Join The Club
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.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Merchant Marine
US Navy Vs China An Impeccable Incident – A Video Explanation
Why did the Chinese Navy harass the USNS Impeccable? gCaptain has been recieving a number of emails, Tweets and forum questions about this incident so I put
Navy
USNS Impeccable – Harassed by Chinese Navy + FAQ
Yesterday, five Chinese vessels “shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity” to the U.S. Navy ocean surveillance ship,
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Engines
Salt Water As A Fuel Source
Boing Boing, The Directory of Wonderful Things , brings us a story that’s seemingly unthinkable: John Kanzius, a retired TV station owner, believes
Friday, March 6, 2009
Uncategorized
The Halligan Tool – Fire Gear Locker
After my last Fire Team meeting the 2nd Mate said: “you must own stock in the Halligan Tool Company”. Well I don’t (such a company
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Jobs
Faststream Launches Seagoing Recruitment
gCaptain is very pleased to bring you the following message from gCaptains’s most dedicated sponsor, Faststream
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Blog
World’s Sexiest Sextant? You Decide
MaritimeLinks.net (a must see site) brings us what is reportedly “The Worlds Sexiest Sextant” or less smashingly called the Cassens & Plath
Friday, February 27, 2009
Photo
Amazing Marine HDR Photos
Smashing Magazine, the site for web designers, has an excelent collection of HDR photos. They explain; Applied carefully, High Dynamic Range-technique (HDR)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
gCaptain
Best Maritime Blogs of 2009 That You (Maybe) Aren’t Reading
Photo by David Hobby We estimate that the Maritime Industry is 3-5 years behind better knowing communities in the adoption of social media and the sharing of
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Uncategorized
Pink Dolphin Discovery – Photos & Video of Pinky The Albino Dolphin
We bring you the latest news about a pink dolphin in Louisiana via The
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
gCaptain
YOUblog – Step Up To The Maritime Mic
Have a great idea you’d like to share with the industry? Ever think to yourself , “I could do a better job than these gCaptain guys“? Now is
Monday, February 23, 2009
Incidents
New Star – Russian Navy Sinks Commercial Ship
The BBC brings us this amazing, and tragic, news of the Russian Navy sinking a commercial ship last week. They tell
Friday, February 13, 2009
Photo
Ugliest Ship Contest
To help promote our friends at The Ugly Ship blog we are starting a contest for the ugliest ship. The top 5 contest winners, as voted on by our
Maritime Security
Dummy Pirate… er… We Mean Anti-Piracy Dummies
We have seen a lot of interesting ideas (HERE & HERE) to deter pirates from boarding ships but this one wins the award… we are just not sure what
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Maritime Security
Factors Accounting For Piracy – The RAND Corporation Weighs In On Piracy In Somalia
Last week the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation held hearings on the state of International Piracy On The High Seas. Along with the usual
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Ship Design
gCaptain Mystery Ship Quiz – What Is It?
This month’s maritime quiz was pulled from the Maritime News Headlines. So what is
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Uncategorized
EarthNC – Interview With Google Earth Expert Virgil Zetterlind
Last week we were pleased to bring you google’s announcement of ocean data inclusion in Google Earth. Today we bring you an interview with the leading
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Uncategorized
Workboat Academy Graduates New Mates
Yesterday we were honored to join ProMariner, Workboat Magazine and the distinguished guest gathered in Seattle to wish fair winds to the first official
Friday, January 30, 2009
Marine Weather
Live EarthQuake Monitors – Data, Maps and Realtime Info
The Exploratorium brings us live earthquake monitor and mapping links! Normally I wouldn’t cut an paste so much info but in light of messages I’ve
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Interesting
Knots – How To Tie A Monkey’s Fist And Heave A Line
From waking up and tying your shoelaces to riding a bosun’s chair, learning how to handle line aboard ship is a steep curve. One of the most difficult
Stay Informed. Stay Connected.
Get The Daily Insights That Power Maritime Professionals Worldwide
Essential maritime and offshore news, insights, and updates delivered daily straight to your inbox
