Sailing on Sunbeams — LightSail 2 Goes Out in a Blaze of Glory

Posted on by November 21, 2022

LightSail 2, the Planetary Society‘s solar sailing spacecraft, is no more. On November 17th, the crowdfunded solar sailing spacecraft burned in a blaze of glory as it re-entered earth’s atmosphere after traveling 8 million kilometers (5 million miles) powered only by sunlight. 

“LightSail 2 is gone after more than three glorious years in the sky, blazing a trail of lift with light, and proving that we could defy gravity by tacking a sail in space,” said Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society in a statement. “The mission was funded by tens of thousands of Planetary Society members, who want to advance space technology.”

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Deja Vu — Covid Outbreaks on Cruise Ships Docking in Australia, Mask & Vaccination Mandates Return

Posted on by November 20, 2022

In the words of Yogi Berra, “It’s like deja vu all over again.” Masks and vaccination mandates are returning to the cruise industry, at least for many cruise ships calling in Australia. 

In March of 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, 700 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess became infected with the Covid-19 virus. The virus also spread across other cruise ships, ultimately resulting in the total shutdown of the worldwide shutdown of the cruise industry. 

Since then with the advent of safety protocols including masking, testing and vaccinations, the cruise industry has restarted, benefitting from the pent-up demand. But the pandemic is not quite over. Two weeks ago, the Majestic Princess arrived in Sydney, Australia with 800 passengers who tested positive for Covid-19.

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Gordon Lightfoot & the Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle

Posted on by November 19, 2022

A belated happy birthday to Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who turned 84 the day before yesterday. Often referred to as Canada’s greatest songwriter, Lightfoot is also a sailor, having owned and sailed the 39′ Sundown and the 45′ Golden Goose. More than a few of Lightfoot’s songs are about sailing, ships, and the sea. One of his best-known is the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald about the sinking of the US flag bulk carrier of the same name in November 1975.

In honor of Lightfoot’s recent birthday, here is a lesser-known song of his about another maritime disaster. He wrote and recorded the Ballad of Yarmouth Castle in 1969. The ballad tells the story of the cruise ship SS Yarmouth Castle which sank after catching fire in 1965 on a voyage between Miami and Nassau, with the loss of 90 crew and passengers.

Ballad of Yarmouth Castle — Gordon Lightfoot

Chinese Global Fishing Fleet Growing Aggressively, Chinese Fishing Vessel Tries to Ram USCG Cutter James

Posted on by November 18, 2022

Having overfished its own coastal waters, China is aggressively deploying a global fishing fleet to exploit fishing grounds thousands of miles from its shores. The New York Times reports that over the last two decades, China has built the world’s largest deep-water fishing fleet, by far, with nearly 3,000 ships. The impact is increasingly being felt from the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific, from the coasts of Africa to those off South America — a manifestation on the high seas of China’s global economic might.

In July 2020, we posted that Ecuador raised an alarm after a naval patrol sighted a fleet of around 260 Chinese fishing vessels just outside the Galápagos protection zone. Naval patrols have been stepped up to monitor the Chinese ships. Chinese fishing vessels come regularly to the Pacific around the Galápagos, but in recent years fleets have been the largest on record.

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Product Tanker Pacific Zircon Hit in Drone Attack Off Oman

Posted on by November 16, 2022

Photo: Marine Traffic

The 50,000 DWT product tanker Pacific Zircon was struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman on Tuesday night. The ship is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been “hit by a projectile” some 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the coast of Oman.

“We are in communication with the vessel and there are no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for,” the company said. “There is some minor damage to the vessel’s hull but no spillage of cargo or water ingress.”

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Rear Admiral Nunan First Woman Appointed as USMMA Superintendent — Fresh Start or Glass Cliff?

Posted on by November 14, 2022

Congratulations to Rear Admiral Joanna Nunan, a retired US Coast Guard two-star admiral, recently appointed to be the superintendent of the US Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, NY, the first woman appointed as superintendent in the academy’s eight-decade history. 

“Rear Admiral Nunan is uniquely prepared to lead and strengthen USMMA on every front,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips in a statement. “She understands both the critical role USMMA plays in our economic and national security and the organizational transformations that are essential to ensuring USMMA prepares students in a safe and respectful environment to excel in a maritime industry undergoing rapid change.”

Rear Admiral Nunan retired this year as the Coast Guard’s Deputy for Personnel Readiness. In that role, she oversaw the Coast Guard’s HR functions, including recruitment and training, and she supervised the Coast Guard Academy and served on its Board of Trustees. She previously served as Assistant Commandant for Human Resources, leading the USCG’s diversity and inclusion efforts – including its effort to fix low retention for female servicemembers.

