#ships — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ships, aggregated by home.social.
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Useless Facts, Badly Drawn # 530: The RP FLIP.
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#rpflip #strangebuttrue #wtf #science #ships #comics #webcomics #ocean #oceanography #uselessfactsbadlydrawn -
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Cheaper than a missile, just as hard to down — Russia's Banderol munition adds strain to Ukraine's air defenses . . . . . Explosions rock Russia's Novorossiysk after unique operation targeting Black Sea Fleet . . . . . Ukraine liberated 745 square km in Oleksandrivka sector since January . . . . . Ukraine could destroy all the Russians ballistic missiles if US sells 10% of Patriot missile supply to Kyiv . . . . . and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/08/thursday-august-13-2026/
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Monday, August 3, 2026
Russian attack on residential building in Zaporizhzia . . . . . Russia seeks to expand ballistic missile production . . . . . EU force boards Russian shadow fleet tanker in Mediterranean Sea . . . . . Over 42,000 Russian losses recorded in July, marking 2026 high . . . . . and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/08/monday-august-3-2026/
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More photos from the Portuguese ship NRP Sagres.
My previous posts on the tall ships at NYC’s Parade of Sail:
https://ohai.social/@bluejay/116901402575615422
https://ohai.social/@bluejay/116940483672519140
https://ohai.social/@bluejay/116980232344811388
https://ohai.social/@bluejay/116902384606163849
More thoughts in the comments.
#photography #schiffsamstag #shipsaturday #ship #ships #tallship
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The Portuguese tall ship NRP Sagres, docked at the Brooklyn waterfront. This is the last of the four ships that I was able to tour when the international tall ships came to town last month for New York’s Parade of Sail. I’ll post more photos of the Sagres in the comments, as well as links to previous posts about the other ships and some general thoughts.
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Monday, July 27, 2026
Wildberries hides military goods in search results after Ukrainian strikes hammer warehouses . . . . . Romania shoots down third drone in three days as tensions rise over Russian airspace violations . . . . . Ukraine strikes Chornomornaftogaz facility in Crimea, Russian drone relay systems and logistics bridge . . . . . Russia cancels St. Petersburg Navy Day parade for second straight year amid Ukrainian drone threat . . . . . and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/07/monday-july-27-2026/
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💁🏻♀️ TIL: 🐋⚓ Sperm whales near #Dominica shorten their click sequences and shift their vowel-like #sounds when #ships are present, according to researchers from #ProjectCETI and #UCBerkeley.
The team analyzed over 1,000 codas from 15 #whales over four years, finding that rhythm and click timing best predict nearby #vessels. The findings add to efforts to decode whale #language and understand how human noise affects #marine life.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/environment/sperm-whales-change-communication-ships/
#spermwhales #cetaceans #animals #communication #bioacoustics #science #conservation #mammals #animalbehavior #linguistics #research
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Monday, July 20, 2026
How Russia downed a passenger plane and escaped justice . . . . . Oil depot, logistics center reportedly struck in Moscow Oblast as Ukraine launches hundreds of drones towards Russian capital . . . . . Ukraine's drone commander says Kerch Strait ferry capacity reduced by 75% . . . . . and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/07/monday-july-20-2026/
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City Of Detroit III Steamer Ship Postcard.
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#SteamShips #Boats #Travel #BoatsofMastodon #Ships #ShipsofMastodon #Ephemera -
Steaming Into The Sunset
(Details in the AltText)
#AltText #NoAi #No2Ai #Photo #Photography #Travel #Norway #Norge #TravelPhotography #PhotoOfTheDay #POTD #Ship #Ships #ShipsOfMastodon #Maritime #Nautical #Water #Sea #Ocean #CamelCase #Nordic #Seascape #Arctic #Dusk #Sunset #MidnightSun #Midnattssol #CruiseShip
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Media: An Oil Tanker And Dry Cargo Ships Caught Fire In The Russian Town Of Taganrog
https://charter97.org/en/news/2026/6/5/686662/
#WarOfAggression #Ukraine #drone #Ships #OilTanker #CargoShips #Taganrog #warfare #army #war #Russia #missiles #WarCriminal #invaders #Moscow #occupiers
#перемогаYкраїни -
🚢🧼 Epidemiologists study how the interconnected environments of cruise #ships allow #infections to spread between passengers. Factors such as shared ventilation systems, buffet dining, and communal #water sources like hot tubs make these vessels more susceptible to certain pathogens.
