Every year, on average, close to 1,000 ships are sold for scrap, or in more current language, to be recycled. Over the past year during the pandemic, there has been a particular surge in the number of older cruise being … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
A short and lovely video from two years ago about sailing from Milwaukee on the three-masted, wooden schooner Denis Sullivan. Like so many other vessels, the schooner’s 2020 sailing season was canceled due to the pandemic and sadly, her future … Continue reading
Last Friday, the Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastian De Elcano arrived in Guam on its journey to retrace the first circumnavigation of the globe 500 years ago. As reported by Stars and Stripes, the four-masted ship — named for … Continue reading
Hugh Mulzak served as the first Black Liberty ship captain in World War II. When offered the command, he refused to sail with a segregated crew. Born in 1886 on Union Island in Saint Vincent Grenadines, he went to sea … Continue reading
Thomas Slade, a pioneering naval architect and shipwright, died in 1771, 250 years ago today. While he is most famous for the design and construction of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s Victory, his larger contribution to the Royal Navy and even in … Continue reading
My wife and I recently received the second of two shots of Covid-19 vaccine at a drive-through vaccination state set up at the USS Juneau Center, on the site of the old Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Kearny, NJ. … Continue reading
Recently, three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the second outbreak at sea on the ship within a year. In the spring of last year, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt … Continue reading
Today, A.P. Moller-Maersk, the largest container ship operator in the world, announced that it would launch the world’s first carbon-neutral cargo liner vessel in 2023 – seven years ahead of its initial 2030 target. They also noted that all future … Continue reading
Sailors on the Japanese submarine Soryu had to use their cell phones to call for help after the sub surfaced beneath a Chinese bulk carrier and damaged its radio mast, disabling its communications. Three of the submarine’s crew sustained minor … Continue reading
This is a bit last minute, but I see a post on Facebook about a free online sail training course presented by the Flagship Niagara League. Free Online Sail Training Course! Learn about how Niagara is rigged and sailed! Join … Continue reading
I recently watched “The Dig,” a new movie on Netflix, starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes about the excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial in Suffolk, England. Now the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company is undertaking to recreate the great king’s ship … Continue reading
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, here is an updated repost from several years ago, remembering the ill-fated voyage of the German passenger liner St. Louis in 1939. The ship carried 908 Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi Germany. The ship and its … Continue reading
The operator of the ex-Cunard Queen Mary has filed for bankruptcy raising concerns about the future of the converted luxury liner that has served as a tourist attraction and hotel in Long Beach, CA since 1972. The converted ship is … Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted about the Maersk Essen that recently lost 750 containers over the side in a storm in the North Pacific. An unknown number of containers still aboard the ship are believed to have been damaged during the storm. … Continue reading
In what is developing into a record winter for containers lost over the side, the Maersk Essen lost 750 containers overboard during a storm on January 16. An unknown number of boxes were damaged but still onboard. The loss occurred … Continue reading
Originally posted in award-winning maritime historian Joan Druett’s World of the Written Word. Reposted with permission. I was saddened to learn that Tim Severin, a truly remarkable man who was a living inspiration, passed away last month. The Irish Times has a … Continue reading
Saildrone‘s new 72’ long Surveyor is described as the world’s most advanced uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), equipped for high-resolution mapping of the ocean seafloor. The Saildrone Surveyor is a step up from the 22′ long Saildrone Explorer, yet both combine … Continue reading
The US Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday was blunt when he was recently quoted saying, “I don’t mean to be dramatic, but I feel like if the Navy loses its head, if we go off course and we … Continue reading
Depending on which news report you listen to, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford either can’t reliably land planes and is continuing in its dubious status as a “$13 billion berthing barge,” or, more optimistically, it may be ready … Continue reading
Here is a fascinating short video of British riveted steel shipbuilding in the 1940s. The shipyard in the film is the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company in Fife. The ship being built is thought to be either the MV Dalhousie or the … Continue reading