Founded in 1825 by the 21-year-old George Thompson Jnr, the Aberdeen Line developed over 100 years into one of the best-respected shipping lines in Britain. Initially engaged in the UK coastal, Baltic, North American, South American, China and Antipodean trade routes, before settling to become the longest-serving line on the Australian trade via the Cape, the name of Thompson's Aberdeen was synonymous with the highest professional standards, with such jewels as the clipper Thermopylae and their first steamer, SS Aberdeen. The Aberdeen name navigated commercial takeovers by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Shaw Savill and Albion, Lord Kylsant's Royal Mail Group and Furness Withy, before becoming all but forgotten when it finally furled its sails in 1957. Here Peter King seeks to bring this once prominent shipping line's history to light once more for the enjoyment of shipping enthusiasts and maritime historians everywhere.

The SS Portland was a solid and luxurious ship, and its loss in 1898 in a violent storm with some 200 people aboard was later remembered as "New England's Titanic." The Portland was one of New England's largest and most luxurious paddle steamers, and after nine years' solid performance, she had earned a reputation as a safe and dependable vessel. In November 1898, a perfect storm formed off the New England coast. Conditions would produce a blizzard with 100 miles per hour winds and 60-foot waves that pummeled the coast. At the time there was no radio communication between ships and shore, no sonar to navigate by, and no vastly sophisticated weather forecasting capacity. The luxurious SS Portland, a sidewheel steamer furnished with chandeliers, red velvet carpets and fine china, was carrying more than 200 passengers from Boston to Portland, Maine, over Thanksgiving weekend when it ran headlong into a monstrous, violent gale off Cade Cod. It was never seen again. All passengers and crew were lost at sea. More than half the crew on board were African Americans from Portland. Their deaths decimated the Maine African American community. Before the storm abated it became one of the worst ever recorded in New England waters. The storm, now known as "The Portland Gale," killed 400 people along the coast and sent more than 200 ships to the bottom, including the doomed Portland. To this day it is not known exactly how many passengers were aboard or even who many of them were. The only passenger list was aboard the vessel. As a result of this tragedy, ships would thereafter leave a passenger manifest ashore. The disaster has been blamed on the hubris of the captain of the Portland, Hollis Blanchard, who decided to leave the safety of Boston Harbor despite knowing that a severe storm was hurtling up the coast. Blanchard, a long-time mariner, had been passed over for a promotion for a younger captain. He decided he wanted to show the steamship company that they had made a mistake by getting the Portland safely into port ahead of the imminent storm. Author J. North Conway has created here a personal, visceral account of the sinking and the times and the people involved, with stories to bring readers onto the Portland that day: Here is Eben Heuston, the chief steward onboard the ill-fated ship. More than half of the crew of the ship were African Americans. Hueston was an African American who lived in the Portland community of Munjoy Hill and was a member of the Abyssinian Church. After the sinking of the Portland the African American community disappeared and the church closed. And Emily Cobb a nineteen year old singer from Portland's First Parish Church who was scheduled to give her first recital at the church on that Sunday. And Hope Thomas who came to Boston to shop for Christmas and because she decided to exchange some shoes she purchased missed taking the ill-fated Portland. Because of the lack of communications from Maine to Cape Cod, it was days before anyone was able to get word about the fate of the ship or survivors. Author J. North Conway has painstakingly recreated the events, using first-hand sources and testimonies to weave a dramatic, can't-put-it down narrative in the tradition of Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm and Walter Lord's enduring classic, A Night to Remember. He brings the tragedy to life with contemporaneous accounts the Coast Guard, from Boston newspapers such as the Globe, Herald, and Journal, and from The New York Times and the Brooklyn DailyEagle.

"""Als im Jahre 1874 S.M.S. ""Gazelle"" auf eine zweijahrige Reise mit dem Auftrage entsendet wurde, einerseits die fur die Beobachtung des im Dezember 1874 stattfindenden Venus-Durchganges bestimmte deutsche Expedition nach den Kerguelen-Inseln zu bringen und selbst sich an diesem Beobachtungen zu betheiligen, andererseits zur Forderung der Meereskunde und maritimen Wissenschaften physikalische und oceanographische Forschungen anzustellen, lag es noch nicht in der Absicht, die Resultate der Forschungen zu einem besonderen Werke zusammenzufassen und zu veroffentlichen. Erst spater, einige Jahre nach der Expedition, als man das reichhaltige und werthvolle, auf der Reise gesammelte Material ubersah, machte sich das Bedurfniss geltend, dasselbe weiter zu verarbeiten und einem einheitlichen Werke zusammenzustellen."" Das Werk ist in funf Teile untergliedert."

