Category: Contemporary Commentary

Thoughts on issues and entertainments of our day.

Dive Boat Conception
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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.

Contemporary Commentary / maritime / shipwrecks

Why Did the Dive Ship “Conception” Burn So Fast? The Express Shuttle II and the Science of “The Mother of All Bombs” May Provide Clues

How could the dive ship Conception, lost off the California coast last week, burn so hot and so quickly that

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Contemporary Commentary / maritime

“I Cover the Waterfront” Select Non-fiction Articles of Bob Frump, 1980-2008

I COVER THE WATERFRONT A Collection of Non-Fiction Articles 1980-2008  by Maritime Writer Robert R. Frump, These articles are collected

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Contemporary Commentary

Time for a Bi-Partisan Overhaul of Passenger Ship Safety Rules? Guess Again: Democrats, Republicans and President Trump Revive a Wooden Passenger Ship That Horrifies US Coast Guard Safety Experts

With sinking duck boats in Missouri last year and the death of divers on the Conception this week, one would

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Contemporary Commentary

A Sister Ship of the “Conception” was Faulted by Coast Guard Inspectors for Fire Systems — But Quickly Complied with Standards

The “Vision,” a sister ship of the lost dive ship “Conception” was cited by the Coast Guard and required to

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Contemporary Commentary / maritime

NTSB Suggested Tougher Standards After Fires on Two Other “Conception”-sized Passenger Vessels Showed How Flames Easily Go Undetected and Then Spread Rapidly

By Robert R. Frump In two previous cases, on vessels similar to the dive ship Conception, the National Transportation Safety Board

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Contemporary Commentary / maritime

Dive Boat Conception Coast Guard Inspections Found Only Minor Issues

A review of Coast Guard inspection records for the stricken dive boat Conception appears to show Coast Guard inspectors found

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Contemporary Commentary

The Difference Between Biden’s Blarney and Malevolent Malarky

The Difference Between Biden’s Blarney and Malevolent Malarky   When I was a kid reporter aged 27 covering Joe Biden,

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Africa / Conservation / Contemporary Commentary

“The Men Who Stare Down Large Carnivores: An Account of Life and Death on the Bleeding Edge of African Conservation” (Complete Story)

Writer’s Note: It’s been awhile since I’ve opened my “African File” but there are some pieces that I want to

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Contemporary Commentary

Work in Progress: “The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ugly Duckling: A True Tale of Cunning, Pluck and a Fierce Ship-to-Ship Battle”

(Posting a few works in progress that I’ll get to soon, though probably not at full book length.  There is

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