Remembering the General Slocum Disaster of June 15, 1904

Posted on by June 15, 2021

One hundred and seventeen years ago today, the disaster on General Slocum resulted in the largest loss of life in New York City prior to the attacks of 9/11/01. An updated repost. 

At around 9AM on June 15, 1904, approximately 1,350 passengers, mostly women and children from the German-American community of New York’s Lower East Side, boarded the Knickerbocker Steamship Company paddle steamer, General Slocum, for an annual end-of-school outing to Locust Grove Picnic Ground at Eatons Neck on Long Island.  The trip was sponsored by the St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Instead of a fun-filled day away from the city, the trip shortly turned into a nightmare. Continue reading →

Diver Gulped Up Then Spat Out By Humpback Whale Off Cape Cod

Posted on by June 14, 2021

A diver from Cape Cod, Massachusetts was gulped up and then spat out by a humpback whale feeding off the coast of Provincetown early Friday morning.  The diver, Michael Packard, 56, of Wellfleet, was hunting for lobsters while about 45 feet down. He told WBZ-TV, after he was released from Cape Cod hospital, how “all of a sudden I felt this huge bump, and everything went dark.”

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Sea Snot Fouling Sea of Marmara, Turkey Attempts Clean Up

Posted on by June 12, 2021

A thick, slimy layer of so-called “sea snot” has spread in Turkey’s Sea of Marmara to the south of Istanbul, posing a threat to marine life and the fishing industry. 

Reuters reports that scientists say climate change and pollution have contributed to the proliferation of the organic matter, also known as marine mucilage, which contains a wide variety of microorganisms and can flourish when nutrient-rich sewage flows into seawater.

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Two Test Positive for Covid-19 on 100% Vaccinated Celebrity Millennium

Posted on by June 11, 2021

When the cruise ship Celebrity Millennium departed from St. Maarten on June 5 for a seven-night cruise visiting Aruba, Curacao, and Barbados, each of the 600 passengers (over 12 years old) and 700 crew members had been fully vaccinated and had been recently tested for Covid-19. Nevertheless, yesterday the cruise line announced that two passengers had tested positive for the virus. The two infected passengers had shared a stateroom and are reported to be asymptomatic. They have been isolated and are receiving medical care.

How did the two passengers become infected? While the vaccines are highly effective, they are not 100%. A small number of so-called breakthrough cases have been observed. There were apparently a few unvaccinated children onboard the ship as well.

Are these two cases an indication of failure or success? Continue reading →

Flue Whale: Rare Blue-Fin Whale Hybrid Sighted Off Dana Point, CA

Posted on by June 10, 2021

Photo: Caitlyn Nieblas/Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari

The Orange County Register had an interesting article recently. They reported that last Saturday a whale-watching boat reported seeing what they believe to be a “flue” whale, a hybrid blue-fin whale, swimming off Dana Point, CA. The whale has been spotted on and off in the waters off Southern California since 2004. Blue whales are the largest creatures to have ever existed on earth. Fin whales are the second largest.  

The first hybrid blue-fin whale was recorded in 1984 off the coast of Spain. The roughly 4-year-old whale had coloration and body proportions that were intermediate between those of a fin and a blue whale, although at 19.4 meters was significantly larger than a fin whale of a similar age. DNA analysis revealed that the mother of the hybrid was a blue whale and the father a fin whale.

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Urgent Repairs Needed to Queen Mary, Potential Flooding & Capsize Risk

Posted on by June 9, 2021

The ex-Cunard luxury liner Queen Mary, which had served as a tourist attraction and hotel in Long Beach, CA since 1972, was shut down by the pandemic. Then in January, the manager of the ship on behalf of the City of Long Beach filed for bankruptcy. Now, the Long Beach Post reports that a recent Queen Mary inspection survey reveals that urgent repairs have been neglected over the last five years, leaving the historic ship vulnerable to flooding or possibly even capsizing if critical work isn’t addressed.

The report from a city-hired naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group, which inspected the ship on April 28, says the city would need an additional $23 million in urgent safety repairs to keep the ship “viable” over the next two years.

