New Memorial To Titanic Helmsman Buried In Unmarked Grave (Belfast Telegraph, 19 Dec 2019)

The family of the helmsman of the Titanic, whose final resting place was a mystery for decades, have now marked his grave with a headstone in Aberdeen. Mr Hichens was buried in an unmarked grave with another sailor – Dutch seaman David Lamb – in Trinity Cemetery, meaning for years his family did not know where he had been laid to rest. The memorial was erected in a ceremony attended by three other relatives as well as Titanic enthusiasts. “It’s amazing, it is just fantastic. There were loads of people there.”

Underwater Survey of Asia Titanic Shows Wreck That Took 4,300(GeekWire, 19 Dec 2019)

The scene of the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history — known as “Asia’s Titanic” — has been surveyed by the Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel, the exploration ship owned and operated by the late Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc. R/V Petrel worked in partnership with the National Museum of the Philippines to examine the site of the M/V Doña Paz and M/T Vector in Tablas Strait in April. The passenger ferry and oil tanker collided on Dec. 20, 1987, killing an estimated 4,386 people. Only 24 people were reported to have survived.

Well you do not see this every day. A cruise ship coming into port got an unexpected squall that caused it to collide with another ship already docked. There were only minor injuries to some passengers but the damage was extensive as the video indicates. It appears the captain did his best to minimize the collision by reversing the engines. Although the damage to both ships did not affect structural integrity, it means significant repairs have to be done to fix the damage on both ships.

Happy Saturday everyone. Here is a nice tune to get you into a festive mood.