Canadian Whale Watching Boat Sinks : Five Dead, One Missing

MV Leviathan II, a 65′ whale watching boat, sank late yesterday afternoon, off the port of Tofino on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. 27 were aboard when the vessel sank. Five are reported to have died and one person is … Continue reading

Bluenose II — No Way to Restore a Schooner

The new construction/restoration of the Canadian schooner Bluenose II has not gone well.  Years behind schedule and millions over budget. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil is calling it a “boondoggle” and is demanding an investigation into the project.  Recent lawsuits involving the … Continue reading

Canada to Claim North Pole — Status of Santa Uncertain

Reports are that Canada is filing a claim to extend its northern sea boundary to encompass an area of over 1 million square miles of Arctic seafloor which includes the North Pole, under provisions of the United Nations Convention on … Continue reading

UBC Wins First Prize in Safe Affordable Ferry Design Competition

In June, we posted about the Safe Affordable Ferry Design Competition, sponsored by the World Ferry Safety Association, in which student teams from six maritime universities competed to develop a ferry design for a 500 passenger ferry for Bangladesh. Recently the … Continue reading

Bulk Carrier Cape Apricot Takes Out Largest Berth at North America’s Largest Coal Exporter

At around 1 AM on Friday morning, the Cape Apricot, a cape-sized bulk carrier, chartered to K Line, smashed through a coal conveyor serving the largest of two berths at Westshore Terminals in Vancouver, Canada.  An undetermined amount of coal … Continue reading

Hawaiian Tsunami Warning Lifted after 100,000 Evacuated to Higher Ground

While those of us on the East Coast of the United States have been watching the approach of the “superstorm” Hurricane Sandy, residents of the Hawaiian islands were under a tsunami warning following a a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Canada’s Pacific coastal … Continue reading

Yacht Tabasco 2 Disabled off Nova Scotia – 1 Dead, 2 Injured & 3 Missing

UPDATE:  The Canadian government is now treating the casualty as an attempt at human smuggling.  Toews links N.S. yacht accident to ‘human smuggling’ There are reports of a tragic and strange sailboat accident off Canada’s Nova Scotia coast.  Nine men, reported to … Continue reading

Japanese Fishing Trawler, Carried Away by Tsunami, Found Drifting Toward British Columbia

A 150′ foot long fishing trawler carried away last March by the tsunami off the east coast of Japan has been spotted drifting in the Pacific Ocean, 120 miles off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.  About 5 million tons of debris … Continue reading

The First Circumnavigation of Canada’s Ellesmere Island – Important Arctic Life Lessons

There is a wonderful article in today’s New York Times about Jon Turk and Erik Boomer, who recently became the first to circumnavigate Canada’s Ellesmere Island, roughly 1,000 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  Jon Turk, 65, is an author, scientist and … Continue reading

Barque Picton Castle Announces New Atlantic Voyage

After five circumnavigations, Captain Daniel Moreland and the Barque Picton Castle will be changing their course for this year’s voyage focusing primarily on the Atlantic visiting ports in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Spanish Main. World Voyaging Tall Ship Picton Castle Announces New Voyage Around … Continue reading

A Flood of Arks? Ark Building Around the World

If a group of birds are a flock, a group of whales is a pod, and fish gather in schools, what would one call a group of Noah’s arks?  A fleet would be the easy answer, but that somehow doesn’t … Continue reading