World’s Largest Floating Wind Farm Goes Online Off Scotland

The world’s largest offshore floating wind farm has begun operation off Kincardine, approximately 15 kilometers off the southeast coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at water depths ranging between 60 and 80 meters. The five floating turbines are expected to generate up … Continue reading

Trawling For Plastic — Ocean Cleanup Boom Yields Meager Results

The Ocean Cleanup‘s latest attempt to clean plastic from the Northern Pacific has proven to be unimpressive.  After two offshore supply vessels, donated by Maersk, towed a 520-meter wide boom for 120 hours, they succeeded in collecting around 8 tonnes … Continue reading

Sailing on Bubbles of Air — MSC Orders 30 Silverstream Hull Air Lubrication Systems

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has ordered more than 30 hull air lubrication systems from UK firm Silverstream Technologies to be installed on current orders of newbuild large container ships. The vessels applying the air lubrication systems are expected to be delivered … Continue reading

Golden Ray & the Billion Dollar Blunder — Tallying the Cost

We recently posted about the NTSB determination that the car carrier Golden Ray capsized due to an error in a stability calculation prior to sailing. Now as the salvage operation is wrapping up and the costs are being tallied, the … Continue reading

Australia to Build Nuclear Subs Under New Strategic Partnership with US & UK

AP reports that President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a new U.S. security alliance with Australia and Britain that will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement would make Australia the first country without nuclear … Continue reading

NTSB Determines Inaccurate Stability Calculations Caused Capsizing of Golden Ray

The final report issued yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board Office (NTSB) summarizes what happened on Sept. 8, 2019, when the roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier Golden Ray capsized as it transited outbound through St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Georgia. ​​Less … Continue reading

Container Ship Port Backlog Breaking Both Ends of the Supply Chain

The Marine Exchange of Southern California reports a new record for congestion in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. As of Monday, of 140 ships in the ports, 85 are container ships. Only 31 containerships are alongside the … Continue reading

MS Satoshi, Attempt to “Seastead” on a Bitcoin Cruise Ship Fails, Not Surprisingly

The Guardian recently published “The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship.” Thanks to Joan Druett for pointing it out. In 2020, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a pandemic-bargain cruise ship with plans to create a libertarian utopia, … Continue reading

Ever Ace, World’s Newest Largest Container Ship Transits Suez Canal

Ever Ace, the newest world’s largest container ship capable of carrying the 23,992 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) transitted the Suez Canal at the beginning of this month. The Ever Ace is notionally 28 TEU larger than the previously largest container … Continue reading

All Available Boats — Captain Michael Day’s Radio Call On 9/11/01

There are moments in history when an individual makes the right choice at exactly the right moment and it makes all the difference. Such was the case with LT. Michael Day on the morning of September 11, 2001, in New … Continue reading

9/11 Maritime Videos, Photos, & Oral History on the Tanker Mary Whalen Through 9/26

Portside NewYork is hosting an exhibit of 9/11 videos, documents, and photography in a video booth on the deck of their flagship Mary A. Whalen in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and in an outdoor exhibit of banners. The exhibit runs through … Continue reading

Götheborg & Expedition 2022 — Sailing for Asia in April

Götheborg of Sweden, a full-sized replica of a Swedish East Indiaman, sailed home today from Stockholm to her homeport in preparation for a voyage to Asia in April of next year.   The nearly 60-meter (197-feet) long East Indiaman is billed … Continue reading

Arthur John Priest — the Unsinkable Stoker

Arthur John Priest was born on this day in 1887. He earned the nickname “the unsinkable stoker” after surviving the sinking of four ships, including the Titanic and its sister ship Britannic, as well as living through two ship collisions. … Continue reading

Congratulations to Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, First Woman to Command a Nuclear-Powered Carrier

Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt is now the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln — becoming the first woman to lead a nuclear carrier in U.S. Navy history. Bauernschmidt, who previously served as the carrier’s executive officer from 2016-2019, relieved … Continue reading

Update: Yara Birkeland, Crewless Electric Container Ship, First Voyage by Year’s End

In 2017, we posted “ Yara Birkeland, Autonomous Container Ship — Is This Really a Good Idea?” The question remains unanswered, but we may have a better idea when the 103 TEU, all-electric, crewless feeder ship is delivered and completes its … Continue reading

Navy Sinks USS Ingraham, Last Oliver Hazard Perry Destroyer Built, in Live-Fire Exercise

The Drive reports that on August 15th, 2021, the U.S. Navy sank the USS Ingraham in a  Sinking Exercise (SINKEX) off Hawaii as part of the ongoing and unprecedently massive Large Scale Exercise 2021. Not a whole lot is known … Continue reading

WWII Submarine USS Cod Returns to Cleveland After $1.4 Million Drydocking and Repairs

Tomorrow, the Gato Class submarine USS Cod commissioned in 1943, will be towed back to its dock in Cleveland, OH following a $1.4 million drydocking at Donjon Shipbuilding in Erie, PA. While on dock, the 78-year old submarine had ballast … Continue reading

Third Replica Maryland Dove Under Construction

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is nearing the completion of the construction of a new Maryland Dove, a reproduction of the 17th-century trading ship that accompanied the first settlers to what is now Maryland in 1634. Maryland Dove is owned … Continue reading

Full Sized Titanic Replica Under Construction at Theme Park in China

Five years ago we posted about the beginning of the construction of “A Close to Unsinkable Titanic in China’s Sichuan Province.” Construction began on November 30th, 2016 in Suining, Sichuan province, China, 745 miles from the sea. The full-sized replica … Continue reading