Great passenger ships that never were is a completely revised and updated version of Damned by Destiny (Teredo Books, 1982), a comprehensive account of the large passenger ships that, for one reason or another, never entered commercial service. Some never made it off the drawing board or out of the model shop, some met with disaster after launch and some were diverted to wartime service but didn't survive, never used for their original purpose. They were all the victims of circumstance, whether due to financial crises, timing or changing technology. Some of these liners and cruise vessels may have become the greatest passenger ships ever achieved. They would have surpassed the most famous, not only in speed and splendour but in size and appearance, besides setting trends that were subsequently adopted for ships that did enter service. With beautiful pictures and detailed diagrams this book is a true insight into what might have been.

Eye-opening and compelling, the overlooked world of freight shipping, revealed as the foundation of our civilization

On ship-tracking websites, the waters are black with dots. Each dot is a ship; each ship is laden with boxes; each box is laden with goods. In postindustrial economies, we no longer produce but buy. We buy, so we must ship. Without shipping there would be no clothes, food, paper, or fuel. Without all those dots, the world would not work.

Freight shipping has been no less revolutionary than the printing press or the Internet, yet it is all but invisible. Away from public scrutiny, shipping revels in suspect practices, dubious operators, and a shady system of "flags of convenience." Infesting our waters, poisoning our air, and a prime culprit of acoustic pollution, shipping is environmentally indefensible. And then there are the pirates.

Rose George, acclaimed chronicler of what we would rather ignore, sails from Rotterdam to Suez to Singapore on ships the length of football fields and the height of Niagara Falls; she patrols the Indian Ocean with an anti-piracy task force; she joins seafaring chaplains, and investigates the harm that ships inflict on endangered whales.

Sharply informative and entertaining, "Ninety Percent of Everything" reveals the workings and perils of an unseen world that holds the key to our economy, our environment, and our very civilization.

The book provides the first, complete overview of the American merchant marine during World War I: the rapid expansion of trans-Atlantic shipping; a record of shipbuilding between 1914-1918, including the revival of sailing vessel construction and wood and concrete freighters; profiles of the companies that operated ships; a record of all losses at sea from enemy action; highlights of the experiences of mariners with U-boat commanders and crews, mines, and aircraft attacks; and the role of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.

'The authors of this absorbing book have a strong command of detail, context and narrative structure... the results are impressively claustrophobic.' - Times Literary Supplement 'Gripping... The authors skillfully capture the fear and claustrophobia. A riveting real-life drama.' - Kirkus 'Cabin Fever is riveting, taut, and extensively researched. Smith and Franklin have written a page-turning adventure that will keep you reading late into the night.' - Martin Dugard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Taking Paris 'A gripping account of how an invisible stowaway - the Covid-19 virus - transformed a fun-filled luxury cruise into an unimaginable nightmare.' - Sara Gay Forden, bestselling author of House of Gucci 'Extensive first-hand testimony and the authors' brisk, matter-of-fact style enrich this propulsive account of how a holiday cruise turned into a nightmare. Readers will be riveted.' - Publishers Weekly In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hotspots, the cruise ship Zaandam was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires loaded with 1,200 passengers - British, American, Australian, European and South American tourists, plus 600 crew. Most passengers were over the age of 65. There was concern about the virus in the news but that was oceans away. Escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like it might be a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage would go ahead as scheduled and it would be safe. Within days, people aboard the Zaandam began to fall sick. The world's ports shut down. Zaandam became a top story on the news and was denied safe harbour everywhere. With only two doctors aboard and few medical supplies to test for or treat Covid-19, and with dwindling food and water, the ship wandered the oceans on an unthinkable journey. Cabin Fever is a riveting narrative thriller, taking readers behind the scenes of the ship's complex workings, and below decks into the personal lives of passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead. It is a story layered with moments of peril, perseverance and kindness. A remarkable tale that is filled with individual acts of heroism and the struggles and the tragedies of the crew and passengers.

This book is a detailed comparative study of the decorative work - figurehead, topside ornamentation and stern gallery design - carried by the ships of the major maritime states of Europe in the zenith of the sailing era. It covers both warships and the most prestigious merchant ships, the East Indiamen of the great chartered companies. The work began life in the year 2000 when the author was commissioned to carry out research for an ambitious project to build a full-size replica of a Swedish East Indiaman, which produced a corpus of information whose relevance stretched way beyond the immediate requirements of accurately decorating the replica. In tracking the artistic influences on European ship decoration, it became clear that this was essentially the story of the baroque style, its dissemination from France, and its gradual transformation into distinct national variations in Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. It is an inherently visual subject and the book illustrates developments with numerous photographs of contemporary ship models, paintings and plans, as well as the author's own interpretive illustrations of details. As the first major work on the topic for nearly a century, it will be of obvious appeal to ship modellers and historians, but with comparative examples drawn from architecture and sculpture, it also makes a broader contribution to the history of the applied arts.

