The Fitzgerald Tragedy & the Fort Report –Worse Than We Thought

There is a tragic irony in the collision of the guided-missile cruiser USS Fitzgerald, which resulted in the death of seven of its crew. The Fitzgerald is built around one of the most advanced anti-missile radar systems in the world and yet when it turned into … Continue reading

Bad Week for Containerships, Part 2 — Yantian Express on Fire, Crew Evacuated

On Thursday, a fire broke out in one cargo container on the Yantian Express, a 7,510 TEU container ship, about 1,500 kilometers southeast of Halifax. The fire spread to adjacent containers. The firefighting tug, Smit Nicobar, arrived Friday evening but weather conditions limited what the tug’s crew could … Continue reading

Bad Week for Container Ships, Part 1 — 277 Boxes Lost on MSC Zoe

MSC Zoe is one of the largest container ships in the world with a capacity of over 19,000 twenty foot containers. Nevertheless, when Storm Zeetje pounded northern Germany with gale force winds late on Tuesday night, 277 containers were washed … Continue reading

Record Breaking CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt Becomes Largest Container Ship to Call in Port of NYC/NJ

Yesterday morning, the 14,400 TEU container ship, CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, sailed under the newly-elevated Bayonne Bridge becoming the largest container ship ever to call on the Port of New York and New Jersey.  She previously set a record as the … Continue reading

What Could the Captain of the ACX Crystal See? Container Ship Visibility & Maneuvering

One recurring comment related to the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the container ship ACX Crystal was that the container ship might not have been able to see the destroyer over the containers stacked on deck. There are photographs … Continue reading

Derelict Gunboat 55, Rainmaker, Spotted Adrift Off Cape Hatteras

After five months, an abandoned catamaran has been sighted by a passing container ship. On January 30th of this year, Rainmaker, a brand new a $2.5 million carbon fiber Gunboat 55 catamaran, the first of its class, set off on a voyage … Continue reading

Container Ship Maersk Tigris Diverted by Iran in Strait of Hormuz

The Marshall Island flagged container ship Maersk Tigris sailing from the Saudi port of Jeddah, bound for the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali, was intercepted by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. As reported by Bloomberg, the ship was … Continue reading

Louis Jordan, Sixty Six Days Adrift — What Really Happened?

Reading about sailing in the media is often like reading a mystery story. The question is not, however, “who done it?” but “what really happened?”  The reports of Louis Jordan who was found adrift in his disabled sailboat off Cape … Continue reading

Container Loaded with One Million Cigarettes Washes Ashore On Devon Coast

Last Wednesday, we posted about Svendborg Maersk, which last an estimated 520 containers  in a storm in the Bay of Biscay.  What happened to all the containers that fell overboard?  One of them, loaded with a million cigarettes, may have just washed … Continue reading

Drug Overdoses Suspected in Deaths of Ex-Navy SEALs on Maersk Alabama

CNN  is reporting that hypodermic needles and traces of narcotics were found with the bodies of two American security officers on the container ship Maersk Alabama, suggesting that the deaths resulted from drug overdoses, according to a Seychelles government official. … Continue reading

Another Container Ship Cracking – MSC Monterey Anchored off Newfoundland

MSC Monterey, a 4,892 TEU container ship, was bound from the Belgium port of Antwerp to Newark, NJ, but diverted to Newfoundland after cracks in her hull were discovered. The ship is now at anchor south of Newfoundland, near Trepassey … Continue reading

Container ship MOL Comfort Breaks in Two off Yemen, Crew Rescued

UPDATE: Contrary to initial reports that the ship sank, the two halves of the MOL Comfort have remained afloat. Tugs have been dispatched to the site. The container ship MOL Comfort sank today off Yemen after suffering catastrophic hull cracking near amidships. … Continue reading

Five Dead, Six Missing After Car Carrier Baltic Ace Sinks in Collision

Following the sinking last night of the car carrier Baltic Ace, the bodies of five sailors have been recovered.  Six of the crew are missing and presumed dead in the icy waters of the North Sea. The 485-foot long Bahamain-flagged   car … Continue reading

Car Carrier Baltic Ace Sinks After Collision with Container Ship Corvus J in Shipping Lanes Off Rotterdam

The car carrier, Baltic Ace, is reported to have collided with the container ship, Corvus J, this evening in crowded shipping lanes around 60 miles off the coast of Rotterdam.  The Baltic Ace is believed to have sunk. Her crew of 24 took to … Continue reading

Update: Owners of Container Ship MV Rena Plead Guilty, Pay NZ$300K Fine

Daina Shipping, owner of the container ship MV Rena, has been fined NZ $300,000 (US $246,000) for discharging harmful substances after the Liberian flagged ship, ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand in early October of last year. The ship subsequently broke up … Continue reading

Container Ship Amsterdam Bridge Catches Fire Off Mumbai

The 4,380 TEU container ship  Amsterdam Bridge caught fire on a voyage between Mumbai to Colombo. The ship returned to Mumbai and is now at an outer anchorage.  Recent reports suggests that the fire is contained if not necessarily completely extinguished. VesselTracker.com is reporting that Coast Guard officials suspect that … Continue reading