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.
Isolation As we all well know, fire containment is essential. The following isolations should be considered: Electrical isolation: Electricity can be a
In your scenario, how is your fire going to be discovered? What would be the most realistic scenario? Let’s say, you have ultraviolet sensors that pick
The English Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world: on a typical day over 400 vessels travel through the Dover Straits. In a new series titled
Photo by Boat Nerd Writing this just off the deck of a newbuild in South Korea I am amazed at the market advance of two organizations, the Marshall Islands
Ok, the number of posts this week has been less than expected but with good reason…. we have a spam problem. The bad news is that spam has finally
For the past few years thousands of trucks have been showing up at Google’s campus, discharging piles of books and picking up yesterday’s delivery.
For this week’s pick of Bizarre Marine Technology we wanted to go with Glacier Blankets but, although they would likely be transported to the Artic on
This week gCaptain was excited to learn of a new organization that looks to provide leadership to the international community of mariners that specialize in
After the successful launch of gCaptain’s new Maritime Jobs Board we are ready for the next big idea. The jobs section was built to help solve a problem,
This week’s incident photo of the week is the rescue of the sailboat Cittia De Salerno’s captain, Gianfranco Tortolani, on the USA to UK segment of
Today we continue our interview (click HERE for part 1) with Ralph Mellusi, an admiralty lawyer specializing in marine license defense. Ralph Mellusi has
While we have covered eLoran before, most notably in this eLoran FAQ early last year, new headlines provide the need for revisiting the topic. In an article
How is a cabin is built in this day of containerization and commodization? Remotely of course. Eurodam News, Holland America’s blog showcasing the
On June 12, 2009 Rear Admiral Ronald J. Rábago assumed duties as the new Assistant Commandant for Acquisitions and Chief Acquisition Officer of the United
Maritime Photographer Frodog brings us this HD image of the infamous MSC Napoli in drydock. He writes: In a Dry Dock aft of the Resolution was this Hulk of
You have a PASS Device for your shipboard fire team..right?? Why not break it out of the gear locker during confined space entries? For those who have never
It’s official, today is the first UN designated World Oceans Day. The concept for World Oceans Day was proposed at the 1992 Earth Summit and has been
Love it or hate it Season 2 of Animal Planet’s hit maritime reality tv show Whale Wars aired last night. A novel could be written to describe
Photo by Erica Marshall In April gCaptain was excited to announce opening the new MARITIME JOBS SECTION to our forum member BETA testers. Currently We are
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