By Michael Grey* “Am I a man – or an animal?” This was a question dramatically posed by a huge Sicilian lorry driver on a ferry that was carrying his truck full of vegetables on the overnight run up to Genoa. It was a very new service, designed to move cargo off the country’s north-south …
On our Forum: Seafarers and truckers: supply chain’s most vulnerable providers Read More »
Dreamstime photo shows yellow cutting cranes over Golden Ray car carrier that capsized near Brunswick, Georgia. The international shipping industry continued its long-term positive safety trend over the past year but has to master Covid challenges, apply the learnings from the Ever Given Suez Canal incident and prepare for cyber and climate change challenges …
World shipping losses lower but serious cyber/climate change challenges on horizon Read More »
By Michael Grey* The results of an inquest in the UK on the deaths caused by a tram coming off the rails gave one pause for thought. The driver, it had concluded, had suffered a “microsleep” at the very moment he should have been applying the brakes and the tram had rushed on with …
The many challenges to one-man bridge operations (Forum) Read More »
According to the latest Seafarers Happiness Index released by the Mission to Seafarers, the happiness level of the world’s seafarers is falling lower and lower. The average score across 10 questions revealed happiness levels of seafarers for the second quarter of 2021 at 5.99/10, a steep and concerning drop from 6.46 in the first …
Launched today, the new Seafarer Workforce Report from BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping warns that the industry must significantly increase training and recruitment levels if it is to avoid a serious shortage in the total supply of officers by 2026. Given the growing demand for STCW certified officers, the Report predicts that …
BIMCO/ICS report warns of serious officers shortage by 2026 Read More »
The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) team is pleased to participate in the collective effort to make it easier for seafarers of all nationalities who call at the Port of Montreal to be vaccinated, an initiative led by the Mariners’ House of Montreal and the National Seafarers’ Welfare Board. In recent weeks, more than 100 …
Port of Montreal participating in collective effort to vaccinate seafarers Read More »
Costs are rising in the crewing sector and crew shortages are beginning to be seen as Covid-19 travel restrictions and vaccination delays impact on the availability of trained seafarers, warns Danica Crewing Services. Noting recent changes in the availability of crew members, Henrik Jensen, Danica Managing Director, said that the Eastern European crewing market …
Vaccination delays causing crew shortages and rising wages, warns Danica Read More »
Ships will sound their horns at ports across Canada at 12 noon (local time) on June 25th — the Day of the Seafarer — as part of a worldwide effort to recognize the critical role marine workers have played during the pandemic and to urge governments to prioritize vaccinations for crews aboard ships. Throughout …
Ships will sound their horns in Canada to support urgent need to vaccinate seafarers Read More »
I have always been terribly enthused by Oliver St.John Gogarty’s poem The Ship and its first stanza – “A ship from Valparaiso came/ And in the Bay her sails were furled,/ She brought the wonder of her name/ And tidings from a sunnier world.” It came back to me last week reading about all …
Syrian chief officer Mohamed Aisha was unable to return home for four years after the shipowner of the MV Aman abandoned the vessel and its crew in the Suez Canal. In May 2021, ITF Arab World and Iran network coordinator Mohamed Arrachedi helped Aisha leave the MV Aman return to his family after just four months of involvement in …
