Tanker Sanchi on fire, shortly before sinking
On January 6th, the Iranian tanker Sanchi carrying 130,000 tonnes of condensate collided with the Chinese bulk carrier CF Crystal. The condensate on the Sanchi caught fire, resulting in the death of all 32 of the tanker’s crew. The tanker burned for 9 days before sinking after a series of explosions. Initial concerns were that the oil slick might reach the Japanese coast. An official from the Japanese environmental ministry told Reuters that the oil slick is being carried north by an ocean current and is unlikely to hit the coast of Japan.
Rick Steiner, a marine conservation specialist formerly with the University of Alaska, told the Associated Press that 60,000 to 90,000 tons was likely to have spilled into the sea, calling it “enormous” and “as large as the official estimate of the Exxon Valdez disaster” off the coast of Alaska in 1989. He also suggested that the Chinese government was likely to be understating the magnitude of the spill.
How serious is a major condensate spill? It is difficult to say. Continue reading
A fire broke out on the casino shuttle boat, Island Lady, around 4PM on Sunday, in the Gulf near Port Richey, Fl. The 34 passengers and 14 crew aboard were forced into the 59-degree water. At least one passenger, a 42-year-old woman, died. 15 passengers were transported to a local hospital with for chest pains, smoke inhalation and other injuries initially reported as not life-threatening. The Island Lady was shuttling passengers to the 
The 
Recently, biologist Nan Hauser was snorkeling in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, when 
Here is a look at a modern sailing ship, Star Clipper’s 
A 
A day before Christmas, 
An Iranian tanker, 
Response teams are struggling to bring a fire aboard the Iranian Suezmax tanker Sanchi under control following a 
A review of 
Sanctions do not mean much if they are not enforced. The UN has been imposing increasingly stricter limitations on the importation of crude and refined oil to North Korea. Still, oil has been getting through. In the past few days, South Korea has seized two tankers; the 
Back in June, 
Four years ago, the yacht racing world was caught aback when 
It is brutally cold on the Northeast coast of the US right now. Temperatures are hovering around the 20s F (in negative digits measured when in Celcius) from Virgina to the Canadian border. It is so cold there are reports of sharks freezing. Two thresher sharks were found dead on a Cape Cod beach, believed disabled by cold shock, which led to their stranding and death. 
This year’s