Coast Guard Cutter Midgett Busts Midget Sub Loaded with Cocaine

Posted on by March 3, 2011

The US Coast Guard Cutter Midgett recently busted a midget sub loaded with cocaine while on a cruise of the Eastern Pacific.    The 35′ long self-propelled semi-submersible was carrying 6,000 kilograms of cocaine from Columbia bound for the United States.  This was only the second ever seizure of a self propelled semi-submersible by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.  In addition to the catching the narco-sub, the Cutter Midget seized 11 tons of cocaine and marijuana on five trafficking vessels and detained 20 suspected narcotics traffickers.  The cutter also performed three search and rescue missions while on patrol.

Coast Guard cutter returns from patrol, interdicts semi-submersible with cocaine
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Innovative sails for container ships – in development ??? Maybe not.

Posted on by March 3, 2011

Definitely not a containership

I saw the headline and immediately shook my head.  There may indeed be an application for sails on bulk carriers, but containerships, well, not so much.  With a five high (or higher) stack of boxes on deck, containerships have exactly the stability they need – no more, no less.  Adding sails without removing cargo capacity could be a challenge.  I clicked on the link and had to smile.  The drawing was of a tanker with hybrid solar cell sails, and not a containership.  Tankers generally have no shortage of stability.  Even Sail-World should know the difference between containerships and tankers.   I guess the moral of the story is that not all ships are containerships and you have to take what you read in the press with a proverbial grain of salt.    The designs by Eco Marine Power look very interesting, nevertheless.

Innovative sails for container ships – in development

U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Acushnet, “Queen of the Fleet,” for Sale

Posted on by March 4, 2011

U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Acushnet

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Acushnet, oldest commissioned Coast Guard cutter, and the officially designated “Queen of the Fleet” will be sold as surplus at an online auction scheduled to end on March 16th.   Current bidding is $66,000. (Updated 4/04)

US NAVY DIVER CLASS VESSEL (Note the GSA auction site rather oddly does not allow direct linking to individual auctions.  Click the arrow to the right on the GSA auction page to see the  Acushnet auction.)
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Gold Rush Tunes from the Depths of Lake Labarge

Posted on by March 2, 2011

Photo: Donnie Reid/Institute of Nautical Archeology

We have posted previously about the discovery of the Yukon Gold Rush iron sternwheeler A.J. Goddard which sank in a storm in Lake Labarge in October of 1901.  Now with the discovery of a gramophone and three recordings, the music of the Gold Rush has literally risen from the depths of the lake.  To listen to a recording of the Rendez Vous Waltz, recovered from the A.J. Goddard, click here.

Yukon shipwreck yields Gold Rush tunes
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Brad Van Liew Wins Third Leg of Velux 5 Oceans

Posted on by March 2, 2011

Brad Van Liew arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay yesterday, winning the third leg of the Velux Five Oceans Singlehanded Around the World Race.   The remaining three racers, Zbigniew “Gutek” Gutkowski, Derek Hatfield and Chris Stanmore-Major are all within only 50 nautical miles of each other and are expected to arrive in port on  Thursday.

Brad Van Liew Wins Third Leg of Velux 5 Oceans
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The Marine Quarterly – A Journal of the Sea

Posted on by March 2, 2011

The Maritime Quarterly, a new maritime journal, was launched on the first of this month.  Looks very interesting.   Extracts are available on its website.  About the journal:

The Marine Quarterly is a new kind of sea journal, reporting subjects of strong interest to everyone who goes on the sea. It will be full of big, authoritative articles on sailing, fisheries, adventuring, merchant shipping, conservation, natural history, heritage, trade, naval matters, and anything else connected with salt water.
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World’s oldest aircraft carrier? Well literally yes, sort off

Posted on by March 2, 2011

1918 Thorneycroft Seaplane Lighter - the World's Oldest Aircraft Carrier?

The headline is great – World’s oldest aircraft carrier discovered rusting by the River Thames.  So is the first sentence: “The worlds’ oldest aircraft carrier which was a precursor to today’s giant Navy vessels has been discovered – rusting by a river bank.”   Reading further, however, it turns out the vessel in question is not HMS Argus of 1918, for example, the forerunner of  all modern aircraft carriers. Instead, the article refers to a 1918 Thorneycroft Seaplane Lighter, a 58′ lighter which literally carried an airplane, specifically a seaplane.   The recently discovered lighter is being restored.
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Save Our Seafarers – 2,000 Somali Pirates are Hijacking the World Economy

