Shortly before Christmas 1952, the cargo ship Melanie Schulte disappeared almost without a trace in the North Atlantic. The accident has now been reconstructed at the Helmholtz Centre Hereon. The sinking of the multi-purpose freighter Melanie Schulte west of the Scottish coast on the night of 21-22 December 1952 is considered one of the worst disasters in German history.
After the beginning of the Second World War, the Kriegsmarine took over the bathing ship Rugard. In the final days of the war, it rescued thousands of refugees and soldiers. Like many other German passenger ships, the Rugard, which was launched on 13 March 1927 at the Stettiner Oderwerke and used in the seaside resort service, was destroyed during the Second...
A good 200 years ago, two ships sank in a storm off Denmark. Today, a remarkable museum in Thorsminde commemorates the many dead - and the dangers of the Danish west coast. In mid-December 1811, Vice-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, commander-in-chief of the British fleet in the Baltic Sea, made a fatal decision that he later...
Numerous training ships were built at the beginning of the 20th century to ensure the qualified training of young seamen in Germany. Even today, the German Training Ship Association is responsible for maintaining one such full-rigged ship. The founding of the Deutscher Schulschiff-Verein on 12 January 1900 in the Hotel Continental in Berlin reflects the great economic, social and...
Seafarer's Social Service Oldenburg is the name of the latest support and counselling service offered by the Humanist Association. A team of volunteers looks after seafarers from all over the world at the inland harbour in Lower Saxony. When people go to sea for work, it usually has little to do with the romance of a cruise and a relaxing holiday under palm trees. A dream ship, my arse...
At the beginning of February, an inspection by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) discovered various shortcomings on a car carrier belonging to the Chinese shipping company Cosco. Among other things, the crew was paid far below the minimum standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the Maritime Labour Convention. Such abuses are not isolated cases. Time and again, seafarers report precarious...
The tall ship AF CHAPMAN is moored in the Swedish capital. After an eventful past, it has been used to accommodate young people for more than 70 years. The AF CHAPMAN in Stockholm is one of the most impressive sights in Swedish maritime and naval history. Launched on 2 March 1888 at the Shipbuilding Company in Whitehaven, England, from...
An initially diffuse situation consolidates over the course of the day. At 04:30 (CET) on 11 January, UKTMO (United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations, Portsmouth) issued the first report that unknown persons had boarded a ship. Later, the news that 4 to 5 masked gunmen in military-looking clothing had boarded the ship...
The STOCKHOLM made history with a collision off the American coast. After more than seven eventful decades at sea, the ship is now about to be scrapped. Today's ASTORIA is one of the last historic ocean liners and the oldest ocean cruise ship in the world. Although the SEA CLOUD from 1931 is older, it...
The US Coast Guard is making progress on the construction of the new heavy icebreaker class. Bollinger Shipyards began cutting the first steel plates for the first Polar Security Cutter (PSC) class unit at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in August. The type ship, the POLAR SENTINEL (PSC-1), is the first heavy icebreaker in 50 years to...
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