Darwin200 — Retracing the Voyage of HMS Beagle on 105-Year-Old Dutch Schooner Oosterschelde

Posted on by August 17, 2023

Almost 200 years ago, Charles Darwin set sail from Plymouth, UK, as a naturalist on HMS Beagle on an epic voyage that would prove pivotal in the development of his theories of evolution.  

This week, the 105-year-old Dutch schooner Oosterschelde set sail from Plymouth on a two-year voyage to train and inspire a new generation of naturalists by tracing the voyage of HMS Beagle. On the 40,000 nautical mile voyage, the schooner will call at 32 ports around the globe and will serve as a floating laboratory on the sea and in port in the project called Darwin200. The project seeks to harness the legacy of Charles Darwin’s passion for natural history to engage worldwide audiences and advance global conservation.

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Ukrainian Naval Drones Redefining Warfare in the Black Sea

Posted on by August 16, 2023

When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, at least 100 Ukrainian Navy vessels, representing 75% of the Ukrainian naval fleet, were captured by Russian forces. In the Russian invasion of 2022, much of the remaining fleet was destroyed or scuttled to prevent capture.

Rebuilding naval power with a war going on is daunting at best. Lacking a secure industrial base, the Ukrainians are relying on ingenuity and technology rather than steel fabrication to strike back at the Russian Black Sea Fleet.  Most notably, Ukrainian naval drones are redefining warfare in the Black Sea.

In addition to aerial drones and shore-to-ship missiles, the Ukrainians have developed naval drones with formidable ranges and increasing lethality. These drones are explosive uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) that have been used to attack Russian ships and shore infrastructure.

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Swansea Museum Seeking New Partner to Operate Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Olga

Posted on by August 14, 2023

Swansea Museum, the oldest museum in Wales, is seeking a new partner to sail the 1909 Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Olga.  Their 5-year loan agreement with Sailing Tectona comes to an end this year, and the vessel will return to Swansea in September.

Sailing Tectona has decided to focus on the refit of their 1928 gaff ketch yacht, Tectona, and getting her sailing again as soon as possible.  In June 2023, the organization won £70,000 towards the community rebuild of Tectona from the National Lottery’s People’s Projects fund, voted for by the public. 

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Update: FSO Safer No Longer an Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen, Dispute Remains Over Oil

Posted on by August 13, 2023

The FSO Safer is now considerably safer. A United Nations operation to transfer more than one million barrels of oil from the decaying floating oil storage vessel into another ship off the coast of Yemen has been completed.  Removal of the oil began around July 14,  2023, and concluded on August 11, 2023.

The discharge of the oil from the decrepit vessel has been years in the making. In 2021, we posted that for several years, the FSO Safer, moored in the Red Sea north of the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah, was a likely environmental disaster waiting to happen. 

The ship was being held as a virtual hostage in the ongoing Yemeni civil war. A converted 400,000 DWT ultra-large crude carrier (ULCC), built in 1976, the ship contained about 1.1 million barrels of oil valued at up to US$80 million. The ship had been progressively deteriorating due to a lack of maintenance and supplies, and many were concerned that the Safer was in imminent risk of sinking, fire, or explosion.

The UN said environmental disaster had been averted but it is unclear how the oil’s sale will be agreed between warring sides.

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Lāhainā, Maui, ex-Royal Capital & Whaling Port Destroyed in Hawaiian Wildfire, at Least 36 Killed

Posted on by August 10, 2023

Lāhainā, a town on the island of Maui in Hawaii, was the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom in the early nineteenth century, Lāhainā was also a historic whaling port during the whaling boom of the mid-1800s. 

In recent years, Lāhainā has become a popular vacation destination, attracting tourists to the shops and restaurants along Front Street, going whale watching, or just keeping cool in the shade of a majestic banyan tree planted in 1873.

All this changed on Tuesday when a wall of flame swept through the town.  An extended drought and high winds from a passing hurricane combined to create an out-of-control brushfire, devastating many historic homes and buildings and killing at least 37.

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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor Goes Fishing in Florida Keys — Catches $1.1M Cocaine Cache

Posted on by August 9, 2023

CNN reports that Tampa Mayor Jane Castor made a big catch while fishing the Florida Keys with family late last month, spotting and hauling in a package containing 70 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of approximately $1.1 million, according to the mayor’s office.

The package was discovered south of Marathon on July 23, according to US Border Patrol.

Castor saved the location of the find on her watch as the family hauled the package out of the water onto their recreational boat, and contacted the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to report the drugs, her office said. Border Patrol agents with the Miami Sector then took custody of the drugs, according to the border agency and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

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Fossil of Peruvian Whale Rivals Blue Whale as Heaviest Animal Ever Discovered

Posted on by August 8, 2023

A recent study published in the journal Nature describes an extinct whale, Perucetus colossus, discovered in the desert in southern Peru, that rivals the blue whale in weight, if not necessarily in length.  The Perucetus colossus was a basilosaurid whale from the middle Eocene epoch of about 39 million years ago.

