Deep-Sea Mining — Electric Cars, Electronics & Climate Change

Posted on by November 18, 2019

Graphic: IUCN

Deep-sea mining may provide the material necessary to create our latest and greatest electronics, electric cars and battery backup systems. The mining may also damage the environment and worsen climate change. 

In 2018, we posted about the discovery of huge deposits of rare-earth metals in seabed mud off the Japanese island Minamitorishima, located 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo. The discovery could have a major impact on both the Japanese and the world economy. Rare-earth metals are essential to modern technologies and are used in smartphones, hybrid vehicles, rechargeable batteries, wind turbines, light-emitting diodes, compact fluorescent lamps, screen display panels, and many medical and military technologies.  

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Documentary: Cosmic Birth — We Went to the Moon, But Discovered Earth

Posted on by November 19, 2019

Friday night I had the great pleasure to meet Orly Orlyson and to watch the US premiere of Cosmic Birth, the remarkable documentary that he co-directed, at the Explorer’s Club in Manhattan. Orly is an entrepreneur and the founder of The Exploration Museum in Húsavík, Iceland – a museum dedicated to the history of human exploration. 

In addition to exhibits on Viking exploration and on the race to reach the South Pole, the Exploration Museum features exhibits on the Apollo astronauts. What does the Moon landing have to do with a museum in Húsavík, an Icelandic town 30 miles from the Arctic Circle? It so happens that when NASA searched the globe for the most similar terrestrial landscape to the moon on which astronauts could train, they chose the lava fields outside of Húsavík. During the summers of 1965 and 1967, 32 astronauts trained on the basaltic outcroppings in preparation for landing on the lunar surface.  

Now, just over 50 years since the astronauts first traveled to Iceland and then to the moon, Cosmic Birth follows some of these Apollo astronauts back into the Icelandic highlands where they reflect on their epic missions to another world.

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LA Times: Coast Guard Rejected Calls for Stricter Safety Rules Prior to Deadly Dive Boat Fire

Posted on by November 16, 2019

The dive boat Conception was a death trap.  It was a wooden vessel with a single narrow and steep stairway from the lower berthing deck and a small emergency exit hatch. When a fire broke out on September 2, 34 people sleeping on the lowering berthing deck died in the blaze.

The Conception was also inspected and approved by the US Coast Guard as meeting all requirements of a Subchapter T, Small Passenger Vessel.  Recently, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed that the Coast Guard had repeatedly rejected the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) recommendations for stricter fire safety regulations in this type of vessel.

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Update: Liberty Ship SS John W. Brown Still Looking For a New Berth

Posted on by November 15, 2019

A year ago, we posted about the search for a berth for the Liberty ship John W. Brown. Now, the ship, the last surviving troopship from World War II, must find a new home by the end of the year due to the expiration of its current lease on Pier C on Clinton Street. From the Project Liberty Ship press release:

For several years the ship was housed at a Clinton Street pier owned by the state of Maryland, but that pier was sold and the lease arrangement that enabled the Brown to stay at that pier expired. The new pier owners generously offered S.S. JOHN W. BROWN an alternate berth at Pier C on a temporary basis and have been cooperative and flexible with Project Liberty Ship’s uncertain and ever-developing future. However, the current lease agreement, despite several extensions, is expiring at the end of 2019. Continue reading →

Eugene Ely & the First Aircraft Take-Off and Landing From a Ship

Posted on by November 14, 2019

On November 14, 1910, one hundred and nine years ago today, pilot Eugene Burton Ely successfully took off in a biplane from the deck of the light cruiser USS Birmingham in the waters off Norfolk, Virginia, becoming the first pilot to fly a plane from the deck of a ship. He flew roughly three miles and landed onshore. 

Two months later, on January 18, 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss Pusher biplane on a platform on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, becoming the first pilot to land a plane on a ship.  He stopped the plane using the first-ever tailhook arresting gear, designed and built by circus performer and aviator Hugh Robinson.

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Lobster on the Line — Trade War Threatens Maine Lobstermen

Posted on by November 13, 2019

After several near boom years, the Maine lobster fishery is being slammed by the current trade war between the United States and China. From June 2018 to June 2019, after the duties were in place, live lobster exports to China tumbled 84 percent. In the same period Canada’s lobster sales to China reached record highs. Lobster represents the largest export for the state of Maine by value.

The Washington Post reports that in the first half of 2018, before the tariffs, lobster sales to China from the United States and Canada were about even, roughly $84 million, according to data from the Lobster Council of Canada.

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The Navy’s Patents on UFO Tech and Compact Cold Fusion

Posted on by November 12, 2019

In recent weeks there been considerable interest generated by an application for a patent filed by the US Navy for a compact cold fusion nuclear reactor. For decades, “cold fusion” has been the holy grail of clean energy research. Progress was being made but the great breakthrough was always 25 or 50 years away, receding into the future like a shimmering chimera. If the Navy really has the secret of cold fusion, the ability to harness the power of the stars in a stable and compact space, it could literally change the world. 

