Pod of 77 Pilot Whales Die After Stranding on Orkney Beach

Posted on by July 12, 2024

On 11 July 2024 at about 10:45am, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) received a report of a mass stranding of long-finned pilot whales on the isle of Sanday in Orkney, Scotland.  They found 77 animals high up the beach, having evidently been stranded for several hours already.  65 of the whales were already dead and the 12 remaining whales were in a poor state.

“Sadly the remaining 12 pilot whales have been euthanized due to their condition deteriorating from the many hours they have spent stranded on the beach,” the BDMLR said in a statement late Thursday.

“Pilot whales are a really social species. They really rely on their family bonds. So, it might have been that just one of them got into difficulty and the rest of the pod just stranded with it because they stick together,” BDMLR rescue and community coordinator Molly Brown told the Reuters news agency. “In moments of need, they never leave each other’s side.”

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Update: Shackleton’s Ship Endurance Given Extra Protection

Posted on by July 11, 2024

In March of 2022, we posted about the discovery of the remarkably intact remains of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which was crushed by pack ice and sank off Antarctica in 1915. Using undersea drones, the shipwreck was located 10,000 feet below the ice-covered surface of the Weddell Sea. 

Recently, the BBC reported that the protection perimeter drawn around Endurance is being widened from a radius of 500m to 1,500m. The measure is part of a newly published conservation management plan (CMP).

The perimeter update is a recognition that debris from Endurance – including crew belongings – may be strewn across a larger area of ocean floor than previously thought.

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Russian Replica Frigate Shtandart Banned From Brest Maritime Festival

Posted on by July 10, 2024

A few days before one of the world’s largest maritime gatherings, the crew of the Russian sailing ship Shtandart learned that it would not be able to participate in the Brest festivities due to the extension of European sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.

Le Parisien reports that the Shtandart, a replica of Tsar Peter the Great’s frigate, will not be able to participate in the Brest Maritime Festival, due to a decree from the Finistère prefecture. The ship, whose Russian flag has been controversial for months, had to change it in the spring to that of the Cook Islands, at the request of the French authorities.

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Iranian Destroyer Sahand Capsizes at Dock in Bandar Abbas

Posted on by July 9, 2024

The Iranian Moudge-class destroyer Sahand capsized and sank in shallow water while undergoing dockside repairs in its home port of Bandar Abbas. The 1,300-tonne ship, commissioned in 2018, is one of the newest Iranian-built warships, fitted with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, as well as anti-aircraft batteries and sophisticated radar and radar-evading capabilities.

“As Sahand was being repaired at the wharf, it lost its balance due to water ingress. Fortunately… the vessel is being returned to balance quickly,” IRNA news service reported, citing a navy statement.

Maritime security analyst H.I. Sutton wrote on Sunday that the Sahand may have had a higher center of gravity due to recent upgrades, which could have affected its stability. The warship was fitted with a new radar, surface-to-air missiles, and more anti-ship missiles.

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Coast Guard Honors Charleston Harbor Pilot Christopher Thornton For Safely Steering Runaway Container Ship

Posted on by July 8, 2024

Rear Adm. Douglas Scholfeld, commander of the Coast Guard 7th District, presents Christopher Thornton of the Charleston Branch Pilots with Meritorious Public Service Award for his actions in safely steering a ship to safety June 5, 2024. Coast Guard photo.

Early last month, we posted about the departure on the morning of June 5th, of the container ship MSC Michigan VII from the North Charleston Container Terminal in Charleston, South Carolina. Its engine was set to “dead slow ahead” as it moved down the Cooper River. Instead of proceeding at a harbor speed of 6 -8 knots, however, the engine increased power to near full-ahead without warning, propelling the ship between 14 and 17  knots, and would not respond to commands.

For nearly 90 minutes, harbor pilot Christopher Thornton steered the runaway 70,000-ton containership on a slalom course 20 miles along the Cooper River, making five major turns and shooting under the landmark Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge – all at nearly twice the normal speed of ships through the harbor. 

His ship handling maneuvers on June 5 “were nothing short of miraculous and directly saved lives, property, and the marine environment,” according to a Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award presented June 26 to Thornton at the Charleston Branch Pilots Association station.

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SS Great Britain Returns to Bristol, 54 Years Ago Today

Posted on by July 5, 2024

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 Fifty-four years ago today, 100,000 people lined the banks of the River Avon in Bristol as the SS Great Britain returned to her birthplace. In the intervening years, the rusting hulk was meticulously restored to her former glory and now rests in the drydock where she was built. As a museum ship, she is visited by between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.  Here is an updated repost about the grand old ship, followed by a video about her return to Bristol in 1970.

In the spring of 2016, I visited the museum ship SS Great Britain, in Bristol, UK.  When she was launched in 1843, the iron-hulled luxury passenger steamship SS Great Britain was described as “the greatest experiment since the Creation.”

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Happy 4th of July – A Toast to Madeira, the Wine of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Riots

Posted on by July 1, 2024

An updated repost fitting for the day.

Happy 4th of July!  Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in the Continental Congress drank a toast with glasses of Madeira wine.

