The momentous news that after years of closure and rumor the old ocean liner reopens was very welcome to after the ship had appeared doomed. With the departure of the last lease holder, the ship is ready to offer tours and hotels stays which is welcome news for the troubled Queen. Launched in 1934, the former built-British ocean liner has been in Long Beach since 1967 following the end of her ocean-going career. The ship was in use as a museum, hotel, restaurant and event space before it was closed to the public in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This latest plan gained clarity from present ..read more

SS Independence, photo: Martin Cox, Hawaii 2001hi·a·tus hīˈādəs/ noun a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process. “there was a brief hiatus in the war with France” synonyms: pause, break, gap, lacuna, interval, intermission, interlude, interruption, suspension, lull, respite, time out, time off, recess; The MaritimeMatters facebook page will remain open while we chart a new course. 1998-2018, thanks for cruising with us, more will be revealed. Founder and Publisher Martin Cox ..read more

QE2 A 50th Anniversary Celebration Chris Frame, Rachelle Cross Fifty years ago, the last British built transatlantic liner was launched. Christened by HM The Queen on September 20, 1967, the 963 foot-long vessel was named Queen Elizabeth 2. By the end of that same day, she was already known by her famous nickname: QE2. Fast, smart, and sleek, QE2 sailed more than 5.6 million miles and carried more than 2.5 million passengers during a magnificent 39 1/2 year career. Put simply, she carried more people further than any ship before her and remains the longest-serving express ..read more

Steamship Historical Society Celebrating the Maritime Heritage of Powerful Ships, Legendary Passengers & Hardworking Crews Established in 1935 MaritimeMatters’ Founder Martin Cox interviewed Matthew Schulte, Executive Director of the SSHSA MC: Hello and welcome Matt, for reader’s just joining us, can you tell us briefly about what the SSHSA does? MS: We are the Ship History people, and although we’ve been around since 1935, not a lot of folks are aware of all we offer. We are a non-profit 501 c 3 (tax deductible) organization supported solely by members, friends and through fundraisers an ..read more

by Rob Lightbody 2016 was a year of change for many of us, and that extends to the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) which has been languishing in Dubai since her arrival in November 2008. The first significant external changes were made to the ship, should we be concerned, or supportive? Signs of Hope for QE2 Between 2013 and 2015 she had sat visibly deteriorating in the industrial docks facility while oil tanker workers used her lovely Midships Lobby as their access route onto their adjacent tanker. QE2 in Dubai on Feb 22, 2014. Photo © Hythe Shipshape on Flickr – used with permission. However, t ..read more

The steel cutting ceremony for Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel at MV WERFTEN heralds the construction of two luxury river ships for Crystal River Cruises Artist’s Rendering CRYSTAL DEBUSSY, courtesy Crystal Cruises WISMAR, January 9, 2017 – Today MV WERFTEN celebrated the cutting of the first piece of steel in Wismar, marking the ceremonial start of construction of Crystal River Cruises’ two additional Rhine Class luxury river yachts, CRYSTAL DEBUSSY and CRYSTAL RAVEL, scheduled to sail in spring 2018. The first plates of the luxury river ships were flame cut in the presence of the Gent ..read more

CARNIVAL VISTA class, 133,500 tons, 1,055 feet long, capacity of almost 4,000 passengers. Photo by Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Line Press release from Carnival PR: A new 133,500-ton cruise ship, which will be the third vessel in the company’s Vista class series, will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in late 2019.  The ship, under contract with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, was originally designated for the P&O Cruises Australia brand. In conjunction with this change, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Splendor will be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in late 2019. The ship ..read more

South Street Seaport Museum in lower Manhattan celebrates the return of the 1885 full-rigged ship WAVERTREE Photo by Andy C in 2008, WAVERTREE before restoration. Creative Commons 3.0 Date of arrival: September 24, 2016 from 1pm to 6pm at Pier 16 in the East River (Fulton and South Streets), NYC. South Street Seaport Museum announces the triumphant return of the restored 1885 full-rigged cargo sailing ship WAVERTREE Press release from Museum: “Don’t miss the grand return of the Seaport Museum’s mighty flagship after her 16-month,  $13 million restoration funded by the City ..read more

All photos by generous permission of Will Van Dorp, Tugster: a waterblog PEKING at South Street Seaport. Photo © Will Van Dorp by permission Tugster: a waterblog New York’s South Street Seaport bids farewell to the 1911-built four-masted sailing ship PEKING after 41 years. The South Street Seaport Museum, recovering from the recession and damage from Hurricane Sandy, needed to focus on saving a one of its tall ships, and chose the one with stronger ties to the port of New York.  The WAVERTREE, now completing a 16-month $13 million restoration, will soon return to the very berth being vaca ..read more

September 6 press release from Miami: As part of a new multi-ship order announced today by Carnival Corporation & plc, Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to take delivery of two new 180,000 gross-registered-ton cruise ships in 2020 and 2022 which will be the largest in the Carnival fleet. Both ships will be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas under Carnival Corp.’s exclusive “green cruising” design and will mark the first time an LNG-powered cruise ship is based in North America.             The two ships, with an approximate pas ..read more