Update: $17 Million Settlement in Duck Boat Tragedy Lawsuit

Posted on by May 10, 2012

A settlement has been reached in the civil lawsuit over the deaths of two Hungarian tourists and other passenger injuries when  a barge pushed by a K-Sea tug, Caribbean Sea, struck the disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia on July 7, 2010.   Szabolcs Prem, 20, and Dora Schwendtner, 16, who were visiting Philadelphia, died in the crash on the Delaware River.   The families of the two tourists who died when the duck boat was run down will split $15 million paid for by Ride the Ducks, the firm which operates the amphibious touring vehicles, and K-Sea Transportation Partners, which owned the tug.  An additional $2 million will also be divided among 18 other survivors of the accident.

Victims of Philly duck boat crash settle suit for $17M

In a criminal case, last November, Matthew Devlin, the mate on watch on the tug Caribbean Sea, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his role in the casualty.

South China Sea – Is the Cold War Between China and its Neighbors Heating Up?

Posted on by May 10, 2012

Last month we posted about a stand-off between Chinese fishing vessels and Philippine Coast Guard ships at Scarborough Shoal in the South China  Sea.  Both nations claim sovereignty over the area. Even the island name is in contention. The Philipines refers to Scarborough Shoal as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc, whereas the Chinese call it Huangyan Island and Minzhu Jiao.  This week 32 Chinese vessels blockaded the shoal, barring local Philippine fishermen access to the fishing grounds.  The the shoal is 472 nautical miles from the Chinese coast and 124 nautical miles from the Philippines province of Zambales.

In another move to assert sovereignty over disputed waters in the South China Sea, China’s first deep-water drilling rig began operations near islands in the South China Sea.  Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil producer, said its semi-submersible CNOOC 981 began drilling yesterday 199 miles southeast of Hong Kong at a depth of 1,500 meters in an area north of the Paracel islands claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.
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The Irony of the SS John Harvey – Deadly Mustard Gas and Lifesaving Chemotherapy

Posted on by May 10, 2012

WWII Liberty ship like the John Harvey

Yesterday, we posted the obituary of Claude Holloway, a British Motor Torpedo Boat commander, who heroically saved  dozens of sailors in the German attack on Bari, Italy in 1943.  Holloway was nearly killed by mustard gas bombs secretly carried aboard the American Liberty ship, SS John Harvey.  Ironically, the explosion of this secret mustard gas and its terrible aftermath, may have helped save countless lives.
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Nominate An Unsung Hero in the Sailing Community for Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award

Posted on by May 9, 2012

Sailing and sipping single malt scotch are among two of my favorite activities, (though not necessarily at the same time.)   It does seem fitting that Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky and US Sailing have partnered to introduce the inaugural Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award.  From their press release:

Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky and US Sailing Introduce the Maritime Heroes Award: Calling Nominations for an Unsung Hero in the Sailing Community
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Claude Holloway – WWII Motor Torpedo Boat Commander, Hero of Bari Harbor Disaster

Posted on by May 9, 2012

Claude Holloway died recently at the age of 93. He was one of the most successful motor torpedo boat commanders in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, earning a Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the Caorle Point action of April 1945, in which the 28th MTB Flotilla sank five enemy ships with six torpedoes. He also played a major role in rescuing dozens of sailors in the 1943 German air raid on Bari, Italy.  His heroism nearly cost him his life.

on December 2, 1943, 105 German Junkers Ju88 bombers of Luftflotte 2 attacked the harbor, crowded with Allied shipping, sinking 28 merchant ships and damaging 12 others. One of the ships destroyed was the American Liberty ship, the SS John Harvey, which was carrying a secret cargo of 2,000 M47A1 mustard gas bombs. The mustard gas in liquid form was sprayed across the harbor in the explosion which sank the John Harvey.   628 military victims were hospitalized with mustard gas symptoms, and 83 of them had died within a month. The number of civilian casualties is unknown.

Holloway’s command, MTB 242 of the 24th Flotilla, was moored at Bari during the attack. Holloway and his crew pulled dozens of sailors from the harbor waters and from burning ships. Holloway was covered in severe blisters and took three months to recover from his exposure to the chemical agents. The existence of the mustard gas on the John Harvey was covered up until after the war.

Claude Holloway: MTB commander who became a hero during the Bari harbour disaster
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Dubai Tries Again to Build an Underwater Hotel

Posted on by May 9, 2012

Bloomberg is reporting that “Dubai ship builder Dry Docks World and Swiss firm BIG InvestConsult unveiled plans to build a disc-shaped luxury hotel submerged under 10 meters of ocean off the coast of Dubai. Featuring 21 rooms, an underwater dive center and ‘wet’ bar, the Discus Hotel is Dubai’s second attempt at a submerged hotel after plans for the first, the Hydropolis, never became reality. A construction date has not been announced.” Thanks to “aquestion” for passing along the news.

