Maritime

Many people may remember fondly while some may choose to forget the famous tech bubble of 2000, when a long list of internet and tech related stocks peaked and then crashed into a bear market..

Many companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, Qualcomm, Apple etc were part of this bubble.. Some of the bubbles burst, while some survived..

Will Blockchain prove to be one such bubble that will last or burst.......................

Blockchain has been

• successfully used by Banks and Shippers to create Trade Finance documents ;
• creative enough to get a Tech company and the World's largest container line to invest in it ;
• successfully used by companies to create and transmit smart bills of lading with it ;

Now it seems to be the turn of ports and port authorities to get in on the Blockchain action..

Port Elizabeth is one of the main ports in South Africa and is a main port of call for many carriers on the East/West Trade between Far East/South East Asia and the Americas and the North/South Trade between Africa and Europe..

Since the morning of 30th October, access to this main port has been restricted as one of the 5 STS (Ship to Shore gantry cranes) was blown off its rails due to the extreme winds that Port Elizabeth (PE) has been facing..

Despite the relative difficulty in obtaining adequate ship financing, activity in the S&P market for second hand vessels is still rather brisk.

Every nation has its own requirement for ships for their trade.. In this article shared from Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, we look at which ships are in demand and what types of vessels each maritime nation is buying..

Other than educational articles related to shipping and freight, from time to time I also post news, opinion pieces and articles that provide a glimpse into other less known aspects of the shipping, freight, maritime, logistics and supply chain industry..

Articles that help in improving knowledge in line with the motto of this blog, SEEK - LEARN - KNOW - GROW..

Today's article is about Tetrapods.. No, not the living 4 legged variety, I am talking about the inanimate 4 legged objects that protect our ports and harbours..

On the 6th of March 2018, Maersk Honam, one of Maersk's ultra-large containership caught fire while en-route from Singapore to Egypt, in the Arabian Sea..

Five crew members perished in this incident which was one of several containership disasters that have happened in recent history..

Learning from these lessons, Maersk Line announced that after a thorough review of current safety practices and policies in the stowage of dangerous cargo, they implemented a set of new guidelines called Risk Based Dangerous Goods Stowage to improve safety across its container vessel fleet..

Currently the bunker fuels used in all modern commercial ships have a high content of sulphur which is quite harmful to the environment..

The current global limit for sulphur content of ships fuel oil is 3.50% m/m (mass by mass)..

The IMO has been working to reduce harmful impacts of shipping on the environment since the 1960's and as from 1st of Jan 2020, has implemented regulations that sets the new global limit on the sulphur content at 0.50% m/m..

IMO has advised several methods through which ships can meet lower sulphur emission standards, which obviously comes at a cost.. Read and share your comments on how these new costs may affect you..

As you may have read, I recently wrote about "Containers lost at sea, why it happens, what to do when it happens and also about What is a ship register or ship registry..

Recent news reports of 83 containers falling off a ship off the coast of Australia in heavy seas seems to have triggered a question in the minds of some people Is the ship register or ship registry liable for containers falling off a ship..??

When reading the news articles about this incident, I noticed something very interesting in the way in which the general public and the shipping fraternity identify a ship, its markings and the areas of concern.. 🙂

Many of you may have heard about ship register, ship registration, ship registry, flag state, flags of convenience etc.. While a few are synonyms, the rest are not..

This article discusses the various aspects of ship registration, the types of ship registers, the conditions required to be part of a ship register, what is a flag of convenience and flag state..

Digitalisation is re-shaping the business world and is increasingly important for competitive edge. Transformational concepts, together with the evolution and development of new platforms, are providing unparalleled opportunities within shipping and the related transport and supply chain infrastructure. Join Digital Ship in London on 21st June to investigate how the impact of digital business can be measured and harness the benefits of new technologies to improve performance – from ship to shore to delivery.

From the time that languages came into being, till date there is no ONE common language around the world that is understood by all..

Every country, region has its own language which brings along with it communication barriers..

These communication barriers affect maritime industry as well, as there are seafarers of different nationalities involved in the trade.. Different nationalities obviously means different languages and there could be these language barriers when communicating between ships..

Majority of the seafarers come from countries like Philippines, Indonesia, China, Russia, Turkey, India, USA, Japan, Korea, Canada and Malaysia.. Most of these countries are Non-Native English speaking countries so one can imagine the gap in communication between ships..

The International Code of Signals (ICS) was created to overcome these language barriers and allow ships to communicate with each other especially in situations relating to safety of navigation and people..

The International Code of Signals is an international system of signals and codes used by ships to communicate short but important message between themselves..

Port operations were halted at Karachi port due to the collision of two Hapag Lloyd ships (the Tolten and Hamburg Bay) at the South Asia Port Terminal..

In recognition of the seafarer's contribution to global trade, every year on the 25th of June the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) celebrates DAY OF THE SEAFARER to celebrate seafarers and let the world know how and why seafarers are indispensable to everyone.. Here's why #seafarersmatter and how you can assist in acknowledging their services to the industry..