Depending on which of the various news reports you read, the MOL 314,016 dwt tanker M. Star suffered either an explosion, was hit by a grenade or was struck by a freak wave caused by an earthquake while transiting the Straits of Hormuz. An intriguing and developing story.
Giant Supertanker Suffers Mystery Explosion
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Earlier this month we posted about a new expedition by Parks Canada to search for Franklin’s ships, the Terrorand the Erebus. Parks Canada also intended to search for theHMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice and sank when sent to search for Franklin. Today Parks Canada announced that they have found the HMS Investigator, apparently after a very brief sonar scan.
The Hiawatha, reportedly the last operational walking beam steam sidewheeler in the world, is being offered for sale on E-Bay. Built in 1983 of steel, the Hiawatha is 38 feet long with a 15.5 feet beam. Its paddle wheels are 7 feet in diameter and the ship has a top speed of 7 knots and cruising speed of 5 knots. She is currently in Bay City, Michigan.
Historic Bay City steamboat Hiawatha up for sale on eBay
Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing out the auction.
Barque Europa
Tall Ships Duluth 2010 has an impressive line up of ships scheduled for their tall ships festival. The ships are expected to start arriving in Duluth today. The Brig Niagara, the Barque Europa, HMS Bounty, the Pride of Baltimore II, the Roald Amundsen, the schooner Zeeto, the S/V Denis Sullivan, and the schooner Roseway will sail in a “Grand Parade of Ships” on Thursday afternoon with the tall ships festival getting into full swing Friday through Sunday.
A follow-up to our previous post – 18th Century Ship Found Buried at New York’s World Trade Center Site. Workers are now beginning to dismantle what is left of the ship, plank by plank, for preservation. Last week, Atlantic Wire posted an interesting discussion on the various theories of the ship’s origin. See : Theories on Ancient Wooden Ship Found at Ground Zero
Workers in NYC begin to dismantle ground zero ship
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Be warned. If you are interested in sailing ships, do not click on the link below if you have anything important to do for the next fifteen or twenty minutes or possibly much longer. Here is a absolutely fantastic archive of roughly two hundred photos and drawings originally published in Life Magazine of sailing ships and sailors, primarily from the last days of commercial sail. The only thing that is a disappointing is that most photos are not titled and no information is given on which ship is being photographed or even the date the photo was taken. Nevertheless, there are some wonderful shots well worthy of contemplation if not outright study. The Life Picture Collection Photo Archive is owned by Time Inc. and all the images are available as prints.
Sailing Ship Archive from Life Magazine on Google
Thanks to Wojtek (Voytec) Wacowski on the Tall Ship & Traditional Sail Professionals Linked-In Group for pointing out the photographs.
We have previously posted about the experimental sailboat Plastiki, built using 12,500 recycled soda bottles. The craft sailed last March from San Francisco and has now arrived in Sydney, Australia after a voyage of 9,000 miles (15,000 km.)
Boat made from plastic bottles completes Pacific voyage
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National Security cutter Stratton on Friday in Pascagoula, Miss
Last Friday, Michelle Obama was the first First Lady ever to christen a US Coast Guard Cutter, the National Security Cutter Stratton. The cutter is named after the first woman to serve as a commissioned officer in the U. S. Coast Guard, Dorthy C. Stratton. Prior to joining the Coast Guard in World War II, Dr. Stratton was also the first full-time dean of women at Purdue University. Stratton died in 2006 at the age of 107.
In 1942, she was commissioned a senior lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Later in 1942, she was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard where she became the creator and first director of the Women’s Reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II. Upon being named director, she was promoted to lieutenant commander and was promoted to commander in January 1944 and to captain one month later. She was awarded the Legion of Merit medal for her contributions to women in the military upon retirement in 1946.
First Lady Christens Coast Guard Cutter Dorothy C. Stratton
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Navy’s Summer Extravaganza Returns to Portsmouth in 2010
Navy Days at Portsmouth Naval Base, Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August, will feature serving warships of the Royal Navy, ships of foreign navies, thrilling naval displays, historical re-enactments and the world-class attractions of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, including HMS Victory.
The frigate HMS Cumberland which last year was on an anti-piracy patrol in the Indian Ocean, has joined the list of top participating vessels at Portsmouth Navy Days. Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing it out.
