Emergency Fundraiser for Developing World Seafarers

Posted on by April 10, 2020

A group of maritime organizations is raising money to provide much-needed emergency funding for developing world seafarers. From their Crowdfunder page:

While much of the shipping industry take their responsibilities to their seafarers very seriously there is still a real challenge facing many seafarers from the poorer regions of the world. Many are in lock down with casual contracts and unable to work, others are facing difficulties due to lock downs when they leave ships and are unable to return to their families with costs and little income coming in and there are even some reports of seafarers being shunned on their return to their homes for fears of the virus. There is also the issue of their families not having an income in order to get by.

The situation is likely to get far worse before it gets better. Continue reading →

Remembering Howard Slotnick (1930-2020)

Posted on by April 9, 2020

The maritime community has lost a great friend, shipmate, and leader in the passing of Howard Slotnick. A treasurer and chairman emeritus of National Maritime Historical Society, he served on the Coast Guard Foundation board and was an advisor to Tall Ships America. He also served on the board of trustees of Amistad America, and was an honorary trustee of South Street Seaport.

Here is a remembrance of Howard Slotnick by Roberta Weisbrod:

Howard Slotnick lived fully his ninety years. His joie de vivre and and love of the sea were one and the same. He expressed his devotion in myriad ways that have influenced the lives of New Yorkers, the spirit of our nation, and even the way the world appreciates maritime history and the waterfront.

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Penguin on “Field Trip” Meets Beluga Whales

Posted on by April 8, 2020

And now, for something completely different. While Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has been closed to visitors, the aquarium has allowed its penguins to take ‘field trips’ inside the facility. Here is a short video of Wellington, a rockhopper penguin, coming face to face with three beluga whales, Kayavak, Mauyak, and baby Annik. The whales appeared to be very interested in the penguin and vice versa. Given that penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere and belugas are found only in the north, this may be one of the few interactions between the two species.

Coronavirus lockdown sees penguin and beluga whale become unlikely friends

Update: Acting SECNAV Modly Wildly Out of Control, Resigns

Posted on by April 7, 2020


Update: Thomas B. Modly has offered his resignation.

When the Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly traveled to Guam on Sunday to speak to the sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, he needed to deliver a clear and calming message. He needed to address concerns over the recent firing of the ship’s commander, Captain Brett Crozier, and to reassure the crew that the Navy was taking appropriate steps to treat sailors with the coronavirus. He failed miserably.

Instead, he launched into a profanity-laced tirade in which he accused the captain of betrayal and suggested that he was “too naïve or too stupid to be a commanding officer”. Modly repeatedly criticized Crozier’s integrity and suggested the possibility of court-martial for the captain. He also inserted partisan politics into the speech by attacking former Vice President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly criticized Crozier’s removal. Modly also slammed the crew for giving the captain a rousing sendoff as he left the ship.

Continue reading →

Menhaden — “the Most Important Fish in the Sea”

Posted on by April 6, 2020

To change the topic, for a day at least, here is a well done short video by the Nature Conservancy about the return of the lowly menhaden, which they call the most important fish in the sea. Menhaden are an oily little fish that are an essential food source for whales, dolphins, striped bass and seabirds. They are also filter feeders that help control algae and plankton blooms.  

Menhaden was seriously overfished in the 1960s. With coastal management and quotas, the schools of menhaden have returned and with them, New York City and Long Island have seen a dramatic increase in whales, dolphins and striped bass. Continue reading →

The Virus — An Enemy The US Navy Is Not Prepared To Fight

Posted on by April 5, 2020

Given the complete debacle of the current administration’s response to the coronavirus, one might hope that our military might be better capable of reacting to the crisis. So far, the US Navy, at least, has demonstrated only how ill-prepared it is in fighting the virus, for reasons that are both practical and political.

Practical Considerations
On the purely practical side, defending naval warship against attack by other ships is far easier than defining against a virus. In fact, warships are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases. They tend to have large crews living in closely packed quarters. Unless the sick crew members can be identified and isolated quickly, contagion can spread rapidly across the ship.

Continue reading →

Venezuelan Navy Patrol Craft Rams Cruise Ship and Loses

Posted on by April 4, 2020

The incident took place in the early hours of Mar. 30, 2020, but the cruise ship operator only released an official statement on April 1st. It could almost be taken for an April Fool’s joke. It wasn’t.  

The Portuguese flag expedition cruise ship RCGS Resolute was drifting just over 13 miles off the coast of Isla La Tortuga, a Venezuelan island 60 miles off the country’s northern coast. With no passengers aboard the crew was performing maintenance on one of the two engines. Around midnight on the 30th, the Venezuelan Navy patrol ship ANBV Naiguatá approached the cruise ship. The Resolute was ordered to follow Naiguatá to Puerto Moreno on Isla De Margarita, located to the east. The Venezuelans accused it of violating the country’s territorial waters.

