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 and earned an MBA from Marist College. 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, July 25, 2007
ship damage panama
Incidents

Ships Collide In Fog – Panama Canal

Panama Guide brings us news of a collision between the bulk carrier White Mist (IMO 7821506) collided with the bulker Miltiades (IMO 8208323) south of canal

July 25, 2007
Total Views: 153

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
poar01 junger0702
Maritime Security

Weapons Aboard Ship?

Our friends at MaritimeLinks covered a story on the recent Somali pirate incidents. To conclude the post they write: I would recommend to anyone of my friends

July 24, 2007
Total Views: 35

Rogue Waves – A Call To Action
Marine Weather

Rogue Waves – A Call To Action

On my first long voyage as Second Mate and I was rounding the tip of Africa on our way to the Bay of Bengal when I noticed a slight

July 24, 2007
Total Views: 147

Monday, July 23, 2007
Uncategorized

News Flash – Two Largest US Drilling Contractors Merge

In surprising news today Transocean and GlobalSantaFe have announced a merger. TheStreet.com tells us… Transocean and GlobalSantaFe agreed to merge,

July 23, 2007
Total Views: 24

Uncategorized

gCaptain Tip – Check USCG License Application Online

Have you submitted your application to West Virgina and are awaiting a response? Try the USCG’s new website Homeport to check its status online. New to

July 23, 2007
Total Views: 68

Sunday, July 22, 2007
Quiz – What is the most dangerous place aboard ship?
gCaptain

Quiz – What is the most dangerous place aboard ship?

For the answer you will need to visit Bob Couttie’s Maritime Accident site and listen to the podcast titled “The Case Of The Deadly Saviour“.

July 22, 2007
Total Views: 30

mail
gCaptain

gCaptain Newsletter – 20th July 2007

Our July 20th Newsletter is now live: Link If you would like to receive the newsletter on the date its published sign up for our mailing list:

July 22, 2007
Total Views: 24

Friday, July 20, 2007
drilling rig anchors
Uncategorized

Discover Maritime News

Here are some stories from our Maritime News Discoverer. Published Stories: UK Merchant navy fleet sinks to less than 300 Ship sinkings highlight industry

July 20, 2007
Total Views: 20

Lifesaving Incidents

EPIRB Failure aboard the “Sean Seamour”

A harrowing story of the Emergency beacon failure aboard the sailing yacht "Sean Seamour". EPIRB links, information and winter North Atlantic

July 20, 2007
Total Views: 121

Thursday, July 19, 2007
Top 3 China Trade Charts
Uncategorized

Top 3 China Trade Charts

An industry friend of mine recently told me that if you mapped world shipping activity it would look like a 1938 battle map with china at the center. So

July 19, 2007
Total Views: 60

Wednesday, July 18, 2007
boat crane failure
Incidents

Unhappy Boat Owners – Cargo Offloading Gone Wrong

Cargolaw.com brings us two very unhappy boat owners (click on the photos for info on what happened): After the

July 18, 2007
Total Views: 1458

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Lifesaving Incidents

Container Ship MSC Napoli Photo Slideshow

If your browser does not support the slideshow you can still view the photos HERE. The above photos slideshow is of the Container Ship “MSC Napoli”

July 17, 2007
Total Views: 339

msc napoli listing
Lifesaving Incidents

Container Ship Sinking Video – “MSC Napoli” Salvage with Explosives

The beached vessel “MSC Napoli” was broken in two with the use of explosives as part of the $100m and rising salvage attempt. The Guardian UK tells

July 17, 2007
Total Views: 3251

Uncategorized

Best Handhelf Marine VHF Icom M72

Richard’s Maritime Ramblings blog has a great post on thier favorite handheld VHF radio, the Icom IC-M72. While I am certainly not up to date on the

July 17, 2007
Total Views: 75

Monday, July 16, 2007
Uncategorized

Nautical Trivia 10-Point Dividers – What is that?

A free set of gCaptain stickers from our Logo Store to the first person who identifies the item on the right. A second set of stickers to the person

July 16, 2007
Total Views: 32

Uncategorized

Quote of the Week

This “Qoute of the Week” comes from Fred Fry of Maritime Monday fame. If you want to solve the problem of car traffic, just subject car drivers to

July 16, 2007
Total Views: 59

Sunday, July 15, 2007
Damaged Cruise Ship Docks in Vanatu
Incidents

Damaged Cruise Ship Docks in Vanatu

We mostly think of Vanuatu as a flag of convenience state, not a port of refuge but that is what it has become for the P&O cruise ship Pacific

July 15, 2007
Total Views: 98

new tacoma narrows bridge
Video

The New Tacoma Narrows Bridge

After five years and over $700 million dollars the new Tacoma Narrows bridge opens to traffic today. It is the longest bridge constructed in the US since the

July 15, 2007
Total Views: 408

Saturday, July 14, 2007
gCaptain

A day of rest.

Just a quick note to inform you we will be taking Sunday off for some site maintenance. Till then please visit our forum, read an old or random post

July 14, 2007
Total Views: 31

Friday, July 13, 2007
Uncategorized

LNG Ships – Past, Present & Future

The always thorough My Life at Sea blog has the best article I have read to date on the history, inner workings and future of Liquid Natural Gas Carriers.

July 13, 2007
Total Views: 283