“The fossils were actually discovered 13 years ago, but their size and shape meant it took three years just to get them to Lima (the capital of Peru), where they’ve been studied ever since,” said Dr. Eli Amson, a co-worker on the discovery team led by paleontologist Dr. Mario Urbina, as reported by the BBC.

Eighteen bones were recovered from the marine mammal, including 13 vertebrae, four ribs, and part of a hip bone.

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Loch Ness Quest — Recruiting Volunteer Monster Hunters for Biggest Search for “Nessie” in 50 years

Posted on by August 7, 2023

The Loch Ness Centre, in partnership with Loch Ness Exploration, is seeking to recruit a small army of volunteers to join in what is described as the biggest search for the Loch Ness monster in 50 years. The Quest weekend is scheduled for Aug. 26 and 27.

The BBC quotes Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration, “It’s our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts and by joining this large scale surface watch, you’ll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world.”

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US Dispatches 4 Navy Destroyers to Aleutians to Counter Chinese & Russian Ships

Posted on by August 6, 2023

The US Navy dispatched four destroyers and a reconnaissance airplane after 11 Chinese and Russian military vessels carried out a joint naval patrol near Alaska’s Aleutian islands last week.

The combined naval patrol, which the Wall Street Journal first reported, appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach US territory, according to experts that spoke to the outlet.

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Celebrating the 180th Anniversary of the Launch of SS Great Britain With a Model Cake

Posted on by August 4, 2023

One hundred and eighty years ago last month, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Britain was launched by Prince Albert in Bristol Harbour. To celebrate the anniversary, Giuseppe Dell’Anno, a winner of the Great British Bake Off unveiled a cake replica of the historic ship. The cake was made by Occasion Cakes in Bedminster and was carved out of a block made from several sheets of sponge.

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Chasing Icebergs in Iceberg Alley

Posted on by August 3, 2023

Every year, in “Iceberg Alley“, a stretch of water curving along the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, hundreds of icebergs drift by.

Recently, one such iceberg was caught on video and posted on X (ex-Twitter) where it quickly went viral, with almost 12 million views.

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August Sky Shows — Double Super Blue Moons, Saturn, & Perseid Meteor Showers

Posted on by August 2, 2023

Sailors have always watched the sky. This August, the sky is putting on quite a show.

In case you missed it, last night was a supermoon. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is at the closest point to the Earth, known as the lunar perigee. A full Moon during perigee will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it is furthest away from Earth. If you did miss it, the moon will still be very bright, nearly 99% of the brightness of yesterday’s full moon

There are usually only three or four supermoons a year. This year there is a run of four in a row, which is very rare. The next supermoon falls on August 30th.

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Donald Lawson’s Trimaran Found Capsized in the Pacific, Lawson Still Missing

Posted on by August 1, 2023

Donald Lawson and his Dark Seas Project was nothing if not ambitious. Lawson, 41, was preparing to set out to break at least 35 sailing records on his ORMA 60 trimaran, Defiant. 

Lawson is a professional sailor from Baltimore who hoped to become the fastest person to sail solo and nonstop around the world in a boat no longer than 60 feet. He also hoped to become one of the few African Americans to set world records in the sport of sailing. Lawson and his wife started the Dark Seas Project, an effort to promote more diversity in the sport of sailing. He is also the chairman of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee for U.S. Sailing, the national governing body for the sport.

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Where Cruise Ships Are No Longer Welcome — Amsterdam Latest Port to Impose Ban

Posted on by July 31, 2023

Have cruise ships worn out their welcome? Increasingly, port cities around the world are banning or regulating cruise ship dockings and operations in their coastal waters. Amsterdam has become only the most recent to do so.

The BBC reports that Amsterdam’s council has banned cruise ships from the city center as the Dutch capital tries to limit visitor numbers and curb pollution.

Politicians said the vessels were not in line with the city’s sustainable ambitions.
It means the central cruise terminal on the River IJ near Amsterdam’s main train station will close. It is the latest measure to clamp down on mass tourism in the city.

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Wreck of SM UC-55, German World War I U-Boat, Identified Off Shetland

Posted on by July 28, 2023

UC-55 wreckage. Photo: Jacob Mackenzie

Last Friday, July 21, divers dove 110m (361ft) beneath the waters off the Shetland Islands, about eight miles south-east of Lerwick, and positively identified the wreck of the SM UC-55, a German Type UC II minelaying submarine that was sunk during World War I in 1917.

The wreck of UC-55 was first discovered by side scan sonar in a UK hydrographic office survey on 3 July 1985. The survey was not able to identify the wreck. Now, 106 years after its sinking and 38 years after the wreck was first discovered, divers from the Stromness boat Valhalla have identified the submarine in almost the same condition as she was left. 

