Update: ValeMax Ship Finally Makes it to China

Posted on by January 3, 2012

It would have been almost funny, if billions of dollars were not at stake.  As we posted last June, the Vale Brasil, first of the Valemax class of Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) sailed on its maiden voyage with 391,000 tons of iron ore for China, only to be turned away. Vale S.A., the world’s largest iron ore producer, is building a fleet of 35 of the largest ore ships the world has ever seen specifically for the China trade, but China would not grant permission for the huge ships to call at Chinese ports.  Now, the first of the Valemax VLOCs has finally unloaded a cargo in China.  The Berge Everest, a Valemax ship owned by Berge Bulk Ltd and chartered to Vale, discharged what is reported to be a full cargo in the China’s Port of Dalian and has now sailed for Singapore.

Giant Vale ship completes maiden journey to China
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Tall Ship Elissa Fundraising On Track – Not So Endangered After All

Posted on by January 2, 2012

Last week we posted about America’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2011, a list compiled by Joe Follansbee at the Fyddeye Guides.  This sort of list is interesting and useful in that it starts conversations about ships which require attention and could easily be overlooked.

There is at least one ship on the list, the barque Ellisa, that, while needing repairs, is in no danger of being ignored and is not “endangered” in any real sense.  This summer, it was found that a number of hull plates on the the 134-year-old barque had suffered serious electrolytic corrosion.  It is believed that the corrosion was a result of stray current from an underwater electrical cable broken by Hurricane Ike. The Fyddeye Guide noted that “the U.S. Coast Guard found severe hull deterioration and declared the ship unseaworthy, and thus unable to earn her keep.”  The problem with this statement is that while, like the Star of India, the barque Elissa is sailed at least once yearly, she does not “earn her keep” from sailing.
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The Passengers are Fatter so US Coast Guard Revises their Regulations

Posted on by January 2, 2012

For roughly the last fifty years, the US Coast Guard regulations for the loading and stability of passenger vessels has assumed an average weight of 160 pounds per person.  Conceding to the reality of a more corpulent population, the regulations were updated last month, increasing the  Assumed Average Weight per Person by 25 pounds, to 185 pounds.  So far the impact, particularly on larger vessels, has been small.  The Washington State ferry boat Wenatchee, which previously was rated for 2,000 people, can now legally hold about 1,700, which is not an issue as the ferry generally operates no where close to full passenger capacity. Likewise in New York harbor, the World Yacht and Circle Line cruises, deliberately operate at about 50 percent of capacity, about 300 people, to make for a roomier, more pleasant experience according to Jason Hackett, a company spokesman.

Smaller vessel owners who may be impacted by the change, are considering new stability tests and revised passenger calculations to maintain their current capacity.

Bulk’s Not Just in Bulkhead, So Coast Guard Steps In

The Cyber-Reconstruction of the 17th Century, Nossa Senhora dos Martires, at Texas A&M

Posted on by January 1, 2012

Audrey Wells and the Virtual Nau

What better way to start the new year than to look at a project which uses modern technology to recreate virtually a ship from 1606?    Dr. Filipe Castro,  of the Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University, working with the university’s Visualization Sciences department committee chairman Fred Parke and one of his students, Audrey Wells, have reconstructed a Nau, a Portuguese spice trader, the Nossa Senhora dos Martires (Our Lady of the Martyrs,) in 3D. More than simply a visual model, however, the project also looked at the hydrodynamics, stability and sailing performance of the ship. The project also considered the human ergonomics. How was it possible for such a vessel to carry a crew of 450, 220 tons of peppercorns, other cargoes, guns, supplies, and food and water for a six month voyage?  Using computer modeling, they are learning the secrets of sailing the ship lost on September 14, 1606, off the coast of Portugal.

The project is discussed in the The Cyber-Resurrection of Our Lady of the Martyrs in the Fall 2011 Surveyor, the journal of the American Bureau of Shipping.  See also, Virtual Nau.

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New Year a Day Early in Samoa and Tokelau

Posted on by December 31, 2011

New Year’s Day came a day early this year to Samoa and the Tokelau atolls in the South Pacific, while Friday, December 30th, disappeared entirely.  After being east of the International Date Line for almost 120 years, Samoa and the Tokelau atolls decided to move west, or more accurately to move the International Date Line, so that the islands are now west of the line. In doing so, they effectively made yesterday, Friday the 30th, disappear.  On the other hand, Samoa celebrated two July 4ths when they decided to shift east of the line back in 1892.