In 1973 David Christie moved house from Essex to Scotland, but it wasn't till 1974 that he discovered the joys of sailing on Calmac's ships. An initial sail on King George V at Oban in her last season was a great introduction but mostly, over the next three years, I focussed on Queen Mary on the Clyde, now safely back in Glasgow at the Science Centre. Most of the Clyde piers are covered, with emphasis on Rothesay. Ferries also feature with old and new on the Rothesay and Dunoon runs and the smaller boats at Largs. The west coast features with Oban as the main terminal, then Mallaig, before a session on the pre-bridge Skye ferries. A single visit to Ullapool finishes this journey back to the seventies.

France produced some of the finest and best-decorated passenger ships of the twentieth century. Beginning in 1912 with the four-funnel France, the nostalgic voyage continues with the great and grand transatlantic liners of the French Line, the CGT. These include the famous Ile-de-France, Normandie and Liberte, as well as the lesser passenger ships of the French Line. In addition, focus is given to Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique, Transports Maritimes and Chargeurs Reunis operating important South American routes and to Messageries Maritimes running in Africa, the East and the South Pacific. Packed full of nostalgic reminiscence of great ship days gone by, the book explores majestic liners, mail boats to Africa and colonial steamers to Saigon. Presenting many previously unpublished images alongside insightful text and anecdotes, William H. Miller brings the reader on board France's greatest transatlantic liners.

New York Harbor: where the grandest, fastest and most celebrated luxury liners gather and have gathered since the nineteenth century. With Luxury Liner Row, and being one of the largest natural harbours in the world, this is certainly a special place for all those that consider themselves shipping enthusiasts, or even for those that just enjoy the finer things in life. Here Andrew Britton uses his unrivalled collection of ephemera, photographs and illustrations to present New York Harbor as it has never been seen before. See into a bygone age when this was the busiest ocean liner port in the world and Manhattan saw the arrival of such greats as Olympic, Ile de France, Liberte and the Cunard Queens.

"""Als im Jahre 1874 S.M.S. ""Gazelle"" auf eine zweijahrige Reise mit dem Auftrage entsendet wurde, einerseits die fur die Beobachtung des im Dezember 1874 stattfindenden Venus-Durchganges bestimmte deutsche Expedition nach den Kerguelen-Inseln zu bringen und selbst sich an diesem Beobachtungen zu betheiligen, andererseits zur Forderung der Meereskunde und maritimen Wissenschaften physikalische und oceanographische Forschungen anzustellen, lag es noch nicht in der Absicht, die Resultate der Forschungen zu einem besonderen Werke zusammenzufassen und zu veroffentlichen. Erst spater, einige Jahre nach der Expedition, als man das reichhaltige und werthvolle, auf der Reise gesammelte Material ubersah, machte sich das Bedurfniss geltend, dasselbe weiter zu verarbeiten und einem einheitlichen Werke zusammenzustellen."" Das Werk ist in funf Teile untergliedert."

Bat Conroy--cut him and he'd bleed ink, he's a born newspaperman. Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Eric Sevareid--the greatest American journalists of the 20th century all made their names as war correspondents, but none of them would have beat out Bat Conroy to a good story.
Which makes it that much more mystifying--and aggravating--when an unknown writer, filing under the byline Perry Lane, scoops Bat on every story that comes along. Bat's always been the go-to reporter covering the Japanese invasion of China . . . until this Perry Lane person came along to steal his thunder and maybe even his job.
Now, the biggest story of the war is about to hit the fan, and Bat's going to get to the source first if it kills him. But the most shocking news of all is the true identity of the elusive Perry Lane.
As a young man, Hubbard visited Manchuria, where his closest friend headed up British intelligence in northern China. Hubbard gained a unique insight into the intelligence operations and spy-craft in the region as well as the hostile political climate between China and Japan--a knowledge that informs stories like Inky Odds.

