Update: Clotilda, the Last Slave Ship Found

In January 2018, the news broke that a journalist believed that he had found the burned wreckage of the schooner Clotilda, the last vessel to carry Africans into bondage in the United States. By March, however, further research and excavation … Continue reading

GAO Report on USS Zumwalt Debacle — Deficiencies, Delays and No Big Guns

A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticizes the Navy and the shipyard, Bath Iron Works, for serious deficiencies with the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer program. The report found more than 320 “serious deficiencies” found upon inspection when … Continue reading

Update: Wind Challenger Project — Developing a Hybrid Sail Assisted Cargo Ship

We have been following the development of the Wind Challenger Project since it first was unveiled in 2012. Initially developed by the University of Toyko and now with the support of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Oshima-shipbuilding, the concept is for … Continue reading

Hamburg Hafengeburtstag 2019, 830th Birthday of the Port of Hamburg

This weekend Hamburg celebrated its Hafengeburtstag 2019, the 830th anniversary of the founding of the Port of Hamburg, established in 1189 by Frederick I. And celebrate they did. An estimated 300 ships participated and were greeted by over one million … Continue reading

Opportunity to Sail on Picton Castle in the Great Lakes

Just returning from its seventh round the world voyage, the barque Picton Castle will set off again this summer bound for the Great Lakes to take part in the Tall Ships America’s Tall Ships Challenge — Great Lakes 2019.  The … Continue reading

US Takes Control of Wise Honest, North Korea’s Sanctions Violating Bulker Carrier

The media has been full of reports about the sanctions violating North Korean bulk carrier, dubiously named Wise Honest. Virtually every headline begins with “US seizes North Korean ship” or some variation thereof.  The Justice Department also used the word … Continue reading

Heavy-Lift Ship Blue Marlin Freed After Attempted Hijacking Off Equatorial Guinea

On Sunday, May 5th, armed pirates boarded the semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel Blue Marlin, 80 nautical miles offshore of Equatorial Guinea on the west coast of Africa. The ship, operated by the Dutch firm Boskalis, had unloaded cargo near Luba port, … Continue reading

Update: Sub Vets Sue to Save USS Clamagore

Recently, we posted about the planned sinking of the USS Clamagore as an artificial reef. The 1945 built Balao-class submarine has been an exhibit at the  Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, SC since 1981, but the museum says … Continue reading

Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Perry Begins Year-Round Local Programming

In February we posted that the tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry was entering drydock and that the mission and strategy of Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI), the organization operating the ship, was being reconsidered. Rather than focussing on distance sailing, … Continue reading