For the first time since 2003, Korean shipyards have lost their position as the world’s number one shipbuilder to China.
China overtakes Korea in shipbuilding deliveries
According to Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a London-based market research firm, Korean shipbuilding companies came in second after Chinese ones in terms of new orders, order backlogs and delivery, the three indices that determine industry competitiveness in the sector.
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There has been considerable discussion whether the photo of a Southern Right whale breaching and landing on a sailboat off South Africa is real or Photoshopped. (See the comments on our previous post.) A video has now emerged which shows the whale approaching breaching and landing on the sailboat. We are going to cast our vote that the event was not Photoshopped.
In a related vein, the folks at Yachtpals blog have a wonderful roundup of a variety of “whale tales” documented by photographic or video evidence. Remarkably of the seven tales they highlight, five are true.
Check it out on the Yachtpals blog: Whale Tales – Truth, Fiction, and Hoax
There is reported stonewalling by witnesses who have cancelled their scheduled testimonies at the ongoing investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Nevertheless, startling testimony was presented this Tuesday:
A BP official, Ronald Sepulvado, a well-site leader, testified that BP continued drilling for oil in the days before the disaster despite internal reports of a leak on a safety device on the rig.
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This news story sounds like a bad sequel to the movie Snakes on Plane.
Ship turned away after spiders started ‘pouring’ from cargo hold
A South Korean cargo ship had to be turned away last week after an infestation of spiders was discovered in the cargo hold.
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As an update to our previous post, the fire on the Charlotte Maersk, which started July 7th, was finally extinguished last Sunday after 11 days of firefighting.
Charlotte Maersk blaze is extinguished after 11 days
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As a follow-up to a post from early June, the remains of what is believed to be the wreck of a merchant ship from the mid-1600s are being moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for preservation. The wreck was uncovered by winter gales on Corolla beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and is believed to be the oldest shipwreck ever found on the North Carolina coast. The museum is about 90 miles from where the wreck was found.
What may be N.C.’s oldest shipwreck to be moved
Archeologists from the museum discuss the importance of the wreck:
New York City is metropolis of eight million organized into five boroughs, four of which are islands or are on islands. This Saturday, the 3rd Annual City of Water Day Festival will be hosted by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance to help remind the island and shore dwellers of the potential of the New York waterfront for entertainment, education, adventure and flat out fun. The festivities will he held across the harbor on Governors Island, at Liberty State Park, at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, on Staten Island and at the Atlantic Basin. There will be free kayaking, boat tours, waterfront bike rides, fishing demonstrations, and a kid’s fair as well as lots of music and food. Sounds like lots of fun.
Greg Gushaw 68, an experienced volunteer, docent and a member of the board of trustees of the Maritime Museum of San Diego fell to his death last Sunday from aloft on the Star of India. Ironically, he fell during a safety training exercise. His death is reported to be the first on the Star of India since the 1800s. The Star of India, built in 1863, is the world’s oldest ship that still actively sails.
Man Dies After Falling Overboard From Star Of India Ship
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Last week, twenty six of forty two crew members on the Brig Niagara were sickened by salmonella, forcing the ship to cut short a visit to a tall ships festival in Cleveland. Fortunately, the crew is reported to have recovered, and the Niagara set sail again Monday for Duluth, Minn. The Niagara is a replica of the ship that Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry used to defeat the British at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Update: South African authorities are investigating whether the whale was harassed before breaching.
A breaching Southern Right Whale landed on top of a ten meter long sail boat off the coast of South Africa on Sunday. The remarkable photos below were shot by a passenger on a nearby boat. Fortunately no one was hurt on the sailboat and the whale swam away without apparent injury. The sailboat however was considerably worse for the encounter. Click on the thumbnails below to view larger images.
Kaboom! Whale Crash-Lands on Boat
A worker struggles to rescue a struggling colleague in the Chinese port of Dalian
Sadly the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not the only ongoing major oil spill.
China oil spill doubles in size, is deemed ‘severe threat’
China’s largest reported oil spill more than doubled in size to 165 square miles by Wednesday, forcing nearby beaches to close and prompting one official to warn of a “severe threat” to sea life and water quality.
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