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.


Friday, June 8, 2007
Lifesaving Incidents

Video – Helicopter Rescue of the Pasha Bulker’s Crew

Here is some youtube video of the ship’s crew rescue off the coast of Newcastle Australia. Hopefully the helicopter crew won’t have to pay for beer

June 8, 2007
Total Views: 70

Environmental Impact and Salvage of M/V Pasha Bulker
Lifesaving Incidents

Environmental Impact and Salvage of M/V Pasha Bulker

I’m happy to report that all crew members have been rescued from the ship! The two other ships which had made distress calls after dragging anchor, have

June 8, 2007
Total Views: 153

jellyfish monteray2
Uncategorized

Celebrate World Ocean Day

Today is World Ocean Day. What is World Ocean Day? Created in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro – although not yet officially designated by the

June 8, 2007
Total Views: 32

Thursday, June 7, 2007
Update: All crew members rescued from M/V Pasha Bulker
Lifesaving Incidents

Update: All crew members rescued from M/V Pasha Bulker

UPDATE: Hunter’s Best informs us that all 22 people have been evacuated from the ship: EMERGENCY crews have successfully airlifted 22 people from a coal

June 7, 2007
Total Views: 59

Update: 2 more ships at risk of grounding
Lifesaving Incidents

Update: 2 more ships at risk of grounding

More information is starting to emerge from Australia on the coal ship Pasha Bulker From the Sydney Morning Herald: At least two more ships are at risk of

June 7, 2007
Total Views: 74

Lifesaving Incidents

Breaking News: Thousands of people lining beaches to save ship’s crew.

NowPublic.com brings us this breaking news story: Ship aground – fight to rescue crew Thousands of people are lining Newcastle’s beaches in driving

June 7, 2007
Total Views: 22

Thousands of Jumbo Squid spotted near Long Beach
Interesting

Thousands of Jumbo Squid spotted near Long Beach

Fisherman have discovered thousands of Jumbo Squid off the Southern California coast this week. The site mongabay.com tells us: Thousands of Jumbo squid

June 7, 2007
Total Views: 142

Uncategorized

MARAD Outfitting Ships with Wireless Networks

Maritime Links has a story on Shipboard Wireless Networking upgrades on MARAD Vessels: In times of wars or emergencies, it falls to the Transportation

June 7, 2007
Total Views: 34

Uncategorized

Discover Maritime News – Upcoming Stories

Here are some of the upcoming stories in our Maritime News Discoverer section: MMA Training Ship Skipper returns to Maine Alaska towns miss ship that ran

June 7, 2007
Total Views: 26

Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Video

Video of the Emma Maersk – World’s Largest Container Ship

Here is some video of the Emma Maersk, the World’s Largest Container Ship, at sea. Comments from the video: The first build of Maersk Line’s

June 5, 2007
Total Views: 441

USCG

Top 10 Rescue at Sea Videos from the U.S. Coast Guard

From the boats to ships to natural disaster this video from YouTube user USCG Imagery is a compilation of the top 10 USCG rescues at sea. Have a better

June 5, 2007
Total Views: 803

Monday, June 4, 2007
Marine Weather

The Deadliest Catch – Rogue Wave Edition

Some Rogue Wave Footage from “The Deadliest Catch”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_8hOai9hGQ&mode=related&search= Here is another

June 4, 2007
Total Views: 110

Saturday, June 2, 2007
Uncategorized

Discover Maritime News

Here are some upcoming stories from our Discoverer News Section: Boat carrying suspected NKorean defectors enters northern Japanese port Maine Maritime ship

June 2, 2007
Total Views: 40

Thursday, May 31, 2007
Incidents

NTSB Report out on NYC Container Ship Grounding

Our favorite email newsletter Maritime Executive (better known as MarEx) brings us the NTSB report on the New Delhi Express Accident in New York Harbor. The

May 31, 2007
Total Views: 50

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Lifesaving Incidents

Empress of the North Must Relocate to Continue Repairs

The Alaska Cruise Ship Empress of the North must move south to continue repairs to the hull. The AP tells us: The cruise ship Empress of the North must

May 30, 2007
Total Views: 68

Friday, May 25, 2007
Happy Memorial Day
gCaptain

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day, See you again on

May 25, 2007
Total Views: 9

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Lifesaving Incidents

Empress of the North – Photo Essay

Flickr is becoming a strong player in the Web 2.0 world. From breathtaking pro-quality pictures (we use it for our homepage’s photo-of-the-day) to

May 23, 2007
Total Views: 38

Lifesaving Incidents

Wanted: 3rd Mate, Captain & future scapegoat

I’m going to keep this posting short before my contempt for HR departments shows (too late, I know). The Seattlest points us to brand new job vacancies

May 23, 2007
Total Views: 46

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Uncategorized

Revive old CDs & DVDs

Recently in my move to Morro Bay I found an old box with navigation supplies and a stack of CD’s from my 3rd Mate days, unfortunately they were scratched

May 22, 2007
Total Views: 35

Monday, May 21, 2007
Uncategorized

Discover Maritime News & Stories

Here are some of the top stories of the day from our Maritime News Discoverer: Photos: How to build an offshore wind farm First North Korean cargo ship arrives

May 21, 2007
Total Views: 33