BP Pleads Guilty to 11 Felonies and Agrees to Pay $4.5 Billion to Settle Criminal Case on Deepwater Horizon Tragedy

Posted on by November 15, 2012

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 platform workers and resulting in the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Today BP, the well owner, plead guilty to 14 criminal charges of which 11 were felonies. They also agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments to the government. Two BP officials, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, were also charged with manslaughter realted to the 11 deaths, alleging that they were negligent in supervising tests before the well blowout and explosion that destroyed the rig. Prosecutors also charged David Rainey, BP’s former vice president for exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, with obstruction of Congress and making false statements about the rate at which oil was spilling from the well.

BP to Admit Crimes and Pay $4.5 Billion in Gulf Settlement

These fines and payments may be only the beginning, however. BP also may be liable under the Clean Water Act for the oil spilled with potentials fine between $1,100 to $4,300 per barrel spilled. These fines could total as much as $21 billion. Other civil lawsuits are also pending. Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.

Superstorm Sandy, the Aircraft Carrier Intrepid, the Space Shuttle Enterprise and the Titanic II

Posted on by November 15, 2012

Space Shuttle Enterprise Pavilion on SS Intrepid Before and After Sandy

When we posted yesterday about the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island being closed by superstorm Sandy, Liam Hegarty pointed out in a comment that the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is also closed until December due to storm damage.

The museum’s newest exhibit, the Space Shuttle Enterprise was damaged by Sandy. It had been housed in a temporary inflatable enclosure on the stern of the aircraft carrier Intrepid.  When the storm struck, it flooded Pier 86 and knocked out the stand-by generators causing the enclosure to collapse. Reportedly the Enterprise’s tail was slightly damaged.   The Enterprise has not had an easy time since it arrived in New York, flying in on the back of its own 747. When in transit by barge from JFK airport to the museum on the Hudson River, one wing was damaged when it struck a railway bridge.  Such are the dangers of parking in New York City.

Intrepid Out of Commission from Sandy, Shuttle Sustains “Minor Damage”

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Shanty Sing at the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor this Sunday, Nov 18th

Posted on by December 15, 2012

Despite the best efforts of Superstorm Sandy, the monthly Sea Shanty Session at the Noble Maritime Collection at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center is carrying on and will be held this Sunday November 18, 2012 from 2 until 5 PM. Admission is by donation, and refreshments will be available for sale. Everyone is welcome to come join in the singing or just sit and enjoy.  If you are anywhere near New York harbor, it well worth stopping by.

A short video of one of the shanty sessions last year:
William Main Doerflinger Memorial Shanty Session

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Superstorm Sandy Reveals Shipwrecks and Shuts Down the Statue of Liberty

Posted on by November 17, 2012

When Superstorm Sandy came ashore roughly two weeks ago, she uncovered at least two shipwrecks.  On Fire Island, New York, the storm washed away dunes east of Davis Park revealing the remains of a wooden ship believed to be a post-Civil War cargo vessel built before 1880.  Experts from the Long Island Maritime Museum are conducting more research to attempt to identify the ship.

In Surf City, NC, Sandy also uncovered a fragment the William H. Sumner, a 489-ton, 165-foot three-masted schooner whose young captain died under suspicious circumstances after running the ship aground in 1919.

In New York harbor, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are closed while storm damage is being assessed.   Fortunately the statue itself suffered no damage but the facilities, including docks, offices and even brick walkways were significantly damaged. The Statue of Liberty had been closed for a year for renovations prior to the storm and had only been opened for six hours prior to Sandy sweeping into the harbor.  Ellis Island’s invaluable cache of historical documents and records was not harmed by the storm, but there was considerable damage to docks and buildings reported.

Sandy damage to Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island

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Kito de Pavant Hit by Fishing Boat, Retires from Vendée Globe

Posted on by November 12, 2012

A collision with a fishing boat has taken Kito de Pavant, sailing for Groupe Bel, out of the Vendée Globe non-stop round-the-world single-handed yacht race, two days into the race and only a  day after Marc Guillemot was forced to drop out a keel failure on his boat,Safran. The collision damaged the outrigger, bowsprit, deck and hull of his boat, though fortunately, de Pavant was not injured.


Les images de Groupe Bel après l’accident by VendeeGlobeTV

Update: ARA Libertad – Standoff Intensifies as Sailors Brandish Weapons

Posted on by November 12, 2012

In early October, we posted about the Argentine Navy training ship Libertad, a 300′ three masted full rigged ship, that had been seized in the port of Tema, Ghana as a result of a court order obtained by NML Capital Ltd., a subsidiary of Elliot Capital Management, a vulture fund run by the US billionaire Paul Singer.  The conflict intensified last week when the ship’s crew drew guns when the port officials attempted to board and move the ship to another berth.  The ship had previously raised its gangway. The officials attempted to board via a crane but  stopped when faced by armed crew.  The Libertad is currently occupying a central berth in  the port and is blocking the unloading of some 20 other vessels.

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Marc Guillemot on Safran Retires from Vendée Globe with Broken Keel After One Day’s Racing

Posted on by November 12, 2012

Safran with intact titanium keel

Marc Guillemot, sailing Safran, was a favorite to win the Vendée Globe non-stop round-the-world single-handed yacht race, yet only one day into the race, he was forced to turn back due to a broken keel.  Fifty miles into the race, he reported hearing a “loud bang.”  Guillemot’s Open 60 class boat, Safran, features a hollow titanium fin keel, a fairly radical departure from the solid steel keels first used in the design.  Guillemot’s team does not have a spare keel, forcing him to retire from the race.

This is not the first time that Guillemot has faced a keel failure. In the 2009 Vendée Globe, Safran lost her keel 900 miles from the finish of the race, yet Guillemot made it across the finish line and placed third overall.

