23 SEPT 2021 It is infinitely beautiful below the ocean’s surface. So beautiful that every year some divers are tempted to go a little too deep and stay there a little too long. Decompression sickness (DCS) has been a known condition for more than a century. The disease – sometimes referred …
Read More »MARINE MONEY EXPERTS WARN AGAINST NEW SHIP CAPACITY AS PRICES SURGE
22 SEPT 2021 Ship owners and financiers should avoid sinking money into new container vessels despite a global crunch because record orders have driven up prices, according to industry insiders. Industry players looking to buy new vessels at current prices will likely find themselves “overextended,” according to Arjun Batra, group …
Read More »CHARTERPARTY RISKS: A VESSEL DESCRIPTION “WITHOUT GUARANTEE”
21 SEPT 2021 In time charterparties, shipowners will warrant the capabilities of the vessel, including its speed and fuel consumption. It is quite common for the charterparties to have a “vessel description” clause that will set out the speed-consumption warranty. In the case of charterparties in NYPE 1946 form, the …
Read More »OP-ED: 10 WAYS TO CUT SHIPPING’S EMISSIONS TODAY
20 SEPT 2021 In the middle of this summer’s shocking fires and floods came the grimmest climate science report yet from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warning of a “code red for humanity” as our use of fossil fuels continues to drive up global temperatures. To keep below the threshold of 1.5 degrees C of warming – …
Read More »STUCK ON BOARD FOR A YEAR, SYRIAN CREW ALLEGES THREATS AND ABANDONMENT
18 SEPT 2021 A plague of crew abandonment has swept through the lower end of the maritime industry over the past year, with dozens of small shipowners allegedly walking away from their financially-distressed vessels and leaving the crews behind – often without pay. “We’re still living here in the vessel …
Read More »FORMER NEW ZEALAND NAVY PATROL VESSEL SEIZED IN COCAINE BUST
17 SEPT 2021 Last week, the UK’s National Crime Agency intercepted a converted New Zealand Navy patrol boat and arrested her six-member crew on suspicion of drug trafficking. After an extensive search, officers pulled two tonnes of cocaine from hiding places on board. The vessel – the yacht-conversion Kahu, formerly a …
Read More »CHINA’S BAN ON AUSTRALIAN COAL RESHAPES KEY DRY BULK MARKET
15 SEPT 2021 Every million tonnes of coal has recently been costing China’s steel mills more than $400 million, compared with around $250 million paid by steel mills everywhere else. The difference is entirely explained by China’s embargo on Australian coal. Since China’s mills use almost two million tonnes of coal every …
Read More »NASA TESTING ELECTRIC ‘AIR TAXI’ PROTOTYPE DESIGNED TO CARRY PASSENGERS IN THE SKY
11 SEPT 2021 NASA is commonly thought of as America’s space agency, but its name also emphasizes another research area. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is also America’s civilian aerospace research organization. In that role, it has been instrumental in developing new technologies ranging from rocket engines to aircraft …
Read More »UNION: OVER 300 HMM SEAFARERS RESIGN AS PAY NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE
10 SEPT 2021 More than half HMM’s 600-strong seafarer workforce have quit following management refusal to meet pay demands. Some 453 staff voted in the seafarers’ union strike ballot last weekend, more than 90% backing action in protest at a reluctance to give generous salary increases after a pay freeze between 2011 and …
Read More »PERSISTENT BULLIES SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM SHIPS
09 SEPT 2021 A zero-tolerance approach to bullying should be in place on all vessels, with abusive crew members removed from the ship if they repeatedly harass a colleague, according to some mental health experts. Former chief engineer Stephan Vecchi believes the maritime industry must have a strict two-strike policy …
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