At Bratislava the River Danube creates a natural barrier which has been overcome in various ways since ancient times. The medieval fords were later replaced by bridges and ferry crossings. In 1891 when the old pontoon bridge, dating from 1825, was replaced by the first steel bridge in Bratislava, th...

Marking the triumphant finale of a 43,000 nautical-mile odyssey; a magnificent Dutch tall ship sailed into Tower Bridge Quay on 25 July 2025. The Oosterschelde has spent the last two years sailing the globe on the DARWIN200 voyage. The rather colossal journey saw this beautifully-restored ship trans...

Two mine countermeasure (MCM) vessels, "Chernihiv" and "Cherkasy" were commissioned with the Ukrainian Navy during a flag raising ceremony held in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 2nd, 2023. The ships are two former Sandown-class MCM vessels of the Royal Navy: Chernihiv (M310) is the f...

The Velykyi Ustyug missile vessel was built at Zelenodol Shipyard and commissioned in 2014. Specifications:
Displacement – 950 t,
length – 74,1 m,
width – 11 m.
Crew – 36 sailors.
Maximum speed – 25 knots.
Range – 1500 miles.
Autonomy – at least 10 days. The missile ship is armed with a 100-mm А190-...

The Amazon River is unimaginably wide and sailing along this humongous waterway for thousands of kilometers by slow boat is a unique, documentary-like experience. Watching life on the Amazon pass by while swinging in a hammock on deck, getting intimate with the rich ecosystem of the Amazon basin and...

Any postings are a help and very much appreciated. Many thanks.

BAP Unión (BEV-161) is a training ship of the Peruvian Navy built in 2012–2015 by Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, known as SIMA. It is a four-masted, steel-hulled, class "A" barque, composed of 38 steel modules. It has a total length (including bowsprit) of 115.50 m (378 ft 11...

Unfortunately we have now lost our dear friend and main contributor, Auke Palmhof. I will not be able to keep up with his almost daily contribution, so I would invite all members to give some thought to making a posting to help keep this site operational. Many thanks.

Effie M. Morrissey (now Ernestina-Morrissey) is a schooner skippered by Robert Bartlett that made many scientific expeditions to the Arctic, sponsored by American museums, the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Society. She also helped survey the Arctic for the United States Government durin...

Rostov-na-Donu (B-237) is an improved Kilo–class attack submarine of the Russian Navy, built in 2014. It became part of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. The submarine was heavily damaged in a Ukrainian attack on 13 September 2023. It was later restored, but was reportedly hit again and allegedly sunk on 2 ...

The Gyurza-M-class armored gunboat is a small surface ship built by Ukraine in 2012. In recent years, Ukraine's military capability has been declining. Although it has no ability to design and build advanced large surface ships, it is a small boat with dozens or hundreds of tons. Still difficult. Co...

Novocherkassk (BDK-46) was a Ropucha-class landing ship of the Russian Navy and part of the Black Sea Fleet. Named after Russian city of Novocherkassk, the ship was built in Poland and launched in 1987. The ship was attacked twice during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, being damaged in March 2022, ...

Tsezar Kunikov (BDK-64) was a Project 775, large landing ship of the Russian Navy. The ship was built in Polish People's Republic, launched in 1986 and named after Soviet Naval Infantry officer Tsezar Kunikov. As part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, it took part in the KFOR mission, the Russo-Georgi...

2024 issue

On 22 April 1988, the 172-year history of manned lightships came to an end in the Elbe estuary off Cuxhaven. As "floating lighthouses", these showed international shipping the safe way through the sandbanks into the Elbe estuary or out to sea. The crews were not only necessary to operate t...