'Pirates' Display Debuts @ National Maritime Museum
In March 2025 the major exhibition Pirates will open at the National Maritime Museum (NMM), tracing the changing depictions of pirates throughout the ages and revealing the brutal history often obscured by fiction. While sometimes portrayed as tricksters or scoundrels, pirates are primarily swashbuckling adventurers associated with lush islands, flamboyant dress and buried treasure. Pirates will deconstruct these myths and illuminate the realities of pirate life, including those of the pirates Edward âBlackbeardâ TeachâŠ
A tribute to our nationâs Fourth Arm of Defense
On Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day, I had the honor of participating in a celebration of another group of veterans whose contributions as the nationâs Fourth Arm of Defense is not widely known: The Merchant Marine.The U.S. Merchant Marine emblem was added to Veterans Memorial Plaza in Anacortes in a brief ceremony attended by Xochitl Castaneda, Pacific Northwest and Alaska Gateway director of the U.S. Maritime Administration.The contribution of the Merchant Marine to our nationâs defense is a story that is not told enough.
For Those with Saltwater in Their Veins
The Scythian philosopher Anacharsis (6th century B.C.) said: âThere are three sorts of people: those who are alive, those who are dead and those who are at sea.âMany of those onboard the Nella Dan when she grounded in December 1987 never went to sea again. Such was their passion for the ship.At that time, most of the crew were single, a wild bunch with saltwater in their veins, likely to be found partying together during their time ashore and likely to be telling everyone how Nella Dan was always the first to get to Antarctica at the start of the season despite her newerâŠ
Fincantieri Foundation Appoints New Leaders, Launches History Book
Fincantieri has re-launched the Fincantieri Foundation as part of its commitment to building a more inclusive world by bridging the past and the future.Established in March 2008, the Fincantieri Foundation is committed to the protection of the unique heritage of documents and artefacts related to civil and military shipbuilding, an "industrial archaeology" that also represents a cultural legacy for the country.The new era begins with the appointment of a new Board of DirectorsâŠ
âGreatest Generationâ reflect on WWII service at NUWC Newport
About 10,000 Sailors served aboard 130 landing craft support (LCS) ships during World War II. The last two surviving LCS Sailors, J. William Middendorf II and Eddy Desmond, visited NUWC Division Newport to share their stories with a full audience in Chafee Auditorium on Nov. 18.Middendorf and Desmond were the most prominent members of a panel, which also included Dr. Christopher Lehman, national security and naval warfare expert; Christine Pitts, granddaughter of U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr.
A Modest Proposal for a Museum on the History of Containerization
The SL-7 was a class of high-speed steam containerships built for SeaLand in the early 1970s, operating at speeds in excess of 33 knots. These ships were later converted to the Algol-class Fast Sealift Ships due to high fuel consumption.Quick Read: Check out Rik van Hemmen's article on the subect as published in theJune 2024 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering NewsRik van Hemmen, president of Martin & Ottaway, a SNAME Fellow and columnist for Maritime Reporter & Engineering NewsâŠ
Low Danube Water Levels Expose Sunken WWII Ships in Serbia and Hungary
The wrecks of explosives-laden Nazi ships sunk in the River Danube during World War Two have emerged near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo, after a drought in July and August that saw the river's water level drop.Four vessels dating from before 1950 have also come to light in Hungary's Danube-Drava National Park near Mohacs, where the Danube's water level stood at only 1.5 metres on Tuesday, the lingering effect of severe heat waves and persistent drought in July and August.TheâŠ
Lloydâs Register Foundation Seeks Donations to Expand Historic Maritime Collection
The Lloydâs Register Foundationâs Heritage and Education Centre (HEC) is calling on businesses and individuals to donate maritime archival materials and artifacts, as it prepares to make its extensive maritime collection publicly accessible.In 2023, the HEC completed a major digitization project that preserved and catalogued over 1.15 million records in its historic Ship Plan and Survey Report Collection. These records, spanning from the 1830s to the 1970s, detail the design, constructionâŠ
Relic from Third-century Naval Battle Found Off Sicily
An ancient Roman relic from the almost 2,300-year-old naval battle in which Rome defeated its archenemy Carthage has been recovered from waters off western Sicily, regional authorities said on Friday.The 3rd-century B.C.
