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

Dutch Fishing Vessel Rescues British Kayaker Clinging to Buoy in Dover Strait

Posted on by October 28, 2022

The BBC reports that a Dutch fishing vessel has rescued a British kayaker found clinging to a buoy in the Channel after his kayak capsized. He is reported to have been holding onto the buoy for several days.

The captain, Teunis de Boer, said he had by chance seen the kayaker waving frantically as his boat Madeleine sailed past.

“He was clearly in distress,” the captain told Dutch media.

After the man was given water and a chocolate bar, he was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Boulogne by French authorities.

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Alaska Cancels Snow Crab Season Due to Population Collapse

Posted on by October 27, 2022

For the first time, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has canceled the upcoming winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea following the disappearance of 90 percent of snow crabs last season. The state is also continuing a ban on catching king crabs in the Bristol Bay for a second consecutive year. 

Alaska’s crab fishing industry is worth more than $200 million, according to a report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, which promotes seafood. The state supplies 6 percent of the world’s king, snow, tanner, and Dungeness crabs, per the institute.

“We’re still trying to figure it out, but certainly there’s very clear signs of the role of climate change in the collapse,” Michael Litzow, shellfish assessment program manager at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said, as reported by Bloomberg. NOAA runs an annual survey of Bering Sea snow crab numbers, but it was the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that canceled the Bering snow crab fishing season on Oct. 10.

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Record Drought Shuts Down Traffic In Mississippi River and Tributaries

Posted on by October 25, 2022

In August, we posted about an extreme drought in Europe that dramatically reduced water levels in major rivers, including the Rhine, Elbe, Loire, Danube, and Po. Now a near-record drought in the US Midwest has dropped water levels in the Mississippi and tributary rivers causing barges to run aground, disrupting river travel for shippers, recreational boaters, and even passengers on a cruise line.

The Coast Guard has imposed new loading restrictions on ships and barges on the rivers. The price of shipping goods along the river skyrocketed. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began emergency dredging to deepen the river at more than a dozen key choke points, where a backup of about 2,000 barges has built up.

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Entangled Humpback Does Spy Hop & Back Flip to Assist Marine Rescue Team, Freeing It From Fishing Gear

Posted on by October 24, 2022

A wonderful story from the BBC. 

After receiving multiple calls about a humpback whale entangled in 300ft (91m) of fishing gear and a buoy, Canadian officials dispatched a marine rescue team.

They tracked down the beleaguered whale off Texada Island, British Columbia, and after nearly five hours the ocean giant helped out the crew by pulling this dramatic maneuver, a combined spy hop and back flip to assist in freeing itself from the entangling fishing gear caught in its mouth. Remarkably, it was all caught on video.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.

Celebrating Trafalgar Day and the Anniversary of the Launching of “Old Ironsides”

Posted on by October 24, 2022

Two hundred and seventeen years ago today, in 1805, the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets in the Atlantic off Cape Trafalgar.  The decisive victory ended French plans to use the combined fleet to take control of the English Channel and enable Napoleon’s Grande Armée to invade England. Tragically, Nelson was shot by a French sniper and died shortly before the battle ended. Today is celebrated as Trafalgar Day to commemorate Nelson and his greatest victory.

Today also happens to be the 228th anniversary of the launching of the USS Constitution, launched on October 21, 1797. Continue reading →

Tree Rings Help Identify Long Lost Rhode Island Whaling Ship Dolphin in Patagonia

Posted on by October 20, 2022

Photo: PROAS-INAPL, Argentina

In 1858, the whaling ship Dolphin sailed from Warren, Rhode Island, and never returned. The New York Times notes that the ship’s 42-person crew was rescued the following year from the waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean by an Argentine mariner, and its captain continued to command voyages a decade later, but the ship had continued to exist only in memory and written records.

Now, an analysis of the tree rings in the planks and futtocks of the remains of a shipwreck in Patagonia has helped to identify where the Dolphin was lost more than 150 years ago. 

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Artemis EF-24 Passenger Ferry — America’s Cup Technology Applied to Hydrofoils

Posted on by October 18, 2022

Artemis Technologies, an applied technologies spin-off from the Artemis Racing America’s Cup team, has announced its latest design, the EF-24 passenger ferry. The ferry is a 100% electric hydrofoil vessel with a capacity for 150 passengers and an operating range of 115 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 25 knots while producing zero emissions. The new design is said to save up to 85% in fuel costs compared to conventional diesel ferries.

