I admit I have been on both sides of cabotage; I have temporarily imported ships to carry cargoes (though only for short periods), imported ships that created new employment opportunities and conversely swore profusely when the government allowed charterers to use imported ships to take away opportunities from the national flag fleet that I managed. …
Continue reading “A Nautical Miscellany – The solution to cabotage and how not to find it”
Denmark's government is to sell three unwanted icebreakers to the highest bidder. Icebreakers on the way out The veteran ships have not been in continuous use over the last 16 years, but have been well-maintained, the state said. The vessels are the 2,200-gt Thorbjorn (built 1980) and the 3,000-gt Danbjorn (built 1965) and Isbjorn (built …
Two Neste Shipping tankers have made it through the icy North-East passage to Asia. The Finnish owner said the first vessel to try the shorter arctic route from Murmansk in Russia was the 75,000-dwt Stena Poseidon (built 2006), which discharged in South Korea in August. It was followed by the 75,000-dwtPalva (built 2007), which headed …
Russia’s Murmansk Shipping has chartered an icebreaker to the US to help Antarctic research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) will take the 4,400-gt Vladimir Ignatyuk (built 1983) to its logistics hub at McMurdo Station for the 2011-12 winter season. The vessel will clear a path through the ice that will allow cargoships to deliver the …
I don't usually just repost other peoples blogs but I think this one from Lloyd's today is worth repeating. The officers in the blog are all victims but how they are perceived and how they are treated are vastly different. Lloyd's List Comment
As so often happens an article in Mondays Lloyd's List caused me to ponder. The article was headlined, "Viking Islay master ‘failed in his duty of care' ". I quote directly from the article concerning the actions of some of the crew that lead to their deaths: "The three men successively entered the vessel’s chain …
Continue reading “Where the chain of causation starts and how it bloody ends up”
Recently, (ok a month ago but I've been busy) Lloyd's published an article titled, "Downturn leading to improved prospects for ship safety" The article quotes the International Union of Marine Insurance as having the view that, "the freight market crash is lifting some of the intense operational pressure exerted in recent years on the world …
Continue reading “Did this guy talk with that European guy?”
A recent article in the Canadian Press [ there is a newly released application for the iPhone that delivers all the CP news ] says that, "Barely a day after the daring rescue of an American sea captain, cable TV's Spike announced a deal Monday to produce a show about U.S. Navy pirate hunters." It …
I had the opportunity to write an article for Canadian Sailings on an Arctic shipping related topic of my choice. After my experience in years past with the MV Arctic and in my work with OZ Minerals I chose to write on the problem of the employment of high ice class ships in the conventional …
Recently I read an article on Lloyd's List online that began: The economic downturn will lead to an increase in ship incidents and pollution, the new chairman of the European Maritime Safety Agency has predicted. Maritime companies are now more likely to postpone maintenance and the installation of new equipment, postponements which will “jeopardise safety, …