History Channel News

Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles, the space agency said in a written statement."This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again…

Has the age of maritime discovery and exploration actually ended? Perhaps not exactly. As the history of maritime resilience and the human element shows, as far back as the 1500s and earlier, from using new navigational aids and improved ship designs, to coastal and inland route sailing, to navigating on open seas with uncertain charts, wayward icebergs, dense fog and luckily at times, clear starry nights, mariners have faced human element and maritime resiliency challenges. "Short of food and water…

Underwater explorer Barry Clifford said he found sunken off Haiti what he thinks is the wreck of Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus’ long lost flagship from his first journey to the Americas. Clifford and his team used high tech sonar scanning and metal detection devices to examine the ship’s remains. Most of the ship is intact and excavation will be possible with assistance from the Haitian government, Clifford said. In what could be one of the most important historical discoveries in history, Clifford said he is confident the wreck is the Santa Maria.

On November 15, 2012 the American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association Board of Directors appointed Rick Hepburn, PE, CAPT, USN (Ret) as the second President of ASSA. Rick will work to achieve the ASSA vision to strengthen the capability within the United States for domestically producing the critical parts and equipment necessary for shipbuilding. Under Rick’s leadership, ASSA will continue to work closely with the US Congress, Navy, Coast Guard, Shipyards and other important maritime stakeholders. Rick will continue as President of Hepburn and Sons LLC, an engineering consulting firm offering support to Government and DoD Contractors in the fields of naval engineering, technology transition, system engineering, quality assessment, and ship design support.

Exhibitions are traditional launching points for major equipment makers, and Caterpillar Marine Power Systems is no exception. Last month at the International Workboat Show in New Orleans the ubiquitous marine power company made announcements regarding it progression toward US EPA Tier 3 Regulations. In addition, it brought to the show an interesting repower presentation  from its recent work on OCEARCH’s ‘Shark Wranglers’ vessel. Caterpillar in New Orleans highlighted its array of U.S.

Caterpillar to feature OCEARCH ‘Shark Wranglers’, at upcoming 2012 International Workboat Show, New Orleans. Recently featured in the hit television show “Shark Wranglers” on the History Channel, OCEARCH is a non-profit organization with a global reach for unprecedented research on the ocean’s giants. Much of their recent work has been dedicated to solving mysteries surrounding great white sharks. The OCEARCH team sails the globe conducting scientific expeditions onboard the MV OCEARCH, which is powered by 2x Cat® 3412 engines and 1x  C4.4 and 1x  C6.6 generator while serving as an at-sea laboratory. OCEARCH Founding Chairman and Expedition Leader Chris Fischer will be speaking as well as spending time in meet-and-greet sessions.

A U.S. expedition confirmed that it has located the wreck of RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued 705 survivors from the Titanic and that was later torpedoed by a German U boat. Author Clive Cussler and founder of the National Underwater & Marine Agency said the wreck that was found last spring was confirmed as the Carpathia last week. The ship, sunk near the end of WWI in 1918, was found in 514 ft. (171 m) of water off the east coast of Ireland. Cussler said he and his team were able to pinpoint the wreck using scan sonar and have surveyed the wreck with remote operating vehicles. The Titanic, whose wreckage was found in 1985, left approximately 1,500 people dead; 705 others were rescued by the Carpathia.