuck or struggling to make it through increasingly thick sea-ice on the Arctic Northern Sea Route. They report that over the past several years, shipping along the Russian northern … Continue reading

USS Enterprise & the Long Goodbye: Scrapping Could Cost $1.5 Billion &Take More Than a Decade

We recently posted about how the US Navy’s last two non-nuclear carriers were sold for scrap for the modest sum of one cent each. By some standards, that was not such a bad deal.  A recent report by the General … Continue reading

Chinese Build US Navy Carrier Group Targets in Desert

The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex, according to photos from satellite imagery company Maxar. USNI News … Continue reading

Sunday Repost : A Sail on the Draken Harald Hårfagre in New York Harbor

What could be more gloriously incongruous than sailing on a replica 9th-century Viking longship and sipping whisky on a blustery Autumn day in New York harbor? Here is an updated repost:  In late October 2018, I was fortunate enough to … Continue reading

Bastø Electric, World’s Largest Electric Ferry in Service in Norway

The Daily Scandinavian reported that last March the world’s largest all-electric ferry went into full operation on the 5.67 nautical mile route between the two Norwegian cities of Moss and Horten, on Norway’s busiest ferry route. The new ferry, named … Continue reading

After Suez Damage, Container Ship Ever Given’s Bow Looks like a Dropped Pumpkin

Photographs have come out of the bow damage to the container ship Ever Given after she ran hard aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the critical waterway for six days last March. The images were taken in Qingdao, China, where … Continue reading

Update: USS Connecticut Hit Uncharted Underwater Seamount

The worst way to determine the position of a previously uncharted seamount is to run into it underwater. That is apparently what happened to the Seawolf-class attack submarine, USS Connecticut, when it hit an object while submerged on October 2.   … Continue reading

Golden Ray Salvage Finally Completed, Massive, But Not Necessarily The Largest Wreck Removal

The last section of the car carrier Golden Ray has been removed from St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Georgia, and is on its way to a scrapyard. The 656-foot car carrier was carrying 4,100 vehicles when it capsized in September … Continue reading