26 mar 2019 The Liberian-registered bulk carrier Anna-Elisabeth has been detained by Australian authorities after the international crew on board complained of insufficient food, bullying aboard the vessel and denial of shore leave. The complaints from crew were received by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) while the vessel was berthed at …
Read More »MALE BIRTH CONTROL PILL HAS JUST BEEN SHOWN SAFE IN HUMANS FOR THE FIRST TIME
26 MAR 2019 For years, scientists have been trying to develop a safe and effective version of the pill for men, and a new drug candidate could be the contraceptive we’ve been looking for. This week, scientists in the US announced that an experimental oral drug called 11-beta-MNTDC looks to be safe and …
Read More »U.S., U.K. JOIN NORWAY IN INVESTIGATING VIKING SKY ENGINE FAILURE
25 MAR 2019 Maritime authorities in Norway, Britain and the United States have started investigating the loss of power on board the Viking Sky cruise ship which nearly led to its grounding along the west coast of Norway over the weekend. The 2017-built luxury cruise ship had 1,378 passengers and crew on …
Read More »IMO’S GLOFOULING PROJECT KICKS OFF
24 MAR 2019 The IMO has started a five-year project to help protect marine biodiversity – the first globally coordinated effort to address biofouling. The GloFouling Partnerships project is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO. Representatives from 12 lead partnering …
Read More »FAST FACTS: WHAT ARE THE TRADE WINDS?
24 MAR 2019 The Charles W. Morgan is the last of an American whaling fleet that once numbered more than 2,700 vessels. Ships like the Morgan often used routes defined by the trade winds to navigate the oceans. Early commerce to the Americas relied on the trade winds – the …
Read More »NYK SECURES ‘GREEN LOAN’ FOR SCRUBBER INSTALLS
23 MAR 2019 Japanese transport group NYK has secured a ¥9bn ($81m) syndicated ‘green’ loan, supported by eight domestic financial institutions for the installation of scrubber systems on its vessels. And Hyundai Merchant Marine said it had signed a MoU to establish a ‘win-win fund’ for scrubber installation, with five …
Read More »SHIPPING CONFIDENCE UP DESPITE ONGOING GEOPOLITICAL UNCERTAINTY
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 »NEW REPORT DETAILS BALLAST WATER SYSTEMS’ OPERATING CHALLENGES
22 MAR 2019 ABS has released a detailed report on a worldwide ship owner workshop series on ballast water treatment systems. Anecdotal reports of BWTS challenges have circulated for some time, but the report provides detailed insight from ship owners about the specific nature of these issues – and the best …
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 …
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