Draken Harald Hårfagre, a Broken Mast and Why They Didn’t Row to Port

In early July, the 114-foot long  Draken Harald Hårfagre, the largest Viking replica ever built, was sailing across the North Sea,  from Haugesund in Norway.  Three days out, in high seas, the ship’s mast failed and went over the side.  No one … Continue reading

Own Your Own Secret Submarine Base – Norway’s Olavsvern Naval Base For Sale

For only 105 million Norwegian krona (thats € 14 million or roughly US$17.5 million) you too can own an Arctic submarine base.  Norway’s Olavsvern Naval Base just outside the city of Tromsø, has been on the market since January 2011, but for the last … Continue reading

The Mystery of the Osberg Viking Ship – Seaworthy or Only Decorative ?

In 1904 and 1905, archaeologists Haakon Shetelig and Gabriel Gustafson excavated a burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway that contained a well-preserved Viking ship.   The Osberg ship was reconstructed and has became Norway’s largest tourist … Continue reading

Busy Saturday at Sea – Container Ship Aground Off Norway & Tanker Aground off Sicily

There are no weekends off at sea and this has been a busy Saturday. Off Sicily, the 18,000 DWT Italian tanker Gelso M ran aground in a storm, with reports of engine room flooding. The crew of 19 was evacuated by helicopter without injury. … Continue reading

Women on Subs – Not all that New

Julian Stockwin made a comment on Twitter this morning (what is the past tense of “to tweet?” by the way) regarding women on submarines.  He noted that Norway has had women serving on submarines for decades.   Indeed, the US … Continue reading

Headline Wars over Whales

There is an interesting conflict going on over the new draft proposal by the International Whaling Commission which would allow limited commercial  whaling at levels significantly lower than currently practiced by Japan, Iceland and Norway.   Depending on who you listen to this is either a good thing – … Continue reading