Photo: Oscar Garcia-Pineda
Fourteen years ago, Hurricane Ivan destroyed an oil-production platform owned by Taylor Energy in the Gulf of Mexico. The wells associated with the platform have been leaking ever since and may soon become the largest recorded offshore spill. Federal officials estimate that the spill, if not addressed, could continue through the end of this century. Now, the Washington Post is reporting that the US Coast Guard has ordered Taylor Energy Company to contain and clean up the spill, or face fines of $40,000 per day.
Up to 700 barrels of oil per day have leaked from Taylor Energy’s former site 12 miles off the coast of Louisiana since the platform was destroyed during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, according to an analysis issued by the Justice Department. Based on reports from contractors hired by Taylor Energy, the government had previously estimated that the spill amounted to zero to 55 barrels per day. The spill, so far, is estimated to range between 1.5 million barrels and up to 3.5 million barrels. That would rival the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest offshore spill in the nation’s history, which spilled 4 million barrels of oil into gulf waters.
Of the more than 2,700 Liberty ships built during World War II, only two are still operational in the United States. One, the John W. Brown, now docked in Baltimore, may become homeless when its five-year agreement for free berthing at Rukert Terminals’ Pier C in Canton, Maryland expires at the end of next September.
One year after the submarine 
We recently 
For several years, autumn and winter winds have carried a ghost fleet of derelict boats to the coast of northern Japan. Many of the boats were empty, although some carried corpses. 
Overnight, the Norwegian frigate 
On July 19th, 2018, a 
How is it possible that the Norwegian frigate 
The Norwegian navy frigate, 
French sailor 
Save-the-Falls of Clyde International
As a naval architect in commercial shipping for several decades, I will admit to that I really do not understand the way the US Navy designs and builds ships. In the world of commercial shipping, the process is to design the ship and to specify the equipment before placing an order or starting construction. The Navy seems to prefer to sign contracts and begin construction before the designs are completed. It seems to be the most inefficient and costly way to build ships.
Adventurer Ross Edgley, 33, has become the 
Earlier this year, we posted about Baltimore’s “