At 325 feet, the Christina O, once owned by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, was in her hayday one of the world’s largest and swankiest yachts. Onassis was a gadabout socialite, political networker and a collector of the rich and famous. His lifestyle defined the European post-war rebirth of luxury and style and the parties and guest lists aboard the Christina O were legendary. And, when John F. Kennedy’s widow Jacquline Kennedy married Onassis, his status and that of his yacht soared. As a shipping tycoon, Onassis had a knack for buying, building and refurbishing ships. But it was still eyebrow…

Here’s a follow up to a story we ran a few weeks ago about an assault on Cuba by 10 Cuban-Americans based in Florida that ended in a shootout with Cuban border patrol officers and the death of four of the men.  It turns out, the  24-foot fishing boat the men used to cross the Florida Strait was stolen. Angel Montera, who owns the 24-foot boat, got a call from an international news organization to ask him if he knew anything about the raid on Cuba and shootout. He did not but when he checked his marina slip, he discovered…

On Thursday May 15, the NOAA National Prediction Center issued its latest forecast indicating that there is an 82% likelihood that the developing El Nino will build into one of the largest and most disruptive in a generation The El Nino drives super-heated seawater into the eastern South Pacific off the coast of South America where it affects surface and upper-level wind and rain patterns. In general, a “monster”  El Nino will strengthen tropical revolving storms in the central and western Pacific Ocean which will potentially deliver more frequent and stronger hurricanes to Mexico and the southeastern states of the…

On Wednesday night, one woman was killed and three other were injured when a speedboat carrying the group crashed against Logan Airport Pier #4 in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Dankert of Andover was rushed to Mass General Hospital with serious injuries. Dankert, 24, died early Thursday. According to Boston officials, Dankert and two of her friends were spending the evening at Boston’s Seaport where they boarded the center consol outboard operated by a 40-year-old man. At about 11:20 pm, the boat struck the pier throwing the four onboard out of the boat and onto the rocky shoreline. Dankert was mortally…

The State of Maryland announced this week that it had come to an $2.25 billion settlement agreement with the owners and operators of the container ship Dali for damages resulting from the ship’s collision with the Key Bridge and it’s subsequent collapse. It is the largest marine settlement on record. The Singapore-flagged Dali struck the Key Bridge on March 24, 2024 as it was exiting Baltimore’s inner harbor after losing power and steerage. The 900-foot ship drifted downstream and struck the bridge with its bow. The National Transportation Safety Board determined after an investigation that the ship’s loss of power…