On the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, Remembering Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Higgins Boat

I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. A repost on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for … Continue reading

Who’s the Pirate — Blackbeard or the State of North Carolina? Supreme Court Will Decide

Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard, terrorized the Caribbean and the North American East Coast in the early 18th century. Now a documentary filmmaker is claiming that the State of North Carolina is engaging in modern-day digital piracy. … Continue reading

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