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Ukraine Crowdfunding Fleet of Naval Drones to Counter Russian Black Sea Fleet

Posted on by November 12, 2022

USV that washed ashore in Crimea in September

At the end of October, Russia announced that Ukraine had launched the “most massive attack by drones and remotely piloted surface vehicles on the waters of the Bay of Sevastopol in the history of the conflict.” Unconfirmed sources claim that several of the Russian ships from the fleet were damaged or sunk, including the frigate Admiral Makarov.

Yesterday, Ukraine announced that it is seeking to build 100 remotely piloted surface vessels, also referred to as uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) or more simply as “naval drones”, through its crowdfunding platform UNITED24.

The Drive blog reports that the USVs are 18-foot-long vessels said to be capable of carrying a combat load of up to 400 pounds, with a top maximum speed of about 50 mph and an operational range of up to about 500 miles. Each USV has a $250,000 price tag that the website says includes a ground-based, autonomous control station, a transportation and storage system, and “a data processing center.”

Ukraine is appealing to donors around the world, offering those who give $250,000 or more the right to name one of the unmanned vessels.

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Repost: On Armistice Day, Remembering the German High Seas Fleet Mutinies of 1918

Posted on by November 11, 2022
Soldiers' council of the Prinzregent Luitpold.

Soldiers’ council of the Prinzregent Luitpold.

In the US, today is Veteran’s Day, when we honor those who have served in the military.  It coincides with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918, when the guns finally fell silent after four years of bloody conflict.

Today is a good time to recall the mutiny of the German High Seas Fleet, which played a significant role in finally ending the war. Here is an updated repost of an article from a few years ago about the naval mutinies.

The mutinies at Wilhelmshaven on October 29th and at Kiel on November 3, triggered the German revolution and swept aside the monarchy within a few days. The naval mutinies led directly to the end of the German Empire and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

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The Sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an Unsolved Mystery

Posted on by November 10, 2022

SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an American Great Lakes ore carrier, sank 47 years ago today, on November 10, 1975, in a storm on Lake Superior. The crew of 29 was lost when the freighter, loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore pellets, sank in 530 feet of water, about 15 nautical from Whitefish Bay. Exactly why and how the bulk carrier sank remains a mystery to this day.

The wreckage of the ship was located within days. The bow section was upright some distance from the stern which was upside down on the bottom. Roughly 200 feet of vessel around midships was missing.

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Navy & Coast Guard Offer Signing Bonuses & Increased Enlistment Age to Attract Recruits

Posted on by November 9, 2022

The US military has been having problems meeting its recruiting targets. In response, the US Coast Guard and the US Navy have been offering signing bonuses of up to $50,000 for certain billets, after the number of sailors plummeted, in part due to the military’s strict COVID-19 vaccination mandate. 

According to internal USCG documents obtained by Fox News Digital from October detailing fiscal year 2023 workforce planning, “Culinary Specialist,” or “CS,” level recruits could receive bonuses up to $50,000 each.

The US Navy is also offering signing bonuses up to $50,000 under certain conditions. Continue reading →

Gilded Age Yacht Coronet Being Moved to Mystic to Complete Restoration

Posted on by November 8, 2022

Coronet is a 131′ wooden-hull schooner yacht built for oil tycoon Rufus T. Bush in 1885. It is one of the oldest and largest vessels of its type in the world, and one of the last surviving grand sailing yachts of the 19th century. After numerous owners, including a religious cult, and suffering decades of neglect, the schooner underwent more than a decade of restoration at Newport, Rhode Island’s The International Yacht Restoration School. Now, the classic yacht is being moved from Newport to Mystic Seaport Museum‘s Henry B du Pont Preservation Shipyard in Mystic, CT to complete the restoration.

A brief history of the Coronet

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Update: UK Cancels Plans for £250m National Flagship Yacht

Posted on by November 7, 2022

In June of last year, we posted that UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had announced the construction of a new national flagship intended to promote British businesses around the world.

The proposal received a mixed response. As we noted in a subsequent post, even the royal family had voiced its displeasure with the idea.

Now, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that plans for the national flagship yacht have been shelved.

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Chile Uses Hi-Tech Buoys to Protect Migrating Whales

Posted on by November 3, 2022

An encouraging news story from Reuters.

A smart buoy that can “hear” the ocean and monitor climate change is part of a new effort to help endangered whales avoid ship collisions on their journey from Antarctica to the equator.

The buoy was installed in the Gulf of Corcovado, some 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) south of Chile’s capital, in early October and is the first of many planned by the Blue Boat Initiative, a project designed to protect whales and monitor marine ecosystems.

