Beginning the New Year – A Sinking, Pirate Hijacking, Round the World Race and Smoke-Free Subs

Today is the first day back to work for many after a bit of time off for the holidays. And how has the New Year begun?   More or less the same as the last year which just ended.  On … Continue reading

Armed Japanese Coast Guard to Face off against Sea Shepherd “Godzilla”

It sounds like like a joke, and indeed it has many elements of farce, but nevertheless when the TV reality-show pirates of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars, the Sea Shepherds, meet the Japanese whalers this season in the Southern Ocean, matters could … Continue reading

Sea Shepherd Farce Continues with New Toy Boat and Movie Star

Paul Watson and his merry band of bumbling pirates, the Sea Shepherds, stars of the “reality” TV show, Whale Wars, have a new high speed toy boat and have recruited Michelle Rodriguez, the actor who played the kick-ass helicopter pilot in … Continue reading

MV Lugela Hijacked then Freed off Somalia after Crew Retreats to Engine Room

Well planned passive resistance proved to be an effective tactic for the crew of the MV Lugela this weekend.  Earlier this month we posted about the hijacking and subsequent recapture of the M/V Magellan Star from Somali pirates by US Marine commandos, after … Continue reading

On World Maritime Day: Year of the Seafarer – Demands for Action to End Piracy

Every year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) observes World Maritime Day during the last week of September. The IMO headquarters is celebrating today, Thursday, September 24th, though in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Vancouver, Canada, they will be celebrating the event on … Continue reading

Camden’s Windjammer Festival Starts Friday

Camden, Maine’s Windjammer Festival starts  Friday, September 3rd, and runs through Sunday.   Camden’s harbor always seemed to me to be a windjammer festival on virtually any summer day so this gathering  of the Maine Windjammer fleet and the dockside Maritime Heritage Fair should be quite an … Continue reading

Maritime Festivals This Week – Michigan, Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River

This is a busy week for maritime festivals in the US.   In Grand Haven, Michigan, the Michigan Pirate Festival 2010 kicked off yesterday with a very Hollywood version of pirates and piracy.  So aargh and shivery m’ timbers.  If only … Continue reading

Delaware Bay Days – June 12 & 13 Bivalve, Port Norris & Mauricetown NJ

From the Bayshore Discovery Project: Delaware Bay Days, the free two-day folklife festival celebrating the Bay and the Bayshore region, returns June 12 & 13 with events in Bivalve, Port Norris and Mauricetown, NJ, with a schedule featuring new activities … Continue reading

MV Moscow University – Why Anti-Piracy Efforts off Somalia Are Doomed to Fail

Two news stories, days apart demonstrate, at least to me, why the current efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia are doomed to fail.  We posted previously how the tanker MV Moscow University was recaptured from pirates by … Continue reading

Russian special forces capture oil tanker Moscow University

Close cooperation between the ship’s personnel and the Russian military allowed Russian special forces to storm the captured tanker Moscow University without unduly jeopardizing the safety of the crew. Russian special forces capture oil tanker … Continue reading

Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies

The US Naval War College has published a collection of essays on Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies, edited by Bruce A. Elleman, Andrew Forbes, and David Rosenberg.  The essays look at piracy around the world and throughout history … Continue reading