Entire Pod of 55 Pilot Whales Dies in Mass Stranding in the Outer Hebrides

Posted on by July 16, 2023

The BBC reports that an entire pod of 55 pilot whales died after a mass stranding on a beach in the Outer Hebrides. Only 15 were alive after they washed onto Traigh Mhor beach at North Tolsta on the Isle of Lewis at about 07:00 on Sunday morning.

The marine charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) attempted to refloat one of the more active whales but it was later found restranded farther down the beach.

A further three whales then died, leaving 12 still alive – eight adults and four calves.
A statement said: “At about 15:30, the local vet along with the Coastguard, Fire and Rescue, and a forensics vet came to the conclusion that the shallow beach and rough wave conditions made it too unsafe to refloat the remaining animals.
 
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Passengers on Cruise Ship Horrified to Witness Slaughter of Pilot Whales in Faroe Islands

Posted on by July 14, 2023

When the Ambassador Cruise Line cruise ship Ambition arrived recently in the port of Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, its passengers admired the rugged coastline and the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. For many, however, the sense of awe quickly shifted to alarm as the water of the port was stained red with blood. Passengers were horrified to watch as local islanders slaughtered pilot whales.

Among those passengers were conservationists with the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), a marine life advocacy group that seeks to protect whales and dolphins in European waters. Since 2021, Ambassador has paid for ORCA staff to join their cruises in order to educate tourists on marine wildlife and collect data on the animals.

The Ambition’s arrival coincided with the culmination of the sixth hunt of 2023, resulting in the slaughter of 78 pilot whales in the port area, including 9 tiny calves estimated as being no more than a month old.

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Nearly 40% of US Attack Submarines Are Out of Commission for Repairs

Posted on by July 13, 2023

Bloomberg reports that delays at naval shipyards mean that nearly 40% of US attack submarines are out of commission for repairs, about double the rate the Navy would like, according to new data released by the service.

As of this year, 18 of the US Navy’s 49 attack submarines — 37% — were out of commission, according to previously undisclosed Navy data published by the Congressional Research Service, raising concerns that this leaves the US at a critical disadvantage against China’s numerically superior fleet.

That’s up from 28% overall in 2017 and 33% in 2022 and below the industry best practice of 20%.

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Grand Theft Otter — Sea Otter Keeps Stealing Surfboards in Santa Cruz

Posted on by July 12, 2023

We have followed the outbreak of orca attacks off the Iberian peninsula over the last several years. Here is an only slightly less threatening story of a mischievous female sea otter which has been harassing surfers and stealing surfboards in Santa Cruz, California.

For the past few summers, numerous surfers have been victims of boardjacking by a female sea otter, which accosts the wave riders, seizing and even damaging their surfboards in the process.

After a weekend in which the otter’s behavior seemed to grow more aggressive, wildlife officials in the area said on Monday they have decided to put a stop to these acts of otter larceny.

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Car Carrier Don Quijote Tilting at Windmills Knocks Over Bremerhaven Shipyard Crane

Posted on by July 11, 2023

In Miguel de Cervantes’ epic novel Don Quixote, the namesake hero mistakes a row of windmills for evil giants and launches a bold, if comically unsuccessful, attack.  The windmills win, as the errant knight is swatted from his steed by a windmill blade spinning in the breeze. 

On Sunday night, in Bremerhaven, the eponymously named car carrier Don Quijote did not “tilt at windmills” but instead drifted into a Lloyd Werft shipyard crane after being blown off its moorings in high winds. This time, Don Quijote won. Luckily, no one was injured.

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Questions Raised by the Tragic Port Newark Fire on the Ro-Ro/Container Ship Grande Costa D’Avorio

Posted on by July 10, 2023

Last Wednesday night at 9:38 PM, a fire broke out on the 10th deck of the ro-ro/container ship, Grande Costa D’Avorio, docked at Port Newark, as vehicle loading operations were underway. The fire broke out in five to seven cars and spread quickly to the 11th and 12th decks of the ship. The crew of the vessel immediately activated the on-board fire suppression procedures while the local firefighters were alerted. 

Tragically, two firefighters, Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks Jr., 49, died after becoming trapped while fighting the fire. Several other firefighters were injured. The fire burned for several days and was finally brought under control on Sunday. Fortunately, the ship owner reported that there were no electric cars or hazardous cargo on board.

Shipboard fires at ports are relatively rare and difficult to train for, given the range of ship types and sizes. Initial reports suggest a certain level of confusion as to roles and responsibilities in responding to the fire. 