TechTimes reports that Artemis Technologies, headquartered in Belfast, is led by CEO, Dr. Iain Percy, a four-time America’s Cup veteran and two-time Team GB Olympic sailing winner.

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US Navy & Marines Have Contaminated Water Issues — From Pearl Harbor to Carriers to Camp Lejeune

Posted on by October 16, 2022

USS Nimitz

The US Navy and the Marine Corps have a serious water contamination problem. Last December we posted that on the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, over 1,000 military families were forced from their homes and suffered illness by drinking water apparently contaminated by petroleum from Red Hill, a leaking, World War II era, underground fuel storage facility on the base in Oahu, Hawaii. 

Recently, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was docked at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego due to contamination of the aircraft carrier’s drinking water by jet fuel. The Navy says that at least 5 sailors were sickened after jet fuel leaked into USS Nimitz‘s drinking water. 

Likewise, the Navy is investigating what caused the drinking water aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to become rank and cloudy last month. It is at least the second instance of fouled drinking water on a U.S. carrier in recent weeks.

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Götheborg of Sweden, World’s Largest Wooden Sailing Ship, Arrives In Malta

Posted on by October 16, 2022

The world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, a replica of an 18th-century Swedish East India Company ship, Götheborg of Sweden, arrived in Valletta, Malta this week. The Götheborg is on its way to Asia, and Malta is the 12th stopover on the Asia Expedition 2022/2023.

The ship, in Valletta from 14th to 18th October, is moored at Valletta Waterfront and open to visitors during the stopover.

The ship will sail in Europe in 2022, stay in Barcelona during the winter, and continue to Asia in March 2023. In September 2023, the ship will reach the expedition’s end destination Shanghai.

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Update: Submarine USS Clamagore Towed From Patriots Point to be Scrapped

Posted on by October 15, 2022

In March, we posted that the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in South Carolina had decided after years of debate to scrap USS Clamagore, a Cold War-era submarine that proved too costly to maintain. This week, the Balao-class submarine was towed away from Patriots Point bound for Norfolk, Va. where it will be recycled.

“It’s a sad day. But, the actual Clamagore lived on for 41 more years than it would have when it was de-commissioned,” said Mike Hastings, Director of Operations Patriots Point Development Authority.

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Jet Pack Demonstration in New York Harbor From Royal Navy Flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth

Posted on by October 14, 2022

During her recent visit to New York to host a two-day Anglo-American defense conference, the Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth was used in a training demonstration in the harbor using jet packs.

The BBC reports that the Sussex-based jet suit developer Gravity Industries has been working with Royal Marines Commandos to explore how personnel may be able to use its systems to move between ships and the shore or board suspicious vessels. The test was carried out by former Royal Marine Reservists from the deck of the aircraft carrier. 

QE Aircraft Carrier Jet Suit Flights in NYC!

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.

Grand Theft Walleye — Fisherman Charged With Cheating in High Stakes Tournament

Posted on by October 13, 2022

On Sept. 30, two fishermen, Jacob Runyan, 42, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pa., participated in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland. The stakes were high. If the fish landed by the pair weighed more than their competition, they would win almost $30,000. The pair were considered serious contenders for the prize. They had come in first place at the three previous Lake Erie Walleye Trail events in June, July, and September.

When their walleye were weighed, however, they seemed unduly heavy for their size. On cutting the fish open, tournament officials found ten weights, each one weighing either 8 or 12 ounces, as well as several walleye fillets stuffed inside each fish. The New York Times reports that a grand jury indicted both men on Wednesday on felony charges of cheating and attempted grand theft. 

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New Aden, Chinese VLCC With Four Rigid Wing Sails

Posted on by October 12, 2022

In 2020, we posted that China Merchants Group had signed a contract with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC) for two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) each with four rigid wing sails to provide wind-assisted propulsion.

The first of the two ships, the New Aden, has now been delivered and features four wing sails, each approximately 130 feet tall, totaling nearly 13,000 square feet of sail area, made of carbon fiber composite material. The sails are trimmed by a fully automatic system to maximize their efficiency. The new ship is 1,092 feet long and 300,000 DWT.

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