Last June, we posted about the arrest of Robert P. Burke, a retired four-star Navy Admiral, on bribery charges. This week, a federal jury convicted the former Vice Chief of Naval Operations of four counts of bribery for steering a … Continue reading
Lighthouse keepers had more to worry about than simply storms and terrible conditions. In the 19th century, lighthouse keepers had a high frequency of madness and suicide. Many assumed that they went mad from solitude and the demands of the … Continue reading
On Saturday evening, shortly after the Mexican Navy sail training ship ARM Cuauhtémoc departed New York City’s South Street Seaport, Pier 17, on the East River, something went terribly wrong. The roughly 300′ long, steel-hulled, three-masted bark reportedly suffered some … Continue reading
General Order 99 One hundred and eleven years ago on July 1, 1914, Secretary of the US Navy Josephus Daniels issued General Order 99, banning “the use or introduction for drinking purposes of alcoholic liquors on board any naval vessel, … Continue reading
On June 21, 1898, HMS Albion sat on the launching ways at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Blackwall. The launching that would soon end in tragedy was also one of the first disasters to be captured on film. … Continue reading
A Facebook video by my friend Frank Hanavan showing him inserting a ship in a bottle (after the page break) got me thinking about, well, ships in bottles. When, where and why did sailors start putting ships in bottles? After … Continue reading
During the “Golden Age of Piracy,” the most successful pirates amassed huge fortunes over short periods and then died bloody deaths in combat, on the gallows, or in shipwrecks. The one notable exception was Captain Henry Every. While his career … Continue reading
Salt in their Veins is a breathtaking and thought-provoking short documentary by German photographer & filmmaker Rita Hencke. The documentary explores the lives of the Bajo people of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, descendants of sea nomads with a deep connection to … Continue reading
Last month, we posted about the first-ever confirmed image of a colossal squid in the deep ocean. Ironically, the first colossal squid caught on camera was anything but colossal. It was a juvenile of only about 1 foot in length. … Continue reading
On this, the 80th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, the Liberation Convoy 2025 of five historic Norwegian veteran vessels, alongside partners from both Norway and the United Kingdom, is commemorating Anglo-Norwegian heroism on the North Sea during the … Continue reading
The Independent reports that a 57-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an altercation on a cruise ship in which another man, 60, died. Police rushed to the Southampton Docks on Monday morning to arrest the Exeter resident, after the cruise ship … Continue reading
An updated repost of an odd bit of history. One of the most interesting accounts of a sea serpent is that of the HMS Daedalus in 1848. When sailing in the South Atlantic, some 300 miles from the coast of … Continue reading
Given the economic damage caused by needless trade wars, it is worthwhile to recall the Empress of China, the ship that opened trade with China, the United States’ first trading partner. The new nation had won its independence from Great Britain but had … Continue reading
Eighty years ago on May 3, 1945, the German liner SS Cap Arcona, serving as a prison ship, was sunk by Royal Air Force fighter bombers in the Baltic Sea. Almost 5,000 prisoners from Nazi concentration camps who were being … Continue reading
Thucydides is often said to have first written in his epic history, The Peloponnesian War, “A collision at sea can ruin your entire day, ” While the statement is unquestionably true, Thucydides never wrote it. Fred Shapiro writing in Freakonomics attempts … Continue reading
An F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet slipped off the hangar deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, deployed in the Red Sea on Monday. The tow tractor that had been moving the aircraft also went over the side in … Continue reading
David Morris was taking a walk along the coast near Falmouth, Cornwall, in the UK, when he saw what looked to be a large tanker hovering in the air above the horizon. He documented what he witnessed with several photographs. … Continue reading
A massive explosion and fire on Saturday rocked the Port of Shahid Rajaei in southern Iran, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 1,000 others. Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire through … Continue reading
It is amazing what one can buy online these days. Recently, Dom Robinson, 53, a diver and shipwreck aficionado from Portsmouth, Hampshire, saw an ad on Facebook Marketplace for a World War I shipwreck for sale for just £300. He … Continue reading
Last Saturday, Italian sailor Alessandro Tosetti was returning from sailing Aspra, a ULDB 65′, in the Global Solo Challenge, when his boat was attacked by orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar. Tosetti describes the attack in his race blog. “I … Continue reading