Whale of a skimmer not ready to attack Gulf oil after weekend of testing
The behemoth Taiwanese oil skimmer, A Whale, is not yet ready attack the Gulf of Mexico oil spill after a weekend of testing proved inconclusive, said a statement this morning from TMT Shipping Offshore, owner of the ship.
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No, not Moby Dick. Scientists have recently discovered the fossilized remains of an ancient whale with huge, fearsome teeth, which they have dubbed Leviathan melvillei, in honor of Herman Melville. The 12 million old whale was slightly smaller than a modern sperm whale but had shark-like teeth half again as large as the conical teeth of modern sperm whales.
iRobot Seaglider Ready to Deploy
We own a Roomba, which is a robot vacuum cleaner made by iRobot. It looks like a cross between an overgrown hockey puck and a squashed R2D2 from Star Wars. It softly whirs and occasionally beeps as it crisscrosses the floor vacuuming, until it eventually runs low on power, at which point it heads back to its charging station, to be ready to vacuum again. (We love our Roomba. )
IRobot builds more that robot vacuum cleaners, of course. Right now three iRobot Seagliders are in service monitoring the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Here is how Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot describes the devices:
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We recently reviewed Max Hardberger’s new book, Seized, A Sea Captains Adventures – Battling Scoundrels and Pirates while Recovering Stolen Ships in the World’s Most Troubled Waters. This week , he was interviewed in Time Magazine:
NASA has recently published an analysis of the arctic operations of the icebreaker USCGC Healy. The Healy has been serving as a research vessel in Arctic water with more than 4,200 square feet of scientific laboratory space, numerous electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations for up to 50 scientists.
Icebreakers Smash Frozen Arctic Ocean in Surprising Ways
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We have fallen way behind in our book reviews. Until we catch up, here is a review of Julian Stockwin’s new novel, Victory, republished with permission from Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction.
Astrodene Review: Victory by Julian Stockwin
Victory starts off with a major setback for Kydd and keeps up a fast pace throughout which makes it another page turner for Julian Stockwin.
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“A Whale” is by far the biggest oil skimmer ever built. The bigger question question may be, “Will it work?” The converted oil/bulk ore carrier is currently docked in Boothville, La., docks as it is made ready for 48 hours of testing in the Gulf over the weekend.
Video from CNN of the ship: World’s Largest Oil Skimmer
After a season’s delay due to lack of access to icebreakers, Parks Canada is renewing its search for Franklin’s ship’s Erebus and Terror. They will also be searching for the HMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice and sank when sent to search for Franklin.
Parks Canada mounting summertime search for three storied Arctic wrecks
Click here to view British Pathe video of SS United State's record breaking maiden voyage
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that an agreement has been reached between Norwegian Cruise Line and the SS United States Conservancy, a preservationist group, to save the SS United States from the scrap yard. The Conservancy is reported to have agreed to pay NCL $3 million dollars for the ship. It has also been reported that NCL had received an almost $6 million dollar offer from a scrap yard but had agreed to work with the Conservancy instead. The offer by the Conservancy was made possible by a reported $5.8 million pledge by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest.
Famed Liner Steers Clear of Scrapyard
The SS United States was the fastest passenger liner ever built. Click here or on the image to the right to see footage of her first voyage where she easily broke the speed record for an Atlantic crossing. Thanks to David Hayes for pointing out the video.
The Redpath Toronto Waterfront Festival started yesterday and will run through July 4th. The festival is hosting fifteen sailing ships and schooners, including HMS Bounty, the brig Niagara, the Bark Europa, the Pride of Baltimore II, Brig Roald Amundsen, the schooner Roseway and the topsail schooner Unicorn. The tallships are part of the Great Lakes United TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE, a series of tall ship port to port races coordinated by the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) across all five Great Lakes. Toronto will be the first and only Canadian port.
The Northern Party at the South Magnetic Pole. Photographer Douglas Mawson 1909. Courtesy Mawson Collection South Australian Museum
We recently posted about the centennial of Robert Falcon Scott‘s departure on his ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole. Now the Australian National Maritime Museum will host a new exhibit, the Quest for the South Magnetic Pole. The quest to locate the magnetic pole is more challenging than I had ever imagined. Apparently it can shift by as much as 200 km per day. Fitting perhaps, Quest for the South Magnetic Pole is a travelling exhibition developed by the South Australian Maritime Museum and the South Australian Museum with support from Visions of Australia. The exhibit will be on display from July 2nd to the tenth of October.
A Whale - Slots along sides are skimmer suctions
Update: According to her AIS (Automatic Identification System) the A Whale is now off Louisiana. Thanks to Buck for pointing it out. Click here to see per position on the chart.
A Taiwanese-owned, Liberian-flagged tanker, the A Whale, has been modified for skimming up to 500,000 barrels of oil-contaminated water a day. To put this in context, if the system works as intended, it could skim in less than two days an amount of oil equal to all the oil skimmed in the past 70 days of the ongoing Deepwater Horizon spill. The A Whale is designed to operate offshore where most skimmers have difficulty operating. It is currently in Norfolk, VA awaiting approval of separate waivers from the Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow it to begin testing. Because the A Whale would be operating well offshore it is not believed to require a Jones Act Waiver.
Giant oil skimmer makes stop in Norfolk on way to Gulf oil cleanup
We are five days late but nevertheless would like to wish Commander William Donald Aelian “Bill” King a most happy 100th birthday. He is only living submarine commander from World War II. He initially served on the battleship, HMS Resolution, and later becoming commanding officer of HMS Snapper, an S class submarine and then of HMS Trusty and HMS Telemachus, both T class submarines. During the war, he was promoted to Commander and awarded seven medals.
Later, at age 58, King became the oldest competitor in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first round the world solo yacht race. Sailing a junk rigged schooner,the Galway Blazer II, he was dismasted in the South Atlantic. He succeeded in cirumnavigating single handed on his third attempt in 1973, despite a collsion with a whale or large shark which almost sank his boat.
Sobering aerial video of the scope of the ongoing spill. At around 6:30 there is footage of pods of dead and dying dolphins and a sperm whale caught in the oil. Difficult video to watch but important, nevertheless.
Lydia Eva
Famous steam drifter celebrates 80th birthday in Yarmouth
The world’s last surviving steam drifter, the Lydia Eva, will be celebrating her 80th birthday in Great Yarmouth on Sunday. As well as celebrating her birthday, the weekend will also mark the completion of a £1.2m restoration project of the vessel.
Throughout the weekend, people will be able to go on board the Lydia Eva as she is in steam at South Quay and see her triple extension engine and Scotch boilers. On Sunday, her birthday will be celebrated with sea shanties, cooked herring and a beer tent.
Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing the article along.