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Of Maps & Movies: Barbie Movie Banned by Vietnam Over “Nine-Dash-Line” on South China Sea Map

Posted on by July 7, 2023

The much-anticipated live-action movie Barbie has been banned in Vietnam over the appearance of a map in the background of one scene allegedly depicting Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, claims disputed by Vietnam and at least seven other countries. 

The map in question is purported to show the “nine-dash line,” reflecting a Chinese claim to roughly 80% of all maritime and territorial areas in the South China Sea, a claim flatly rejected by a United Nations Law of the Sea Convention Tribunal in 2016 that ruled unanimously that China’s claim had no basis in international law.

The Vietnamese refer to the “nine-dash-line” as the “cow’s tongue line.”

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Two Firefighters Die, Multiple Injured, Battling Fire on Ro-Ro/Container Ship in Port Newark

Posted on by July 6, 2023

Two firefighters were killed on Wednesday night after they became trapped while fighting a fire on the ro-ro/container ship, Grande Costa D’Avorio, docked at Port Newark. Approximately a dozen other firefighters were reported to be injured.

The fire broke out around 9:30 p.m. The fire started on the 10th deck as crew members and local stevedores were moving cars, vans and trucks. Upon arrival, firefighters located the fire, which broke out in five to seven cars and spread to the 11th and 12th decks of the ship.

At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, the fire was still burning and a fireboat was spraying water on the ship as smoke poured from the blaze.

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Destroyer USS McFaul Prevents Iran From Seizing Tankers in Gulf of Oman

Posted on by July 5, 2023

US Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs reports that on July 5, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul prevented two attempted commercial tanker seizures by the Iranian Navy. The Iranians opened fire in one of the incidents near the coast of Oman.

At 1 a.m. local time, one Iranian naval vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman. The Iranian vessel departed the scene when the destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) arrived on station. Additionally, the US Navy deployed surveillance assets, including MQ-9 Reaper and P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

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Happy 4th of July – A Toast to Madeira, the Wine of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Riots

Posted on by July 4, 2023

An updated repost fitting for the day.

Happy 4th of July!  Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in the Continental Congress drank a toast with glasses of Madeira wine.

Why Madiera?  It was virtually the only wine available in the American colonies at the time. Wine carried by sailing ship was often spoiled in transit by the constant jostling of the ship and the wide variations of heat and cold. Wine from the island of Madeira, however, was fortified with a small amount of sugar cane brandy to help it survive the ocean voyage. Not only did the fortified wine survive the voyage but it was found that the heat and motion of the ship actually improved the quality of the wine.

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Windjammer Falls of Clyde at Honolulu Harbor to Lose Historic Designation

Posted on by July 3, 2023

Last week, the State of Hawai’i Department of Transportation issued a statement that the windjammer Falls of Clyde, the only remaining iron-hulled four-masted full-rigged ship and the only surviving sail-driven oil tanker in the world, would soon be delisted from the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places. The statement noted that “this step is not at all a reflection of the vessel’s important history.”

The Department of Transportation stated that the delisting is intended “to facilitate the disposition of the vessel and prepare for the issuance of a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for its removal from the harbor.”

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Operation Fouled Anchor — Coast Guard Apologizes for Years-Long Cover Up of Sexual Assault

Posted on by July 2, 2023

CNN reports that a secret investigation into alleged sexual abuse at the US Coast Guard Academy uncovered a dark history of rapes, assaults, and other serious misconduct being ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials.

The findings of the probe, dubbed “Operation Fouled Anchor,” were kept confidential by the agency’s top leadership for several years. Coast Guard officials briefed members of Congress this month after inquiries from CNN, which had reviewed internal documents from the probe.

Despite credible evidence of assaults dating back to the late 1980s, investigators found that most of the alleged perpetrators were not criminally investigated at the time. Instead, the incidents were handled as administrative violations, and punishments, if they happened at all, were as minor as extra homework or lowered class standings. Sometimes, even those pushed out of the academy were still able to serve in the US military.

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Royal Navy Puts Unique Armada Maps on Display at Portsmouth for a Limited Time

Posted on by June 30, 2023

The Royal Navy has announced that it is putting on display one of the greatest treasures in British naval history before they return to storage for months, perhaps years, to protect them.

The Armada Maps chart the Royal Navy’s defeat of the Spanish fleet – or armada – in 1588, one of the defining moments in the history of the navy, nation, and Europe.

The ten hand-drawn maps – compiled just one year after the victory – follow the progress of the Spanish force (141 ships and 24 thousand men) and the better-led, better-trained, and more professional British fleet which thwarted their invasion plans.