Dubai’s $120M Underwater Hotel Dream

Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Sailing Team Poised to Sail from New York Tonight in Attempt to Break Record

Posted on by May 8, 2012

Maserati at North Cove

Giovanni Soldini and the Maserati Sailing Team have announced that they expect to set sail from the North Cove Marina in New York City between 10:00 p.m. this evening and 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning in their attempt to break the monohull sailing record from the Ambrose Lighthouse in New York to Lizard Point off the south west coast of England. From their press release: “They are challenging a record set in 2003 by Robert Miller’s monohull Mary Cha IV – 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. The 140-foot Mary Cha IV covered the 2,925 miles of the route at an average speed of 18.5 knots with 24 crew on board. Maserati, measuring 70-feet and with 8 crew on board is facing the daunting task of beating the record time of a racing yacht twice as large with three times the manpower. The extensive offshore experience on board Maserati might trump the larger yacht and team if the weather cooperates.”  The team has been waiting a month for suitable weather conditions.
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Archaeologists Claim Odyssey Marine “Plundering” HMS Victory

Posted on by May 8, 2012

Sinking of HMS Victory 1744

The attorneys for Odyssey Marine Exploration have been keeping busy. In February we posted about the end of a multi-year legal battle between Spain and Odyssey Marine Exploration over $500m in gold and silver coins and other artifacts from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.  Odyssey Marine lost the various court cases and had to return the coins to Spain.  To avoid this sort of problem in the future, Odyssey negotiated an agreement with Great Britain to salvage HMS Victory, which sank in 1744.  (This ship named Victory preceded Nelson’s ship of the same name, which is now a museum ship in Portsmouth, UK.)  Odyssey would receive a percentage of the valuables aboard HMS Victory, including gold coins which may now be worth £500 million.

By negotiating an agreement in advance, everything should go smoothly. Or may be not.  A group of archaeologists, including Lord Renfew of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, are now accusing the British Ministry of Defense of allowing Odyssey to “plunder” the shipwreck and are threatening legal action to stop the salvage.

Archaeologists accuse MoD of allowing US company to ‘plunder’ shipwreck
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Dolphins and Birds Dying on the Coast of Peru – No Clear Answer Why

Posted on by May 8, 2012

Photo: Peru21

Something is terribly wrong on the coast of Peru.  At least 877 dolphins and more than 1,500 birds, most of them brown pelicans and boobies, have died along the coast since February when the government started tracking the deaths. The government says that the deaths of the dolphins and birds are unrelated.  The dolphin deaths have been blamed on the morbillivirus, while the bird deaths are blamed on starvation from a shortage of anchoveta, a fish of the anchovy family.  Reportedly, the recent El Niño has raised coastal water temperatures causing the fish to stay in deeper colder waters beyond the reach of the sea birds.  Now, three months after Peruvian government officials began testing the dead dolphins and pelicans, no definitive results have been released, and there is growing suspicion among the public and scientists that there might be more to the story.

Dead Dolphins and Birds Are Causing Alarm in Peru
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Yachting Magazine’s Crash Test Boat – Rigging a Jury Rig

Posted on by May 7, 2012

Last summer, Yachting Magazine began a monthly series of articles focused on a second-hand 40ft Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40 ketch, which they referred to as their “Crash Test Boat.”   They proceeded to capsize the boat, dismast her, cut holes in her, set her on fire and finally to blow her up. The intent wasn’t doing damage for damage’s sake but to give viewers an idea of what can happen in a dire situation, how to react and potentially how to avoid it.  The episodes are both educational and scarily fun at the same time. After effectively destroying the boat – the LPG explosion did the trick – the “Crash Test Boat” made her final appearance at the London Boat Show in January.  There is even an Crash Test Boat iPad App.

Everything is well documented on the Yachting Magazine Youtube channel.  Here is one of my favorites.  After intentionally dismasting the boat while sailing in winds over 30 knots, they set about to rig a jury rig using materials available onboard.

Yachting Monthly’s Crash Test Boat Jury Rig

[iframe: width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/64l29uncetY” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]

Thanks to Frank Hanavan for pointing out the videos.

The Panama Canal, the Savannah River and the Confederate Ironclad CSS Georgia

Posted on by May 6, 2012

In 1865, the CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad battery was burned and sunk in the Savannah River to avoid capture and to obstruct passage on the river.  (The ship was scuttled not far from where the British sank the frigate HMS Rose in 1779 to block the French fleet from sailing up the river to attack the British occupiers.)  The Confederates who wished to block the river succeeded beyond their wildest imaginings. Now a $653 million plan to dredge the river to allow for larger ships to call, following the widening of the Panama Canal, is being complicated by the wreck of the CSS Georgia. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to spend $14 million to raise and preserve what is left of the sunken Confederate ironclad. How much is left to preserve is another question.

Civil War shipwreck creates hurdle for government’s $653M plan
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Solar-Powered MS Turanor PlanetSolar Completes Circumnavigation in 584 Days

Posted on by May 5, 2012

The 98-foot-long solar powered catamaran MS Turanor PlanetSolar returned to Monoco yesterday, completing a 37,286 mile circumnavigation of the globe in 584 days. It is the first circumnavigation under solar power.   Along the way, the Turanor PlanetSolar made stops on six continents to promote solar energy.

