Remembering Robert Smalls – Former Slave, Pilot of the Planter, First Black Captain in the US Navy & US Congressman

Posted on by February 11, 2025

Here is a story well worth retelling; an updated repost in honor of Black History Month; the remarkable story of Robert Smalls.

On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, led eight fellow slaves in an audacious flight to freedom. They seized the CSS Planter, steamed it out past the batteries and forts of Charleston harbor, and turned it over to the Union naval blockade.  Smalls would go on to become the first black captain of a U.S. Navy vessel, a South Carolina State Legislator, a Major General in the South Carolina Militia, a five-term U.S. Congressman, and a U.S. Collector of Customs.  

Harper’s Weekly of June 14, 1862, recounts the escape:
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Seabed 2030 Project — New Arctic Ocean Map a Key Milestone in Global Seafloor Mapping

Posted on by February 10, 2025

It is often said that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean floor. The Seabed 2030 Project aims to help rectify this lack of knowledge by mapping the world’s ocean floor by 2030. 

Seabed 2030  recently announced the publication of the latest version of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO), Version 5.0. This release adds 1.4 million square kilometers of mapping coverage – an area over three times the size of Sweden – to the global seafloor dataset. Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO. 

The release also highlights the challenges and innovations associated with mapping the Arctic Ocean, where perennial sea-ice cover and extreme conditions have traditionally limited data collection. Overcoming these obstacles has required groundbreaking technology and international collaboration.

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Under Attack by Musk’s DOGE

Posted on by February 10, 2025

The current regime’s attempt to dismantle the US government has reached NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is the scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploration, and managing fishing and the protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the US exclusive economic zone. NOAA has long been a target of climate change deniers.

Staffers with Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) reportedly entered the headquarters of the NOAA in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Department of Commerce in Washington DC this week, inciting concerns of downsizing at the agency.

Individuals affiliated with Elon Musk’s DOGE, have reportedly been given access to several internal databases and systems at NOAA, as they search for employees and programs related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). NOAA Officials claim to have been told to expect up to a 50% reduction in staff as well as a 30% reduction in budget, as the Trump administration continues to search for “cost-cutting opportunities” in departments and agencies across the federal government.

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Black History Month: Absalom Boston, Whaling Ship Captain & Merchant

Posted on by February 7, 2025

Captain Absalom Boston

Over nearly three centuries of whaling, some 175,000 men went to sea in 2,700 ships. Of the 2,500 masters who captained these ships, at least 52 were men of color. In honor of Black History Month, here is an updated repost about Absalom Boston, captain of the whaleship Industry, which sailed in 1822 with an all-black crew. 

Absalom Boston was born in Nantucket in 1785 to Seneca Boston, an African-American ex-slave, and Thankful Micah, a Wampanoag Indian woman. Absalom Boston’s uncle was a slave named Prince Boston, who sailed on a whaling voyage in 1770. At the end of the voyage in 1773, Prince Boston’s white master, William Swain, a prominent Nantucket merchant, demanded that he turn over his earnings. Boston refused. He took Swain to court and with the support of prominent whaleship owner William Rotch, won his earnings and his freedom, becoming the first slave to be set free by a jury verdict.  The impact of the lawsuit effectively ended slavery on Nantucket.

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Black History Month — First Black Liberty Ship Captain, Hugh Mulzac, Says No To Jim Crow

Posted on by February 22, 2026

Hugh Mulzak served as the first Black Liberty ship captain in World War II. When offered the command, he refused to sail with a segregated crew. An updated repost in honor of Black History Month.

Born in 1886 on Union Island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, he went to sea at 21 and served on British, Norwegian, and American sail and steam-powered ships. After studying at the Swansea Nautical College in South Wales, he earned a mate’s license in 1910. He served as a deck officer on four ships during World War I.

In 1918, he became a naturalized US citizen and in 1920 sat for his Master’s license, earning a perfect score on the test. Despite his experience and qualifications, he was generally only able to find work aboard American ships as a messman or cook. Mulzak has been described as “the most over-qualified ship’s cook in maritime history.”

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Neoliner Origin, World’s First Commercial Sailing Ro/Ro, Launched in Turkey

Posted on by February 5, 2025

The world’s first commercial sailing ro/ro, the 136-meter (450-foot) Neoliner Origin, was launched recently in Tuzla, Turkey, and will now undergo six months of fitting out before entering service in mid-2025. The new ship is expected to slash carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional cargo vessels.

Designed by French company Neoline and built by Turkish shipyard RMK Marine, the ship can carry 5,300 tonnes of freight with a ro/ro capacity of 1200 linear meters, 400 cars or 265 TEU containers.  The Neoliner Origin is equipped with the AeolDrive & Solid Sail rigging solution developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique setting 3,000 square meters of sail on its two masts. The rig is foldable to allow access to a majority of ports.

“Thanks to the wind, and by reducing speed from 15 knots (about 30 kilometers or 18 miles an hour) to 11 knots, we can cut fuel consumption and therefore emissions by a factor of five compared with a conventional ship,” Jean Zanuttini, president of Nantes-based Neoline, told AFP.

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Congratulations to Ananya Prasad, the First Woman of Color to Row Solo and Unsupported Across any Ocean 

Posted on by February 4, 2025

Congratulations to Ananya Prasad for completing the 2024-2025 World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000 mile race across the Atlantic Ocean from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua after 52 days at sea. The 34-year-old from Sheffield came in second among the six solo rowers competing in the race.

Ms Prasad, born in India and raised in the UK, was the only solo female rower in the race. She is also the first woman of color to row solo and unsupported across any ocean. 