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Giant ‘Gravity Hole’ in the Ocean May Be the Ghost of an Ancient Sea

Posted on by June 30, 2023

Image: International Centre for Global Earth Models (ICGEM)

A fascinating story from Scientific American: A vast expanse of the Indian Ocean is a staggering 100 meters lower than the global average sea level because of a major dip in Earth’s gravity. Scientists now think they know the cause.

There’s a massive “hole” in the Indian Ocean, researchers say—but it’s not the kind that could drain away all that water. Instead, it’s a term geologists use to describe a spot where Earth’s gravity is lower than average. And a new study may have finally revealed its origins: it appears to be caused by plumes of molten rock rising from deep beneath Africa at the edges of the sinking remnants of an ancient ocean bed.

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Submersible Titan Debris Brought Ashore With Presumed Human Remains

Posted on by June 29, 2023

NPR reports that human remains have likely been recovered from the wreckage of the submersible that imploded during an underwater voyage to view the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.

The news came hours after the announcement that debris from the Titan, collected from the seafloor more than 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) below the surface of the North Atlantic, had arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Twisted chunks of the submersible were unloaded at a Canadian Coast Guard pier.

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Wife of Submersible Titan’s Pilot Descendent of Famous Titanic Victims

Posted on by June 28, 2023

Wendy Rush, the wife of the late Stockton Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate and pilot of the Titan when the submersible imploded, is a great-great-granddaughter of two first-class passengers who died when the Titanic sank in 1912.

Ms. Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of the retailing magnate Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, two of the wealthiest people aboard the Titanic for its first voyage. Mr. Straus, born in 1845, was a co-owner of Macy’s department store.

Ms. Rush, born Wendy Hollings Weil, married Stockton Rush in 1986, according to a New York Times wedding announcement. Her LinkedIn page says that she has participated in three OceanGate expeditions to the Titanic wreckage in the last two years; that she serves as the company’s communications director; and that she is a longtime board member of the company’s charitable foundation.

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Update: Fate of Pocket Battleship Graf Spee’s Nazi Eagle Still Undecided

Posted on by June 27, 2023

The Battle of the River Plate, fought in the South Atlantic in December 1939 was the first naval battle of the Second World War and ended with the scuttling of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. While the battle itself may have ended 84 years ago, the conflict over the fate of the 770-pound bronze eagle, holding a Nazi swastika in its talons, once mounted on the stern of the ship, continues on unabated.

There had been a decades-long three-way legal battle between an Uruguayan businessman who salvaged the eagle, the Uruguayan government, and the government of Germany, which has been concerned that the eagle and swastika will fall into the hands of Nazi sympathizers.

A court ruled last year that it belonged to the Uruguayan state, in whose waters it was found.

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Behavior May be Spreading — Orca Rams Yacht Off Shetland Islands

Posted on by June 26, 2023

For the last several years, we have been posting about orca attacks on yachts and fishing boats in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Iberian peninsula. Pods of orcas have been ramming sailboats and often grabbing their rudders and keels, and have caused significant damage, most often to the boat’s steering. In the last three years, there have been close o 500 such attacks and at least three sailboats have been sunk.

What has prompted the attacks remains a mystery to scientists. 

Until recently, the attacks were confined to the coastal waters of Spain and Portugal.  Now, the Guardian reports that an orca repeatedly rammed a yacht in the North Sea off Shetland earlier this month.

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Jubilee Sailing Trust’s Tall Ship Lord Nelson to be Auctioned to Pay Off Charity’s Debts

Posted on by June 23, 2023

STS Lord Nelson

The tall ship Lord Nelson is being offered for sale at an online auction by the global advisory and investment firm Gordon Brothers, acting on behalf of Richard Lewis and Sarah O’Toole, the joint administrators of Jubilee Sailing Trust Limited.

Jubilee Sailing Trust was forced into administration in August 2022, after one of the charity’s principal creditors ‘threatened imminent legal proceedings to reclaim their owed credit’, JST says.

The JST has so far operated through its two subsidiaries, Jubilee Sailing Trust Ltd and Jubilee Sailing Trust (Tenacious) Ltd. Tall ship Tenacious remains operational, the charity has stressed.

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Debris Found from Submersible Titan — Five Onboard Believed to Have Died in Catastrophic Implosion

Posted on by June 22, 2023

Pieces of the Titan submersible were found today on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic. The debris was ‘consistent with a catastrophic implosion,’ the Coast Guard says. All five onboard the submersible are believed to have died. The Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic deployed a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) that discovered the debris field.

“On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” Rear Admiral John Mauger said in a news conference on Thursday.

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