Samoa to switch time zones, skip Friday

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To Avoid Pirates, Volvo Ocean Fleet Traveling by Ship from Undisclosed Port

Posted on by December 31, 2011

On the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, half the fleet traveled to Cape Town on the deck of cargo ships following rigging or hull failures. Now in the second leg of the race, the entire fleet was loaded onboard an armed cargo ship on the day after Christmas at a “secret safe haven port in the Indian Ocean.” They will be carried to Sharjah, roughly 80 miles from Abu Dhabi, in order to restart the second leg on January 4th. This rather extraordinary step was taken to avoid the risk of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean.

Leg 2 set for spectacular sprint finish into Abu Dhabi

 

The Perfect Wreck by Steven E. Maffeo – a review by Linda Collison

Posted on by December 30, 2011

Linda Collison, author of Surgeon’s Mate and Star-Crossed, recently reviewed Steven E. Maffeo‘s new book The Perfect Wreck – Old Ironsides and HMS Java: A Story of 1812 in her blog Sea of Words.  I enjoy reading Linda’s reviews almost as much as her books. Reposted with permission:

The Perfect Wreck chronicles a fateful clash of ships

“On board Old Ironsides, it suddenly occurred to Lieutenant Parker that thus far this battle had not been, and was not going to be, a mere pounding match. It was more a complex combination of skillful maneuver and artillery duel. He realized the two ships were much like fencers or boxers, with a succession of evolutions which resembled those kinds of changes of position – parries, lunges, ripostes, retreats, and advances – all accompanied by a continual play of the great guns, answering to the thrusts and blows of each individual movement…”

– from The Perfect Wreck –Old Ironsides and HMS Java: A Story of 1812.
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EDA-R : New French Navy Landing Craft

Posted on by January 3, 2012

A few days ago we posted about the boats Washington used to cross the Delaware.  Designs have changed since then,  Here is a wonderful animation by Raphaël Pierrot of the new French Navy  landing craft, the engin de débarquement amphibie rapide (EDA-R), which is a catamaran which provides the performance of an aircushion landing craft at the cost of a conventional landing craft.

EDA-R (Engin de Débarquement Amphibie Rapide)

 

Sea Shepherd’s New Speed Boat, Brigitte Bardot, Broken by the Southern Ocean

Posted on by December 29, 2011

Brigitte Bardot, the ex-Ocean_7_Adventurer

The reality TV stars, the Sea Shepherds, took their newest speed boat, the Brigitte Bardot, out on the Southern Ocean recently, which proved to be more than it could handle. The Brigitte Bardot reportedly cracked its main hull and severely damaged the port pontoon in heavy seas. No crew were reported to be injured and the boat will return to Freemantle Australia for repairs.

The Brigitte Bardot is the ex-Ocean_7_Adventurer, a high-tech 115 ft stabilized monohull twin diesel powered vessel built built to circumnavigate the world in less than 80 days. (It succeeded in rounding the world in 74 days in 1998.) The Sea Shepherd’s acquired the boat after sinking their previous speed boat, the Ady Gil, the ex-Earthrace, a biodiesel powered wave-piecing trimaran, which completed a circumnavigation in just 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutes.

Sea Shepherd anti-whaling boat damaged by wave

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New Masts for the Schooner Virginia

Posted on by December 28, 2011

In 2009, the non profit foundation that owns the schooner Virginia, the Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation, ran out of cash. Burdened with $1.6 million of debt, they were forced to lay up the schooner. Now, the outlook for the schooner is still unclear but there are hopeful signs. The foundation has raised $100,000 to buy new masts, booms and spars, for the schooner to get the ship ready for OpSail 2012, coming to Hampton Roads in June. The new masts are expected to be installed in April. The Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation is currently negotiating with Nauticus, a maritime museum in Hampton Roads, about using the Virginia as the centerpiece of a community sailing center.