👉 https://www.sciencealert.com/expert-explains-why-cruise-ships-are-so-prone-to-disease-outbreaks
#health #science #biology #travel #medicine #viruses #safety #education #research
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Thursday, April 16, 2026
A new model of warfare: Ukraine's Defense Ministry announces drone assault units -- Trump & Vance may have abandoned Ukraine, but polls show the American people remain deeply committed -- How one Ukrainian resisted Russian occupation for 8 years -- Kyiv raises alarm over Russian ship docking in Israel with stolen Ukrainian grain ... and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/04/thursday-april-16-2026/
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Monday, December 22, 2025
[War Crimes] 50 civilians in Sumy Oblast abducted and forcibly taken to Russia -- "We are f–king fascists": — Pussy Riot memoir looks at everything wrong with Russia -- Ukrainian drone attack sets Russian pipeline ablaze, damages ships in Krasnodar Krai -- Ukrainian partisans sabotage key railway hub in Russia's Rostov Oblast ... and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/12/monday-december-22-2025/
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Saturday, September 13, 2025
Poland, Ukraine to train downing drones on Polish territory -- Russian offensive in Sumy Oblast completely thwarted -- Key Russian oil hub suspends operations -- [vlog] Can Ukraine’s oil strikes shift Russia's war? ... and morehttps://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/09/saturday-september-13-2025/
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Population Vulnerability Of Residents, Employees, And Cruise-Ship Passengers To Tsunami Hazards Of Islands In Complex Seismic Regions - A Case Study Of The U.S. Virgin Islands
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105289 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #Tsunami #Evacuation #Mitigation #Risk #Hazard #Modeling #Island #publicsafety #USVI #VirginIslands #damage #loss #infrastructure #cost #economics #humanimpacts #publicsafety #lossoflife #death #earthquake #fault #mitigation #monitoring #warning #response #tourists #locals #employees #cruiseships #population #community #vulnerability #USVirginIslands #ships #vessels #docks #inundation #flood #flooding #waves #maritime #port #scenario #riskassessment #model #modeling #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal -
Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpmSGoMb8S0 #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [015] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxOaSMPV_RI #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [013] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j56oIyADriY #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [012] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH6hiYobGsI #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [011] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4PcROJVWRw #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [010] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blV3An_p7b4 #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [008] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVrkJuh1vFg #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [007] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2jTAiPQBY #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [006] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkOuQw1mMbw #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [005] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jydilXRioTI #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [004] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEkEr-toxfY #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [003] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvpHwMQVhpY #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [002] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwpeEEH4poU #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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Galactic Civilizations III - No Commentary Longplay [001] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMnuK18wuOM #pc #hd #4k #civ #war #2024 #game #space #terra #60fps #movie #1080p #ships #alien #stars #future #empire #gaming #terrans #emperor #capture #manutd #galactic #longplay #campaign #videgame #stellaris #letsplay #precursor #hypergate #turnbased #federation #playthrough #shipdesign #battleships #civilization #galacticciv #galciticciv #spacebattle #gamingvideo #galaciticciv #strategygame
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#Wärtsilä, will close factory in Italy, they will pay the penalties it owes more or less 30~35 million Euros, now considering that they are engines for #ships #container #tank, it is better for them to pay that, instead of continuing in #Italy, with a couple of #engines have already returned to profit.
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#Coastguard response times could quadruple under new plans
Controversial new proposal from #Bristow’s a private, profit motivated company Tories contracted to #privatize the service
Coastguard will have 60 min to launch after call is made
Currently they have 15 min during day, 45 min at night
This will risk lives
https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2023/10/06/coastguard-response-times-could-quadruple-under-new-plans
#ToryScum #CutsKill #Rescue #Shetland #Maritime #UK #greed #ToryDictatorship #Privatization #SearcjRescue #OilRigs #Ships #CruiseShips #PeopleNotProfits
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In the eighty years between 1788 and 1868, some 162,000 #convicts were embarked on #transport #ships and #banished to the #colonies to serve their sentences. The 337-ton #barque #Neva sailed from the #Irish port of #Cork on 8th January 1835 bound for #Sydney with 153 #female #prisoners of the crown. Joining them were 55 #children. When the Neva struck a #reef in Bass Strait, some 150 #souls #perished.
