Watching for Migaloo — White Whale Washed up on Australian Beach Not Famous Albino Whale

Posted on by July 19, 2022

A ten-meter-long white humpback whale carcass recently washed ashore on Australia’s Mallacoota beach raising fears that it could be the world-famous albino humpback nicknamed Migaloo.

A closer examination by Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning revealed, however, that the dead whale is a “sub-adult female.” Migaloo is an adult male humpback. Migaloo is also larger at around fifteen meters long. It is also unclear whether the dead whale is indeed white or whether the apparent lack of pigmentation is due to bleaching.

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US Navy Punishes Over Two Dozen Officers and Sailors Over Fire on USS Bonhomme Richard

Posted on by July 18, 2022

In July 2020 an explosion and fire broke out aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard dockside at the Naval Base San Diego. The fire would burn for four days, injuring 60 firefighters and ultimately resulting in the total loss of the ship, which was towed to a scrap yard in April 2021.  

Last Friday, the US Navy announced punishments for more than 20 officers and enlisted personnel for their actions and inaction in connection to the fire. The fire itself is believed to have been started by an act of arson. Navy Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays was charged with arson in the disaster. He faces a hearing on Aug. 17, with his trial expected to run Sept. 19 through Sept. 30.

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Repost: Sailing on the Schooner A.J. Meerwald in New York Harbor

Posted on by July 17, 2022

We recently posted about the A.J. Meerwald, a Delaware Bay oyster schooner launched in 1928, completing an extensive 10-month restoration and refurbishment in Maine. The Meerwald is also the “Official Tall Ship” of the State of New Jersey and was included in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1995.

Here is a short video aboard the A.J. Meerwald sailing in New York harbor from 2009.

Sailing on the Schooner A.J. Meerwald in New York Harbour

UK Sea Forts for Sale: Fully Refurbished at £3,000,000 & a Fixer Upper Starting at £50,000

Posted on by July 16, 2022

Interested in social distancing?  Looking for a unique residence or hotel venue, preferably one with serious armor plating? Do you also have a substantial cache of cash? If so, there are at least two UK sea forts on the market that may meet your needs.

Spitbank Fort — Fully Refurbished

Spitbank Fort is listed by the agents as a “9 bed detached house for sale.”  Detached is an understatement. Located in the Solent, near Portsmouth, England, the 162′ diameter fort is one of four sea forts built in the estuary between 1867 and 1878.  The asking price is £3,000,000, not including boats.

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Captain of Container Ship Algeciras Express Missing at Sea

Posted on by July 15, 2022

The first officer of the 4,250 TEU container ship Algeciras Express, chartered by Hapag Lloyd, reported that the ship’s captain was missing on a voyage from Turkey to Spain. The crew had noticed the captain’s absence on July 3. They searched the vessel and reported that the captain could not be located.

Safety4Sea reports that the container ship arrived at Algeciras on July 7. Upon arrival, a new captain came on board, and the ship was authorized to moor at the TTI Algeciras terminal.

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The A.J. Meerwald, Official Tall Ship of the State of New Jersey, Completes 10-Month Restoration

Posted on by July 14, 2022

The A.J. Meerwald, a Delaware Bay oyster schooner launched in 1928, is back in the water after an extensive 10-month restoration and refurbishment at Clark & Eisele Traditional Boatbuilding of Lincolnville, Maine. The Meerwald is also the “Official Tall Ship” of the State of New Jersey and was included in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1995.

The Bangor Daily News quotes Garett Eisele, co-owner of the boatyard, saying, “It feels good to get the Meerwald and make her really look brand-new.  We are really excited to see the boat in the water. We are really pleased with how it turned out.”

The schooner is owned by the non-profit Bayshore Center at Bivalve, an environmental history museum located on New Jersey’s Maurice River. It’s used as a traveling classroom to teach people about the historically rich oyster grounds of Delaware Bay and more.

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Tragedy on the Hudson — Two Die and Three Critically Injured After Chartered Boat Capsizes

Posted on by July 13, 2022

Yesterday just before 3 PM, a chartered powerboat with 12 passengers aboard, capsized in the Hudson River near Pier 86 in Midtown Manhattan.  The accident fatally trapped a 7-year-old boy and 50-year-old woman underneath the overturned boat. Three others were reported to be in critical condition. 

