Mati Karmin, an Estonian sculptor, is not turning swords into plowshares, but he is turning marine mines into some rather remarkable furniture and household appliances. Karmin’s mine furniture is steampunk with a post-apocalyptic twist. On the northern coast of Estonia, especially on Naissaar … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2010
The MV Hong Wei with a cargo of 40,000 tons of nickel ore, sank Saturday off the northern Philippines. Fourteen crew were rescued and ten remain missing. The ship was Panamanian flag and had a Chinese crew. The … Continue reading
The 74, 475 DWT MV Golden Seas carrying a cargo of rapeseed oil suffered a turbocharger failure on its main engine late Thursday night, reducing main engine power sufficiently so that the ship could not make headway against the 29 foot seas and … Continue reading
Ockels’ sustainable voyage to go ahead Wubbo Ockels, a former Dutch astronaut, says he is convinced his sailing yacht Ecolution, which was sunk by unknown assailants earlier this week, will soon be repaired, so he can continue his sustainable energy … Continue reading
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has posted some lovely photos of HMS Victory and the dockyard after a recent snowfall. Click on the thumbnails for a larger image. To see more visit their website or Facebook album page. … Continue reading
History is full of strange connections. This week an almost 200-year-old copy of “The Star Spangled Banner” is to be sold at auction house at Christie’s auction house in Manhattan. The sheet music is currently valued at between … Continue reading
Last week, we posted about a new book which examines the causes of the tragic explosion and sinking of the HMS Dasher, in which 379 out of 528 crewmen died and ranks as one of Britain’s worst naval disasters during … Continue reading
We posted about his new Tall Ships calendar about a month ago. One of his calendars is hanging on my wall waiting for the new year to begin. Sadly, we learned last night that Thad Koza has died of … Continue reading
CORRECTION: The early news reports translated roughly from Dutch to English reported that the sailing vessel Ecolution was “sunk by demolitions.” We interpreted that to mean explosives. It appears however that no structural damage was done to the hull itself and that the vessel has been … Continue reading
The tug Pegasus was built in 1907. Her last major refit was in 1953 when her steam engine was removed and a diesel engine installed. Tonight the Pegasus Preservation Project is celebrating the 10th year of restoration of the Tug … Continue reading
Maersk may be on the verge of ordering up to 20 of the largest container ships ever built, 18,000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units). The largest container ships now in service are capable of carrying roughly 15,000 containers. Analysts have identified 18,000 TEU ships as the largest container … Continue reading
Interesting new evidence that the Vikings and the North American natives, who the Vikings called skrælings may have gotten along a bit better than suggested by the sagas. DNA testing of 80 living Icelanders shows indicates a genetic variation similar … Continue reading