Ships | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/ships/RSS feed for ShipsenThu, 13 Aug 2026 14:26:39 +0000The Global Web of Subsea Cables That Connects the World Can Now Detect Whales—Even When They're Silenthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-global-web-of-subsea-cables-that-connects-the-world-can-now-detect-whales-even-when-theyre-silent-180989326/A diving whale revealed how existing technology makes it possible to monitor cetaceans swimming quietly across the seabedThu, 13 Aug 2026 14:26:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-global-web-of-subsea-cables-that-connects-the-world-can-now-detect-whales-even-when-theyre-silent-180989326/Shipwreck Divers Discovered a 162-Year-Old Bottle of Guinness Brewed During the Reign of Queen Victoria—and They Want to Take a Swighttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-divers-discovered-a-162-year-old-bottle-of-guinness-brewed-during-the-reign-of-queen-victoria-and-they-want-to-take-a-swig-180989320/The beer was preserved in a sealed glass bottle and may be safe to sample. The team is also hoping to sequence the DNA of the yeast to recreate what the stout would have tasted like in the 19th centuryWed, 12 Aug 2026 17:28:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-divers-discovered-a-162-year-old-bottle-of-guinness-brewed-during-the-reign-of-queen-victoria-and-they-want-to-take-a-swig-180989320/This World War II Submarine Noted for Sinking Enemy Ships Just Journeyed Across Lake Michigan for a Multimillion-Dollar Makeoverhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-world-war-ii-submaring-noted-for-its-success-sinking-enemy-ships-just-journeyed-across-lake-michigan-for-a-multimillion-dollar-makeover-180989269/The USS 'Silversides' earned a dozen battle stars for its work patrolling the Pacific Ocean. The Gato-class sub is now the star of a museum in MichiganThu, 06 Aug 2026 14:48:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-world-war-ii-submaring-noted-for-its-success-sinking-enemy-ships-just-journeyed-across-lake-michigan-for-a-multimillion-dollar-makeover-180989269/Australia’s Most Notorious Shipwreck Tells a Story of Murder, Slavery, Mutiny—and, Now, ‘Surprisingly Sophisticated’ Trade in the 17th Centuryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/When the Dutch East India Company’s flagship "Batavia" sank in 1629, it went down with large, carved sandstone blocks in its hold. The stones are now shedding light on trade at the dawn of global capitalismThu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/This Medieval Byzantine Shipwreck Boasts More Gold Treasures Than Any Other Vessel Found Beneath the Mediterraneanhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-medieval-byzantine-shipwreck-boasts-more-gold-treasures-than-any-other-vessel-found-beneath-the-mediterranean-180989217/The vessel sank in the Adriatic Sea in the seventh or eighth century C.E. Its cargo included a gold signet ring likely associated with the emperor Heraclius and gold belts encrusted with rubies, emeralds and pearlsTue, 28 Jul 2026 20:07:44 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-medieval-byzantine-shipwreck-boasts-more-gold-treasures-than-any-other-vessel-found-beneath-the-mediterranean-180989217/This Ship Sank in the Baltic Sea With Presents Bound for a Romanov Czar. Its Cargo Included Champagne, Luxury Mineral Water and Rare Meteoriteshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-ship-sank-in-the-baltic-sea-with-presents-bound-for-a-romanov-czar-its-cargo-included-champagne-luxury-mineral-water-and-rare-meteorites-180989198/New research suggests that a shipwreck discovered off the coast of Sweden in 2024 may have been transporting gifts from the German Duchy of Nassau to Alexander II of Russia in the immediate aftermath of the Crimean WarMon, 27 Jul 2026 13:19:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-ship-sank-in-the-baltic-sea-with-presents-bound-for-a-romanov-czar-its-cargo-included-champagne-luxury-mineral-water-and-rare-meteorites-180989198/For Three Hours Every Day, Open Ocean Transforms Into Australia's 'Ghost' Reefhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/for-three-hours-every-day-open-ocean-transforms-into-australias-ghost-reef-180989152/An isolated wonder some 1,200 miles from the nearest city, Montgomery Reef disappears as quickly as it appears, mirroring the supposed vanishing of its original owners, a tribe of Indigenous giantsMon, 20 Jul 2026 17:34:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/for-three-hours-every-day-open-ocean-transforms-into-australias-ghost-reef-180989152/New Close-Up Images Reveal the