John Konrad

Captain John Konrad is the founder and CEO of gCaptain, one of the world’s most-read maritime news websites, and a member of the Pentagon Press Corps. He holds a USCG Master Unlimited license. John studied naval architecture at the U.S. Naval Academy before graduating from SUNY Maritime College with a degree in Marine Transportation. He is also a Y Combinator Startup School alumnus. His decade at sea included service aboard Military Sealift Command-operated ships, crude-oil supertankers running to Valdez, and dynamically positioned drillships supporting deepwater projects. In industry leadership roles, he participated in major offshore exploration and drilling campaigns, including the KG-D6 discovery with Reliance Industries and world record-setting deepwater work with Chevron. On April 20, 2010, John had finished overseeing the $750 million Deep Ocean Ascension newbuild project for BP when the Deepwater Horizon exploded. His seven years at Transocean and personal ties to members of the Horizon crew drove him to investigate the disaster, resulting in Fire on the Horizon (HarperCollins, 2011). In 2025, he co-authored Returning from Ebb Tide: Renewing the United States Commercial Maritime Enterprise for Marine Corps University Press. John has contributed to publications including Forbes, CIMSEC, Lloyd’s List, and the U.S. Coast Guard Compass, and has appeared on outlets including NPR and the BBC. He has also consulted for major newsrooms and public institutions on maritime reporting and offshore industry topics. His reporting draws on primary documents, official maritime records, and on-the-record sources cultivated over two decades in the industry. He is an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute and a member of the Council of American Master Mariners and the Navy League of the United States. His work has been recognized with the U.S. Navy Combined Maritime Forces Naval Support Award and SUNY Maritime’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award.


Monday, May 10, 2021
Global Mercy, The World’s Largest Civilian Hospital Ship, on sea trials
Shipbuilding

World’s Largest Civilian Hospital Ship Passes Sea Trials

Mercy Ships announced this week that the world’s largest civilian hospital ship Global Mercy has now completed deep water sea trials, one of the final

May 10, 2021
Total Views: 7263

Sunday, May 2, 2021
seafarer-ship-crew-covid-temp-checkjpg
Ports

Crew Change Crisis 2.0 – Singapore Bans South Asian Seafarers

Seafarers have been the invisible victims of COVID-19. Thanks to local restrictions and logistical challenges, hundreds of thousands have been stranded at sea

May 2, 2021
Total Views: 6065

Wednesday, April 14, 2021
containership ever-given-free-in the SUEZ CANAL
Accidents

ABS Clears Ever Given To Sail

The technical manager of the containership Ever Given that became stuck in the Suez Canal last month said on Wednesday that the vessel was fit for onward

April 14, 2021
Total Views: 9967

Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Cruise Ship Window In Rain
Cruise Ships

CDC Halts J&J Vaccine Causing Cruise Stocks To Fall

Cruise Line stocks are under pressure today after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control announced they will stop using the

April 13, 2021
Total Views: 3189

Monday, April 12, 2021
serrena-webber-bay-chief-engineer
Blog

Meet Melanated Mariners

Last summer, in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the US during his arrest by police and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Buki

April 12, 2021
Total Views: 6174

Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Watch: This Is Why Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Will Fail
News

Watch: This Is Why Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Will Fail

In the United States, we have a problem that’s so BIG and obvious that even Elon Musk can’t see it. Our highways are broken, our streets are

April 6, 2021
Total Views: 7018

Monday, April 5, 2021
Containership docking Port of Long Beach
Ports

Los Angeles Containership Backlog Nears Six-Month Mark

By Brendan Murray (Bloomberg) – Ship congestion outside the biggest U.S. gateway for Asian imports remained elevated with the wait to offload containers

April 5, 2021
Total Views: 18882

Saturday, March 27, 2021
chief-makoi-youtube
Video

Watch: Who Is Responsible For The Ever Given Grounding?

