USNS Comfort, still In Norfolk, VA
The island of Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The damage has been described as apocalyptic. Most of the island is without power or water and tens of thousands are in shelters or are homeless. The healthcare system is overwhelmed by the destruction. Both fuel and food are in short supply. Help is on the way, but is it enough?
There is widespread criticism that not enough is being done. The 3.4 million American citizens in Puerto Rico are in great need of help and yet are getting less support than the victims of recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida. The Washington Post quotes Adm. Paul Zukunft, the Coast Guard commandant, that he understands why Puerto Rico’s residents feel forgotten. “They feel isolated, and they’re probably getting a sense of betrayal, of, well, ‘Where is the cavalry?’ ” Zukunft said.
The United States Coast Guard has set a new record for cocaine seizures at sea for the second year in a row. The 
There are always iconic objects that are almost irresistible in contemplation. They represent ideas which are far too easy to fall in love with. I really wanted to own an old style Volkswagen “bug” and then I owned one and understood my mistake. The old bug had a nearly indestructible engine but the body of the car had almost entirely rusted away. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Likewise, I had friends who were in love with the idea of converting an almost free surplus lifeboat into an oceangoing yacht. That didn’t work out too well either.
Among the fleet of ships and boats that make up the fleet at the 
Following the recent collisions between US Navy destroyers and merchant ships, various internet sites posted the AIS tracks of the collisions. Well, they posted half the AIS tracks anyway. The merchant ships used AIS while the Navy did not. While US Navy ships have AIS transponders onboard they do not transmit their positions nor apparently do Navy crews regularly consult the receivers showing the location and course of other ships. It was possible to track merchant ships’ courses but not the destroyers’. That now appears to be about to change. The Navy appears ready to finally switch their AIS transmitters on.
I will be participating in Jersey City’s 
The fallout continues from the recent collisions with merchant ships in the Pacific involving the destroyers 
My latest novel, 
Not all oil pollution is petroleum. Recently, there have been reports of strange yellow blobs washing up on the beaches of France’s Opal Coast. The blobs described variously as 
The UK’s latest and greatest new aircraft carrier, HMS 
Hurricane Irma absolutely devastated many islands in the Caribbean. Now, in the aftermath of the catastrophic storm, aid is being sent by a small armada of ships and boats from governments, corporations and private citizens.
