The Pavit – a 21st Century Marie Celeste?
Maritime history buffs may remember the story of the Marie Celeste, a sailing ship found abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean, which seemingly had managed to sail for months without reaching land, and whose...
View ArticleThings to fix.
It is, of course, too early to be making pronouncements about the grounding of the Costa Concordia, while the courageous divers are still probing the underwater horrors of a huge capsized ship.
View ArticleDoes industry lack integrity when it comes to dangerous cargo safety?
Shipping industry conspicuously silent about Vinalines Queen death toll
View ArticleQuality squeeze as rates fall
As more ship operators call in the friendly receiver as the grim shadow of overcapacity falls over most shipping sectors, should we be surprised if standards start to diminish?
View ArticleLessons learned again?
April is said to be the cruelest month. It is memorable for disasters, from the Titanic to Texas City, Deepwater Horizon and so on.
View ArticleSpeeding into danger
The centenary of the sinking of the Titanic on Sunday 15th April is being attended with a curious combination of reverence and the absurd.
View ArticlePosturing in Venezuela
Considering the febrile relationship between Venezuela and the United States, the problems afflicting the crew of the US flag heavy lift ship Ocean Atlas might not be considered too much of a surprise.
View ArticleNo visibility
How can we ever interest journalists and so-called “opinion-formers” in the maritime industry? It is a question that arises quite often, but no satisfactory answer ever emerges. Perhaps you can offer...
View ArticleThings to do next year
Many of us are compulsive list makers and I’m no exception as lists become more important as memory falters. So, with New Year resolutions little more than a month away, here are a few things for the...
View ArticleQuality? …. Far too expensive!
If you so desire, you can send 20 tons of cargo all the way from Antwerp to Shanghai, or, indeed, from the Chinese superport to North Europe, for less than the price of sending one person in economy...
View ArticleWeaving a web of education
In his New Year’s message, inaugurating 2010 as the Year of the Seafarer, Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), identified three goals for...
View ArticleThe growing trait of inertia
Some years ago, a famous personality named Malcolm Muggeridge, who at various times was an agent of MI6, editor of the now departed Punch, and general curmudgeon, entitled his memoirs "Chronicles of...
View ArticleA [belated] welcome to the Portfire 40 initiative
When we first set out to establish this blog we put the key values of Clean seas, safe ships and environmental protection as our mantra and launched a 'ginger group' to convey our thoughts , but we...
View ArticleOur new Hamburg rules
Attendees at the Global Maritime Environmental Congress (GMEC) held in Hamburg earlier this month were able, during the course of an excellent programme, to discuss many of the maritime issues that...
View ArticleAre we surprised by lack of respect?
Michael's excellent post on the total lack of respect for a master has generated some truly shocking feedback and I wish that more people like Capt.Rowe would comment on what is an increasingly...
View ArticleMr Sadler’s modest proposal
Shipping, in its fragmented aspects, often resembles certain districts in the western Balkans. So the news that our friend Richard Sadler, chief executive of Lloyd’s Register, has proposed a coalition...
View ArticleHappy birthday to us
This week I was in London to have my annual meet the press day and also to celebrate a year of this wonderful blog. With over 160 posts and over a thousand visitors a month I would like to say a big...
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