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Update: Fire on Car Carrier Fremantle Highway Continues to Burn, Concerns About Stability

Posted on by July 27, 2023

News reports are that salvors fighting the fire on the car carrier Fremantle Highway have been temporarily stopped in their attempt to cool the exterior of the stricken ship with water. There are serious concerns that water from the firefighting could accumulate on the upper decks, making the ship unstable and likely to capsize. 

“We have to make sure that no excess water ends up on board because that would damage its stability,” the coastguard said in a website update,  on Thursday afternoon.

The measure is temporary and maybe resumed later in the day, the update said. “The advantages have to be weighed up against the risks that cooling the ship brings.”

The ship itself is still on fire and bellowing smoke, making it difficult to land investigators on board to check out the situation. The ship is currently some 16 kilometres north of the Wadden Sea island of Terschelling. The ship is close to a world-renowned bird habitat off the Dutch coast. The tugboat Fairplay 30 is being used to attempt to keep the ship from drifting into busy shipping lanes. Continue reading →

Car Carrier Fremantle Highway Catches Fire in North Sea Off Dutch Coast, One Crew Member Killed

Posted on by July 26, 2023

Near midnight on Tuesday, the car carrier Fremantle Highway, loaded with nearly 3,000 cars, caught fire and has been burning out of control off the Dutch island of Ameland. The Dutch coast guard said one crew member had died and that others were injured. Firefighters are working to save the vessel from potentially sinking close to an important habitat for migratory birds.

Boats and helicopters evacuated the 23 crew members off the ship after they tried unsuccessfully to put out the blaze, the coast guard said in a statement.

Some of the crew members jumped off the ship’s deck 30 meters into the sea and were picked up by a lifeboat, the lifeboat’s captain told Dutch broadcaster NOS. Some of the crew suffered broken bones, burns and breathing problems and were taken to hospitals in the northern Netherlands, emergency services said.

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91st Thames Sailing Barge Match, the Longest-Running Race for Traditional Sail

Posted on by July 25, 2023

In 1863, Henry Dodd organized a race between Thames River sailing barges. It has become the longest-running, regularly organized, national racing event for traditional sail in the world. In absolute terms, it ranks as the second oldest sailing race behind the America’s Cup.

Dodd was a wealthy barge owner, who started as a plowboy and made his fortune hauling rubbish. A friend of Charles Dickens, he probably inspired the character Noddy Boffin, the wealthy London “Golden Dustman,” in Dickens’ novel “Our Mutual Friend.”

With pauses only for economic recessions and world wars, the Thames Sailing Barge Match has been sailing ever since. Earlier this month, the 91st Thames Sailing Barge Match was sailed with seven barges in three classes. The competitors ranged in age from two 125 year old barges, the Wyvenhoe and the Niagara, to the relatively new Blue Mermaid built in 2019, which was the first to cross the finish line in this year’s race.

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15-Year-Old Maya Merhige Swims 28.5 Miles Around the Island of Manhattan

Posted on by July 24, 2023

CNBC reports that Maya Merhige, a 15-year-old from Berkeley, California, successfully swam around the entire island of Manhattan in eight hours and 43 minutes on July 15th,  becoming only the third person her age to complete the “20 Bridges Swim,” named for the bridges that swimmers pass under during their journey.

The 28.5-mile swim was worth more than bragging rights. Since 2020, she has been doing long-distance swims in partnership with Swim Across America, a nonprofit that hosts charity swims and donates the funds to cancer research. So far, she has raised over $17,000 this year. Since she started swimming for cancer research funding, she’s raised over $75,000.

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Maersk’s First Green Methanol-Fueled Boxship Sails on Maiden Voyage

Posted on by July 20, 2023

Back in 2021, we posted about a pledge made by Maersk that it would launch the world’s first carbon-neutral cargo liner vessel in 2023 – seven years ahead of its initial 2030 target. This week, Maersk fulfilled that pledge, when its new feeder ship sailing on green methanol embarked on its maiden voyage on July 17. The new ship, to be officially named Laura Maersk in September, departed Ulsan, South Korea on an 11,000 nautical-mile voyage to Copenhagen, Denmark, before entering service in the Baltic. 

Maritime Executive reports that the departure of the 32,300 dwt vessel came just a day after OCI Fuels completed the first green methanol bunkering operation. The containership was fueled with OCI HyFuels ISCC certified green methanol and under arrangement working with Maersk, a supply of green methanol has been established all along the vessel’s route to Europe. Odfjell SE, is the transportation and storage partner, helping to set up the supply of green methanol in Ulsan for yesterday’s bunkering operation.

The Laura Maersk is 564 feet long with a 105-foot beam with a nominal capacity of 2,100 TEU including 400 reefer plugs. She was built with a MAN dual-fuel engine that was expected to give her a top speed of 17.4 knots. 

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