Transiting the Panama Canal has always been a great pleasure. Not least because the Canal Pilots make it look so easy. Effortless, even. Connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, voyages are shortened by thousands of nautical miles. An engineering marvel, built in 1914, to this day the Panama Canal Read more…
What has been will be again … there is nothing new under the sun.
This article reflects the view of the author’s experiences while serving on board after taking over a newly purchased vessel on behalf of the Owners and dealing with unexpected faults and failures. The sale and purchase of second-hand vessels are carried out through a sale agreement referred to as a Read more…
According to a survey conducted in 2018 by InterManager to which some 5,000 seafarers responded, a number of issues related to continuing deaths in enclosed spaces were raised: · Procedures often seem difficult to understand, confusing, and do not take account of the resources, equipment and time available aboard the vessel. Read more…
According to the International Group of P & I Clubs’ “Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019”, over the last twenty years, there were 1,046 incidents in which pilot error either caused or contributed to those events. The resulting liabilities were in excess of US$1.82 billion, with the Read more…
According to the INTERCARGO Bulk Carrier Casualty Report for the period from 2010 to 2019, 106 seafarers lost their lives due to solid bulk cargo liquefaction. Actually, the total number of lives lost is 141, if the two bulk carriers for which the reported cause of the sinking is still Read more…
Biofouling is the process of aquatic organisms such as bacteria, diatoms, algae, barnacles, mussels, tubeworms, etc. attaching to ships’ hulls or any other submerged, or semi-submerged structure. The process occurs in stages, from a conditioning layer through slime layer to barnacles; but even at an early stage when only a Read more…
Recently, a post (and poll) on LinkedIn attracted my attention. The post included an article published by the UK P&I Club, titled “Can a bulk carrier carry containers”? I found numerous articles by other P&I Clubs and Classification Societies covering the topic, albeit from different perspectives. So, why the sudden Read more…