#Australia #History #Shipwreck #NSW #Ireland #Maritime #Disaster
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København: the thread about the mysterious disappearance of an enigmatic, Leith-built sailing ship
This beautiful ship is the København. She plied the world’s oceans training young men and boys to become sailors, moving cargoes from port to port until one day, some seven years after leaving her builders in Leith, she disappeared and was never seen or heard from ever again. Her fate remains a mystery to this day.
Final fitting out in dry dock at Leith, dated 1921. This was probably to give her bottom a final inspection and coat of paint before handing over to her owners, as described in the Edinburgh Evening News in September of that year. © Edinburgh City LibrariesDespite appearances, the København was a creation of the 20th century; a five-masted Danish sailing barque and one of the largest sailing vessels ever built. Her primary duty was the training of officer cadets for the merchant marine. There is a tradition in a number of European countries, continued to this day, of carrying out such maritime education on purpose-built sailing vessels. To help pay her running costs she also served as a general cargo ship, long after steam had displaced sail as the primary motive power at sea. The early history of this ship is slightly confusing. She was part of an order for the Leith yard of Ramage and Ferguson by A/S Det Ostasiatiske Kompagni (the East Asiatic Company) of Copenhagen in 1913 for three large sailing barques with auxiliary motor power. This particular København, yard number 242, was to have have four masts but war intervened before she could be completed. After lying incomplete for 2 years her hull was purchased by the British Admiralty in 1916 and quickly completed as an oil storage hulk, named Black Dragon and towed to Gibraltar. Sold in 1922 to the Shell oil company, she remained in service there until 1960.
The modelmakers loft at Ramage and Fergusons in 1906. The three vessels being worked on are all large steam yachts of the type the yard was renowned for. © Edinburgh City LibrariesAfter the war Det Ostasiatiske Kompagni ordered a replacement ship of the same name from Ramage and Ferguson. This new København – yard number 256 – would have not four but five masts, displaced 3,960 tons gross, was 130m long (426½ feet), 15m wide (49⅓ feet) and had a draught of 8.2m (27 feet). Those masts were nearly 58 metres tall (190 feet) and could spread 5,200 square metres (56,000 square feet) of American cotton sails. For times when the wind was lacking or for manoeuvring in harbour she had a 4-cylinder, 650hp diesel engine specially imported from Denmark which could propel her at 6 knots. She could carry 5,200 deadweight tons of cargo or 8,100 cubic metres (288,500 cubic feet) of grain. On account of her size and towering masts she gathered much local attention; taking a walk to observe progress became the done thing to do about the burgh. She was launched – mastless – on March 24th 1921, watched by a large crowd that had assembled to see her huge white hull slide into the dock basin.
The launch of the second København, contemporary newspaper photograph from the Daily RecordThe Great Dane, as the British press came to call her, was the largest sailing vessel ever built in the United Kingdom (excluding Brunel’s sail-assisted steamship Great Eastern. Two other Clyde-built ships were marginally longer, but København had a greater displacement.) She was the last of only seven 5-masted barques that have ever been built and ranks in the top 20 largest sailing ships – by length and displacement – ever built.
After launch and fitting out at Leith Docks, 1921. The masts are stepped but there remains much work to be done © Edinburgh City LibrariesShe was fitted with a generator to power electric lighting throughout and a wireless (radio) set with a 400 mile range. Her regular complement was 26 officers and men along with somewhere between 45 and 60 cadets, aged between 14 and 20. In addition to her master, her crew included 4 mates, a doctor, 2 engineers, 3 cooks, 2 boatswains, a carpenter, a sailmaker and a wireless operator. At the the rear – the “poop” – of the ship, was her main saloon, captain’s and officers quarters, staterooms, wireless room and infirmary. The rest of the crew and the cadets were accommodated in a deckhouse amidships. At her figurehead she had a sculpture of the 12th century Danish warrior bishop and founding father of the nation, Absalon.
Close-up detail of the proud figurehead of Absalon on the prowShe left Leith for her trials in the Firth of Forth on September 28th 1921 under the command of Commander Niels Juel-Brockdorff of the Royal Danish Navy. Again large crowds assembled to watch the spectacle; it took four tugs to tow her out from the shipyard stern first before turning her around so that she could begin to move under her own power.
