Maritime Archives - Mechtraveller

The UK’s first electric tour boat

Alastair — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:35:26 +0000

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 got to happen,” says her captain, Chris Manktelow. […]

The post The UK’s first electric tour boat appeared first on Mechtraveller.

Bomb ship’s dangerous masts are finally to be removed

Alastair — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 07:46:33 +0000

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 munitions on 20 Aug 1944. She ended up […]

The post Bomb ship’s dangerous masts are finally to be removed appeared first on Mechtraveller.

Coins Discovered Under HMS Victory‘s Foremast

Alastair — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:28:41 +0000

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 been expected that there would be a coin […]

The post Coins Discovered Under HMS Victory‘s Foremast appeared first on Mechtraveller.

HMS Victory’s remaining masts are coming down

Alastair — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:38:43 +0000

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 it: “HMS Victory matters to people in a […]

The post HMS Victory’s remaining masts are coming down appeared first on Mechtraveller.

The London Museum – Docklands

Alastair — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:33:33 +0000

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 docklands in the ‘No. 1 Warehouse’ at West […]

The post The London Museum – Docklands appeared first on Mechtraveller.

What’s the significance of Brittany Ferries’ New-Generation Cross-Channel Ferries?

Alastair — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:10:37 +0000

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 not a simple replacement, she’s a Chinese-built new-generation […]

The post What’s the significance of Brittany Ferries’ New-Generation Cross-Channel Ferries? appeared first on Mechtraveller.

What would happen if your preferred Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) shut down?

Alastair — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 15:36:08 +0000

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 rail!), and it’s estimated that just a short […]

The post What would happen if your preferred Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) shut down? appeared first on Mechtraveller.

Another Operator Interested in Ground Effect Vessels

Alastair — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 17:00:36 +0000

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), a next-generation maritime craft, combines the speed of […]

The post Another Operator Interested in Ground Effect Vessels appeared first on Mechtraveller.

Sail-powered cargo ship will also carry passengers

Alastair — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:23:23 +0000

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 got her two giant, self-furling, self-adjusting SolidSails that […]

The post Sail-powered cargo ship will also carry passengers appeared first on Mechtraveller.

Cunard’s 185th anniversary celebrated with an exhibition of historic photographs

Alastair — Mon, 26 May 2025 15:06:15 +0000

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 collection of guest pictures, chosen from more than […]

The post Cunard’s 185th anniversary celebrated with an exhibition of historic photographs appeared first on Mechtraveller.