Wreckage of Ernest Shackleton's Last Ship, Now Draped in Discarded Fishing Gear and Teeming With Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-close-up-images-reveal-the-wreckage-of-ernest-shackletons-last-ship-now-draped-in-discarded-fishing-gear-and-teeming-with-life-180989139/The vessel "Quest," found in 2024 off the coast of northeastern Canada, has become a home for corals, anemones and fish. It also holds the leftovers from decades of commercial fishing that happened above it after it sankFri, 17 Jul 2026 16:26:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-close-up-images-reveal-the-wreckage-of-ernest-shackletons-last-ship-now-draped-in-discarded-fishing-gear-and-teeming-with-life-180989139/This Viking Longship Crossed the Atlantic Before Starring in Christopher Nolan's 'Odyssey' as Odysseus' Greek Galleyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thisviking-longship-crossed-the-atlantic-before-starring-in-christopher-nolans-odyssey-as-odysseus-greek-galley-180989137/Hollywood stars including Matt Damon went to rowing camp to learn how to operate the vessel for the new filmThu, 16 Jul 2026 20:27:45 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thisviking-longship-crossed-the-atlantic-before-starring-in-christopher-nolans-odyssey-as-odysseus-greek-galley-180989137/Once the World’s Biggest Passenger Ship, This Metal Marvel That Crossed the Atlantic and Took Immigrants to Australia Has a New Museum Homehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-the-worlds-biggest-passenger-ship-this-metal-marvel-the-ss-great-britain-that-crossed-the-atlantic-and-took-immigrants-to-australia-has-a-new-museum-home-180989130/A new museum dedicated to stories surrounding the S.S. "Great Britain" is about to open in Bristol, where the ship is permanently dry-dockedWed, 15 Jul 2026 20:34:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-the-worlds-biggest-passenger-ship-this-metal-marvel-the-ss-great-britain-that-crossed-the-atlantic-and-took-immigrants-to-australia-has-a-new-museum-home-180989130/Take an Exclusive Look at Three Newly Discovered Medieval Shipwrecks in Menorca's 'Cove of Mysteries'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/take-an-exclusive-look-at-three-newly-discovered-medieval-shipwrecks-in-menorcas-cove-of-mysteries-180989092/Meteorological tsunamis likely sank the 13th-century trading vessels, whose cargo included objects from both Christian kingdoms and Moorish communities on the Iberian PeninsulaThu, 09 Jul 2026 12:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/take-an-exclusive-look-at-three-newly-discovered-medieval-shipwrecks-in-menorcas-cove-of-mysteries-180989092/A New Expedition Will Create 3D Digital Twins of Polar Shipwrecks Tied to Voyages of Rival Explorers Who Raced to the South Polehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-expeditiion-will-create-3d-digital-twins-of-polar-shipwrecks-tied-to-voyages-of-rival-explorers-who-raced-to-the-south-pole-180989074/Robert Falcon Scott led an expedition aboard the ship ‘Terra Nova’ and Ernest Shackleton led one from the ship ‘Quest’—but neither explorer got to plant the first flag in the heart of AntarcticaMon, 06 Jul 2026 17:44:29 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-expeditiion-will-create-3d-digital-twins-of-polar-shipwrecks-tied-to-voyages-of-rival-explorers-who-raced-to-the-south-pole-180989074/Speed Limits for Ships Protect Endangered Right Whales From Vessel Strikes. Could the Animals Survive Without Them?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/speed-limits-for-ships-protect-endangered-right-whales-from-vessel-strikes-could-the-animals-survive-without-them-180989013/Since 2008, rules requiring ships to slow down to avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales have reduced fatalities of the critically endangered animals. Now, NOAA is calling the regulations into question, raising concerns for the mammals’ futureFri, 26 Jun 2026 18:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/speed-limits-for-ships-protect-endangered-right-whales-from-vessel-strikes-could-the-animals-survive-without-them-180989013/How Angry, Out-of-Work Fishermen Saved the Patriots During the American Revolutionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-angry-out-of-work-fishermen-saved-the-patriots-during-the-american-revolution-180988968/The British punished rebellious New Englanders by depriving them of their livelihood. This led unemployed mariners to enlist in the patriot causeMon, 22 Jun 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-angry-out-of-work-fishermen-saved-the-patriots-during-the-american-revolution-180988968/