Continue reading →

Sailors Cheer Carrier Captain Fired by Navy For Standing Up For Crew Health and Safety

Posted on by April 4, 2020

Sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt cheered for Captain Brett Crozier as he departed the ship in Guam. Captain Crozier was removed from duty by the Navy after he raised concerns about the spreading coronavirus on his ship in a letter that was leaked to the media. Hundreds of cheering and applauding sailors showed their appreciation, chanting the captain’s name, as they bid him farewell.

A week ago, the USS Theodore Roosevelt was diverted to Guam after an outbreak of the coronavirus on shipboard. Reports of three sailors with the infection quickly grew to “dozens.” Since then there have been reports that over 100 sailors have come down with the virus.

Continue reading →

TBT — Ghost Ship, Sailing on Water, Wind, & Light

Posted on by April 2, 2020

Grasping at any excuse to stop thinking about the pandemic, for Throw-back Thursday, here is an updated repost from several years ago about an almost magical ghost ship.

What should a ghost ship be made of? Why not water, wind, and light? That is precisely what the designers at the Romanian art collective Visual Skin used to create the Ghost Ship, a glowing ship of light projected onto flowing water and billowing breezes. It floated gently on the water of canal in Amsterdam, with the spectral sails billowing in the wind. The ghost ship was part of the Amsterdam Light Festival of 2014. Since then the Ghost Ship has also appeared at Spotlight Bucharest and Berlin Leuchtet.

The Ghost Ship was conceived in Amsterdam, as a tribute to all 17th Century Dutch sail ships. It represented the very spirit of the Amsterdam, of the Batavia and of the Flying Dutchman. 

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Mystic Seaport Museum Closing, Lays Off 199 Employees

Posted on by April 1, 2020

Sadly, this is not an April Fools joke. The Mystic Seaport Museum is another casualty of Covid-19, at least for the duration of the pandemic. The Hartford Courant reports that as of today the museum is closing indefinitely and laying off 199 employees, 68 of which are full-time, according to a letter filed by the organization with the Connecticut Department of Labor.

While the period of time that the museum is closed is indefinite, the Seaport is not shutting down. From a statement titled “Our Business Goes On” on the Seaport website:

Continue reading →

Brig Pilgrim Sinks at Dock in Dana Point, CA, Salvage Attempts Underway

Posted on by March 31, 2020

The brig Pilgrim, a replica of the ship immortalized in Richard Henry Dana’s 1840 memoir, Two Years Before the Mast, sank at the dock over the weekend in Dana Point, CA. The replica brig, owned by the Ocean Institute has served as a classroom for marine science and maritime history programs since arriving in Dana Point in 1981. 

The brig is reported to have begun listing to starboard on Saturday night and to have sunk on Sunday. On Monday, attempts began to salvage the vessel and to determine why she sank. 

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USNS Comfort Arrives in NYC & New Hospitals on the Harbor

Posted on by March 30, 2020

When particularly interesting ships arrive in New York harbor, I like to go down the waterfront, as time permits, to see them in. This morning was chilly and overcast and in the spirit of social distancing, I watched the arrival of the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort by webcam.

Comfort is now docked at the cruise terminal at Pier 90 on the Hudson River.  The ship will provide an additional 1,000 beds to support the New York hospital system during the peak of coronavirus pandemic.

Continue reading →

USNS Comfort Steams Toward NYC — Concerns About Covid-19 Screening

Posted on by March 29, 2020

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort  is currently steaming north toward New York harbor to help support the city hospital system during the coronavirus crisis. The ship will dock at a newly dredged berth at Pier 90 on the Hudson River.

The ship does not have the facilities or equipment to cope with an infectious disease outbreak, so the Comfort will take overflow patients who do not have the coronavirus, from other New York hospitals. There is a concern, however, whether the more than 1,200 personnel aboard have been adequately screened for the Covid-19 virus.

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USS Constitution Museum Goes Virtual

Posted on by March 28, 2020

We recently posted about two virtual tours available on the historic frigate USS Constitution. In these days of the coronavirus lockdown, the ship is closed as is the shoreside museum. Just as you can tour the ship virtually, the USS Constitution Museum has developed a virtual portal to bring the museum to visitors while the public can no longer visit the museum.

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Aircraft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Diverted to Guam Due to Virus Outbreak

Posted on by March 27, 2020

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) has diverted to Guam following an outbreak of coronavirus onboard. Following initial news of three infected sailors, the number of cases is now said to have risen to “dozens.”  The sailors infected with the virus have been airlifted to a naval medical hospital on Guam. The infected sailors are reported to have mild cases of the virus and have not required hospitalization. 

The carrier’s medical personnel have begun testing the rest of the crew. There are about 800 test kits onboard the ship. The testing will continue in Guam with the intention of testing all 5,000 aboard. The Roosevelt is the first Navy ship at sea to have reported a coronavirus outbreak. 

Continue reading →