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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Cruise Ship Insignia Rescues 68 Migrants Adrift off the Spanish Canary Islands

Posted on by June 22, 2024

The cruise ship Insignia rescued 68 migrants adrift off the Spanish Canary Islands on Wednesday, Spain’s maritime rescue agency said in a statement on X. 

The bulk carrier Philipp Oldendorff spotted the migrant boat adrift roughly 440 nautical miles, or about 815 km, south of Tenerife, and provided first aid to those affected while the Insignia was sent to the area, the Salvamento Maritimo statement said. 

The 684-passenger ship, owned by Oceania Cruises, was approximately 160 days into a 180-day around-the-world voyage when it was diverted to assist in the rescue.

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Eighty Years Ago, Mulberry Harbors Battle the Storm on the Beaches of Normandy

Posted on by June 21, 2024
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Mulberry harbor in the storm of June 19-22, 1944

Eighty years ago this week, during the early days of the Allied invasion of Europe, the sea would prove to be as formidable an enemy as the Germans. A storm, the worst in 80 years, came close to wiping out the Mulberrys — the two portable harbors built at Normandy to support the invasion. An updated repost.

One of the challenges of invading Europe over the Normandy beaches in World War II was that there were no convenient harbors to unload additional men and supplies. British engineers came up with the idea of fabricating modular docks to create temporary harbors. They were called Mulberry harbors, a name chosen at random.

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Scientists Decoding Sperm Whale Language, Appears Closer to Human Communication Than Realized

Posted on by June 20, 2024

Photo: Amanda Cotton/Project CETI

Recently, researchers have used machine learning to decode a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet,” revealing sophisticated structures in sperm whale communication akin to human phonetics and communication systems in other animal species. 

For centuries, sailors have heard the sounds made by whales, reverberating through the hulls of wooden ships. Arctic whalers dubbed beluga whales the “canaries of the seas” for their clicks, chirps, and whistles.  Nevertheless, it was long thought that whale noises were nothing more than expressive sounds or calls. 

Then, over the last half-century, scientists began to study the haunting whale song of humpbacks, as well as the varied vocalizations of other whale species.   

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Happy Juneteenth — When Emancipation Arrived by Steamship

Posted on by June 19, 2024

USS Cornubia, ex Lady Davis

Happy Juneteenth! Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth is also the newest Federal holiday. The legislation was signed into law by President Biden in 2020. The holiday commemorates when emancipation arrived in Galveston, Texas by steamship, 159 years ago today. Here is an updated repost. 

Although the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia signaled the end of the nation’s Civil War on April 9, 1865, emancipation did not arrive in Texas until two ex-Confederate steamships sailed into Galveston Harbor two months later. 

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The Composite Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Moves to Final Home in Port Adelaide

Posted on by June 18, 2024

Sometimes the final miles can take the longest to travel. A full decade after being carried by heavy-lift ship over 10,000 nautical miles from Scotland to her namesake port city, City of Adelaide, the oldest surviving composite clipper ship in the world, has finally been moved ashore to its final berth at Dock Two at Port Adelaide. The 160-year-old clipper ship will become the centerpiece of a proposed new maritime heritage precinct, showcasing the Port’s colorful and important role in the development of South Australia.

More than 250,000 Australians can trace their ancestry through the clipper ship as it worked the Britain-Adelaide migrant route.

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