While the Turanor PlanetSolar was promoting solar power, another “green energy” vessel, the trimaran  Banque Populaire V, set a new world’s speed record in January, circumnavigating the globe in 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes, 53 seconds.

70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea

Posted on by May 5, 2012

Seventy yeas ago, the Japanese and navies of the United States and Australia fought the Battle of the Coral Sea in the waters southwest of the Solomon Islands and eastward from New Guinea in a series of naval battles from May 4-8, 1942.   It was the first of six major carrier battles in the Pacific in World War II and was also the first in which neither side’s ships sighted or fired directly upon the other.  A tactical victory for the Japanese, in the sense that they lost fewer ships, it was a strategic victory for the Allies who succeeded in stopping the Japanese advance for the first time since Pearl Harbor.  The Battle of the Coral Sea also denied the Japanese critical ships and planes that would contribute to its major loss in the Battle of Midway only a month later.

Battle of the Coral Sea, 7-8 May 1942

The Sea Shadow & Hughes Mining Barge – “Invisible Ship” and Spy Barge Sold at Auction

Posted on by May 4, 2012

Sea Shadow

Update: The final auction price for the Sea Shadow and the HMB1 was an impressive $3.2 million.

The Sea Shadow is an experimental 164′ long catamaran “stealth ship” built by Lockheed in the mid 1980s for the United States Navy.  For most of her life, the Sea Shadow has been housed in the 364′ long Hughes Mining Barge (HMB1.)  Now, both the Sea Shadow and the Hughes Mining Barge are being sold for scrap. The Sea Shadow cost close to $200 million to build. There is no public record of the cost of the HMB1 as it was paid for by the CIA on a secret mission to raise a Russian nuclear submarine.  At just under three hours left in the auction, the current highest bid for both vessels together is slightly over $400,000.
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Tall Ship Pelican For Sale

Posted on by May 4, 2012

One of the most beautiful and most interesting tall ship sailing today, at least to my eye, is the three-masted barquentine Pelican.  The Pelican is 148ft long overall, square rigged on the main mast but fore and aft rigged on the fore mast and mizzen, a modern hybrid between a traditional square rig and the mixed square and fore and aft rig of the Barbary coast Xebecs.

The Pelican is also now actively for sale with an asking price of £2,450,000.

Weymouth’s Tall Ship is yours for £2.45m
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Video of Duckboat Being Run Down by Barge Released

Posted on by May 3, 2012

On July 7, 2010, a barge struck the disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia.  Of the 35 passengers aboard, two died.  Last November, the tug’s mate was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his role in the collision.  Today, lawyers representing the two victim’s families in a civil wrongful death lawsuit, released a previously unseen video of the collision.  Thanks to Tony Seideman for passing it along.

Video captures shocking moment 240-foot barge struck small tour boat in Philadelphia

Video of fatal US tour boat collision released

[iframe: width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/2V4Gvv02O_M” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]

Beware the Supermoon! Wonder What They Will Blame on it This Time?

Posted on by May 3, 2012

This Saturday, we will witness a perigee full moon, often called by the press, a “supermoon.”   The full moon at its perigee, or closest approach to earth, will appear 16% bigger and will exert 42% more tidal force than a more typical full moon.  Usually these “perigean tides” are only an inch or so higher or lower than normal.  Local tidal conditions can amplify the effect, which is still usually no more than a 6″ change in high or low tide.

Biggest Full Moon of the year due this weekend as ‘supermoon’ raises tides around the planet
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Update: Assam Ferry Tragedy – No Clear Death Toll Yet

Posted on by May 2, 2012

In what may prove to be the worst ferry accident in India in recent years, it is still unclear how many passengers were lost when an overcrowded ferry capsized on Monday in the bad weather in the Brahmaputra River in India’s Assam state.  As many as 250 are reported to have have died or are missing, though estimates vary widely. The ferry did not carry life jackets or other safety gear. The ferry, which was reported to be a “double-decked” vessel, appears now to have been a large partially decked boat with a wooden canopy or roof over the passenger area.  Additional passengers apparently also sat on the roof of the vessel. Thanks to Tad Roberts for passing along the photo of a similar vessel.

Assam boat tragedy: Cops fear 250 dead, 100 still missing

Update: Newport-to-Ensenada Racing Tragedy – Did the Aegean Hit the Rocks?

Posted on by June 13, 2012

Initial speculation included an explosion and then a collision with a larger vessel.  Now an online GPS tracking system, SPOT, shows the yacht running onto the rocks on a far end of North Coronado Island at 1:36 a.m. Saturday.  The Coronado Islands are about 15 miles south of San Diego Bay.  The Coast Guard could not confirm the GPS results and says that the investigation is still ongoing.

Yacht deaths: Boat may have hit rocks, not large ship