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New Nannie Dee Figurehead for the Cutty Sark

Posted on by June 8, 2021

In a few days, the composite clipper ship Cutty Sark will be graced with a new carved wooden figurehead carved by one of the last master carvers, Andy Peters. The figurehead, like its two predecessors, represents the witch Nannie Dee, from Robert Burn’s poem, Tam o’ Shanter. She is scantily clad and holds a long tuft of a horse’s tail in her outstretched hand. The figurehead itself tells the story of why the grand old ship is named Cutty Sark.

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Michelin’s Wing Sail Mobility (WISAMO) Project Features Inflatable Wing Sails

Posted on by June 7, 2021

Back in 2017, we posted Inflated Wing Sail — Rig of the Future? The post showed a prototype daysailer with a single inflatable wing sail (IWS) without winches, halyards, shrouds, or complex deck gear. Now French tire manufacturer Michelin has collaborated with the two Swiss developers to scale up the IWS design to provide sail assist on merchant ships. Their Wing Sail Mobility (WISAMO) project design is an automated, telescopic, inflatable wing sail system that is expected to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.

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On the 77th Anniversary of D-Day, Remembering Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Higgins Boat

Posted on by June 5, 2021

I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. A repost on the 77th anniversary of D-Day.

General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for us. … If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.”  

Adolph Hitler referred to Andrew Higgins as the “new Noah,” though his admiration was more begrudging. On the 77th anniversary of the Normandy landings, better known as D-Day, it seems worthwhile to remember Andrew Higgins and the amazing Higgins boat.

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Video of Navy Ship Being Swarmed by UFOs/UAPs

Posted on by June 5, 2021

Something very strange took place around the middle of July 2019 off the coast of California, near San Diego. Leaked radar images and video from the USS Omaha show unidentified objects swarming around the ship, visible on several sensor systems.  In common parlance, they would be referred to as UFOs, unidentified flying objects. The military refers to them as UAPs, unidentified aerial phenomena. 

In the same area and over the same period five US Navy destroyers and one cruise ship also reported swarms of unidentified objects.

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Sri Lanka and the Environmental Aftermath of the X-Press Pearl Fire and Sinking

Posted on by June 4, 2021

Pollution from the container ship X-Press Pearl is being described as potentially the worst marine ecological disaster in Sri Lankan history. The ship carried 25 tonnes of nitric acid, along with other chemicals and cosmetics, when it caught fire on May 20. Many of the ship’s 1,486 containers tumbled into the sea before the huge blaze was brought under control earlier this week. The vessel sank on June 2, as it was being towed to deeper waters.

BBC reports that millions of plastic pellets from a damaged container, which are the raw material for shopping bags, have already coated stretches of Sri Lanka’s western coastline. Worst-hit areas include some of the country’s most pristine beaches close to the city of Negombo. Experts say the pellets still in the sea could travel as far as India, Indonesia and Somalia.

There are now concerns that the bunker fuel aboard the ship will further damage the shoreline. Continue reading →

Free Tickets to South Street’s Windjammer Wavertree, Fri-Sun Through October 2021

Posted on by June 3, 2021

The South Street Seaport Museum is offering FREE tickets to tour the 1885-built windjammer Wavertree on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through October 2021, with timed entry, from 11am-5pm at Pier 16 on Manhattan’s East River, (Fulton and South Streets). 

From the Seaport Museum’s website:

Visits will be self-guided along a set route and will include access to the main deck and quarter deck. Learn how people worked and lived aboard a 19th-century cargo sailing vessel, from the captain to the ship’s officers, cooks, and crew. Then visit the cargo hold and stand atop the viewing platform where you can take in the massive main cargo area.

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Iranian Navy’s Largest Ship Catches Fire and Sinks in Gulf of Oman

Posted on by June 2, 2021

Kharg, an Iranian Navy training and logistics ship, caught fire in the Gulf of Oman in the early hours of Wednesday local time. After more than 20 hours of firefighting and rescue operations, the ship subsequently sank near the port of Jask. All 400 crew were rescued, with 33 reported injured. The Tasnim news agency, citing a statement from Iran’s navy, said that the ship had been deployed to international waters to participate in a naval exercise when “one of its systems” caught fire. The fire was reported to have started in the ship’s engine room.