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Update: Montenegrin Mafia Boss Arrested in Billion Dollar Bust on MSC Gayane

Posted on by November 2, 2022

In June 2019, Federal authorities raided the container ship MSC Gayane when the ship docked in Philadephia. They found and seized 20 tonnes of cocaine, worth over a billion dollars, stashed in shipping containers. The seizure was the largest cocaine bust in US history. Eight of the ship’s crew, including the Chief Mate, were arrested and subsequently convicted on drug smuggling charges.

Last Sunday, mafia boss, Goran Gogic, 43, was arrested as he attempted to board an international flight from Miami International Airport.  Gogic, a citizen of Montenegro, and a former heavyweight boxer, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and three counts of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.

He is alleged to be one of the masterminds behind a string of cocaine shipments from South America, including three busts by American authorities on box ships operated by MSC, including the record haul found on the MSC Gayane.

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Michelin Inflatable Wing Sail Being Installed on Ro/Ro MN Pelican

Posted on by November 2, 2022

Last year, we posted about French tire manufacturer Michelin’s Wing Sail Mobility (WISAMO) project design that features an automated, telescopic, inflatable wing sail system, which is expected to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.

The project is taking a major step forward as Michelin and its partners are joining with Compagnie Maritime Nantaise to install a 100 sqm inflatable wing prototype on CMN’s 8,600 DWT ro/ro MN Pelican.

The project WISAMO rig is being installed on the ro/ro, which was built in 1999, and is currently docked in Spain’s El Astillero Port.

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Ancient Sperm Whale Clans Maintain Cultural Identities by Patterns of Clicks Within their Songs

Posted on by November 2, 2022

A fascinating study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that seven ancient “clans” of sperm whales living in the vast Pacific Ocean maintain their cultural identity by distinctive patterns of clicks within their songs.

It’s the first time cultural markers have been observed among whales, and they mimic markers of cultural identity among human groups, like distinctive dialects or tattoos.

NBC News reports that Bioacoustician Taylor Hersh, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen in the Netherlands and lead author of the study said that sperm whales often exchange streams of loud clicks with each other when they’re resting near the surface between dives into deeper waters — sometimes more than a mile down — for prey like squid and fish.

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Russians Re-establishing Cold War Naval Base at Balaklava

Posted on by October 30, 2022

Analysis by H I Sutton, writing in NavalNews.com, suggests that the Russian Navy is re-establishing a base at Balaklava, a small inlet 5 miles south of Sevastopol that was the site of a major naval base during the Cold War. In the 1950s the Soviets dug a submarine tunnel into the mountain on the west side.

The submarine tunnels fell into disuse after the collapse of the USSR and the base was inherited by the newly formed Ukrainian Navy. Although some small warships were present from time to time, the base was largely forgotten. And, after years of abandonment, the submarine tunnels were turned into a museum. An old Romeo class submarine, S-49, was added in 2021.

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HMS Medway Torches Smugglers’ Boat Carrying £24m of Cocaine in Caribbean

Posted on by October 30, 2022

Photo: MOD

Sky News reports that HMS Medway, a Royal Navy River-class offshore patrol vessel, pursued a drug smuggler’s boat after it was spotted near the Dominican Republic, alongside a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and accompanying aircraft.

Once it was stopped, officers boarded the boat and found several large packages of drugs weighing more than 400kg. Three crew members from the boat were detained.

The boat was then destroyed to prevent it from being used to transport any more drugs and also to provide practice for Medway‘s gunnery team.

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Russia Suspends Grain Export Deal Following Ukrainian Drone Attack on Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol

Posted on by October 30, 2022

The BBC reports that Russia says that Ukraine carried out a “massive” drone attack on Saturday on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, damaging one warship. Nine drones were used, a top official said. Unconfirmed sources claim that several of the Russian ships from the fleet were blown up, including the frigate Admiral Makarov. A Russian official in Crimea said that the drone attack was repelled, while Ukraine has not commented.

In an apparent response to the drone attack, Russia announced on Saturday that it is suspending its participation in a United Nations-brokered deal to secure the export of Ukrainian grain out through the Black Sea. According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Moscow is exiting the grain deal for an “undetermined period.”

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Remembering “HMS” Bounty Lost in Hurricane Sandy — Survivors’ Interview

Posted on by October 28, 2022

Ten years ago today, the replica of HMS Bounty sank in Hurricane Sandy off the coast of North Carolina. Despite horrific conditions, the US Coast Guard was able to rescue 14 of the 16 aboard the ship when she sank.

Tragically, two died. Crew member Claudene Christian was recovered from the water by the Coast Guard but was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Captain Robin Walbridge’s body was never recovered.

Roughly a week after the sinking, many of the Bounty survivors sat down for an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America. 

Hurricane Sandy Rescue: HMS Bounty Survivors Interview