"""Als im Jahre 1874 S.M.S. ""Gazelle"" auf eine zweijahrige Reise mit dem Auftrage entsendet wurde, einerseits die fur die Beobachtung des im Dezember 1874 stattfindenden Venus-Durchganges bestimmte deutsche Expedition nach den Kerguelen-Inseln zu bringen und selbst sich an diesem Beobachtungen zu betheiligen, andererseits zur Forderung der Meereskunde und maritimen Wissenschaften physikalische und oceanographische Forschungen anzustellen, lag es noch nicht in der Absicht, die Resultate der Forschungen zu einem besonderen Werke zusammenzufassen und zu veroffentlichen. Erst spater, einige Jahre nach der Expedition, als man das reichhaltige und werthvolle, auf der Reise gesammelte Material ubersah, machte sich das Bedurfniss geltend, dasselbe weiter zu verarbeiten und einem einheitlichen Werke zusammenzustellen."" Das Werk ist in funf Teile untergliedert."

In 1982, North Sea ferry MV Norland transported passengers and vehicles between Hull and Rotterdam. Requisitioned as a troop ship to take the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment to the Falklands, the 'volunteer' merchant navy crew were told they would only go as far as the Ascension Island and that they should think of it as an extended North Sea booze-cruise run. However, without notice Norland's role was changed and it became the first vessel to enter San Carlos Water, ending up a sitting duck in 'Bomb Alley' air raids while disembarking troops and carrying out resupply runs. Narrowly escaping sinking, the ship was used as a shelter for survivors and for collecting the Gurkhas from the QE2 in South Georgia, ready for disembarking in San Carlos Bay, before repatriating Argentine POWs. Long after the surrender, MV Norland provided a ferry service between the Falklands and Ascension Island. While many in the war served an average of 100 days, for the crew of the Norland it was ten months; indeed, they were considered the first in and the last out. This is a gripping account of non-combatant volunteers railroaded into serving in a war they hadn't signed up for.

In SS Great Britain, Helen Doe provides a narrative account of this famous and historically important ship. Experimental and controversial, Great Britain led the way for iron shipbuilding and screw propulsion. The book charts the ship's brilliant design and construction, and the tribulations of her owners as they battled financial crises to turn Isambard Kingdom Brunel's vision into reality. Brunel was passionate about this ship and was devastated when a navigational error stranded her in Dundrum Bay, Ireland. She was rescued in a great feat of salvage and went on to a long life at sea, carrying passengers to New York, troops to the Crimea and India, and thousands of emigrants to Australia. Helen Doe highlights the contribution of the many individuals connected to the ship, ranging from crew members to passengers, at least one grand Victorian scandal, and the mysterious disappearance of her long-serving captain. In this way, the ship's life and times are recreated and the history of a technical marvel is given a human face. The ship was salvaged a second time, when she was rescued from the Falkland Islands and towed home across the Atlantic. She now sits in splendour in her original dock in Bristol and is one of the most visited attractions in Britain. This a compelling account of an iconic ship and of an important moment in industrial history.

Explore Britain's canals and rivers with the Nicholson bestselling guides. For all users of the inland waterways. This established, popular and practical guide covers the canals and waterways around Birmingham and the River Severn. Covered in this guide are the River Avon; Birmingham Canal Navigations (Main Line); Droitwich Canals; Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and the River Severn; Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal; Stourbridge and Dudley Canals; Stratford-on-Avon Canal; Stroudwater Navigation and Thames & Severn Canal; and the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. The detailed Ordnance Survey (R) maps clearly show the location of essential features such as locks, towpaths and boating facilities, as well as pubs, shops and restaurants in the area. There are comprehensive navigational notes and descriptive text on the history of each canal, and on local services and places of interest, for which postcodes are included - ideal for use with sat-navs. Scale: 2 inches = 1 mile, 3 cm = 1 km. This practical A5 guide features 'lie flat' spiral binding and 'book mark' back cover flap for ease of reference. In print for 50 years, the Collins/Nicholson guides to the waterways have always been a vital part of journeys along Britain's canals and rivers. These bestselling guides are designed for anyone and everyone with an interest in Britain's inland waterways - from experienced boaters to those planning their first boat trip, as well as walkers, cyclists and visitors. Nicholson's - The bestselling guides to Britain's Waterways.