Posted on by March 2, 2011

In view of the failure of current efforts to combat piracy,  BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Shipping Federation (ISF), Intercargo, INTERTANKO and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have launched a campaign to Save Our Seafarers to encourage people around the world to pressure their national governments to crack down on piracy.

From the Save Our Seafarers website:
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First Permit to Restart Deep Water Drilling

Posted on by March 1, 2011

Deepwater Horizon on Fire

Yesterday we reviewed John Konrad’s new book, Fire on the Horizon:  The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster, which went on sale in bookstores today.   Coincidentally,  yesterday the Interior Department approved the first new deep water drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon  in April of last year.  Noble Energy was granted permission to resume drilling an existing well site in 6,500 feet of water off the coast of Louisiana.

Oil Drilling to Resume in the Gulf’s Deep Waters
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Containership Cruising?

Posted on by March 1, 2011

CMA CGM CHRISTOPHE COLOMB

I have seen this item a couple of times and am finally convinced that it is not a spoof.  Apparently CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping group, is offering a “Cargo cruise” onboard their largest containerships.

Travel Aboard One of the Largest Containerships In the World
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Somali pirates seize Danish family including three children in Indian Ocean

Posted on by September 7, 2011

Danish authorities are reporting that  Somali pirates have hijacked a Danish sailboat with four adults and three children aboard.

Danish family’s sailboat hijacked in Indian Ocean

The Danish Foreign Ministry said the ship sent a distress signal on Thursday. On board was a Danish couple, their three children – aged 12-16 – and two adult crew members, also Danes.
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Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster by John Konrad and Tom Shroder

Posted on by February 28, 2011

When the Deepwater Horizon suffered a blowout, caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico last April, it was only forty miles off the coast of Louisiana.  Yet,  in many respects, the world aboard the ill-fated rig was as alien to most of us as if it had been dropped from outer space. Even within the shipping industry, deep-water offshore drilling is often  poorly understood, a world wholly unto itself.

Nevertheless, the catastrophe on the Deepwater Horizon touched us all. The explosion and fire killed eleven, injured seventeen and resulted in  the worst accidental marine oil spill in history.  The impact, on both the environment of the Gulf of Mexico and on offshore oil policy, is likely to be far reaching. This is why John Konrad’s and Tom Schorder’s new book, Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster, is so timely and so welcome.
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NYC rower tries for third time to cross Atlantic

Posted on by February 27, 2011

We can only wish him the best of luck. The third time may be the charm.

NYC rower tries for third time to cross Atlantic

There is something about the sea that has caused Victor Mooney to lose all reason.

For years now, the 45-year-old New Yorker has believed that for all its vastness, the Atlantic Ocean is ripe for conquest; That a lone man pulling a pair of oars can shove off an African beach and slowly, steadily, row partway around the globe to New York harbor.
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Poppa Neutrino – Free Spirit and Raft Builder

Posted on by February 27, 2011

Poppa Neutrino

David Pearlman, widely known as Papa Neutrino, died last month at 77 of congestive heart failure in New Orleans.   His remarkable life was summarized in an obituary in the Telegraph:

“Poppa Neutrino, who died on January 23 aged 77, was an itinerant American whose singular life story featured episodes as a card sharp, a soldier, a prisoner and a pastor; he never lived in any permanent structure for more than a year, and owned almost nothing, but in 1998 he became the first man to sail across the Atlantic on a raft made of junk.”
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Maersk Triple E Class Ships – the VLCCS of Container shipping?

