The sinking of the Princess Kathleen

Mar 02, 2010 0 Comments by nathan

The vessel was sailing towards Skagway, having entered Favorite Channel. The Channel is located north of Stephens Passage, between Shelter Island and the mainland. She had 307 passengers and 80 crew aboard when the steamship, captained by Graham O. Hughs hit the rocks at Point Lena.

At the time of the sinking, around 0300 hours as passengers and most crew slept, Chief Officer Charles W. Savage was on the bridge. Savage would later say though the ship had radar, it had not been turned on. A company spokesman told the press that whether or not to turn on the radar was a decision made by the officer in charge and apparently Savage did not deem the situation radar worthy as it traveled off shore at a speed said to be 9 knots.

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Bligh Reef strikes again

Dec 24, 2009 0 Comments by nathan

Well, it appears old Bligh Reef isn’t quite finished snagging ships and ripping open their hull’s. This time it was the tug Pathfinder, operated by Crowley Maritime. A recent press release on the Crowley website highlites that the Pathfinder had operated for 32 years without a single environmental incident.
From the CG press release:
VALDEZ, [...]

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Photo of the day – Dutch Harbor APL Container Crane Collapse

Dec 20, 2009 0 Comments by nathan

There have been a series of extremely strong storm systems that have moved across the Northern Pacific and Gulf of Alaska in the early half of December. Just a week earlier from this incident, the Coast Guard LORAN station in Attu recorded wind gusting to 178 MPH. To those crossing the Pacific out there, be careful and keep a weather eye!

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Alaska’s oldest shipwreck found

Jul 16, 2008 0 Comments

The Torrent Shipwreck Project
“Imagine a summer day 140 years ago. A wooden bark is sailing close along the rugged, uncharted coast of Cook Inlet, Alaska. The mariners aboard have no sonar, no GPS, no depth sounder, no radar, and no emergency radio. Crashing waves break along a ridge of black reefs a mile offshore, and [...]

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Spirit of Glacier Bay troubles continue

Jul 11, 2008 0 Comments

Anchorage Daily News -
The small cruise ship that grounded in Glacier Bay Alaska earlier this week continues to experience problems. While enroute from Juneau to Ketchikan for repairs, the 178ft U.S. flagged vessel reported it was taking on water, and diverted to Wrangell, Alaska to investigate a possible crack in the hull. There [...]

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