On the outbreak of war in 1914, the Royal Navy found it required more small craft than it possessed to carry out minesweeping, anti-submarine patrols and coastal defence. This led to the formation of an auxiliary force of civilian vessels, including motor pleasure boats and yachts, relatively new types of craft powered by the internal combustion engine. The inclusion of these vessels came about when a group of motor boat owners suggested to the Admiralty that their vessels could play an important role in the defence of Britain. The result was the formation of the Royal Naval Motor Boat Reserve (RNMBR) in 1912. By mid-1915, the demands of naval duty had proved too much for these quirky craft. A meeting in the USA led to their replacement by American-designed Elco motor launches (MLs), of which 550 were purchased, and these Elco launches gave great service for the rest of the war, usually officered by RNVR personnel who won three Victoria Crosses. In addition to the Elcos, in 1915 some naval officers developed the hydroplaning coastal motor boats (CMBs), which served with equal distinction in the latter part of the war. Post-war, both types saw valuable service in the occupation of the Rhineland and in the Baltic campaign, where three more VCs were won. Other countries adopted similar craft. In Italy, the MAS torpedo motor craft achieved fame and success. And in France, MLs supplied by Britain, and by Elco, played their part. Germany too utilised small motor vessels, including the torpedo-armed Luftschiffmotorboote and Fernlenkboot remotely controlled designs. And when America entered the war, she built a fleet of so-called 'sub chasers', wooden-built and designed to counter U-boats along her East Coast. The Petrol Navy tells the stirring story of these motor-driven boats at war, of their development and operations and of the many colourful characters who were their captains and crew. It will acquaint historians and enthusiasts with an important and previously untold aspect of the naval war, and will engross those with a more general interest in the First World War.

From river to harbor to ocean, tugboats are among the most ubiquitous but underappreciated craft afloat. Whether maneuvering ships out from between tight harbor finger piers, pushing rafts of forty barges up the Mississippi, towing enormous oil rigs, or just delivering huge piles of gravel to a river port near you, tugs exude a sense of genial strength guided by the wise experience of their crews. We can admire the precision of their coordination, the determination in their movements, the glow of signal lights at night, silently communicating their condition and intentions to vessels nearby. It is nearly impossible not to be intrigued and impressed by the way tugs work. In Tugboats Illustrated, Paul Farrell traces the evolution, design, and role of tugboats, ranging from the first steam-powered tug to today's hyper-specialized offshore workboats. Through extensive photographs, dynamic drawings, and enlightening diagrams, he explores the development of these hard-working boats, always shaped by the demands of their waterborne environment, by an ever-present element of danger, and by advancements in technology. Whether making impossible turns in small spaces, crashing through huge swells, pushing or pulling or prodding or coaxing or escorting, we come to understand not only what tugs do, but how physics and engineering allow them to do it. From the deck layout of a nineteenth-century sidewheel tug to the mechanics of barge towing-whether by humans, mules, steam or diesel engines-to the advantages of various types and configurations of propulsion systems, to the operation of an oil rig anchor-handling tug/supply vessel, Tugboats Illustrated is a comprehensive tribute to these beloved workhorses of the sea and their intrepid crews.

In a time when threats against the maritime community have never been greater, Maritime Security: Protection of Marinas, Ports, Small Watercraft, Yachts, and Ships provides a single, comprehensive source of necessary information for understanding and preventing or reducing threats to the maritime community. The book defines what comprises the maritime community, including marinas, ports, small watercraft, yachts, and ships. It focuses on the protection of these rather than the protection of cargo in the maritime supply chain, since with the protection of the infrastructural elements it follows that the cargo is secured. In identifying and discussing threats to security, the book includes natural threats such as storms as well as traditional criminal threats and piracy, with especially detailed examinations of terrorism and cybersecurity. It also introduces the US Coast Guard America's Waterway Watch program, describing the components of the program, its implementation throughout the maritime community, and its successes. By dealing with the security of all areas within the maritime community, Maritime Security is highly valuable to all members of the community, from the local boater to professionals charged with the protection of major ports and seagoing vessels. It gives you the skills to understand, identify, analyze, and address natural and man-made threats to localized or broad sections in the maritime community.

Hidden Harbours of Southwest Scotland is a lively tour of small and infrequently visited harbours on the stunning Scottish coast and its nearby islands, starting from Port Logan in the south and meandering northwards to Lerags on Loch Feochan in the Firth of Lorn. The southwest coast of Scotland is one of the most beautiful cruising areas in the world, combining dramatic scenery with interesting history and landmarks. Many of its shores are lined with old castles and the magnificent historical houses of rich industrialists, reflecting its significance as an area of busy trade. The more recent military developments, which include a wartime torpedo base at Loch Long and the naval headquarters at Faslane on Gare Loch, also have a significant presence. Small harbours further south were shaped by the trade in natural resources and the flow of passengers via Clyde Puffer boats to and from nearby cities such as Glasgow and beyond. Each hidden harbour, many of which are simple but attractive piers or shipways built to support trade, has a story to tell. The book includes a historical overview plus notes on what is to be found at each, alongside full colour photographs and annotated aerial shots. This edition complements the other Hidden Harbours titles in the series by Dag Pike.