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By Michael Grey* It represents one of the “least sustainable ways of going on holiday”, whimpered some “expert” of an unidentified discipline (probably either a climate scientist or a freelance consultant specialising in the promotion of mandatory misery). In case you haven’t guessed, it is, of course, cruising and the peak of the season in …

On our Forum: The mounting ‘co-habitation’ challenges of cruise ship visits Read More »

By Michael Grey* You might think that insurers would have been more vocal about the risks they are taking on with bigger car carriers carrying apparently ever more “problematic” (here is my chance to employ a fashionable word) cargoes which cause a lot of grief. It took five days to extinguish the inferno which recently …

On our Forum: The risks of transporting vehicles en masse… Read More »

By Michael Grey* I had just finished re-reading an old biography of Edward Wilson; doctor, scientist, naturalist, artist and Antarctic explorer, who died with Captain Scott and fellow members of the south polar party, in March 1912. Even across all these years, it is impossible to remain unmoved, reading his final letter to his wife, …

On our Forum: Something ghoulish about tours of Titanic wreckage Read More »

Québec City – Ocean Group, a well-established player in the Quebec and Canadian marine industry, officially launches its RESPIRE fundraising campaign. Funds raised will be donated directly to the Fondation du CHU de Québec to renew the stock of neonatal critical care ventilators at the Centre mère-enfant Soleil of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval, which …

Launch of the RESPIRE fundraising campaign by Ocean Read More »

by Harald Solberg* To supercharge the green shift, we need a clear zero-emissions target by 2050, a market-based levy on CO2 emissions and an improved set of efficiency measures, and as our industry’s global regulator the IMO is the body to do it – and fast. We no longer have the luxury of time. In …

On our Forum: The IMO must take the bull by the horns Read More »

Michael Grey* When I was at sea, or afterwards, in shore-side employment, nobody ever asked me whether I was happy. If this unexpected inquiry had been made, I would have been instantly suspicious, anticipating that this was a preliminary to some unwanted bad news. It probably was inculcated very early on – during my first …

On our Forum: Taking the pulse of the Seafarers’ Happiness Index Read More »

By Michael Grey* We need the shipping industry more than ever – it’s essential to modern life, so why do so many different interests spend their days beating it up? It was a question that occurred to me when reading about the latest draft guidelines about measures to reduce the impact of underwater radiated noise, …

On our Forum: Beating up ship operators… Read More »

By Michael Grey* You would almost think that it is a seasonal phenomenon, these regular warnings about ships’ machinery grinding to a standstill on account of something nasty having been introduced into the bunker tanks. The consequences of off-spec or non-compliant fuel are generally dire, ranging from wrecked machinery, to expensive operations to purge the …

On our Forum: Beware of non-compliant marine fuels… Read More »

Last September, UQAR researchers in creative writing ended their journey aboard the ship ÉcoMaris to document plastic pollution on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A two-week stay allowed them to observe a high concentration of waste resulting from the lifestyles of the last decades. Over a quarter of a tonne of waste was collected from …

On our Forum: A literary look at plastic pollution and the issues it raises Read More »

By Michael Grey It’s a new year and the world’s wildlife is clearly striking back, from the mayhem being caused by the excursions of a walrus (allegedly named Thor, but it could equally have answered to the name of Jim) on the UK coast, to the depredations of wolves in Germany. And across in Chesapeake …

On our Forum: Respecting the natural resources in ocean waters… Read More »