Many have dismissed Chinese threats to invade Taiwan as saber-rattling. Recent imagery, however, suggests that the risk of invasion is very real. The images show that the Chinese are building a fleet of “invasion barges” apparently designed to facilitate an … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
The battleship USS Texas, the oldest remaining dreadnought battleship, may finally have a permaneny home in Galveston, TX. After decades of heglect, the venerable old ship was drydocked in 2022 to undergo $60 million in repairs and refurbishment, which was … Continue reading
This morning, the 804 TEU Portuguese-flag container ship Solong struck the 49,729 DWT US-flag product tanker Stena Immaculate, at anchor in the North Sea, off the mouth of the River Humber. Multiple explosions were reported as the ships caught fire. Both … Continue reading
The iconic passenger liner SS United States arrived early Monday in Mobile, Alabama, nearly two weeks after departing under tow from South Philadelphia. She was docked at Modern American Recycling Service (MARS), where if all goes according to plan, she … Continue reading
On June 14, 2023, the Adriana, an aging fishing trawler overloaded with up to 750 people, capsized in international waters off the Greek town of Pylos. One hundred and four men were rescued, and eighty-two bodies were recovered. An additional 500 … Continue reading
At a time when programs supporting the American values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are being banned in schools across the nation, it is incumbent on the rest of us to keep alive the history that some are now seeking … Continue reading
John Henry Turpin was among the first Black Chief Petty Officers to serve in the United States Navy. He was also a survivor of two naval disasters — the catastrophic explosions of the USS Maine in 1898, and USS Bennington in 1905. … Continue reading
A repost in honor of Black History Month. On this day, February 21, 1862, 163 years ago, Nathaniel Gordon, captain of the slave ship, Erie, was executed by hanging in New York City. Under the Piracy Law of 1820, slave … Continue reading
Last week, the New York Times reported that Harriet Tubman posters, origami paper cranes and rainbows have been disappearing from the halls of the American schools at NATO headquarters in Belgium, a response to the Trump administration’s rollbacks of diversity, … Continue reading
SS United States, the largest and fastest transatlantic passenger liner ever built in America, was towed this morning from the dock in Philadelphia where it has been moored for nearly three decades, on the first leg of its … Continue reading
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, collided with M/V Besiktas-M, a 53,00 DWT bulk carrier, on Wednesday evening near Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea, the Navy said Thursday. The incident … Continue reading
Forty-two years ago today, on February 12, 1983, the collier SS Marine Electric loaded with 24,800 tons of steam coal, capsized and sank in a storm 30 miles off the coast of Virginia. Thirty-one of the 34 crew members died. While … Continue reading
Here is a story well worth retelling; an updated repost in honor of Black History Month; the remarkable story of Robert Smalls. On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, … Continue reading
Over nearly three centuries of whaling, some 175,000 men went to sea in 2,700 ships. Of the 2,500 masters who captained these ships, at least 52 were men of color. In honor of Black History Month, here is an updated … Continue reading
Hugh Mulzak served as the first Black Liberty ship captain in World War II. When offered the command, he refused to sail with a segregated crew. An updated repost in honor of Black History Month. Born in 1886 on Union … Continue reading
The world’s first commercial sailing ro/ro, the 136-meter (450-foot) Neoliner Origin, was launched recently in Tuzla, Turkey, and will now undergo six months of fitting out before entering service in mid-2025. The new ship is expected to slash carbon emissions … Continue reading
Following an explosion and fire onboard the container ship, ASL Bauhinia, in the Red Sea early Tuesday morning, the 22 crew abandoned the ship. The crew was subsequently rescued unharmed by a passing vessel. The 1,930-teu containership, owned by Shanghai-based … Continue reading
The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) is reported to have awarded a $6.5 million contract to a mainland marine engineering company, identified on social media as Donjon Marine, to finally remove the historic ship Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor. … Continue reading
On the day following Jimmy Carter’s funeral, it seems like a good time to look at the top-secret submarine that bears his name. The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) is a unique submarine in many respects. Commissioned in 2005, she … Continue reading
The Washington Post reports that Warren Eric Upton died in Los Gatos, California on Dec. 25. At 105, he was the oldest survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining crew member of the USS Utah, according … Continue reading