Business, Commodities & Shipping News 2026

240,000 Horsepower: The SS United States​

This is the SS United States, the fastest big passenger ship ever built; the culmination of decades of hard lessons and battle-tested wartime design. She did not come to exist in a vacuum. In every part of her incredible design is a fascinating story and six great American ships had played a crucial role in shaping her development. From the incredible engines based on the powerplant of some of WW2’s fastest destroyers like the Fletcher and Mahan Class - the streamlining and fire safety standards pioneered by the finest liner of the late 1930s, the SS America - the lessons of metallurgy and construction efficiency in her hull taken from the incredible production run of the Liberty Ships - the elegant interiors brought into being by a pioneering design team that had worked on Grace Line's SS Santa Rosa - and finally the stringent, obsessive eye for safety that had saved the SS Malolo from sinking. All of these elements came together to create a legend and it was all down to a team of brilliant, pioneering American men and women - and the obsessive, brilliant mind of one of American engineering’s greatest sons: William Francis Gibbs

Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels– from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!

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Did The SS United States Sinking Fail?​

Today in Florida the mighty ocean liner SS United States was sunk into the Gulf of Mexico. A huge amount of time and effort was spent on preparing the ship for this final voyage - but at the last moment the ship's architecture presented some unusual challenges and she started to roll. Did this doom her as a viable dive site? Only time will tell! Join me as we analyse some of the most incredible sinking footage captured on film.

Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels– from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!

Fearnleys Weekly