The recent decade has been grimly generous with humanitarian catastrophes, and while recent history abounds with natural disasters, man-made ones have often surpassed them in
Maritime History
The Evolution of Early Naval Submarines: Part 2
In Part 1 we saw the early outbursts of inspiration and genius, which led to random but fascinating developments – the maritime equivalent of Woodstock,
The Evolution of Early Naval Submarines: Part 1
It lurks in the depths, blind in the complete darkness below, but hearing every little sound around. Above it – a troop transport with two
Whales of the Great Lakes
A peculiar species of cargo ship populated the Great Lakes in the late 1800s – the whaleback. Designed by Scottish captain and inventor Alexander McDougall,
Splice the Mainbrace: How the Navy Gave Us Cocktails
The rowdy sailor and his bottle of rum. Few stereotypes have stuck for so long, and this one is so deeply etched in our minds
The HMHS Britannic – Greatness Without Glamour
The tragic demise of the RMS Titanic still haunts the world more than a century later, while after decades of faithful service, the RMS Olympic
In the Flames of Madness – the SS Morro Castle
In the dark hours before dawn on 9 September 1934, the residents of Asbury Park, a seaside town in New Jersey, woke up to a
Why Are Ocean Liner Hulls traditionally Black and Cruise Ship Hulls White?
We all know those photographs from the golden age of the ocean liner – giant black hulls with sharp, white superstructures towering above. Ever wondered
The Aral Sea and Its Fleets
Split between the most abandoned corners of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, lies a forlorn desert, one saltier than the ocean. Not a single path runs through
The SS Île de France – A Floating Monument of the Arts Décoratifs
By the late 1920s, the charm of the legendary pre-Great War ocean liners was already fading. Yes, Cunard’s Mauretania, Aquitania and Berengaria were as dependable as ever, and White