23 MAR 2019 Confidence in the shipping industry has risen in the last three months despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from leading shipping adviser and accountant BDO. The average confidence level rose to 6.2 out of maximum score of 10.0 this quarter compared to …
Read More »ROGUE WAVES ARE GETTING MORE EXTREME
23 MAR 2019 Research led by the University of Southampton suggests that rogue waves are occurring less often, but becoming more extreme. Waves are classed as rogue when they are over twice the height of the average sea state around them. From trough to peak, past observations have put some …
Read More »ICS UPDATES FLAG STATE PERFORMANCE TABLE FOR 2019
22 MAR 2019 The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published the latest update of its Flag State Performance Table. The annual update, which is also supported by the Asian Ship owners’ Association (ASA) and the European Community Ship owners’ Associations (ECSA), provides an indication of the performance of individual …
Read More »CONTAINER FEEDER CAPSIZES AT BANDAR ABBAS
20 MAR 2019 On March 19, a container ship capsized at the port of Bandar Abbas, Iran, sending 153 containers into the water. Iranian officials believe that the accident happened due to improper loading. Iranian maritime official Mehdi Haghshenas told state media that the casualty was caused by “poor coordination …
Read More »SVITZER HIRES FIRST ALL-FEMALE TUG CREW IN LATIN AMERICA
18 mar 2019 Towage operator, Svitzer has hired its first all-female crew in the Dominican Republic. The Svitzer Monte Cristi, a 70-ton tugboat, sails the waters of Rio Haina and Caucedo helping maneuver larger vessels so they can dock, undo or be driven through the channels. “Many things that we …
Read More »THERE’S MOUNTING EVIDENCE THAT PARKINSON’S STARTS IN THE GUT – NOT THE BRAIN
18 MAR 2019 Scientists have found mounting evidence that Parkinson’s could start in the gut before spreading to the brain, with one study in 2017 observing lower rates of the disease in patients who had undergone a procedure called a truncal vagotomy. The operation removes sections of the vagus nerve – which links …
Read More »CHIRP: LATEST BULLETIN DISCUSSES ECDIS, FATIGUE AND PILOT LADDERS
18 mar 2019 The CHIRP Charitable Trust has published Maritime Feedback 54, its first bulletin of 2019 which contains reports on lifting operations, rigid hull inflatable boat operations, AIS and ECDIS offsets and heat and fatigue. The issue of pilot safety is also raised through a report of a combination …
Read More »DNV GL ROLLS OUT REMOTE SURVEYS FOR ENTIRE CLASSED FLEET
17 MAR 2019 Classification society DNV GL announced Friday that it’s started offering remote surveys for some inspections on board all DNV GL classed vessels. This means that for a range of surveys, a DNV GL surveyor will not be required to travel to the vessel. Instead, surveyor’s will video …
Read More »FOOL ON THE HILL
15 mar 2019 Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) this month introduced the “Open America’s Water Act of 2019” to repeal the Jones Act, the latest in a series of broadsides over the years aimed at destroying America’s maritime independence. The bill would allow all qualified (foreign) vessels to engage in U.S. …
Read More »BUNKER SPILL ESTIMATE RISES FOR SOLOMON TRADER GROUNDING
14 mar 2019 Salvors have stopped the discharge of fuel oil from the wrecked bulker Solomon Trader on Rennell Island, the southernmost island in the Solomons, and they have removed 230 tonnes of bunkers out of an estimated 600 tonnes on board. However, the existing spill is worse than previously estimated, according to …
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