I came across this last night while watching “Shadow Forces” on the History Channel. Are social privateers going to be the solution to some of the most dangerous threats on the high seas today? Here I was watching a rag tag group of ex-military/special forces, a few brave soles, and a rusty West African fishing boat performing fisheries enforcement boardings off the coast of Liberia, and performing them successfully too! I was blown away.

It appears to have been the world’s shortest sea trial for the car carrier DYVI PACIFIC. The ship apparently capsized shortly after leaving the builders yard in Shadong, China. The 6,200 car capcity (ceu) ship had just been recently christened at a ceremony on March 16, 2009 at Samjin Shipbuilding Industries. The ship was departing for trials and was schedulded to be delivered to its owners.

Don’t be left at the gate without a job. Remember, April 15th was the deadline for all U.S. credentialed mariners to obtain and possess a Transportation Workers Identification Card – TWIC. The Coast Guard is now enforcing the TWIC requirement, and therefore all designated waterfront facilities will deny access to those without a TWIC card. If you are a longshoreman, port facility worker, or truck driver needing unescorted access to a designated waterfront facility, you will also need a TWIC.

I admit, I’ve always been intrigued by the history of Russian ships. With my own copy of Norman Polmar’s Guide to the Soviet Navy, I often thumb through the pages and wonder where the once grand ships are today. In a rare find, here is the story to one of the most interesting ships in the old Soviet fleet.

Available at no cost to maritime professionals for the first two years, students have an opportunity to earn up to fifteen college credits by completing the program, which is recognized and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. The Maritime Executive alerts us that the Massachusetts Maritime Academy has launched a new online certificate [...]