Days of Wine and Rogue Waves: The 1960 SS Angelo Petri Cabernet Tanker Incident Off San Francisco
(This continues a series on “serial sinkers” – ships that had to be rescued more than once. Hope you enjoy
The Ship That Wouldn’t Die
Twice rescued, twice transformed, some ships just are overachievers By Robert R. Frump (Time to start writing again about maritime
Secret Trump Season Three Showrunner Journal Lays Out “Sopranos-West Wing” Story Arc
(The Frump Report has obtained exclusive real-time access to the journal of Trump Season Three Showrunner Dalton Frumbo, a former
At the Ninth Anniversary of the SS El Faro Disaster, Here is a Bob Frump Podcast About Maritime Safety, the SS Poet, the SS Marine Electric , the El Faro and Frump’s Forty Years on the Maritime Beat
I sat down with Cyprus-based Captain VS Parani a while back and think this podcast may be of interest to
Biden’s Turnip Day Gambit: Reshaping the Political Narrative
Certain to lose, said to be too old, too dull, too doddering, abandoned by his party, mocked by the press,
Agency Says Baltimore Bridge Ship “Dali” Had Good Risk Safety Score, But Warned That the Ship’s Fleet Operator Urgently Needed a Control Plan to Mitigate Risk
Copyright, The Frump Report The container ship Dali, which lost power and collided with a bridge near Baltimore early this
The Titan Submersible, Once Thought “Flagged” in the Bahamas, Was in Fact Rejected by The Bahamas Maritime Authority and is Now Considered “Stateless”
The Titan submersible, whose owners told US Coast Guard investigators that the vessel was registered under The Bahamas Maritime Authority,
In Titanic Submersible Probe, Chief Coast Guard Investigator has Record of Sweeping Systemic Changes in Merchant Vessel and Passenger Ship Safety
Coast Guard Captain Jason Neubauer, the head of the formal Marine Board Investigation into the Titanic diving vessel tragedy, led
The SS El Faro Sailed into Hurricane Joaquin and Maritime History Seven Years Ago Today to Become the Most Significant American Wreck of the 21st Century
The SS El Faro and her crew of 33 disappeared in Hurricane Joaquin seven years ago today and the matter
Arguably the Best Modern Oral Narrative of Shipwreck Survival — and Two Good Books Worth Your Consideration.
Sorry to be absent these past several weeks. Covid and family healthcare have kept me busy. Thanks for your patience.
Dispatches from a Hot Zone: The Quest for Life, Love and Identity in an Age of Plague, Capgras and Bonnet Syndromes
Suzanne climbed to the third floor with the sure-footedness of an ibex in the Alps, a testament to two years
World Fleet Ships in the Dry Cargo Category, Which Includes the Beirut “Bomb” Ship Rhosus, Generally are at Far More Risk Than Other Ship Types, Study Shows
Worldwide, a high percentage of dry cargo ships — the same sort of vessel that carried a cargo of ammonium nitrate
To Pass the Time During Virus Lockdown, Here are Two Books Free Online: The Wreck of the SS Marine Electric. And the Wreck of the SS El Faro
Need a good maritime read during virus lockdown? Here are two free online books — one on the Marine Electric; the other on the SS El Faro to pass the time.
Ready or Not, Here She Comes: The USNS Comfort, Near the End of Her Useful Life as a Hospital Ship, Sails Once More into the Breach on President Trump’s Orders
Ready or Not, Here She Comes. President Trump Orders the USNS Comfort to Manhattan
Stocks Rise for Foreign Flag Cruise Ships Anticipating Bail-Out Funding Proposed by President Trump As the American Merchant Marine Declines Past Point of Pentagon Strategic Needs
In a bittersweet irony for the American merchant marine, stocks of foreign-flag cruise vessels shot up yesterday in anticipation of
Underestimating Joe Biden Now — and Then
Opponents have underestimated Joe Biden since day one. He thrives off those errors.
Texas Tugboat Update: Bouchard Faces Possible Criminal Penalties for Defying Coast Guard Orders; Has Until Friday to Comply with Civil Orders
Bouchard Transportation, facing financial distress, continued to defy Coast Guard orders to secure an unsafe barge located off the Texas
The Long, Slow Tide of El Faro Reform May Make This the Most Significant Era for Safety Improvement Since the Titanic
No one saw tons of change coming from the initial report on the 2015 tragedy. But the tide keeps rising and rising — to a point where it may now have provided the most significant maritime safety reforms in more than 100 years.