Barge Confirmed as Earliest Known Wreck in Swan River
A barge wreck found in September last year has been confirmed as the earliest known shipwreck discovered to date in Western Australia's Swan River, the WA Museum said. The barge was identified as one that lost in 1882 while carrying limestone from Fremantle to Perth.The State Government's release of detailed 3D multibeam surveys of the Swan River riverbed played a crucial role in the initial discovery of the wreck, which was first identified by Maritime Archaeology Association WA President Patrick Morrison and his colleagues Jess Green and Ian McCann.Following this discovery in 2023âŠ
Viking Ship Navigating Seafarers' Ancient Routes Berths in Adriatic
A replica Viking ship has berthed in Montenegro's Adriatic port of Bar on a years-long trip through European waters inspired by the Norse seafarers who set out from Scandinavia to explore, trade and conquer a millennium ago.The ship, Saga Farmann, is a full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking cargo vessel, or knarr, made from oak and pine, which was found in Norway as early as 1893 but only excavated in the 1970s."This is the type of ship that would travel to IcelandâŠ
Wreck of MV Noongah Identified
CSIRO, Australiaâs national science agency, has helped confirm the resting place of motor vessel (MV) Noongah, a 71-metre coastal freighter lost at sea in 1969 in one of the nationâs worst post-war maritime disasters.MV Noongah was travelling between Newcastle and Townsville carrying steel when it encountered a storm and sank in heavy seas on 25 August 1969.The loss of MV Noongah led to one of the largest searches for survivors in Australian maritime history, involving navy and merchant vesselsâŠ
Women in Maritime Exhibition Comes to Portsmouth
After its launch at last yearâs London International Shipping Week, an exhibition spotlighting the inspirational stories of women in maritime is coming to Portsmouth, United Kingdom.Launching on Friday August 2, members of the public will be able to experience the free SHE_SEES exhibition hosted in Boathouse 4 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, spearheaded by UK-based global safety and education charity Lloydâs Register Foundation.The exhibition, hosted in partnership with Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the University of PortsmouthâŠ
Study Sheds New Light on Ancient Shipwreck off Cyprus
When scientists in the 1960s excavated the wreck of an ancient Greek merchant ship off the northern coast of Cyprus, what they found was an amazing time capsule from a pivotal period in the Mediterranean world following the death of Alexander the Great.But determining the date of the Kyrenia shipwreck with any sort of precision has proven difficult, and some previous scientific dating yielded conclusions that conflicted with the archeological evidence. Researchers have now calculatedâŠ
Historic Tall Ship Embarks on Round-the-world Tour
The Amerigo Vespucci, which Italians call the world's most beautiful ship, is taking a taste of its homeland on a round-the-world tour, with temporary expositions at several stops showcasing Italian products and heritage, authorities said.Tall ship Vespucci, named after the explorer who gave his name to America, is a navy boat that entered service in 1931. Some 2,700 square metres (29,000 square feet) of sails are tied to its three masts, and it has a crew of over 260 sailorsâŠ
Using an SL-7 to Preserve our Container Ship History?
I have raised the subject of SL-7âs as museum ships before in a cursory fashion, but lunch with John Riddle, a retired Sea-Lander, convinced us that it deserves a bit more consideration.Based on prior columns it should be clear I am extremely cagey about museum ships. Ships are significant historic object, but due to their size they are often impossible to maintain as historical objects. Moreover, we maritime types tend to become sentimental about historic vessels and then discoverâŠ
World Leaders, Veterans Commemorate D-Day's 80th Anniversary
U.S. President Joe Biden made an impassioned call for the defense of freedom and democracy at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on Thursday, urging Western powers to stay the course with Ukraine and not surrender to Russian tyranny.At a joint ceremony with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. veterans at the Normandy American Cemetery, Biden said it was "simply unthinkable" to surrender to Russian aggression and he promised no let-up in support for Ukraine.HeâŠ
Britainâs Forgotten Prison Island: Remembering the Thousands of Convicts Who Died Working in Bermudaâs Dockyards
We think of Bermuda as a tiny paradise in the North Atlantic. But long before cruise ships moored up, prison ships carried hundreds of convicts to the island, first docking in 1824 and remaining there for decades.Islands have long been places to deport, exile and banish criminals. Think of Alcatraz, the infamous penitentiary in San Francisco, or Robben Island in South Africa, which held Nelson Mandela. The French penal colony Devilâs Island was immortalised in the Steve McQueen film PapillonâŠ
Wreck of WWII-era Cargo Ship Found in the Great Lakes
The wreck of a World War II-era freighter has been discovered in over 600 feet of water around 35 miles north of Michiganâs Keweenaw Peninsula.Over the last 7 years, shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain has been studying remote sensing data in the search for shipwrecks in Lake Superior. After coming across a particularly deep anomaly, he reached out to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) for help in identifying the potential wreck. In 2023 GLSHS Director of Marine OperationsâŠ
Wreck Site Identified as WWII Carrier USS Ommaney Bay (CVE 79)
Naval History and Heritage Command confirmed the identity of a wreck site as USS Ommaney Bay (CVE 79) July 10. While operating in the Sulu Sea, Ommaney Bay was hit and eventually mortally wounded by a twin-engine Japanese suicide plane on Jan. 4, 1945.NHHCâs Underwater Archaeology Branch used a combination of survey information provided by the Sea Scan Survey team and video footage provided by the DPT Scuba dive team, to confirm the identity of Ommaney Bay. This information correlated with location data for the wreck site provided to NHHC in 2019 by VulcanâŠ
Global Conservation Mission Sets Sail from UK in Darwin's Wake
Almost two centuries after Charles Darwin's voyage around the world, environmentalists plan to follow in his footsteps by undertaking a two-year journey across four continents to study endemic wildlife and boost conservation.The group will set sail on board a 105-year-old schooner on Tuesday from the southern English port of Plymouth, from where British naturalist Darwin's own expedition began in 1831, leading him to develop the theory of evolution by natural selection.The 40,000 nautical mile "Darwin200" expedition hopes to anchor in 32 ports, including all the major ports visited by Darwin's
New York State Canal Corporation Donates Retired Workboat
New York State Canal Corporation has donated one of its retired workboats to be displayed as part of a new educational exhibit set to open in Amsterdam, N.Y. in spring 2024.The vessel, Tender 4, was built in 1926 by American Boiler Works in Erie, Pa., and went on to serve nearly a century for the Canal Corporation, a New York State public-benefit corporation responsible for the oversight, administration and maintenance of the state's canal system.One of nine tenders built for the Canal Corporation in the 1920sâŠ
Shipwrecks Teem with Underwater Life, from Microbes to Sharks
Humans have sailed the worldâs oceans for thousands of years, but they havenât all reached port. Researchers estimate that there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, resting in shallow rivers and bays, coastal waters and the deep ocean. Many sank during catastrophes â some during storms or after running aground, others in battle or collisions with other vessels.Shipwrecks like the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania and USS Monitor conjure tales of human courage and sacrifice, sunken treasure and unsolved mysteries.