The København was brought carefully down the harbour, and the spectators had an opportunity of seeing to great advantage the graceful lines of the ship, its fine figurehead, and other decorative effects. Flags were fluttering gaily from the mastheads, and altogether an exceedingly pretty picture was presented as it passed down between the piers, its size contrasting strikingly with that of the attendant tugs.
Report on the departure in The Scotsman, 29th September 1921After trials she headed straight to sea and on to a welcome in her home port of Copenhagen before embarking on a circumnavigation of the globe during which time she sailed 38,326 miles, not returning home until 7th November the following year. The ship was now gone from Edinburgh and Leith, but not forgotten. For the next few months one of the most popular shows at the Synod Hall on Castle Terrace starred the København as a feature in Poole’s Myriorama; a panoramic picture and special effect show.
Painting of the København at sea by Peder Christian Pedersen. CC-by-SA 4.0 HesekielIn October 1925 she came close to catastrophe when she caught fire in the English Channel en route for Melbourne from Danzig with a cargo of timber. The fire started in the cabins at the rear of the ship, destroying much of her fine wooden fittings, but she was able to to put safely into Plymouth. After repairs she was able to carry her load to Australia without further ado. In 1927, en route from Liverpool to Chile via the Panama Canal, she lost a propeller blade on the Pacific coast of South America and had to put into Calloa in Peru to repair.
København in dry dock in Australia, photo from the Edwardes Collection of the State Library of South AustraliaOn September 21st 1928, the ship departed the Danish port of Nørresundby under the command of Captain Hans Anderson carrying a shipload of chalk and cement for Argentina. It would prove to be her final departure from home. Arriving safely in Buenos Aires on November 17th 1928, she then waited in that port for 4 weeks for an onward cargo for Australia. None was forthcoming and so the captain decided to leave empty for Melbourne, where he could load with wheat, and departed on December 14th. Depending on the source there were either 60 or 70 souls aboard, including 45 cadets, on a trip that was expected to take around 45 days. Eight days later she passed the Norwegian steamer William Blumer some 900 miles to the west of the islands of Tristan da Cunha and the two ships exchanged signals, København indicated that all was well and the cadets were preparing to celebrate Christmas as they passed south of the Cape of Good Hope. This proved to be the last time she was ever seen or heard from ever again.
The last voyage of the København (approximate) showing the route east from the River Plate, across the South Atlantic and southern Indian Ocean to Australia.However there was no immediate cause for concern. Captain Anderson had a reputation for taking a “minimalist” approach to using his radio and sailing journeys could easily take far longer than scheduled if the winds were unfavourable. Thus when København did not arrive in Melbourne on schedule nobody raised any alarm. By February 1929, the East Asiatic Company was sufficiently concerned to begin making enquiries with Lloyd’s of London for any information concerning their now long overdue vessel, but it was not until early April 1929 that they finally raised the alarm. The British Admiralty were approached for assistance and the search and rescue operation which now followed has been called “the longest, farthest reaching and most costly in the history of maritime service“. The Admiralty spread the word amongst British shipping and arranged for the Liverpool firm of Alfred Holt and Company to diverted their steamer Deucalion from Cape Town to make a search of potential landfall in southern latitudes on which the missing Dane could either have become bound or wrecked upon. These were the remote Price Edward Islands, the Crozet Islands and Kerguellen. The Admiralty also lent an experienced navigator, a high-powered wireless set and two operators to man it. The East Asiatic Company dispatched their own motor vessel, Mexico, to make her own search.
København , photo from the Edwardes Collection of the State Library of South AustraliaIn May, news was received from the searching steamer Halesius out of Tristan da Cunha that an English preacher on that island, Philip Lindsay, claimed that he and others on the island had sighted, on January 21st, a five masted sailing ship with a white band round its hull approaching the islands. This apparition came from the south and her first two masts were seen to be broken. It then disappeared from their view towards a part of the island that was inaccessible. Objects were later found washed up on the shore but they could not conclusively be proved to have come from København. Lindsay told The Times:
The sea was rough for our boats and we could do nothing but watch her gradually crawl past and run inside the reefs to the west of the island. She was certainly in distress. She was using only one small jib [sail], and her stern was very low in the water. I estimated that she was within a quarter mile of the shore when we last saw her.