In Remembrance: The Marine Electric Sank 38 Years Ago This Month, Changing Maritime Safety Forever. Here’s How It Happened
The Wreck of the Marine Electric, in February 1983, triggered a series of US Coast Guard reforms that changed maritime safety forever.
The Smithsonian Documentary Gets Some of ‘El Faro’ Right, But Misses the Real Outcome — and Fabricates a Vital Scene
Comes now the Smithsonian Channel with its latest installment of famous ship wrecks, and to its credit, presents some first
(Work in Progress) “A Man-Eater Named Osama: Tanzania’s Desperate Quest to End the Worst Lion-Human Conflict of the 21st Century” (Chapter Three)
The lion attacks begin in earnest and the rangers strike back — with unfortunate results.
Work in Progress: A Man-Eater Named Osama: Tanzania’s Desperate Quest to End the Worst Lion-Human Conflict of the 21st Century
A divergence from maritime books, here’s a piece on my other interest: Africa conservation and human-animal conflict. This grew from
Project Lighthouse: New Study of US Jones Act Ships Finds Some with “High-Risk Probability for Severe Accidents and Casualties” that “Require Immediate Action to Control the Potential Hazard…”
A new maritime risk ratings study by this column of “Jones Act” ships designated as “militarily useful” shows that half the ships are far riskier than similar vessels in the world fleet – and two are rated as so risky that the agency advises such ships generally “require immediate action to control the potential hazard.”
Denied Coast Guard List of 53 “High Risk” Ships, Project Lighthouse (El Faro), Launches Its Own “Ship of Interest List” for Public Use
Denied a key list of 53 ships tagged as “high risk” by Coast Guard inspectors, Project Lighthouse (El Faro) is
News Summary: Recent Posts, Podcasts, Articles and Books
Here’s a summary of recent posts and a few also pulled from the “evergreen” file. If you’ve not read about
Four Years After the Loss of the SS El Faro, the Coast Guard has Forced a Reckoning Over America’s Rust Bucket Merchant Marine and Sent Shivers Through the Military “Unready Reserve”
Nearly four years after the loss of the SS El Faro and her crew of 33 on October 1, 2015,
How a World Class Coast Guard Rescuer Sank a DUKW — And Still Pulled Off an Extraordinary Rescue
Bernie Webber, the famous Coast Guardsman who led the rescue of the SS Pendleton crew, and whose story was told
“Project Lighthouse:” Passenger, Duck Boat, Ferry and Dive Ship Coast Guard Safety Records Now — Searchable Online. Plus “Ships of Interest List” for Merchant Marine Ships
The loss of the SS El Faro — translated from Spanish as The Lighthouse — prompted the US Coast Guard
Body Counts in Dive Boat and Duck Boat Tragedies Could Resolve Long Simmering Issues Between Coast Guard and NTSB Over Tougher Safety Standards for Small Passenger Vessels Used by Millions of People
The recent death tolls in dive boat and duck boat accidents may result in the NTSB and Coast Guard finally agreeing on tougher standards.
For 15 Years, the National Transportation Safety Board Has Warned the US Coast Guard That Preventive Maintenance Reforms Were Urgently Needed to Avoid Catastrophes Such as the Dive Ship “Conception”
For more than 15 years, the National Transportation Safety Board regularly has warned the US Coast Guard that it should urgently strengthen fire safety crew training and require preventive vessel maintenance programs to avoid small passenger ship fires such as the one that killed more than 30 people last week on the dive ship “Conception,” an in-depth look at NTSB records reveals.
Suzanne Saxton-Frump, 1948-2025, Tribute
(Note: Suzanne Saxton-Frump died peacefully on Aug. 22 in her home with family surrounding her. Services in Philadelphia on September
As the El Faro Wreck Nears Ten Years Past, A New Masterpiece Emerges in Maeve McGoran’s “Shipwreck: How a Captain, Company and Culture Sank The SS El Faro”
Think you know a lot about the SS El Faro? I sure do. I read three great books about the
The Late Gene Kelly, Hero of the Marine Electric, in his Own Words
I’m proud of my book on the wreck of the SS Marine Electric and think it’s some of the best
A Hero of the SS Marine Electric Crosses the Bar
Gene Kelly died over the weekend. He was one of three survivors of the wreck of the SS Marine Electric
Waiting for the Monsoon: A Master Class in Journalism and Human Growth by Rod Nordland
By Bob Frump Ha! Comes now Rod Nordland, one of my personal heroes and our mightiest modern-day war correspondent, fallen