Two bills, Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) being debated by Congress right now. While I am firmly against internet piracy, I believe these bills, if passed, could fatally damage the free and open internet. In reaction to these over broad and badly written bills,…
January 19 — Third update: After a day delay caused by a slight shift in the position of the wreck, rescue efforts resumed aboard the wrecked COSTA CONCORDIA off the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany. As of today the number of people listed as missing stands at…
SS PACIFIC STAR (ex ARTSHIP, ex GOLDEN BEAR), after being sold for $1, is now under tow to ESCO Marine in Brownsville, Texas, where she will be scrapped. Following an auction on November 7, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. on the steps of the United States District Court for the Eastern…
In ship historian Peter Newall’s words, “COSTA CONCORDIA (snip) the largest passenger ship to be lost in peace time, with passengers aboard, since TITANIC, 100 years ago”. Today another survivor, a senior member of the ship’s crew, was brought out of the overturned hull. The man is reported to have…
Today, the Dutch salvage firm SMIT is reported to have been contracted by the owners of COSTA CONCORDIA to pump fuel oil from the capsized ship at the entrance of the port of Giglio, Italy. SMIT has several experts at the ship to coordinate, with local assistance, the removal of fuel.…
Update: According to Italian media reports, two people were discovered alive on board the ship late on Saturday night. Rescuers have managed to speak to a man and a woman but cannot not yet reach them. The survivors are stranded two decks down on the half-submerged ship. After sunrise on…
Appearing like a dream, spirited back from the beach of doom, OCEAN DREAM (ex SEAWARD, SPIRIT OF LONDON, SUN PRINCESS, STARSHIP MAJESTIC, SOUTHERN CROSS, FLAMENCO I, NEW FLAMENCO) was reportedly sold for scrap and had been laid up for over a year off Singapore, yet survives in a new livery…
SAPPHIRE PRINCESS arrived today at the Victoria Shipyards drydock in British Columbia to begin a dramatic, four-week transformation. The drydock continues a multi-year fleet wide renovation process that has brought Princess Cruises’ signature features to most of its ships. “It’s been an incredible process over the past few years to…
I had recently the opportunity to connect with the New-York based painter Wayne Mazotta, and interviewed him for MaritimeMatters – Martin Cox Martin Cox: Hello Wayne, I’d like to introduce your art work to the MaritimeMatters readers. Could you tell us about your art background, when you began making images?…
Steve Rodrigues and a band of loyal volunteers are keeping KALAKALA afloat, but the Coast Guard wants him to move her, concerned that the rusting former ferry could sink in the Hylebos Waterway, Tacoma. Rodrigues bought KALAKALA in 2003 when she was berthed on Seattle’s Lake Union. After complaints that…
