THINK TANK
Articles
Low sulphur marine fuels: Non-compliance is the costliest option
From January 1, ships are barred from using fuels with a sulphur content of more than 0.50%. In the world of marine fuels, this is seismic change. For decades, ships have been able to burn…
Attacks on ships: Statistics can never give the full picture
What do the statistics tell us and what is not being reported?
Gulf of Guinea piracy; lessons from Somalia don’t apply
Piracy in the Somali basin has almost ceased and the focus of world concern about piracy has shifted decisively to West Africa. Can the same lessons be applied?
The emotions of a crisis: From the inside
Think about the last time you were involved in responding to and managing a crisis. A proper crisis that is. Where lives were endangered and reputations at risk. Where events evolved erratically beyond your control….
The emotions of a crisis: From the outside
At the very moment that the pressures of a crisis may make the crisis management team (CMT) least able to communicate clearly and effectively, people…
Collateral Management Agreements and Stock Monitoring Agreements: Managing the risks
How safe are your goods?
Clashes between Indonesia and Vietnam reflect wider regional unease
Tensions between Indonesia and Vietnam over fishing rights have come to the fore…
The world’s most dangerous waters
Attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Guinea showed no let-up in the first three months of 2019.
Effective Security is security that works
Unconscious biases relating to cost, conformity and compliance are undermining effective security I was asked to speak at a conference recently about maritime security and given 12 minutes in which to do so. Being asked…
Cruising for a Bruising
Captain Evans Hoyt is a cruise ship officer of vast experience who once gave evidence to a US Congressional Committee on cruise ship safety. He now has a conviction from a French court for breaking…
The strange case of the disappearing ship wrecks
Reports about the plundering of Second World War warships sunk in action in South East Asia have been appearing in the UK, Dutch and Australian press. Some time ago Gray Page made an intensive study of the way in which these vessels…
Whistle-blowing: Seafarers shouldn’t have to choose between their conscience or their career
In 2017 a US court awarded a cruise ship engineer $1 million for reporting the illegal discharge of oily waste at sea. At the time he blew the whistle he was 27 years old working…
#sulphur2020 – Cleaner fuels are looking messy for marine cargo insurers
If you work in shipping and you read the news, it cannot have escaped your attention that from 1 January 2020 the permitted amount of sulphur in marine fuel oil will fall…
The Human Touch in a Digital World
Over the last 20 years and more, tracking the movements of individual ships has changed considerably. It has become easier in some ways thanks to the development of web-based platforms, but, for every action there is an opposite reaction.
CARGO MISAPPROPRIATION: WHERE THE RISKS LIE
Cargo misappropriation gives rise to claims that routinely run to millions of dollars. Yet the drivers and mechanisms of misappropriation, and the ways potential victims can mitigate the risks, are not always understood.