The BBC reports that despite having no rowing experience, she decided to take part in the World’s Toughest Row event. She said she hopes her achievement will encourage others to “take on challenges they might not have considered possible”.
 
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Black History Month — Remembering the Golden Thirteen

Posted on by February 2, 2025

Twelve of the Golden Thirteen

In honor of Black History Month, a repost of a wonderful bit of history from the Naval History and Heritage Command — the story of the Golden Thirteen.

In January 1944, there were nearly 100,000 Black Sailors in the United States Navy, but none were officers. That would change when sixteen Black enlisted men were assembled at the Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, in Illinois, for officer training that month.

The odds were initially stacked against them as there was still a strong sentiment within the Navy that African Americans could not succeed as officers. The normal officer training course was sixteen weeks, however, these men were expected to complete it in eight – a move that they believed was an attempt to set them up for failure.

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World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic Challenge : Rowers Attacked by Marlin, Again

Posted on by January 31, 2025

Photo: Mayflower crew

The World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000 mile race across the Atlantic Ocean from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, is billed as the ultimate test of endurance and adventure. In addition to facing huge waves and extreme weather, the rowing teams must also contend with one of the less expected risks of open ocean rowing — being attacked by marlin.

In this year’s race, two of the four-person rowing teams have had their boat’s hulls pierced by the bills of marlin in the Atlantic.  On Boxing Day, the Team Graft boat was struck by a marlin which skewered the hull, flooding one compartment. Fortunately, the fish’s beak missed the crew. They were able to repair the damage in about three hours and to get back in the race.

About three weeks later, the Team Mayflower boat was also punctured by a marlin. Speaking to BBC Radio Devon from the Atlantic, crew member Dan Wooler said: “I guess it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, there was an almighty crunch…

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Container Ship ASL Bauhinia Ablaze, Abandoned & Adrift in Red Sea — Houthi Attack or Hazardous Cargo?

Posted on by January 29, 2025

Following an explosion and fire onboard the container ship, ASL Bauhinia, in the Red Sea early Tuesday morning, the 22 crew abandoned the ship. The crew was subsequently rescued unharmed by a passing vessel. 

The 1,930-teu containership, owned by Shanghai-based Asean Seas Line and operated by Emirates Shipping Lines, was deployed between Jebel Ali and Aqaba. The ship was supposed to reach Aqaba on January 31 and stop in Jeddah on January 29.

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Will the Axial Seamount Erupt in the Pacific Off Oregon in 2025?

Posted on by January 28, 2025

Seismologists at Oregon State University predict that the Axial Seamount, Oregon’s most active underwater volcano, could erupt in 2025.  The seamount, located 300 miles from the state’s coast and one mile beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface, has been swelling at a steady rate for the past six months, with seismic activity totaling hundreds of earthquakes per day, according to an Oregon State University blog that chronicles eruption predictions of the sea volcano.

The good news is that the seamount doesn’t pose a threat to humans. However, observing what happens before and after its potential eruption could help scientists learn about submerged volcanoes and improve the accuracy of their predictions.

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Update: State of Hawaii Awards $6.5M Contract to Remove Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor

Posted on by January 27, 2025

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) is reported to have awarded a $6.5 million contract to a mainland marine engineering company, identified on social media as Donjon Marine, to finally remove the historic ship Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor. The HDOT has not confirmed whether the vessel will be scrapped or sunk and when the work is scheduled to begin.

The process has been long and painful for all concerned.

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A23a, World’s Largest Iceberg, on Collision Course With South Georgia Island

Posted on by January 25, 2025

The world’s largest iceberg, designated A23a, is drifting northwards from Antarctica towards South Georgia, a British territory and wildlife haven, where it could ground and break into pieces. If that happens, it poses a grave threat to King Emperor penguins’ colonies, millions of elephant seals, and fur seals on the island.

In addition to being currently the largest iceberg adrift in Antarctic waters, A23a is also one of the oldest. In 1986, the massive iceberg, more than three times larger than New York City, calved off West Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and immediately grounded on the floor of the Weddell Sea, where it remained stuck for almost four decades until it broke free in late 2023.

Then, instead of drifting off on the Antarctic Circumpolar Current into “iceberg alley,” A23a became stuck in a massive oceanic eddy just north of South Orkney Islands, turning in an anti-clockwise direction by about 15 degrees a day, where it remained for almost a year before escaping the vortex in mid-December.

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USS Jimmy Carter — the Navy’s Stealthy Spy Submarine

Posted on by January 10, 2025

On the day following Jimmy Carter’s funeral, it seems like a good time to look at the top-secret submarine that bears his name.

The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) is a unique submarine in many respects. Commissioned in 2005, she is named for the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, the only president to have qualified on submarines. She is the only submarine to have been named for a living president and is also only the third submarine of the US Navy, to have been named for a living person. 

Technically, she is the final of only three Seawolf-class fast attack submarines to ever have been built, although the Jimmy Carter has been so heavily modified, that she has been described as a subclass of her own. As modified, the USS Jimmy Carter is not just a fast attack submarine. She is fully outfitted as a spy submarine ready to undertake top-secret and hazardous missions.

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Looking Back at President Jimmy Carter’s Naval Career

Posted on by January 9, 2025

Today was President Jimmy Carter‘s funeral. He was 100 years old when he died after a long and remarkable life of public service. He will, no doubt, be best remembered for his personal integrity and faith in his term as the 39th president of the United States and his efforts to promote and expand human rights in his post-presidential career, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Nevertheless, Jimmy Carter began his career as a naval officer who played a role in shaping the future of the Navy’s atomic-powered propulsion systems. Here is a short video about Carter’s relatively brief naval career that would provide a foundation for his long and eventful life.

Jimmy Carter: A Navy Story