Kharg, the largest ship in the Iranian Navy by tonnage, was a converted fleet oiler and had been in service almost 40 years.

The cause of the fire and sinking is the subject of considerable speculation. Continue reading →

Britain to Build National Flagship to Promote Trade

Posted on by June 1, 2021

Interesting news from the UK. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced the construction of a new national flagship intended to promote British businesses around the world. 

The Prime Minister said in the announcement:

  • This new national flagship will be the first vessel of its kind in the world, reflecting the UK’s burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation.
  • Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British – a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage.

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A Virtual New York Fleet Week 2021

Posted on by May 31, 2021

For the second year running, in-person Fleet Week in New York, traditionally beginning in the week before and running through the Memorial Day Weekend, was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A virtual Fleet Week celebration has been ongoing, however, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Below is a short view about this year’s virtual New York Fleet Week.

New York Fleet Week 2021

Destroyer Escort USS Slater Reopening on Memorial Day

Posted on by May 30, 2021

Museum ships are slowly reopening.  The USS Slater on the Albany waterfront, the last Destroyer Escort afloat in America, is set to open to the public on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st. After Memorial Day the ship will operate normal hours Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 am to 4 pm.

Guided tours take place every 30 minutes. All visitors and volunteers are required to wear a mask while aboard Slater. Tour groups will be kept small, and the ship will be disinfected regularly. No reservations are required.

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Celebrating Lighthouse Tender Lilac’s 88th Birthday in Audio and Visual Arts

Posted on by May 29, 2021

The historic lighthouse tender USCGC Lilac recently turned 88.  Lilac is America’s only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

To celebrate her birthday, two temporary art installations featuring historic photography and dramatic audio have been set up. LILAC 88 consists of an onboard paper mural to celebrate the history of the Lilac on Pier 25 in Lower Manhattan. This paper mural displays large-scale historic images displayed on the ship’s stack in order to make the ship visible from afar and attract public attention to the Lilac over the Memorial Day holiday.

The audio installation, “Aids to Navigation” is a dramatic composition by Untapped New York’s Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers. It centers around the ship’s second commander, Captain Charles Lewis and is intended to serve as a mini-dramatic tour of Lilac. Captain Lewis is voiced by actor Robert Dalton and the audio piece was directed and mixed by director, Michael Joseph Ormond. The public will be able to access the experience via a QR code near the stern of the boat and can enjoy the entire installation from Pier 25.  To listen to “Aids to Navigation” online, click here.

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Tall Ship Falls of Clyde Gets Brief Reprieve

Posted on by May 28, 2021

The Falls of Clyde, the only remaining iron-hulled four-masted full-rigged ship and the only surviving sail-driven oil tanker in the world, has been given a short reprieve from being scrapped or scuttled.

In late April, the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s Harbors Division put out a request for proposals for the “removal of the derelict sailing vessel Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor.”  The bids were due at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 21. 

The Department of Transportation has now revoked the request for proposal to remove the ship.  The DOT said in a review, “it turns out that not all state processes are upheld.” Therefore, the RFP was canceled “with great care.”

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Zoom Presentation — Tanker Mary A. Whalen’s Game Changing Supreme Court Case

Posted on by May 27, 2021

PortSide NewYork is hosting a fascinating virtual talk with Captain Lawrence Brennan, a Fordham law Professor, and PortSide Executive Director Carolina Salguero about the Supreme Court decision US vs RELIABLE TRANSFER involving PortSide’s historic ship Mary A. Whalen.  Brennan and Salguero will be on the Mary A. Whalen together, allowing you to see some of the ship. 

The talk will be on Zoom on Thursday, June 10, 2021, from to  This virtual lunchtime presentation is tailored to a general audience and landlubbers, not just admiralty lawyers. There will be several opportunities for Q&A.

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