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Monthly Archives: October 2010
MV Beluga Fortune Foils Pirates, MV York Not so Fortunate
Over the weekend, Somali pirates seized two ships in two days. On Saturday, pirates seized the MV York, a liquefied petroleum gas tanker, off the coast of Kenya. On Sunday, pirates seized the MV Beluga Fortune about 1,200 miles east of … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged a liquefied petroleum gas tanker, Kenya, MV Beluga Fortune, MV York, Somali pirates
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Royal Caribbean Opens L’Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean in Haiti
The news from Haiti recently has been uniformly bad. In addition to earthquake damage, outbreaks of cholera are now sweeping the country. One bright spot is a new school, L’Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean. Built by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, it is one of the first … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Haiti, L'Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, school
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Could a rusty coin re-write Chinese-African history?
In August we posted about a joint Chinese-Kenyan expedition to locate the remains of a ship from the fleet of the legandary Chinese navigator, Zheng He. The ship was said to have sunk off Kenya near Lamu. Recently the team discovered … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Chinese navigator, Kenya, Lamu, Mambrui, Zheng He
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Replacement Ferry for Princess Ashika and Another Ferry Tragedy in Indonesia
Last week, the MV Olovaha arrived in Nuku’alofa. The MV Olovaha is a new interisland ferry built for Tonga to replace the Princess Ashika which sank last July with a loss of 74 passengers and crew. The ferry was … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged MV Olovaha, Nuku'alofa, Princess Ashika, Tonga
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New Russian Masts on HMS Belfast – The Last Convoy Escort
The HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy light cruiser, now a museum ship on the Thames, is the last surviving escort ship from the Arctic convoy run to Russia during World War II. Last week, in a ceremony attended by HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Arctic Convoys 1941-1945, HMS Belfast, Royal Navy light cruiser, Russian Masts
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HMS Astute Update
It had all the elements of bad farce. The HMS Astute is Britain’s newest, stealthiest and no doubt most expensive submarine. As described by the BBC, “Aside from attack capabilities, it is able to sit in waters off the coast … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged aground, Anglian Prince, HMS Astute, Isle of Skye
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Model of HMS Victory carved from HMS Victory
We previously posted about a model of the Mayflower crafted from timber believed to used on the original ship that carried the Pilgrims to America. Alaric Bond passed along an article about a model of the HMS Victory by sculptor and … Continue reading
HMS Astute: British Nuclear Submarine Aground off Skye
Embarrassing and rather bad timing. Billed as the “world’s most advanced nuclear submarine,” the recently christened HMS Astute ran aground this morning off the Isle of Skye. Nuclear submarine runs aground HMS Astute: world’s most advanced nuclear submarine runs aground
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged aground, HMS Astute, Isle of Skye, Royal Navy
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Trafalgar Day plus One – the Smallest Royal Navy Since Henry VIII
The announced British budget cuts will slash spending across the board but will hit the Royal Navy hardest of all of the military services. Anchors away: Britain’s once-proud navy falls prey to budget cuts In all the carnage, the worst damage, at least to … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Britain, budget cuts, Henry VIII, Royal Navy
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South China Braces for “Super-Typhoon” Megi
After killing more than 20 people in the Philippines and lashing Taiwan, where dozens are reported missing, “super-typhoon” Megi is poised to make landfall in South China today or Saturday. Typhoon Megi is the the strongest storm to hit the region in more than … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Megi, Philippines, South China, super-typhoon, Taiwan
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Conrad on Nelson at Trafalgar
The final essay in Joseph Conrad’s wonderful, if somewhat odd book, The Mirror of the Sea, is entitled “The Heroic Age.” It starts out rather disappointingly as a paean to Nelson. There is nothing wrong with praising Nelson, except that everyone does it, so another bit … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Cape Trafalgar, Joseph Conrad, Lord Nelson, The Mirror of the Sea
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Horatio Nelson ‘was French football captain’, say children
Horatio Nelson ‘was French football captain’, say children Research carried out to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar shows many schoolchildren believe that Horatio Nelson was captain of the French national football team in the 1990s. Almost one-in-four … Continue reading
Eyewitness to Trafalgar 205 Years Ago Today
A letter which only recently resurfaced gives an ordinary seaman’s view of the famous battle which was fought 205 years ago today. ‘They won’t send their fleets out again in a hurry’: Remarkable letter from hero who survived the Battle … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Temeraire, letter, National Maritime Museum, Robert Hope
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An Ill-fated Cruise for the Costa Classica
The Costa Classica‘s current cruise has not gone well. First, on a stop at Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju, 44 Chinese tourists abandoned the tour group en masse. South Korean police have located eleven of the group, but 33 remain unaccounted … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged collision, Costa Classica, Jeju, Yangtze River
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Attempts to Preserve the Prehistoric Hasholme Boat Fail So Far
The Hasholme boat, discovered in 1984 in a former inlet of the Humber estuary near Holme on Spalding Moor, dates from the late Iron Age ( 750-390 BC ). The boat was cut from a single oak tree and was originally roughly … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Hasholme boat, Hull and East Riding Museum, late Iron Age, Spalding Moor
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