The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is undergoing a major transformation, which they have named ‘The First Light’ project. First Light will see the Observatory’s interior and external spaces transformed through displays and interactives, alongside architecture, conservation and landscaping. The new galleries will showcase observatory’s impact on our...
The Silver Raven, which started operating the official 40-minute ‘Tower of London River Tours’ on the Thames in March this year, is the UK’s first electric tour boat. She is one of the new generation of river craft on an increasingly greener artery through London’s heartland. “It’s...
The government says that work to remove the three masts from the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery in the Thames estuary will begin in early September. SS Richard Montgomery was a WW2 American Liberty ship that dragged her anchor while waiting to unload her cargo of...
When HMS Victory‘s masts were removed at the end of April*, six 19th century coins and tokens were discovered under the foremast. Placing coins on the mast step before the mast is lowered, was a long-time maritime tradition intended to bring good fortune**. So it might have...
HMS Victory’s team of conservators, shipwrights and riggers have started taking down her remaining masts as part of The Big Repair – the ten-year, £42m project to conserve Nelson’s flagship for future generations. As Stuart Sheldon, Lead Rigger at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, puts...
The London Museum Docklands is a ‘must-see’ museum that tells the history of the River Thames and the growth of London’s huge port system from the first Roman settlements to the modern-day regeneration of the Canary Wharf area. It is housed, appropriately, right at the heart of...
Almost one year ago, Brittany Ferries introduced their new flagship ‘Guillaume de Normandie‘, intended to replace the old ‘Normandie‘ on their Portsmouth – Caen/Ouistreham* route. Like her sister ship, Saint-Malo (SM), which began operating Portsmouth – St Malo two months earlier, the Guillaume de Normandie (GdN) is...
This is some interesting engineering. Have you wondered, as you watch your Amazon parcel “just 5 stops away”, what our world would look like if we suddenly lost GPS? It’s not just you, and a squillion delivery drivers. It would effect all transport systems (apart maybe for...
REGENT Craft, the developer and manufacturer of all-electric Seaglider vessels, and DHL Express have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the use of electric Seaglider vessels for short haul, coastal, and island logistics, at this week’s Dubai Airshow. The Seaglider Ground Effect Vessel (GEV),...
Yesterday, the French shipping company Neoline held a naming ceremony in its registration port of Nantes for its first sail-powered Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) cargo ship. As I write, Neoliner Origin, is heading down the Loire estuary* passing the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard at St. Nazaire where she...
Tomorrow (27 May) in Liverpool, the shipping and cruise line Cunard opens its new ‘Sea of Glamour’ photography exhibition, celebrating the line’s 185 year history. Curated by British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney, the exhibition features 185 incredible images – sourced from the Cunard archives, and a...
The Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s USS Cobia is now available for overnight Bed & Breakfast bookings through airbnb. The US Navy submarine, which played a key role in the Pacific during World War II and has been has been a museum ship in Wisconsin since 1970, can take...
The Type 21 frigate and veteran of the Falklands War, PNS Tariq (ex-HMS Ambuscade) is expected to return to her birthplace on the Clyde sometime next year, to become a ship museum. HMS Ambuscade was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders on the Clyde 1n 1973 and served with...
The Dunkirk Maritime and Port Museum (Musée Maritime & Portuaire de Dunkerque) tells the history of France’s third largest port, its workers, its ships, and its seamen. “Wait! What? Third largest?” That may come as a surprise to some, because to most people, especially anglophiles, Dunkerque or...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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