Remembering the MS St. Louis and the “Voyage of the Damned”

Given the current heated debate over Syrian refugees, it seems worthwhile to remember the ill-fated voyage of the German ocean liner St. Louis in 1939. The ship carried 908 Jewish refugees who were fleeing from Nazi Germany. The ship and its … Continue reading

Engine Room Fire on Expedition Cruise Ship Le Boreal, Passengers Evacuated

The expedition cruise ship, Le Boreal, operated by French line Ponant, has been evacuated after a fire in the engine room.  Fire broke out on the 264-passenger ship as she was sailing off the Falkland Islands early Wednesday.  The passengers were transferred … Continue reading

Schooner Spirit of South Carolina Returning to Charleston

Great news. The schooner Spirit of South Carolina is on her way home to Charleston, South Carolina.  We recently heard from Meryl Huckabey: “As a long-time reader of oldsaltblog.com I am pleased to tell you that the Spirit of South Carolina, tall ship … Continue reading

El Faro Update: Bridge Located, Search for Voyage Data Recorder Continues

The National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday that U.S. Navy salvage tug Apache has located the bridge deck of El Faro roughly a mile from the main wreckage of the ro/ro cargo ship.  33 crew died when the 790-foot long ship sank in Hurricane … Continue reading

Transport Canada: Capsized Leviathan II Met Stability Requirements

The first reports from accidents are often wrong. In the case of the capsizing of the whale-watching boat, Leviathan II, off Tofino on Vancouver Island with the loss of six passengers, the initial reports from CBC News said that the vessel … Continue reading

Friday Evening at the Sultana Downrigging Weekend, Chestertown, MD

A beautiful Friday evening at the Sultana Downrigging Weekend in Chestertown, MD. The schooner Sultana, launched in Chestertown, Maryland, in 2001, serves as an educational vessel for schoolchildren as it travels around the Chesapeake Bay. Now in its fifteenth year, … Continue reading

A New Home in Red Hook, Brooklyn for the SS United States?

In early October, the headline in the Philadephia Inquirer was Is the S.S. United States headed toward the scrap yard?. After years of attempting to save the iconic cruise ship, the SS United States Conservancy announced that the SS United States, … Continue reading

Leviathan II & Ocean Thunderer — Death at Sea Lion Rocks

In 1998, the whale-watching boat Ocean Thunderer was hit by a wave and swamped, throwing all on board — three passengers and one boat operator — into the waters near Sea Lion Rocks, also known as Plover Reefs, off the western … Continue reading

Canadian Whale Watching Boat Sinks : Five Dead, One Missing

MV Leviathan II, a 65′ whale watching boat, sank late yesterday afternoon, off the port of Tofino on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. 27 were aboard when the vessel sank. Five are reported to have died and one person is … Continue reading

“The Finest Hours” — New Movie About Heroic Coast Guard Rescue

The US Coast Guard rarely gets enough credit for the remarkable work that they do in routinely rescuing mariners in often extremely dangerous conditions. A new movie, “The Finest Hours“, is coming out this winter, which tells the story of … Continue reading

Happy Trafalgar Day — HMS Victory in Her True Colours

Happy Trafalgar Day! Today is the 210th anniversary of the overwhelming Royal Navy victory over the French and Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.  After considerable research, Admiral Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory has now been repainted to more accurately … Continue reading