From what can be seen in the patent application, (and so far it is only an application. A patent has not been granted) there is considerable work to be done before the device is workable, if it ever is.  One other thing is notable about the application. As reported by the War Zone, “This latest design is the brainchild of the elusive Salvatore Cezar Pais.”

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Lost Submarine USS Grayback Located After 75 Years

Posted on by November 11, 2019

Imaged: Lost 52 Project

The submarine USS Grayback, one of the most successful US Navy submarines in World War II, has been located in 1,400 feet of water off Okinawa. The submarine was sunk in February 1944, on her tenth war patrol after sinking 21,594 tons of Japanese shipping. 

The New York Times reports that the Grayback was thought to have gone down in the open ocean 100 miles east-southeast of Okinawa. But the Navy had unknowingly relied on a flawed translation of Japanese war records that got one digit wrong in the latitude and longitude of the spot where the Grayback had probably met its end.

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USS Nimitz, USS Roosevelt & the Giant “Tic Tacs” — Navy Videos of “Unexplained Aerial Phenomena”

Posted on by November 10, 2019

The videos have been flying across the internet for several years. They are purported to be F-18 gun-camera footage taken in 2004 from planes flying off the carrier USS Nimitz and in footage from 2015 from planes off the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The videos show unidentified flying objects which have been described as looking something like bright, white giant Tic Tacs, approximately 30 to 46 feet long. The objects appeared on radar and were observed visually. 

The Navy has now confirmed that the videos are real. They prefer to describe what was observed as a UAP, an “Unexplained Aerial Phenomena” rather than as a UFO, “Unidentified Flying Objects,” which has come to imply extraterrestrials. Nevertheless, whichever term is used, it suggests that the Navy is taking the observations seriously.

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Manhattan Waterfront in 1937 — The Frayed Frontier of This Golden Island

Posted on by November 7, 2019

Last week, we posted a video promoting the Port of New York and New Jersey made in the 1950s. Here is a similar if very different video made by RKO focussing on the Manhattan waterfront around 1937, at the height of the Great Depression.

While praising “magic Manhattan” the narrator describes the waterfront as “the frayed frontier of this golden island,” while in the same sentence calling it the “greatest on earth.” One part of the video contrasts the “opulence and prosperity” of the rich with the “jungles of the less fortunate,” the waterfront shantytowns of the wretchedly poor in the “dead-end of Manhattan.” The short film is a fascinating snapshot of that time in history.

1930s Manhattan Waterfront – 1937

Why Lightning Strikes Twice as Often Over Shipping Lanes — Dirty Fuel

Posted on by November 8, 2019

Apparently, lightning strikes twice as often over shipping sea lanes than over the ocean as a whole. Wired recently published an article about research that comes to that conclusion and suggests an answer to the question. They note that it might sound crazy, but it’s true: The heavens cast their wrath and fury on the ships more than on the fishes.

The article continues: A comparison of lightning strikes between 2005 and 2016 in the eastern Indian Ocean and South China Sea (above) and shipping emissions (below) shows a clear correlation between where humans sail and where lightning hits. 

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EU Funds Three Year WASP (Wind Assist Sail Propulsion) Project

Posted on by November 5, 2019

A three-year project to research Wind-Assisted Sail Propulsion (WASP) has been launched in Europe supported by €5.4Mn (about $6 million) in funding provided by the Interreg North Sea Europe program, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 

The project brings together universities, wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to research, trial and validate the operational performance of a selection of wind propulsion solutions thus enabling wind propulsion technology market penetration and contributing to a greener North Sea transport system through harvesting the regions abundant wind potential. This fully aligns with the wider programs’ objective of promoting the development and adoption of products, services, and processes to accelerate the greening of the North Sea Region.

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Update: One Year On, Rotor Sail Savings on Maersk Pelican on Target

Posted on by November 5, 2019

A year ago we posted about the testing of two modern Rotor Sails installed on the MV Maersk Pelican, a 110,000 DWT  Long Range 2 product tanker. The 30-meter tall and 5-meter diameter rotors were predicted to reduce fuel consumption by 7 to 10% on average. A year later, the results for the first 12 months of operation are in and the savings from the rotors are on target. After a year, the average savings has been 8.2%. The fuel-savings also represent a reduction of approximately 1,400 tonnes of CO2. 

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Suspected Niger River Delta Pirates Kidnap 13 Sailors From Two Ships

Posted on by November 5, 2019

Suspected Niger River Delta pirates operating in the Gulf of Guinea have kidnapped 13 sailors from two ships in the last several days.  The first abductions took place early Saturday morning at the port of Cotonou in Benin. Pirates kidnapped nine crew members, including the ship’s captain, from the 58,105 DWT, Norwegian flag, JJ Ugland owned bulker, Bonita.

