The steamer Sabino, built in 1908, has been a popular attraction at the Mystic Seaport Museum since 1974, offering boat rides on the Mystic River to an estimated 33,000 passengers yearly. The steamboat; which the museum bills as the oldest … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
Numbers are fine but sometimes the best way to communicate scale is visually. The image above is what it would have looked like if the largest passenger liner of roughly 100 years ago, RMS Titanic, was followed closely by the … Continue reading
Here on the west bank of the Hudson River, I spent most of the morning digging out from yesterday’s blizzard, which dumped around 30 inches of snow on us. So, it seems like a good time to think of sunshine … Continue reading
The sad saga of the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) continues. The USS Fort Worth, the third Freedom Class LCS delivered, was testing its engines at dockside in Singapore and seriously damaged the ship’s combining gear. The LCS have both diesel and … Continue reading
Only days after hearing good news about funding for the Pride of Baltimore II, there is very grim news about the organization which operates the Hudson River sloop Clearwater. The Clearwater organization announced that it is facing deep financial problems … Continue reading
Tremendous news for a great ship. On Monday, Maryland’s Governor Hogan announced a $1.5 million private-public partnership with the replica Baltimore clipper, Pride of Baltimore II. Under a new agreement, the state will commit the funds to Pride of Baltimore … Continue reading
In 2009, Rich Wilson at 58 was the oldest sailor in the Vendee Globe non-stop single-handed round-the-world yacht race. He finished ninth of the thirty boats which began the race. Wilson was the only American in the eleven finished. The Vendee … Continue reading
The CBS news program “60 Minutes” recently did a report on the sinking of El Faro. Overall, they did a reasonably good job for a mainstream media report on shipping. There were a few minor glitches but overall, not a … Continue reading
More than 80,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) of the seafloor in the Indian Ocean west of Australia have been searched, looking for where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is believed to have crashed with 239 people aboard in March 2014. So far, … Continue reading
Yesterday, two US Navy Riverine Command Boats (RCBs) with a combined crew of ten sailors were apprehended by Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats. One or both of the RCBs had suffered a mechanical failure and had drifted into Iranian waters. The Iranians released … Continue reading
Atlantic Container Lines’ (ACL) Atlantic Star, the newest and world’s largest Container/Roll-on Roll-off ship, has arrived on the North American East Coast, calling at Halifax and on Saturday, in New York. Notwithstanding its name, the ships of Atlantic Container Lines … Continue reading
A Facebook video by my friend Frank Hanavan showing him inserting a ship in a bottle (after the page break) got me thinking about, well, ships in bottles. When, where and why did sailors start putting ships in bottles? After … Continue reading
In 1871, a fleet of 33 American whaling ships became stuck in the ice off the coast of Alaska. Over 1,200 whalers were rescued by the seven ships which managed to avoid being trapped in the ice floes. Remarkably, all … Continue reading
Big news from the Cousteau Society. They have announced: As 2016 begins, Calypso will be getting a whole new life, 20 years after its accident in Singapore! After having explored the possibility of a future for Captain Cousteau’s iconic ship in … Continue reading
Great video of the replica frigate l’Hermione calling in Brest. L’Hermione – Escale à Brest [Drone] from Nautimages on Vimeo. … Continue reading
The news program 60 Minutes broadcast National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) footage of the wreck of El Faro last night. The TOTE Ro/Ro was lost with all 33 aboard in Hurricane Joaquin in October. The footage is striking and … Continue reading
Anti-terror police in the UK are suddenly concerned that the SS Richard Montgomery, a Liberty ship which sank over seventy years ago loaded with high explosives in the Thames estuary, might be a potential target for terrorists. Reportedly, the government … Continue reading
The schooner Amistad, the official flagship of the State of Connecticut, has seen difficult times in recent years. Built fifteen years ago at Mystic Seaport, until recently, the ship had been in receivership since 2014, after Amistad America, the non-profit which ran the … Continue reading
Battles at sea usually last a few hours. Battles in court can last far, far longer. In the Battle of Santa Maria on October 5, 1804, when a British squadron attacked a Spanish treasure fleet, the ship Nuestra Señora de … Continue reading
Two wonderful drone videos of the Clipper-Brig Morgenster shot last November. Thanks to Joost for passing them along. Ocean Tall Ship Morgenster sailing on the Ocean on her way to the Cape Verdes. Full square rig and stunsails set. With a … Continue reading