On Sunday, two Ukrainian naval gunboats and a tug departed from the Black Sea port of Odessa, bound to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov. As they approached the Kerch Strait, connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, they were intercepted by Russian … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
This is a bizarre story which we have been following for, literally, years. It looked for an instant like it might be resolved and then things fells apart once again. Tommy Thompson — engineer, treasure hunter, alleged swindler, and the current … Continue reading
The U.S. Navy’s new supercarrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford has had more than its share of problems. The ship has a reported 23 new or modified technologies, a number of which have been problematic, to be kind. They are still working the bugs out … Continue reading
Andrew Fitzgerald, the last of the four-man crew of the Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG-36500, which rescued the crew of the SS Pendleton, has died at the age of 87. On February 18, 1952, the 36′ motor lifeboat set out from Station Chatham, Massachusetts, … Continue reading
Happy Thanksgiving! Today has been celebrated as a day of Thanksgiving in the United States on the third Thursday of November since 1863. The holiday is notionally based on a harvest feast in 1621 between Native Americans and Puritans who had arrived on the … Continue reading
Of the more than 2,700 Liberty ships built during World War II, only two are still operational in the United States. One, the John W. Brown, now docked in Baltimore, may become homeless when its five-year agreement for free berthing at Rukert … Continue reading
As we posted yesterday, over last weekend, the Maritime Museum of San Diego celebrated the 155th birthday of the Star of India by taking her for a sail. Here is nicely done, roughly ten-minute, video by Barrett Canfield of Sunday’s sail on the grand old ship. The museum’s other … Continue reading
This weekend, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is celebrating the 155th birthday of the Star of India by taking her for a sail. The museums other ships Californian, San Salvador, and America are sailing along with with the Star of India. It has been five years … Continue reading
One year after the submarine ARA San Juan disappeared on a routine mission, with 44 aboard, the wreckage of the missing submarine has been located in 2,600 feet of water in the Atlantic. The submarine was located by Ocean Infinity, a US … Continue reading
For several years, autumn and winter winds have carried a ghost fleet of derelict boats to the coast of northern Japan. Many of the boats were empty, although some carried corpses. This year has set a new record — 89 … Continue reading
Overnight, the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad slipped beneath the waters of Hjeltefjord near Bergen, Norway. Last Thursday, the frigate was intentionally grounded to prevent it from sinking after it collided with the tanker Sola TS. Despite efforts to stabilize the … Continue reading
This is an odd story, set in the icy Siberian waters near Murmansk, Russia. Apparently, Russia’s largest floating drydock sank from underneath Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, doing some damage to the carrier above the waterline as the dock … Continue reading
How is it possible that the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad collided with the Aframax tanker Sola TS in a fjord near a major oil terminal? The frigate is much smaller, significantly faster and far more maneuverable than the 113,00 DWT … Continue reading
The Norwegian navy frigate, KNM Helge Ingstad, was returning from NATO exercises when it was in a collision with a Maltese flag, Aframax tanker, Sola TS, in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, Norway. The tanker was not seriously damaged while the frigate suffered major flooding and … Continue reading
French sailor Armel Le Cléac’h capsized in the Atlantic, 340 miles northeast of the Azores, while sailing the maxi-tri Banque Populaire IX in the Route du Rhum — Destination Guadeloupe single-handed race. The boat appears to have capsized after the structural failure of … Continue reading
As a naval architect in commercial shipping for several decades, I will admit to that I really do not understand the way the US Navy designs and builds ships. In the world of commercial shipping, the process is to design … Continue reading
When the cruise/ferry Excellent docked in Barcelona, her arrival was less than, shall we say, excellent. Yesterday, at around 8AM, local time, the 663′ long ship was caught in high winds. While waiting for additional tugs, the ship was blown … Continue reading
Sad news from the Little Brig Trust, which operates two very small tall-ships. The Gosport based charity has announced that after a review of operations, that it did not have the capacity to continue into 2019, and so are putting … Continue reading
Italian boatbuilders Fincantieri and Dutch firm Van Geest Designs have developed a design of a 106 meter “Superyacht,” named Mirage, which would effectively become invisible at sea. The design features specially mirrored glass which is intended to reflect the image of the … Continue reading
Here is a fascinating bit of history from the “History Guy” about when the navies of the Republic of Texas and the Republic of the Yucatan faced off against the most modern warships of their time, the ironclads of the Mexican … Continue reading