The Mariner's Blog

When a vessel sends a distress alert at the press of a button, the first thing rescuers see is a nine-digit number. That number, the MMSI, identifi...

A single narrow channel in Southeast Asia carries a huge share of the goods, oil, and gas that keep the global economy moving. The Strait of Malacc...

Tonnage decides how much a ship pays in port, how many crew it needs, and what it costs to transit a canal. Yet two of the most important figures, ...

Before a ship sails, an officer reads a set of numbers painted on the hull at the waterline. Those numbers, the vessel's draft, determine whet...

Moving goods across the ocean has always carried risk. A storm, a collision, a grounding, or a fire can destroy a vessel and its cargo in hours, an...

Few state flags carry an image as striking as Louisiana's. At its center, a mother pelican pierces her own breast to feed her chicks with drop...

On a ship, decisions that keep the vessel, crew, and cargo safe are made in one place: the bridge. People often picture a captain at a large wooden...

Look closely at the Hawaiian state flag, and something seems out of place. There, in the upper-left corner of a flag representing the 50th state of...

Choosing marine binoculars comes down to a few decisions that matter more than brand or price. The water is a moving, salty, low-light environment,...

A nautical chart is only as safe as its most recent correction. The seabed shifts, wrecks appear, buoys move, and depths change. A chart printed la...