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Who is responsible for the Ever Given Grounding? And who will pay for the damages? This is a complicated topic considering the

March 27, 2021
Total Views: 48045

Thursday, March 25, 2021
As Global Trade Stalls, Suez Canal Memes Take Over the Internet
Blog

As Global Trade Stalls, Suez Canal Memes Take Over the Internet

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Most news organizations have a serious view of events when a major incident in one of the world’s most critical which costs

March 25, 2021
Total Views: 32995

Wednesday, March 24, 2021
VIDEO: How Does A Ship Run Aground In The Suez Canal
Accidents

VIDEO: How Does A Ship Run Aground In The Suez Canal

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) Yesterday morning an ultra-large containership ran aground and blocking ship traffic in the Suez Canal. AIS data shows the MV

March 24, 2021
Total Views: 43360

Thursday, March 18, 2021
Beetle NFT
Blog

Sino Global Shipping Joins NFT Craze

Shares of Sino-Global Shipping America (NASDAQ:SINO) soared over 30% in NASDAQ premarket trading today after the company announced it will launch a new

March 18, 2021
Total Views: 1952

Friday, March 12, 2021
Commandant Thanks US Coast Guard And US Merchant Marine For Their Service in 2020
Defense

Commandant Thanks US Coast Guard And US Merchant Marine For Their Service in 2020

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Yesterday Commandant Karl Schultz, in the annual State of the Coast Guard Address, outlined the US Coast Guard’s perseverance

March 12, 2021
Total Views: 3122

Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Capt Hugh-Mulzac-first-black-master-mariner
Blog

Captain Mulzac WW2 Hero and America’s First Black Master Mariner

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, it faced a shortage of merchant mariners. With supplies in desperate needs overseas a massive

February 16, 2021
Total Views: 4607

Thursday, February 11, 2021
Lake Superior Ice-breaker
NOAA

Great Lakes Ice Coverage Is The Smallest In Decades

by John Konrad (gCaptain) The U.S. rang in the new year with an unusually mild January 2021 that tied with 1923 for the ninth-warmest January on record. The

February 11, 2021
Total Views: 4351

Monday, February 8, 2021
Casascius Bitoin
Blog

UPDATE: NY Based Sino-Shipping Announces Huge Investment In Bitcoin Mining

UPDATE: Shares in Sino-Global are trading over 50% higher today on the announcement that Elon Musk has directed tesla to put $15B worth of Bitcoin on the

February 8, 2021
Total Views: 3654

Friday, February 5, 2021
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Navy

US Navy To Spend $173m On Cleantech Energy Upgrades At Norfolk Naval Shipyard

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Ameresco ($AMRC), today announced a $173 million clean energy upgrade contract with the U.S. Navy to construct a new 19-megawatt (MW)

February 5, 2021
Total Views: 1966

Friday, January 29, 2021
CTRM Delisting Fox News
Blog

Castor Maritime Stock Gets Delisted By Robinhood Alongside Gamestop

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Yesterday we wrote that shares of the offshore drillship company Transocean ($RIG) were surging on retail investor interest in highly

January 29, 2021
Total Views: 22835

Thursday, January 28, 2021
Ship Stonks
Blog

Shipping Stonks Like RIG Get Lifted In Rising Tide Of Troubled Companies Like Gamestop

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) In May 2020 I wrote an article sharing the fact that Transocean ($RIG) was the biggest loser stock of the last decade. At the

January 28, 2021
Total Views: 5534

Saturday, January 16, 2021
Leadership Is Language Book
Blog

Book Review: Leadership Is Language

In his new book "Leadership Is Language, The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't", former submarine commander Captain L David Marquet (USN Ret)

January 16, 2021
Total Views: 1965

Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Deadline Looms For ‘Airbus Of The Sea’ Shipyard Deal
Shipbuilding

Deadline Looms For ‘Airbus Of The Sea’ Shipyard Deal

MILAN, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri’s planned acquisition of state-controlled French rival Chantiers de

December 30, 2020
Total Views: 5726