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 »VLCC’S CHIEF MATE AND BOSUN KILLED BY WAVE OFF CAPE HORN
16 SEPT 2021 On Thursday, the ship management division of Stena confirmed that two tanker crewmembers were killed by a large wave off Cape Horn last weekend. On Saturday, as the Euronav-owned oil tanker Arafura was rounding Cape Horn, en route to Long Beach from Brazil, she ran into rough weather and …
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 …
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