UBC Wins First Prize in Safe Affordable Ferry Design Competition

In June, we posted about the Safe Affordable Ferry Design Competition, sponsored by the World Ferry Safety Association, in which student teams from six maritime universities competed to develop a ferry design for a 500 passenger ferry for Bangladesh. Recently the … Continue reading

India Joins the Nuclear Sub Club – INS Arihant, First Indian Built Nuclear Sub Ready for Sea Trials

Until recently only China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia have built and operated nuclear submarines. With the 6,000-ton INS Arihant ready for sea trials, India has joined this elite club.  The submarine will be the first Indian-built nuclear submarine to … 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

Container Ship Amsterdam Bridge Catches Fire Off Mumbai

The 4,380 TEU container ship  Amsterdam Bridge caught fire on a voyage between Mumbai to Colombo. The ship returned to Mumbai and is now at an outer anchorage.  Recent reports suggests that the fire is contained if not necessarily completely extinguished. VesselTracker.com is reporting that Coast Guard officials suspect that … Continue reading

Double-Decker Ferry Sinks in Brahmaputra River in North-East India – 200 Dead or Missing

A double-decker ferry carrying an estimated 350 people capsized, broke apart and sank in the Brahmaputra River in heavy weather.  The ferry was traveling between Dhubri to Fakirganjan in Assam state and was reported to be overloaded with passengers and cargo, and carried … Continue reading

Italian Armed Guards Charged with Murder in Killing of Fisherman Mistaken for Pirates

Armed guards, reported to be Italian naval personnel, on the tanker, Enrica Lexie, fired on and killed two Tamil Nadu fishermen off Kochi on Wednesday, believing the fishermen to be pirates.  Indian authorities said the Italian guards fired without warning in violation … Continue reading

The Scuttling of the MSC Chitra

Last August, we posted about the collision of the containership MSC Chitra and the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 which resulting in the sinking of the Chitra with a significant oil spill, a loss of cargo containers and the blockage of the port of Mumbai for five … Continue reading

The Sinking of the MSC Chitra: Port Re-opens while the Finger-pointing Intensifies

The containership MSC Chitra and the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 collided near Mumbai, India on Saturday, resulting in the sinking of the  MSC Chitra, a significant oil spill and the loss of at least 200 containers in the ship channel which … Continue reading