Philip Lindsay, eyewitnessThe Halesius made a search of the rocky and unpopulated Gough Island to the south of Tristan, but found nothing and so carried on her way. The master of Halesius put his ship into Montevideo on June 22nd and caused a minor sensation when he was quoted by the press as having found the ship’s wreckage. He had, however, made no such claim and it was a reporting error that had mixed up facts. On the same day it was announced that the Australian steamer Junee, in Sydney, and the Norwegian motor ship Lars Risdahl, in Cape Town, had both been chartered by the East Asiatic Company to carry on the search in the Southern Ocean. They were also diverting the Mexico to Tristan to make a thorough investigation of her own, just in case.
The Halesius in her former guise as the Lord Cromer in 1912, whose sensational attribution to have located the København was unfounded. © National Museums Liverpool MCR/39/17The intensive search continued for the next two and a half months. The Mexico returned to Cape Town in the middle of July and her master spoke to the London Daily News. He told the reporter that it was his belief that the ship had washed up on the lonely desert coast of southwestern Africa and that he was refuelling before heading off on that particular search course. Every coastline and grid square was combed before the company reluctantly called off the operation on September 9th 1929, some nine months after the København had last been seen. She was officially declared missing by Lloyd’s of London on January 1st 1930. But as hope dwindled, interest in the disappearance was if anything even more widespread with the passing of time and lack of evidence.
Various theories for her imagined loss were advanced. Had she collided with ice floes and been abandoned by her crew? But ice was unlikely to have been encountered if she had passed Tristan da Cunha, so had she become lost and icebound in the Southern Ocean? Some said that the observers on Tristan were mistaken; they had not seen the København at all. No, the much more rational explanation was that they had seen the renowned South Atlantic ghost ship, the Phanton Barque. Did the København capsize in a sudden squall under her immense spread of canvas due to the lack of a heavy cargo in her hold to provide a low centre-of-gravity? This would certainly have given no time for lifeboats to be launched. Others said the ship had simply been swallowed by the ocean, it was well known amongst mariners who had sailed in the Southern Seas just how the mountainous seas and roaring winds could do such a thing. Yet others thought she would still be afloat, drifting aimlessly in the oceans, “a plaything of wind and current, a toy of unmerciful Neptune“, just waiting to be discovered.
Public interest inevitably began to wane but in April 1934 a Captain Soderlund, of the Finnish-flagged grain ship Lawhill which had just arrived in Adelaide, told newspapers that he had sighted wreckage from the København floating in the Great Australian Bight but had failed to retrieve it. Then in September 1934 the New York Times reported that a message in a bottle that had been picked up by a whaling ship on the Bonvel Islands. The message reputed that the ship had been blown into the Antarctic and the crew and boys put ashore on the ice, to watch their ship be driven by the winds to her destruction. It quickly transpired that the “diary” entries found in the bottle were copied out of a Spanish novel by a Danish journalist who passed them off as genuine.
We know our boys are dead, but it is terrible not to know how and why and where the tragedy happened. Perhaps, too, there are some who cherish a faint hope against their better judgement that some day they will come back
A statement from the parents of the lost cadets, reported in the Daily Herald, October 4th 1934On 11th December 1934 the Belfast Telegraph reported that a Norwegian yacht, the Ho Ho, and her four man crew had arrived in Montevideo after a year long voyage across the Atlantic to search up and down the coast of South America for any signs of the København. Only three days earlier it had been announced that Ramage & Ferguson had gone into voluntary liquidation after years of financial suffering in first the post-war shipbuilding recession and then the Great Depression. One of the last ships completed by them had been the Mercator, a three-masted sail training ship for the Belgian government.
Denmark still has a national sailing training ship, the Georg Stage. Somewhat appropriately, this 1935-built ship visited Leith Docks in April 2022 and tied up alongside Ocean Terminal: a shopping centre built on the site of the Ramage & Ferguson yard.
Georg Stage arriving at Leith in April 2022, with the former royal yacht Britannia and Ocean Terminal in the background © SelfNote to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
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#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret -
Today the Welland Canal closed for the season. A Canadian self-discharging bulk carrier is the last ship making the journey through the locks, with its destination reported only as "Home to my honey". For the crew onboard, they will soon be reunited with their loved ones! #WellandCanal #Ships #StCatharinesON