Posted on by February 26, 2011

In the late 60s, the first VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carrier) were initially referred to as Malaccamax tankers, as they were the largest tankers that could navigate through the Straits of Malacca.  Maersk Line has recently ordered ten Malaccamax container ships, each capable of carrying 18,000 containers.  These ships will be the world’s largest by size, if not necessarily by deadweight.    They are dubbed the “Triple E” Class, referring to “”Economies of scale, Energy efficiency and Environmentally improved.”  The ships will be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding at a cost of around $1.9 billion and the first delivery is expected in 2014.   Maersk also has the option of ordering ten more ships under the contract.

Maersk’s new 18,000teu ships

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Maersk Orders 10 Triple-E Class 18,000TEU Container Ships

Queenly Rendezvous All Over – Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Mary

Posted on by February 25, 2011

Carnival Cruise Lines seems to be working the “Rendezvous Circuit” for all its worth with the three Queens of its subsidiary, Cunard Line.    Last month we posted about the   “Royal Rendezvous” in New York harbor –  “Cunard Takes Manhattan – The Three Queens Rendezvous in the Harbor” when the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth, all sailed from New York harbor in unison.  Then we posted about the “The Rendevous of the Last Two Ocean-going Royal Mail Ships” when the RMS Queen Mary briefly sailed in company with the  RMS St Helena.   Last week we posted about the rendezvous in Sydney harbor of the  Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth.

Now we hear about another rendezvous. The Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria will meet in a “Historic Cunard Royal Rendezvous in Long Beach Harbor on 3 March“, where the Queen Mary 2 will  sail by the original Queen Mary, now a resort hotel docked in Long beach.

Iranian Navy Ships Dock in Syria and US Chartered Ferry Finally Reaches Malta

Posted on by February 26, 2011

Maria Dolores

On Tuesday, we posted about the first northbound transit by two Iranian Navy ships through the Suez Canal since 1979.  Yesterday these ships docked in Syria on a training mission.  Thanks to Phil Leon for passing the article along.

Iran warships dock in Syria after crossing Suez

Also in the Mediterranean, the Maria Dolores, a ferry chartered by the United States, carried 300 passengers, including at least 167 U.S. citizens, out of Libya, arriving in Malta today, after three days of delays.  Strong winds and high seas had delayed the ferry’s departure.

Ferry with Americans aboard finally reaches Malta

 

Founder and First Seaport Museum President Calls for Resignations

Posted on by February 25, 2011

Peter Stanford, a founder and first president of the South Street Seaport Museum has written a letter calling for the resignation of the museum’s current chairman, Frank J. Sciame,  and its president, Mary Pelzer.  The museum recently laid of most of its staff and is in severe financial trouble. See out previous post – New York’s Seaport Museum Struggles to Stay Afloat

From the New York Times Art Beats Blog:

Founding President of Seaport Museum Calls for Resignations
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Off Antarctica, Hope Fades for Crew of Yacht Berserk

Posted on by February 25, 2011

The called themselves the Wild Vikings.  They were to be the “new generation of explorers.”  From their website:

The crew onboard Berserk II wish to pick up the old Norsemen traditions opposed to todays so called “civilized” and often artificial way of living. Instead of being a part of the playstation-generation, in a 7 – 4 life with computers, electrical tinopeners and washingmachines, they seek adventures and exploration in the spirit of the ancient vikings. Simply equipped on a low budget, The wild vikings turn the time back to the old days when men were men. Back to basics. Back to nature in harmony with its simple and real beauty to the worlds remote corners.

The 48′ steel yacht, Berserk II, with a crew of five sailed for Antarctica with the intent of reaching the South Pole “in the wake of Admunsen.”   The yacht dropped off two “explorers” on shore in McMurdo Sound on the Antarctic coast.  An empty and damaged life raft was found today, believed to be from the Berserk II. There is no sign of the  remaining crew of three. Continue reading →

14th Annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon

Posted on by February 24, 2011

David Densmore, Fisher Poet (photo by Patrick Dixon)

The FisherPoets Gathering is an gathering of poets, songwriters, storytellers and artists involved in the  fishing industry, getting together to to share poems, stories, songs, memoirs, essays and art.   Sounds like great fun.  It is  being held from held from Friday through Sunday  in Astoria, Oregon.  Thanks to Darren O’Brien for passing the news along.

Annual gathering of fisher poets to kick off in Astoria
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