Two NY Waterway ferries were the first on the scene and rescued nine from the river. Both the NYPD and the city’s Fire Department dispatched crews in response to a 911 call at 2:46 PM. The NYPD Harbor Patrol arrived at Pier 86 at West 46th Street where they found the capsized boat and rescued two victims drifting by the boat. Scuba divers dove into the water, bringing out the woman and boy who were declared deceased. 

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Crab Trapper Whiskey — Fighting Mutant Green Crabs One Bottle at a Time

Posted on by July 12, 2022

In 2018, we posted “Mutant Green Crabs Invading Maine.” At the time we noted that it sounded like a low-budget horror/sci-fi flick, but that, sadly, an aggressive breed of green crab has indeed invaded Maine’s and neighboring states’ waters.

Now, New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling is doing its part to help eradicate the invasive European green crabs by making crab-infused whiskey. The limited-release House of Tamworth Crab Trapper whiskey is made from an aged bourbon and over 90 pounds of green crabs harvested from a local trapper.

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Maine Windjammer 2022 Great Schooner Race in Penobscot Bay

Posted on by July 11, 2022

Eleven schooners, many National Historic Landmarks, ranging in size from 57 to 135 feet, raced in the Maine Windjammer Association‘s 2022 Great Schooner Race in Penobscot Bay last week.

As reported by the Courier-Gazette:  The vessels sailed past the Rockland Breakwater on Thursday before things began in earnest on Friday, with a captains’ meeting aboard Victory Chimes early in the morning and the start of the race at 11 a.m. Between 2 and 3 p.m. vessels crossed the finish line and returned to Rockland Harbor. An awards ceremony was held at the conclusion of the event. 

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MV Mark W. Barker, First Great Lakes Bulk Carrier Built in 35 Years, on Sea Trials

Posted on by July 10, 2022

Two years ago, we posted about the keel laying of the Interlake Steamship Company‘s bulk carrier MV Mark W. Barker at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. The ship is now completing sea trials and is expected to enter service this summer.

The 639 ft-long, 26,000-tonne Lake-Class self-unloading bulker is the first US flag self-propelled bulk carrier to be built in the Great Lakes in 35 years and the first new-build for Interlake since 1981. 

Once in service, she will carry all types of cargo throughout the freshwater Lakes and River systems. The ship was specifically designed to navigate the tight bends of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland. 

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After Third Shark Attack, NY/NJ Beaches on High Alert

Posted on by July 9, 2022

The bad news is that there have been three reported shark attacks off New York’s beaches in just over a week. The good news is that the injuries, so far, have been minor. Nevertheless, beaches in New York and along the Jersey Shore are on high alert, flying red flags near beach signs and purple flags in lifeguard areas to alert visitors of the potential danger.  Lifeguards are patrolling on paddle boards and jet skis, while overhead, helicopters and drones are helping to watch for sharks.

Last Thursday, a 17-year-old lifeguard was participating in a training exercise off Ocean Beach on Fire Island, when he was bitten around the ankle. The injury required stitches but was not life-threatening. Officials with the Town of Islip say experts told them it was most likely a sand tiger shark about three to five feet in length.

Last Sunday, another lifeguard, also in a training exercise, was bitten by a shark off Smith Point on Fire Island. 

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Russia Salvages Landing Ship Sunk by Ukraine Missiles

Posted on by July 8, 2022

Saratov in 2020

In March, we posted about the sinking of a Russian Alligator Class landing ship by a Ukrainian ballistic missile strike in the Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk, which Russia captured in late February. 

The Russians are now salvaging the landing ship. At the time of the attack, the Ukrainians identified the ship as the Orsk. It now appears that the ship being salvaged is a sister ship, the Saratov.

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Report: Navy Failed to Prevent & Respond to Hawaii’s Red Hill Fuel Leaks

Posted on by July 7, 2022

In December we posted Hawaii Deputy AG: Pearl Harbor Leaking Fuel Tanks a “Ticking Time Bomb” describing the fuel oil leaks in the massive World War II era fuel tanks into the island of Oahu’s water supply that forced over 1,000 military families from their homes.

Last week, the results of two investigations were released describing a string of extraordinary failures in maintenance, training and leadership at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility that resulted in fuel spewing from a broken pipeline for 30 hours, leaking petroleum into the military’s drinking water and sickening entire families last year, military officials.

