ship news stories on Newser

Exxon Valdez's Final Journey Hits Speed Bump

Kate Schwartz — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:55:31 CDT

The Exxon Valdez will live a few days longer. Though the infamous ship, now dubbed the Oriental Nicety, was sold for scrap in March , India—the country that was to dismantle it—won't let it in. India's supreme court ruled that it must be decontaminated prior to dismantling, and cited...

Solar-Powered Vessel Travels 'Round the World

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:03:05 CDT

A cool, spaceship-like catamaran dropped anchor in Monaco yesterday after completing the first-ever round-the-world trip by a solar-powered vessel, the LA Times reports. The MS Turanor PlanetSolar left Monaco in September of 2010 with the goal of showing "that we have the technologies as well as the knowledge to become...

On a Sinking Ship? Better Save Yourself

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:25:18 CDT

A hundred years after the Titanic sank, two Swedish researchers say today that when it comes to sinking ships, male chivalry is "a myth" and more men generally survive such disasters than women and children. Economists Mikael Elinder and Oscar Erixon of Uppsala University also showed in their 82-page study...

Exxon Valdez Sold for Scrap

Kevin Spak — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:40:05 CDT

Decades after it caused the then-biggest oil spill in US history, the Exxon Valdez is finally being put out to pasture. The ship, which was renamed the Oriental Nicety after its brush with infamy, has been sold to Maryland-based Global Marketing Systems for $16 million, Bloomberg reports. Global Marketing Systems...

Experts Rebuild Faces of Civil War Sailors

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 14:43:29 CST

Talk about a cold case: Forensic scientists have reconstructed the faces of two sailors who drowned in the USS Monitor 150 years ago in the hope someone will identify them, the AP reports. Experts at Louisiana State University built the faces around skulls of two skeletal remains recovered from the...

Captain Detained in Cruise Disaster

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:11:08 CST

Italian police today detained the captain of a cruise ship that ran aground last night , killing at least three and triggering a massive overnight evacuation off Italy's west coast, CNN reports. Authorities say they may charge captain Francesco Schettino for manslaughter and abandoning ship. They also want to know why...

Captain Morgan's Ship Found, Thanks to Rum

Kevin Spak — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:40:05 CDT

How’s this for marketing genius: Archeologists are reasonably certain they’ve discovered one of the lost ships of infamous privateer Henry Morgan—in an expedition financed in part by Captain Morgan rum. “There’s definitely an irony in the situation,” one archeologist tells Discovery News . Morgan lost five ships in his raid...

Supermoon Stranded 5 Ships: UK Coastguard

Matt Cantor — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:08:05 CDT

Though it had nothing to do with Japan’s earthquake, this weekend's " supermoon " may be to blame for the stranding of five ships off the UK, the Telegraph reports. Low tides Saturday night left sandbanks particularly exposed, temporarily grounding a 3,200-ton cargo ship, among other vessels. “There were no injuries,...

Ship Halted After 'Spider Tsunami'

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:44:00 CDT

Authorities in Guam have turned away a ship after thousands of spiders poured out of its cargo as it headed into port. Hundreds of large spiders and thousands of smaller ones were seen when stevedores began offloading insulation and beams for housing units from the ship, the MV Altavia , which...