Schooner Virginia to get new masts by OpSail

America’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2011

Posted on by December 28, 2011

Joe Follansbee at the Fyddeye Guides has compiled a list of America’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2011 to help raise awareness of the risk that these historic treasures may not be around much longer if something isn’t done.  One might argue over whether the schooner Spirit of South Carolina is more endangered than the schooner Ernestina or whether the barque Elissa is at greater risk than the barque Peking, but then that is the value of a such lists, to remind us of the ships we would all prefer not to lose to indifference and time.  The Fyddeye Most Endangered List:
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Update: Repairs Underway to Russian Fishing Vessel Sparta with Help from Korean Icebreaker Araon

Posted on by December 28, 2011

The Russian fishing vessel Sparta, which was holed by ice below the waterline in the Ross Sea off Antarctica on December 16th and has been trapped in the ice for over ten days, is now undergoing temporary repairs.  On Monday, the Korean icebreaker Araon arrived and began transferring fuel to the stricken fishing vessel in order to increase the trim by the stern to allow the damaged area on the bow to be above the waterline.  The crews of both ships are now attempting to weld doubler plates on the inside and outside of the ship in way the damaged hull plates.  Once the doublers are welded, the Araon will attempt to escort the Sparta back through the ice to open water. Thanks to Phil Leon for pointing out the video.

Ship starts Antarctic ship rescue

A Short Sea Voyage for the not yet Tall Ship, Oliver Hazard Perry

Posted on by December 27, 2011

Photo: OHPRI/Matt Gineo

More progress in the completion of Rhode Island’s tall ship, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry. The not yet tall ship was recently launched at Sims Metal Management in Providence and towed to Senesco Marine in North Kingstown to continue construction, including the fabrication of tanks, installation of the lower deck, engines and generators, the construction of the new topsides, weather deck, bulwarks and transom, and the stepping of the ship’s three masts.

Once completed the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry will be used for sail training and and as a classroom at sea. From their blog: ” Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island is bringing experiential learning to life with the construction of Rhode Island’s Education-at-Sea School Ship, the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry. OHPRI’s mission is to offer students of all ages a platform for experience-based education that supports and promotes tall ship sail training, marine trade workforce development, as well as marine conservation and environmental stewardship. Thanks to Tom Russell on the Traditional Sail Professionals Linked-In list  for pointing out the news.

SSV Oliver Hazard Perry Moves to Senesco Marine

The Long Strange Voyage of Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, Johnny Vasco da Gama

Posted on by December 27, 2011

Photo: Mote Marine Laboratory

In 2008, a young Kemp’s ridley sea turtle washed up, stranded, in the Netherlands.  Kemp’s ridleys are the smallest and rarest of all sea turtles and are a critically endangered species.  The Kemp’s ridley turtles typically live in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the southern East Coast of the United States.  On rare occasion, young turtles are swept across the Atlantic on the Gulf Stream.  This turtle was taken to the Rotterdam zoo where its condition was stabilized and was given the nickname “Johnny.” The following summer it was sent to the aquarium Oceanário de Lisboa in Portugal, and then to Zoomarine for rehabilitation. While in Portugal, it was also given the moniker “Vasco da Gama,” in honor of the well traveled Portuguese explorer.

“Johnny Vasco da Gama” recently crossed the Atlantic for a second time – this time on a TAP airliner. He was taken to the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota on Nov. 29 to complete his rehabilitation at the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital and to be outfitted with a satellite tracking device. This morning, Johnny Vasco da Gama was released back into the Gulf of Mexico. “The most exciting part of Johnny’s journey is yet to come,” said Sheryan Epperly, sea turtle program leader from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

Turtle stranded in Europe in 2008 to be released by Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota

Washington Crossing the Delaware and the Durham Boats

Posted on by December 27, 2011

More accurate? Really?

On Christmas Day in 1776, George Washington led what was left of his army across the Delaware River in the middle of a blizzard to attack a Hessian outpost in Trenton, NJ.  In one bold stroke, he turned almost certain defeat into at the least the promise of eventual victory. Washington’s crossing was immortalized in the painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Leutze in 1851. Everyone agrees that while Emanuel Leutze’s painting is dramatic, it has a number of historical inaccuracies, including the width of the river, the time of day, the weather  and the design of the boats used in the crossing.

The New York Times recently featured an article, Crossing the Delaware, More Accurately, describing the work of modern painter, Mort Künstler, who has painted what he claims is a more accurate representation of Washington making the crossing. His painting shows Washington on a flat bottomed ferry connected to both shores by a rope cable. While I make no claim to expertise on Washington’s crossing, it looks to me that Künstler’s version ignores the historical record just as Emanuel Leutze’s painting does.
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