Then on Monday, pirates attacked the Greek, 94,000 DWT product tanker, Elka Aristotle, off the coast of Togo abducting four of the 24-member crew. 

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Moving Closer to the Falls — the Century-Long Saga of the “Niagara Scow”

Posted on by November 4, 2019

For just over a century, an 80-foot long iron sand-dumping scow has been stuck on a rock in the raging currents of the Niagara River just upriver from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. After a powerful storm blew through on Halloween night, the scow began to shift and slip downriver toward the thundering falls. The scow has been stuck on a rock shelf in the rapids, roughly 600 meters from the edge, since 1918.  It is now 50 yards closer to the precipice.  

“It appears to have sort of flipped on its side and spun around,” Jim Hill, superintendent of heritage at the Niagara Parks Commission, described in a Facebook video. 

How did the scow, essentially, a sand barge, come to be stuck in the rapids for over a century? 

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“The Best Port in the World” — The Port of New York in the 1950s

Posted on by November 4, 2019

Here is a wonderful video from the 1950s focusing on the Port of New York, which the narrator proclaims is the “Best Port in the World.” It is wonderful to watch the old style cargo handling — hoisting bags, boxes, and barrels as the narration praises the modern technology and extreme efficiency. What I find intriguing is how little seemed to have changed by the early 1970s, when I first arrived in New York, right on the cusp of the great container revolution, which changed everything.

The film was written by Oeveste Granducci. The film was directed by Henwar Rodakiewicz and shot by David Quaid, with music by King Palmer.

1950s PORT OF NEW YORK PROMOTIONAL FILM 40274

Wreckage of USS Johnston, Hero of the Battle of Samar, Located at 20,400 Feet Deep

Posted on by November 2, 2019

The RV Petrel continues its amazing streak of underwater discoveries. Now, it has located the wreckage of what is believed to be the USS Johnston at a depth of 20,400 ft in the Philippine Sea. The wreck is believed to be the deepest wreck of a warship ever discovered. According to Guinness World Records, the deepest wreck before the discovery of the USS Johnston was a German vessel discovered at 18,904ft.

The destroyer was sunk in the Battle of Samar on October 25, 1944. We recently posted about the 75th anniversary of the battle in which, against all odds, a handful of US Navy destroyers and destroyer escorts drove off a Japanese fleet of 23 ships, including battleships and heavy cruisers, saving the landings at Leyte Gulf from likely destruction.  

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MS Roald Amundsen — First Hybrid Electric-Powered Expedition Cruise Ship

Posted on by November 1, 2019

Hurtigruten, a Norwegian ferry and expedition cruise operator, has put into service, MS Roald Amundsen, the world’s first hybrid electric-powered expedition cruise ship. The 530-passenger ship has twin battery banks that operate in conjunction with the ship’s four diesel generators and are expected to reduce overall fuel consumption by 20%. The MS Roald Amundsen is the first of three hybrid-powered cruise ships ordered by Hurtigruten. Forbes quotes the company as saying that it is investing more than $850 million in building the world’s greenest cruise line.

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On Halloween — a Look at the Ohio River Ghost Ship

Posted on by October 31, 2019

The so-called Ohio River ghost ship does not seem to be really haunted, except perhaps by a long and illustrious past. A vessel of many names, she has been known as Celt, Sachem, USS Phenakite, Sightseer, and Circle Line V. Built in 1902 as a rich man’s yacht, she served as a Navy anti-submarine patrol craft in both world wars, as a laboratory for Thomas Edison, as a luxury fishing boat, and New York City tour boat. She is said to have been visited by two presidents, appeared in several movies and served as a set for a Madonna music video. She is estimated to have carried around 3 million passengers in her long working life.

Rumor had it that she was scrapped in 1984, but she turned up again in a creek off the Ohio River, in Petersburg, Kentucky, about 25 miles downstream from Cincinnati. She has apparently been abandoned there since around 1987. Dubbed the “ghost ship,” she is a popular destination for kayakers.

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In Iceland, It’s No Longer Legal to Kill Basques On Sight

Posted on by October 30, 2019

Basque whaling ship

I recently came back from a voyage on a small ship along the west coast of Iceland. One of the highlights of the trip were stops in ports in the Westfjords, an isolated peninsula in the northwest of the island.

One of the nice things about Iceland is the very low violent crime rate. Yearly murders in the country of 360,000 typically range from zero to around five. The average is about 1.8. That is the total number of yearly murders, not the per capita figure. Against this backdrop, I was surprised to learn of a law on the books in the Westfjords, which was only repealed in 2015, that allowed the killing on sight of any Basque found in the region. The law dates back to 1615 and relates to the last documented massacre in Icelandic history.

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