Samantha Davies & the Vendée Globe Non-Stop Round-the-World Single-Handed Yacht Race

Posted on by November 9, 2012

Her French competitors refer to her as La Petite Anglaise.  Tomorrow, when the twenty boats in Vendée Globe non-stop round-the-world single-handed yacht race set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, Samantha Davies will be the only woman in the race.  When she sails tomorrow, she will be waving goodbye to her husband and her Romain, and 14-month-old son, Ruben.   Davies is an experienced single handed sailor, placing fourth on corrected time in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe as well as sailing in numerous other major races.

Samantha Davies: ‘My partner’s Vendée Globe will be harder than mine’

IMOCA – Vendée Globe 2012 – Savéol – Samantha Davies

Old Orchard Shoals Light Swept Away by Superstorm Sandy

Posted on by November 8, 2012

Before and after Sandy

The United States Coast Guard Notice to Mariners reads simply – Old Orchard Shoals Light  STRUCT DEST. The Old Orchard Shoals Light was built in 1893 in New York’s outer harbor off Staten Island near Great Kills Beach. The 51-foot tall cast iron spark plug lighthouse stood for 119 years until Superstorm Sandy destroyed it on October 30th.

Staten Island’s Old Orchard Light, a New York Harbor stalwart for 119 years, is swept away

Seventy Years Ago Today – Torpedoman Phelps and the Last Ranger Over the Side on the USS Bernadou

Posted on by November 8, 2012

USS Bernadou (DD-153), At sea during the North African invasion operation, November 1942. The ship’s mast had been removed to facilitate her role in the landings at Safi, Morocco on 8 November 1942

A guest post by Stephen Phelps:

Today is the 70th anniversary of the WW II invasion of North Africa, which began with the assault and landing in the port of Safi by USS Bernadou, a WW I-vintage destroyer that had been stripped down for stealth and draft. My father, Stephen E. Phelps, was a torpedoman aboard her that day; his station as the ship drove into the port was as a loader on that forward 4″ gun.

Captain Braddy grounded the ship in order to disembark his 200 Army Rangers. As the Rangers went over the side the ship continued to take small arms fire and the sailors were helping the soldiers over the bows and onto the landing nets with all their gear. As the last Ranger climbed over, with my father helping him, they looked into each other’s eyes. My father said, “Good luck, soldier,” and the Ranger said, “You, too, sailor.”

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Mitik’s Wild Ride and a Brooklyn Aquarium Under Siege by the Sea

Posted on by November 8, 2012

Mitik Photo: Alaska Sea Life Center

Mitik is the name given to a 234-pound 15-week-old orphaned walrus rescued from the open ocean off Alaska in early October. The walrus calf was transported aboard a FedEx cargo jet, accompanied by a veterinarian and a handler, and delivered to the New York Aquarium, part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and one only a handful of aquariums in the United States to exhibit walruses.

Then less than a month after Mitik’s arrival, the aquarium, located in Brooklyn just off the Coney Island Boardwalk, was swamped by the storm surge from “superstorm” Sandy. The floodwaters knocked out the aquarium’s electrical transformers and damaged its electrical distribution system and mechanical equipment, rendering emergency generators useless. It also ruined the pumps and motors that operate critical life support systems for the entire collection of 12,000 fish and marine mammals, including oxygenation, filtration and heat.

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The “Superstorm”, the Nor’easter and Monster Roll

Posted on by November 7, 2012

Just over a week ago, we here in New York and New Jersey were hit by a “superstorm,”  the convergence of Hurricane Sandy and a Noreaster.  Now just as power is being restored to many areas and damage to washed out neighborhoods is being assessed, a second Nor’easter is bearing down on us with rain, snow and high winds.  Many are asking what’s next?  Plagues of locusts? Sea monsters?   In that vein, here is a “proof-of-concept” for a feature film about sushi chefs fighting sea monsters.  Because you never know.

Monster Roll

Charles W. Morgan Day at Mystic Seaport

Posted on by November 7, 2012


This Saturday November 10, 2012, from 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m,, the Mystic Seaport Museum is celebrating the 71st anniversary of the arrival in Mystic of the whale ship Charles W. Morgan.  The Morgan was launched in 1841 and is the last wooden whaler and the world’s oldest surviving merchant vessel.  Admission to the museum will be free and a spectacular fireworks show is promised in the evening.

Charles W. Morgan Day

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Spade-toothed Beaked Whale, the Rarest of All Whales, Beached in New Zealand

Posted on by November 6, 2012

Photo: New Zealand Department of Conservation

Spade-toothed beaked whales (Mesoplodon traversii) are so rare that they had never been seen alive.  Until recently, the only evidence of their existence were portions of three skulls found in 1872 and in the 1950s in New Zealand  and in 1986 on an island off Chile. Then, on New Year’s Eve in 2010,  two spade-toothed beaked whales, a mother and a calf, were found stranded on Opape Beach on the North Island where they died.  Researchers took tissue samples but misidentified the whales as the more common Gray’s beaked whales. The researchers then buried the whales on the beach.  Subsequently, the tissue samples were analysed and found to be from rare spade-toothed beaked whales. The skeletons of the buried whales have now been dug up, though the skull of the mother whale, which was not buried as deeply as the calf, is believed to have been washed away.

NZ beaching proves rarest of whales exists

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HMS Bounty Survivors Interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America

Posted on by November 15, 2012

The crew of the HMS Bounty was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning. Note: the video of the ship sailing in high seas was shot when the Bounty sailed from Maine to Puerto Rico in 2010.

HMS Bounty Survivors: Crew of Ship Sunk During Hurricane Sandy Speak of Lost Shipmates