The Honolulu Civil Beat reports that human errors and systemic negligence allowed two catastrophic leaks to occur within months of each other. 

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Update: Stinky Sargassum Threatens Post Pandemic Tourism in Mexico and Across Caribbean

Posted on by July 6, 2022

In 2019, we posted about an 8,850-kilometer Atlantic sargassum belt from the Gulf of Mexico to West Africa. The floating mat of the brown buoyant seaweed had a devastating impact on beaches across the east coast of Mexico, the Caribbean, Texas, and Florida. The researchers said that this sargassum belt represented the world’s largest macroalgal bloom and that such recurrent blooms may become the new normal.

Now, a new sargassum bloom is befouling pristine beaches on Mexico’s east coast and across the Caribbean, threatening a post-COVID tourism rebound in the region.

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SS Great Britain Returns to Bristol, 52 Years Ago Today

Posted on by July 5, 2022
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 Fifty-two years ago today, 100,000 people lined the banks of the River Avon in Bristol as the SS Great Britain returned to her birthplace. In the intervening years, the rusting hulk was meticulously restored to her former glory and now rests in the drydock where she was built. As a museum ship, she is visited by between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.  Here is an updated repost about the grand old ship, followed by a video about her return to Bristol in 1970.

In the spring of 2016, I visited the museum ship SS Great Britain, in Bristol, UK.  When she was launched in 1843, the iron-hulled luxury passenger steamship SS Great Britain was described as “the greatest experiment since the Creation.”

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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, 2022

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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Update: Historic Rotterdam Bridge Will Not Be Dismantled for Bezos’ Yacht

Posted on by July 3, 2022

In February, we posted Billionaire Bezos’ Really Big Boat and the Rotterdam Railroad Bridge about reports that Rotterdam would dismantle the center span of a historic railroad bridge to allow the 417-foot-long, three-masted sailing yacht built for billionaire Jeff Bezos to access the sea. The fully rigged superyacht has too great an air-draft to safely fit beneath the Koningshaven Bridge, which has a clearance of 131 feet over the Nieuwe Maas River.

Now, Trouw is reporting that the Dutch shipbuilder Oceanco has informed the municipality of Rotterdam that it is canceling the plans to dismantle the bridge. The yard said that it was shocked by the social unrest over the potential dismantling and that shipyard employees feel threatened and the company fears vandalism. 

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27 Missing & Feared Dead After Typhoon Chaba Breaks Vessel in Half Off Hong Kong

Posted on by July 2, 2022

Three crew members were rescued after Typhoon Chaba broke an unidentified engineering vessel in half. Twenty-seven crew remain missing and are feared dead. Search and rescue operations continued for others about 300 km (200 miles) southwest of the city, the Hong Kong Government Flying Service said.

27 Feared DEAD as Typhoon Chaba Tears Ship in Half

“Fat Leonard” Corruption Trial — Jury Convicts Four Former Navy Officers

Posted on by July 1, 2022

“Fat Leonard” Francis

We recently posted about how the “Fat Leonard” Navy corruption scandal is being dramatized in a new television series, based on an award-winning podcast.

In the real world, the decade-long investigation and years-long trials are wrapping up. 

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a federal jury in San Diego convicted four of five former U.S. naval officers on conspiracy, bribery and fraud charges on Wednesday, capping a four-month-long trial and a decade-long investigation of the worst corruption scandal in the history of the Navy.

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Update: Palmer’s Titanic II & China’s Romandisea Cancelled?

Posted on by June 30, 2022

For a decade, we have followed the various announcements by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer regarding his Titanic II project. In 2012, Palmer announced the construction of a modern “replica”  of the doomed passenger liner RMS Titanic which sank after striking an iceberg in 1912.

Palmer’s Titanic II was to be built in a Chinese shipyard and go into service in 2016. Since then the project has moved in fits and starts. The project finances fell apart for several years. The ship delivery dates moved first to 2018 and then to 2022. Despite an abundance of announcements, CGI drawings, and videos, apparently, no steel has actually been cut and no new delivery date has been announced.

Recently, Bright Sun Films posted a Youtube video, Cancelled – Titanic 2, that looks at the history of various projects to build a “replica” of the ill-fated ship. And while there is no definitive word that Palmer’s Titanic II has been “canceled,” the prospects for it moving forward look exceptionally dim. Continue reading →