UPDATE: The US Coast Guard has resumed the search for the missing crew from the Cheeki Rafiki. Over 200,000 signed petitions asking that the search be resumed. British Prime Minister David Cameron thanked the Coast Guard on Twitter after it made … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
Two years ago, we posted about the the 150th anniversary of the seizure of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, by Robert Smalls, a 23 year old mulatto slave, and eight fellow slaves. Smalls, who had served as the pilot of the … Continue reading
In early 2012, we posted about claims made by Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research that they had found “the worlds richest shipwreck,” the British freighter, SS Port Nicholson, carrying a secret cargo of 71 tons of platinum, sunk by the … Continue reading
Columbus’ flagship, Santa Maria, ran aground and sank on Christmas Day 1492 off Haiti, on Columbus’ first voyage to the New World. Now after more than a decade’s research, underwater explorer Barry Clifford believes that he has found the wreck of … Continue reading
This video has been around for some time, but I smile every time I see it. Yes, it is in Dutch, but that hardly matters. Watch until the end. The journalist is interviewing the mayor of the city of Kampen, … Continue reading
Like many milestones, once it is past, it doesn’t seem like quite as big a deal. Last week, three women made history by becoming the first female submariners to serve in the Royal Navy. Female officers have served on US … Continue reading
Kitsap Maritime Heritage Foundation has announced that Seattle attorney Mike Withey is donating the 65′ schooner, Fiddler’s Dream, to the foundation. KMHF was founded in March of 2012 with the stated purpose of being the premiere venue in the Puget Sound … Continue reading
The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, the largest square-rigged sailing ship built in this country in over 100 years, is nearing completion. The 132′ long three masted steel ship has been hauled at at Newport Shipyard for final exterior work and … Continue reading
It is not always easy to decipher the news being reported on the tragic sinking of the Korean ferry Sewol , which capsized in the Yellow Sea on April 16, leaving more than 300 dead or missing. There have been … Continue reading
When the Cunard liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine during World War I, on May 7, 1915, with the loss of 1,198 passengers and crew, the Germans claimed that the ship was carrying high explosives, which the British … Continue reading
Would the world’s first purpose-built oceangoing roll-on/roll-off ship make a good museum? The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is offering the USNS Comet to a qualified public and non-profit organization for use as a memorial, a museum and/or in “other non-commercial enterprises.” Built at … Continue reading
This Saturday, the South Street Seaport Museum celebrated its Spring Revival with the grand re-opening of Pier 16 and the Street of Ships. The ceremony began with the ringing of the bell on the historic lightship Ambrose built in 1907. The … Continue reading
We have noted before the paradox of ocean shipping — it is simultaneously the most energy efficient means of transportation with the lowest carbon footprint while at the same time, it is a major polluter. (See our post from back … Continue reading
The death toll in the sinking of the Korean passenger ro-ro ferry Sewol has risen to 171 with 130 still missing. The ferry capsized and sank in the Yellow Sea last Wednesday, April 16th, on a voyage from Incheon to … Continue reading
Are passenger ro-ro ferries inherently unsafe? No one knows why the passenger ro-ro ferry Sewol capsized last Wednesday off the south-west coast of Korea. There are indications that poor crew training and inadequate safety and evacuation procedures may have contributed … Continue reading
If you are in the New York area on Saturday, April 26th, be sure to stop by the South Street Seaport to celebrate a Spring revival with the grand reopening of Pier 16 and the Street of Ships. Capt. Jonathan Boulware, … Continue reading
What was intended as a four-day field trip to the Korean resort island of Jeju for high school students and their teachers ended in tragedy when the ferry sank off several miles north of Byeongpung Island, on the west coast of … Continue reading
The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Freedom, the first of her namesake class and one of two different LCS designs, was recently deployed to Singapore for ten months in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the ship described by … Continue reading
On January 9, 2013, we posted about the Seastreak Wall Street catamaran ferry, which slammed into a loading barge at Pier 11 in New York City’s East River in Lower Manhattan at 12 knots, injuring 80 of the 331 passengers and crew. The … Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted about the arrival of the World War II Destroyer Escort USS Slater at Caddell Dry Dock. The day before, the historic fireboat, John J. Harvey, left Caddell to return to her Hudson River dock after a month of … Continue reading