Wood Charts – gCaptain’s Favorite High End Holiday Gift
Over the years we’ve shared dozens of amazing products – from gifts for the working sailor to small stocking stuffers – in our Holiday
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.
Over the years we’ve shared dozens of amazing products – from gifts for the working sailor to small stocking stuffers – in our Holiday
Black Friday Starts Now 25% OFF Every Item In The gCaptain Store with coupon code “BlackFriday18” Including All gCaptain Bestsellers gCaptain’s
We recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Chief Mate Ally Cedeno, founder of the influential and inspiring organization Women Offshore. In
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By John Konrad (gCaptain) A new ship can be an intimidating place for a deck officer so here are a few tips to get you started and to remind
An alarming number of shipping companies today are banning knives and even many of the ones who still permit them only allow sailors to carry folding knives.
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