Tag Archives: China
Chinese and Japanese Ships Contest Disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea
Things are getting tense again in the East China Sea, specifically between the Chinese and Japanese. The dispute is over a small group of uninhabited islands that lie between Okinawa and Taiwan and are known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu … Continue reading
One Hundred Million Sharks Killed Each Year – and Why it Matters
A new report, published in the journal Marine Policy, assesses the the impact of commercial fishing on sharks and estimates that around 100 million sharks are being killed each year. The rate is higher than sustainable for most shark species and is … Continue reading
Tension Rising in the South China Sea – Chinese Threatens to Board Ships, India and Vietnam Respond
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea, where at least a half dozen nations are asserting a jumble of overlapping claims of sovereignty, fishing and mineral rights. China is now ramping up their claims by announcing that as of … Continue reading
Chinese Aircraft Carrier, Liaoning, Strategic or Simply Status?
Now that China has finally commissioned Liaoning, its first aircraft carrier, the discussion has focused on whether the ship is a meaningful addition to the Chinese Navy or merely a symbol of status and prestige. Some have pointed out that the … Continue reading
Update: China’s First Aircraft Carrier, Liaoning, Enters into Service
After ten sea trials and over 25 years of construction and refitting, China has put its first aircraft carrier into service. Long rumored to be named Shi Lang, the carrier has instead been named Liaoning, after the province where it was rebuilt and refitted. … Continue reading
The Pearl No. 7 and the Bridge Too Low
This seems like a suitable post for a Monday morning. The tide was high, the bridge was low and the ship was light. Captain Guo Lai, 48, was in command of the brand new luxury cruise liner, Pearl No 7, on … Continue reading
South China Sea – Is the Cold War Between China and its Neighbors Heating Up?
Last month we posted about a stand-off between Chinese fishing vessels and Philippine Coast Guard ships at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Both nations claim sovereignty over the area. Even the island name is in contention. The Philipines refers to Scarborough Shoal as Panatag … Continue reading
A Grim Week for Shipwrecks – Black Sea, the Dominican Republic, Papua New Guinea and Dongting Lake in China Claim
It is easy to focus of the plight of the 34 dead or missing from the Costa Concordia. Regrettably, these casualties have not been the only recent deaths on the water. The past week has been particularly brutal with ship and boat sinkings in … Continue reading
Update: ValeMax Ship Finally Makes it to China
It would have been almost funny, if billions of dollars were not at stake. As we posted last June, the Vale Brasil, first of the Valemax class of Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) sailed on its maiden voyage with 391,000 tons of iron … Continue reading
China Opens World’s Longest Sea Bridge
The world’ s longest bridge over salt water, the 26.4 mile-long Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, in China, has opened to traffic. It makes me wonder how you say in Mandarin, “OK, kids. Who needs to go to the bathroom? No … Continue reading
China takes a Great Leap Forward in the Concrete Carrier Arms Race
As we posted last week, the US Navy has five times more aircraft carrier flight deck capacity than the rest of the world combined. Nevertheless the Chinese have leapt ahead in the construction of a concrete air craft carrier on … Continue reading
Extreme Sailing – A Video for a Monday Morning
Day 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Qingdao, China provided more than a few thrills and spills among the eleven “eXtreme 40″ catamarans engaged in what has been described as “close combat racing.” DAY 3: EXTREME! A major collision, … Continue reading
Skimmer “A Whale” Sails for Dalian, China Spill
Lloyds List is reporting that the Skimmer “A Whale” which failed to collect significant amounts of oil in the Gulf of mexico from the BP spill is now en-route to the major spill in Dalian, China. The more concentrated oil on the … Continue reading
Shipbuilding: China Overtakes Korea; Avondale to Shutdown
For the first time since 2003, Korean shipyards have lost their position as the world’s number one shipbuilder to China. China overtakes Korea in shipbuilding deliveries According to Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a London-based market research firm, Korean shipbuilding companies … Continue reading
China oil spill a ‘severe threat’
Sadly the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not the only ongoing major oil spill. China oil spill doubles in size, is deemed ‘severe threat’ China’s largest reported oil spill more than doubled in size to 165 square miles … Continue reading
Voyage of the Sloop Experiment
Having sailed last week on the Hudson River sloop, Clearwater, a voyage by another Hudson River sloop came to mind. In 1785 the Hudson River sloop Experiment was only the second ship from the young American republic to sail to China. … Continue reading
