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...
The Port of Kiel in northern Germany has a packed programme of 221 cruise ship visits for this 2023 cruise season*, starting today (14 Apr) with Fred. Olsen Lines’ Balmoral. The port says that being a pioneer in sustainability means it continues to enjoy high popularity among...
A Swedish shipping company, Wallenius Marine, is developing a car transporter* ship, Oceanbird, with telescopic aerofoil sails. When launched, it will be the world’s largest sailing ship. The design is elegantly simple; take a pretty standard car transporter hull with the boxy shape and loading ramp at...
Havila Voyages, the new operator on the Norwegian ‘Hurtigruten’ Coastal Service route in Norway, is building four new ships with eco-friendly hybrid propulsion systems. The first two ships will go into service next year. There’s been something of a sea-change in Norwegian coastal waters. The legacy operator,...
Aurora Expeditions, who specialise in expeditions to the polar regions, yesterday named their new ship, the Greg Mortimer, in a ceremony set against the snow-capped mountains of Ushuaia, Argentina. The new ship has a striking profile because she is the first passenger vessel in the world to...
The operational history of HMS Warrior 1860¹, the world’s first iron-hulled, armoured warship was both dull and brief, and that’s what makes her so interesting, because when launched she was, without question, the most powerful warship afloat. So how come she never distinguished herself in action? Well,...
Any nautical engineers or ship designers out there, who know the answer? We’ve all been enjoying the sight of Celebrity Edge being delivered and now embarking on her first cruises. Her stand-out (literally) feature is the ‘Magic Carpet’ – “the world’s first cantilevered, floating platform” that rises...
The Stena Jutlandica, which runs between Frederikshavn and Gothenburg¹, has now completed its first month of operation as a battery hybrid vessel, using both generators and batteries to power the ship’s electrical propulsion. Sten’s battery project is being trialled in steps so that the technology can be...
Stena Line is running a pilot study using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on board its ferries in a bid to reduce fuel consumption. Working with Hitachi, an AI-model is being developed that will help predict the most fuel-efficient way to operate a certain vessel on a specific...
The National Park Service (NPS) in Hawaii has announced the immediate closure of one of America’s most famous memorials – the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The closure is due to a “critical structural and safety issue impacting the USS Arizona Memorial dock and visitor loading...
AmaWaterways have unveiled designs for the first of a new generation of river cruise ships that are almost twice the width of traditional river cruise ships. When she is launched in May 2019, MV AmaMagna will have space for a wider choice of facilites including four restaurants...
Bristol’s latest attraction, ‘Being Brunel’, a new museum dedicated to the genius of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was opened to the public this weekend. The £7.2m museum sits on the dockside next to his marine masterpiece, SS Great Britain on Bristol’s Harbourside, and incorporates his Dock Office from...
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) have announced an agreement with the Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri S.p.A., to build their next generation ships. Four 140,000 gross ton cruise ships, each carrying around 3,300 guests, are on order for delivery in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, with an option for two...
Nobody visits Stockholm, for business or pleasure, without visiting the Vasa Museum, and that’s as it should be – the Vasa is, without doubt, one of the great treasures of the world. The story The Vasa was King Gustavos Adolphus’ brand new flagship for the Swedish Navy...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
COPYRIGHT © MECHTRAVELLER 2016-2025, including all images unless indicated otherwise.
