Last Conventionally Powered Carriers, Kitty Hawk & John F. Kennedy, Sold For a Penny Each

The decommissioned supercarriers USS Kitty Hawk and the USS John F. Kennedy have finally been sold for scrap for a modest one cent each to a Texas breaking yard. The last carriers to be powered by fuel oil, the ships … Continue reading

Sub Secrets in a Peanut Butter Sandwich — FBI Arrests Navy Engineer for Espionage

Half of a peanut butter sandwich in a plastic bag was left at an agreed location in West Virginia by a Navy nuclear engineer. Inside the sandwich, wrapped in plastic, was a 16 GB memory card containing detailed secret information … Continue reading

Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg : A New Journey Begins – Asia Expedition

As we posted in September, the replica Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg is preparing to sail for Asia in April of 2022. The expedition is intended to promote and open new trade opportunities for Swedish and Asian companies. The nearly 60-meter … Continue reading

Bristol Holds First Sea Shanty Festival in Brunel Square

On Sunday, October 10, from noon to 6PM, Bristol, England will host its first sea shanty festival with ten shanty crews performing on outdoor stages on the city’s harborside. Classicalmusic.com reports that crews will perform in Brunel Square beside the … Continue reading

Submarine USS Connecticut Collides With Underwater Object in South China Sea

Yesterday, the US Navy Pacific Fleet announced that the Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut struck an object in international waters while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2. While the announcement did not identify where the collision took place, reports … Continue reading

San Diego’s Foxtrot-Class Sub B-39 Heading to Scrap Yard

For the last 15 years, the Soviet-era Foxtrot-class diesel-electric submarine B-39 has been a museum ship at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Now, with its outer hull deteriorating, the museum has decided to scrap the retired attack submarine.  Stars … Continue reading

Coca Cola Charters Handysized Bulkers to Keep Production Running

We recently posted about Home Depot and Costco independently chartering containerships to address ship and port congestion problems. Now, Coca-Cola is taking another approach to fix its broken supply chains. Splash247.com reports that Coca-Cola becomes the latest global mega-brand to decide … Continue reading

Maersk Bets on Methanol — Orders One Feeder and Eight Large Dual Fuel Containerships

In February we posted about an announcement by A.P. Moller-Maersk, the largest container ship operator in the world, that it would launch the world’s first carbon-neutral cargo liner vessel in 2023 – seven years ahead of its initial 2030 target. Maersk’s … Continue reading

North Pole Race in the Northwest Passage to Highlight Climate Change

Interesting news from France24.com: A French sports group on Saturday announced plans to launch a sailing race in the thawing Canadian Arctic to raise awareness of global warming. Due to kick-off in 2023, the North Pole Race will be run … Continue reading

World’s Largest Floating Wind Farm Goes Online Off Scotland

The world’s largest offshore floating wind farm has begun operation off Kincardine, approximately 15 kilometers off the southeast coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at water depths ranging between 60 and 80 meters. The five floating turbines are expected to generate up … Continue reading

Trawling For Plastic — Ocean Cleanup Boom Yields Meager Results

The Ocean Cleanup‘s latest attempt to clean plastic from the Northern Pacific has proven to be unimpressive.  After two offshore supply vessels, donated by Maersk, towed a 520-meter wide boom for 120 hours, they succeeded in collecting around 8 tonnes … Continue reading

Sailing on Bubbles of Air — MSC Orders 30 Silverstream Hull Air Lubrication Systems

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has ordered more than 30 hull air lubrication systems from UK firm Silverstream Technologies to be installed on current orders of newbuild large container ships. The vessels applying the air lubrication systems are expected to be delivered … Continue reading

Golden Ray & the Billion Dollar Blunder — Tallying the Cost

We recently posted about the NTSB determination that the car carrier Golden Ray capsized due to an error in a stability calculation prior to sailing. Now as the salvage operation is wrapping up and the costs are being tallied, the … Continue reading

Australia to Build Nuclear Subs Under New Strategic Partnership with US & UK

AP reports that President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a new U.S. security alliance with Australia and Britain that will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement would make Australia the first country without nuclear … Continue reading

NTSB Determines Inaccurate Stability Calculations Caused Capsizing of Golden Ray

The final report issued yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board Office (NTSB) summarizes what happened on Sept. 8, 2019, when the roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier Golden Ray capsized as it transited outbound through St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Georgia. ​​Less … Continue reading

Container Ship Port Backlog Breaking Both Ends of the Supply Chain

The Marine Exchange of Southern California reports a new record for congestion in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. As of Monday, of 140 ships in the ports, 85 are container ships. Only 31 containerships are alongside the … Continue reading

MS Satoshi, Attempt to “Seastead” on a Bitcoin Cruise Ship Fails, Not Surprisingly

The Guardian recently published “The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship.” Thanks to Joan Druett for pointing it out. In 2020, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a pandemic-bargain cruise ship with plans to create a libertarian utopia, … Continue reading

Ever Ace, World’s Newest Largest Container Ship Transits Suez Canal

Ever Ace, the newest world’s largest container ship capable of carrying the 23,992 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) transitted the Suez Canal at the beginning of this month. The Ever Ace is notionally 28 TEU larger than the previously largest container … Continue reading

All Available Boats — Captain Michael Day’s Radio Call On 9/11/01

There are moments in history when an individual makes the right choice at exactly the right moment and it makes all the difference. Such was the case with LT. Michael Day on the morning of September 11, 2001, in New … Continue reading

9/11 Maritime Videos, Photos, & Oral History on the Tanker Mary Whalen Through 9/26

Portside NewYork is hosting an exhibit of 9/11 videos, documents, and photography in a video booth on the deck of their flagship Mary A. Whalen in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and in an outdoor exhibit of banners. The exhibit runs through … Continue reading