Why Madiera?  It was virtually the only wine available in the American colonies at the time. Wine carried by sailing ship was often spoiled in transit by the constant jostling of the ship and the wide variations of heat and cold. Wine from the island of Madeira, however, was fortified with a small amount of sugar cane brandy to help it survive the ocean voyage. Not only did the fortified wine survive the voyage but it was found that the heat and motion of the ship actually improved the quality of the wine.

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Dolphins Can Recognize Each Others’ Whistles — And Their Urine, New Study Finds

Posted on by July 2, 2024

A fascinating story from CBC Radio — based on a new study in the academic journal Science Advances, dolphins can recognize the sound of a whistle or the taste of urine — yes, taste — to spot their friends.

What started as a study of how dolphins use their signature whistles has uncovered another way the cetaceans communicate: their urine. 

“It’s like your dog sniffing a fire hydrant,” study co-author Jason Bruck told As It Happens guest host Robyn Bresnahan. 

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IMO Arctic Heavy Fuel Ban Goes into Effect, With Major Loopholes Until 2029

Posted on by July 1, 2024

As of July 1, a ban on heavy fuel oil (HFO) for ships has come into effect in Arctic waters.  The UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) ban on HFO, however, includes significant loopholes that will allow the vast majority of ships operating in the Arctic to use the fuel until 2029.

HFO, also known as bunker fuel and residual fuel, is the dirtiest and most climate-damaging fuel on the market. It is a tar-like and thick, but relatively cheap oil that has been widely used in shipping.

The specific concerns about the use of HFO in Arctic include the risk of oil spills in which the sludge-like fuel would be effectively impossible to clean up in icy Arctic waters. Such spills could have a devastating impact on the Arctic’s sensitive environment and species, including walrus, polar bears, and beluga whales.

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The Future of Naval Drones — Sleek Ukrainian Magura V5 or Massive US Manta Ray?

Posted on by June 28, 2024

The Ukrainian Magura V5 naval drones have proven to be fast, deadly, and cheap.  As we posted last August, Ukrainian naval drones are redefining warfare in the Black Sea; quite an accomplishment for a beleaguered nation that almost wholly lacks a navy.

Recently, Northrop Grumman revealed an underwater drone named the Manta Ray. The drone, built for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The drone has been under development since 2020. The Manta Ray represents a new class of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), that were developed to perform long-duration, long-range military missions with as little human oversight as possible. The craft is also capable of harvesting energy from the ocean.

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Four Columbian Suspects Rescued & Arrested Off Spanish Coast After Scuttling Intercepted Narco Sub

Posted on by June 27, 2024

Photo: Gondan Shipbuilders

Spanish Customs has intercepted another semi-submersible transoceanic “narco sub” off the Atlantic coast of Spain, rescuing and arresting four suspects, who scuttled their vessel as authorities approached.

On June 24, the Spanish Customs Surveillance Service and the US DEA detected the narco sub approximately 250 nautical miles off the coast of Cádiz. In collaboration with the Spanish Civil Guard and National Police, the customs agency vessel Fulmar intercepted the ship.

Rather than surrender the semi-submersible, the narco sub crew opened its sea valves, flooding the craft within minutes. The semi-submersible sank under their feet as Fulmar arrived.

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Newly Discovered Bronze Age Shipwreck, the Oldest Yet Found in Deep Water

Posted on by June 25, 2024

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

Last July, a routine oil and gas survey discovered hundreds of intact amphorae – ancient storage jars – believed to be 3,300 years old, in a shipwreck located 90km (56 miles) off the northern coast of Israel on the sea bed at a depth of 1,800m (5,905ft). 

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, (IAA), which announced the find last week, the shipwreck is the “first and oldest” to be found in the region. This is only the third Bronze Age shipwreck ever found and the first in deep water. 

The IAA said that preliminary examination of two clay jars known as Canaanite amphorae indicated that the merchant vessel, an estimated 39 to 46 feet long, sank sometime between 1400 B.C. and 1300 B.C., an epoch when the Egyptian empire stretched from what is now northern Syria to Sudan, and the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun briefly sat on the throne.

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Wildfire on Greek Island Hydra Allegedly Sparked by Fireworks From Superyacht; Crew Arrested

Posted on by June 24, 2024

Firefighters shared this photo, but did not confirm that it is the luxury yacht allegedly involved in the incident Photo: Facebook

The BBC reports that 13 crew members of the superyacht, Persephoni,  have been arrested following a wildfire on the Greek island of Hydra, that authorities allege was sparked by fireworks launched from the yacht.

Friday’s blaze burnt through 300 acres of the only pine forest on the renowned tourist island, which lies south of Athens, Greece’s Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias said.

All crew members denied the charges, Greek media reported on Sunday. The yacht, which was chartered by foreign tourists, was seized by the Greek authorities.

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Two Beluga Whales Rescued From Ukraine Arrive in Spain

Posted on by June 23, 2024

CNN reports that two beluga whales have been rescued from the besieged city of Kharkiv in Ukraine and taken to an aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in a complex operation.

A multinational team involving marine mammal care experts from Oceanogràfic de Valencia, the largest oceanarium in Europe; Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta; and SeaWorld were involved in the high-risk journey.

The pair of belugas – a 15-year-old male named Plombir and a 14-year-old female called Miranda – arrived in “delicate health” Tuesday evening after a “grueling journey,” according to Georgia Aquarium.

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