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.


Wednesday, September 19, 2007
100 3031
gCaptain

iPhone Integration on the Bridge

Our contest is only half way completed so you have plenty of time to enter and win one of many great prizes. CLICK HERE TO WIN THIS

September 19, 2007
Total Views: 16

alvastar
Blog

Incident Photo of the Week – Alva Star

The M/V Alva Star. Click on the photo for the full story from CargoLaw.com Also, Flickr has a great slideshow of maritime disaster photos: Click

September 19, 2007
Total Views: 199

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
dark passage
Maritime Security

The Straight of Malacca – A Dark Passage

“For centuries, this sliver of ocean has captivated seamen, offering the most direct route between India and China, along with a bounty of resources,

September 18, 2007
Total Views: 95

Hurricane Tracking Mashup
Marine Weather

Hurricane Tracking Mashup

Here is a list of gCaptain’s picks for the most interesting ways to track Hurricanes. 1) IBISeye.com’s Hurricane Tracker. Click on past and future

September 18, 2007
Total Views: 30

Incidents

Do You Know What They Call Me? – By The Artful Blogger

Do You Know What They Call Me? By The Artful Blogger I’ve been accused of many things. I’ve been called a liar, a cheater, and a womanizer, among

September 18, 2007
Total Views: 19

qm2aft
Photo

The Queen Mary II – YouTube Superstar

The most elegant ship built in decades has caught the inspiration of artists, photographers and amateur ship spotters worldwide. She is elegant, record

September 18, 2007
Total Views: 146

Monday, September 17, 2007
crushed container
Incidents

Shipping Container Collapse – UK

UK – report on shipping container collapse – The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued the report of its investigation of the

September 17, 2007
Total Views: 144

Sunday, September 16, 2007
New Contact Page
gCaptain

New Contact Page

We have launched a new Contact Us page with many interesting options… Take A

September 16, 2007
Total Views: 53

northwest passage chart
Marine Weather

Northwest Passage Melting Open

Transiting the Northwest Passage has been a goal of humanity for centuries and with the help Global Warming we unfortunately might get our wish. Is it time for

September 16, 2007
Total Views: 81

Saturday, September 15, 2007
Uncategorized

Future gCaptain says “My Daddy’s gettting audited” | Tear

To those who have sent me questions or panic about being Kapp-sized I don’t have any answers… yet. Stay tuned HERE and rest well knowing you have

September 15, 2007
Total Views: 25

doj letterhead
Uncategorized

Merchant Mariner Tax Deduction “Kapp-sized” By IRS

I was recently reading Robert Greene’s; The 48 Laws of Power and took a few tips from it but more often than not I break them. Today’s infraction

September 15, 2007
Total Views: 578

Friday, September 14, 2007
ipod shuffle
gCaptain

3rd Place Contest Winner Is…

Week one of our iPhone our iPhone Contest is over and we have a third place winner… seafever! Honorable mention goes to wb6nah, the winner of our last

September 14, 2007
Total Views: 18

Thursday, September 13, 2007
Server Crash
gCaptain

Server Crash

My apologies to anyone trying to access the website the past few hours. We just recovered from a huge server crash. Too many people trying to download our

September 13, 2007
Total Views: 59

mail
gCaptain

Special Edition Newsletter – Maritime Safety

A special Maritime Safety Edition of our newsletter was sent to subscribers yesterday. Normally I give our newsletter subscribers a few days head start but due

September 13, 2007
Total Views: 30

tampa maersk docking
Incidents

Incident Picture of the Week – M/V Tampa Maersk

How did this happen? According to Cargo Law: January 2000 the vessel was attempting to turn in the area in front of the Maersk Container Terminal, Oakland so

September 13, 2007
Total Views: 396

Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Shipyard

Drydocking A Cruise Ship – Video

Part 2 of the video

September 12, 2007
Total Views: 20

Incidents

The Case Of The Killer Catch – Special Edition MAC Report

Bob Couttie sent us an email yesterday announcing a Special Edition of his Maritime Accident Casebook. Why did he release this issue early? ….because

September 12, 2007
Total Views: 60

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
google mapgc
Uncategorized

Google Maps – Maritime Mashup

Google has released a new Mash-up feature for their Maps service. Basically anyone can put together a map and submit it to google. Then users can overlay

September 11, 2007
Total Views: 123

Monday, September 10, 2007
EPIRB Failure – F/V Papa George
Lifesaving Incidents

EPIRB Failure – F/V Papa George

What is the single most import piece of electronics aboard your ship? For me it’s the EPIRB. If all else fails I will need help fast and the EPIRB

September 10, 2007
Total Views: 107

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Uncategorized

Shipping Logos – American President Lines

Sea-Fever and World’s Best Logos and Brands blog did a brief history of the logo for APL, formerly known as American President Lines. They write: Because

September 8, 2007
Total Views: 608