It looks like the McArthur, the 183ft ex-NOAA oceanographic research ship that Blackwater bought and converted for use as a maritime security platform is no longer offering services in the anti-piracy effort. Life on board the McArthur was apparently not so good. Blackwater, now re-named Xe, now has three separate harassment claims from crewmembers who [...]

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.

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.

For those keeping up with vessel tracking technology, Bryant’s Maritime Blog alerts us that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on the review of vessel tracking systems used by the Coast Guard.  Specifically, the report focuses on the duplication of data that the two primary long range tracking methods provide which include [...]

Fairplay reports that the foul smelling Ukrainian freighter Beriks, finally received assistance yesterday from the Ukranian Border Guard. The ship has been marooned at sea since it left the Georgian port of Poti in December of 2008.  Read more in my earlier post on this ship. Fairplay reported – Oleg Nyshpor, the head of the [...]