Kayakers off the coast of Gran Canaria, Spain saved a turtle that was in danger. The footage depicts the turtle battling with a fishing net that was entangled around its body. After pulling the turtle from the water, the kayakers cut it free from the net before releasing it back into the sea. Video footage […]
CANBERRA, Australia—Three round-the-world sailors reached land safely Thursday after sharks nearly sank their catamaran in the Coral Sea. Both of the inflatable hulls on their 9-meter (30-foot) boat were damaged in several attacks by what were thought to be cookiecutter sharks—a small species not considered dangerous to people. Aerial photos of the men’s rescue showed […]
Federal investigators said Thursday that miscommunication between pilots led to a United Airlines jet diving within 748 feet (228 meters) of the ocean’s surface shortly after takeoff from Hawaii in December. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a final report that the crew failed to manage the plane’s vertical path, airspeed, and nose […]
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador—A powerful 6.5 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of El Salvador shook much of Central America from Nicaragua to Guatemala on Tuesday, sending residents in some cities streaming into the streets. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the epicenter was 27 miles (43 kilometers) south of Intipuca, El Salvador […]
MANZANILLO, Mexico—An Australian sailor who had been adrift at sea with his dog for three months has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, the fishing vessel’s owner said Monday. Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was aboard his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific about 1200 miles (1900 kilometers) from land when […]
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded that Japan’s plans to release radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean are consistent with international safety standards. In a report published on July 4 (pdf), the IAEA, a United Nations body, said that the findings followed a comprehensive assessment and safety review of […]
A pod of killer whales bumped one of the boats in an endurance sailing race as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest encounter in what researchers say is a growing trend of sometimes-aggressive interactions with Iberian orcas. The 15-minute run-in with at least three of the giant mammals forced the crew competing in […]
The European Space Agency is about to send a spacecraft to explore Jupiter and three of its largest and most intriguing moons. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or Juice, was expected to lift off Thursday at 8:15 a.m. ET aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. But a lightning […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand—New Zealand police said Wednesday they found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate. While they had yet to make any arrests, police said they had dealt a financial blow to everyone from the South […]
The Central Tonga Islands welcomed the birth of a new baby—a baby island, that is. The new baby island emerged in the southwest Pacific Ocean, where underwater volcanoes are plentiful. One of these submerged volcanoes awoke on September 10, spewing lava, steam, and ash, according to a statement from the NASA Earth Observatory. Just eleven […]
Millions of tons of plastic wind up in the ocean every year, killing plants and animals. To combat the problem, new devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
A British aerospace engineer claims to have found the final resting place of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 using revolutionary new tracking technology. Expert Richard Godfrey, a founding member of the non-government MH370 Independent Group, says he is confident that the plane crashed into the southern Indian Ocean 1,993 kilometers (1,238 miles) west of Perth and […]
ABOARD SEA-WATCH 3, Mediterranean—Two humanitarian rescue ships pulled 394 migrants from a dangerously overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean overnight on Sunday in an operation lasting about six hours, a Reuters witness said. Sea-Watch 3, a vessel run by German NGO Sea Watch, and Ocean Viking, run by European charity SOS Mediterranee, rescued the migrants […]
CANNON BEACH, Ore.—A 7-year-old girl is dead and her 4-year-old brother is missing after they and their father were swept into the ocean on the Oregon coast amid a high-surf warning. The father was holding the two children when a wave swept all three into the water at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Falcon […]
