We now have the answer why the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, broke down off the Isle of Wight, in late August 2022. The external shaft coupling on the starboard propeller shaft failed, resulting in serious damage to the shaft and the propeller, and lesser damage to the rudder.
But why did the shaft coupling fail? As we noted in a previous post, the failure of a propeller shaft coupling is extremely rare. The First Sea Lord described the failure as “unprecedented.” Indeed, few marine engineers can remember an instance of this happening.
It turns out that the underlying problem was not the coupling but a misaligned propeller shaft. Continue reading
The 112-year-old steel-hulled 
Orca attacks on sailboats off the Strait of Gibraltar and the Iberian Peninsula continue.
The 
The 
An updated repost appropriate for Mother’s Day.
The three-masted, gaff-rigged Chesapeake ram schooner 
In late November of last year, the guided-missile destroyer, USS Momsen, and the dock-landing ship, USS Harpers Ferry, were moving in opposite directions in San Diego Bay when they came close to colliding. The two ships came within 35 yards of each other but were able to avert disaster through some last-minute maneuvering.
Recently, 
I am sorry to say that we missed seeing this intriguing ferry, 
A recent investigation reveals that 
Congratulations to 
The 
Just over a decade ago, 
The guided-missile destroyer 
In late 2019,