Cruise disaster could have larger lessons
By Clay
Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments
I noticed an article from Melissa Bert, a USCG captain, that asks some interesting questions about Costa Concordia, current safety regs and training procedures.
The Costa Concordia grounding is a stark reminder that sea travel remains dangerous. A modern cruise ship sailing a routine route in beautiful weather ran
aground in a matter of minutes, leaving at least 15 people dead.
About 15 million people took a cruise last year, and they are asking tough questions. Are the massive
passenger vessels stable enough to withstand a grounding or collision? Are their international crews capable of
coordinating rapid evacuations of thousands of people? Who oversees the operations of these vessels?
To read the remainder of this articles please visit http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20120124_Cruise_disaster_could _have_larger_lessons.html
or the Baltimore Sun/The Philadelphia Inquirer, 24th Jan.
Balancing size and safety.
By Clay
Posted on | January 27, 2012 | No Comments
It is not just a question of whether there are enough lifeboats or rafts on cruiseships, but whether passengers will have time to gain access to them
AS WE approach the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic this coming April, passengership safety remains an important issue.
Between 1990 and 2000, the cruise market increased by 60% and ship size grew to vessels capable of carrying well over 3,600 passengers. Naval architects have devoted attention to methods of achieving rapid and safe evacuation, particularly access to lifeboats located at various parts of the passengership’s superstructure. Chutes or slides are now available for passengers to enter lifeboats already in the water, either directly… Continue reading
Does industry lack integrity when it comes to dangerous cargo safety?
By admin
Posted on | January 25, 2012 | No Comments
Shipping industry conspicuously silent about Vinalines Queen death toll Continue readingThe mind of a man
By Michael Grey
Posted on | January 23, 2012 | 2 Comments
As everyone from the popular media to the ship’s operators queue up to condemn the master of the Costa Concordia, how many of his accusers takes a moment to consider for a moment what must have been going through the mind of that man as he felt the rocks bite into the port side of his huge ship? Continue readingThe changing face of flag authorities
By admin
Posted on | January 21, 2012 | 1 Comment
QUALITY and performance standards are, in these times of economic woe, often more important to the struggling shipowner and operator than back in the days when money grew on trees — or seemed to. “Value is where you find it,” one owner recently remarked. “Particularly operational value. I have to run my ships. I need professional knowledge to do that. Knowledge — or skill — costs money. Competent professional skills must be two things: available and affordable.” A great but little-noted change that has taken place in the last few years has been loss of seasoned, competent professional talent. Perhaps because of its expense, shipboard and shoreside establishments are becoming leaner. There is less experience, at any price it seems, to be found on board ship; less experience can be found ashore, too… Continue readingThings to fix.
By Michael Grey
Posted on | January 18, 2012 | No Comments
It is, of course, too early to be making pronouncements about the grounding of the Costa Concordia, while the courageous divers are still probing the underwater horrors of a huge capsized ship. Continue readingTags: Costa Concordia > Cruise ships
The percentage game again
By Michael Grey
Posted on | January 13, 2012 | 1 Comment
There is a lot of luck involved in salvage. Those involved in the salvage of the containershp Rena which went aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga three months ago might have comforted themselves with the prospect of better weather as the southern spring gave way to summer. Alas, as the tourists have complained, it has been a lousy summer in New Zealand, and the broken halves of the containership with wreckage and cargo swirling up the tide bear witness to this salvage rapidly giving way to a “wreck removal” contract.
But as containerships go, this is a tiddler compared to the giants now entering service on the main line routes. How do salvors, and everyone else from the emergency… Continue reading
A grim reminder of present problems
By Michael Grey
Posted on | January 5, 2012 | No Comments
Before we get too exercised by the commemoration of the Titanic centenary, it might be quite apposite to recall that next month it will be 25 years since the purpose-built 1150teu containership Hanjin Incheon was lost in the North Pacific with all on board. Continue readingAnother hazardous cargo, another sinking
By Clay
Posted on | January 4, 2012 | 3 Comments
On Christmas day, the bulk carrier Vinalines Queen, carrying a cargo of nickel ore from Morowali, Indonesia, to China, went missing. The ship and its crew of 22 must now be considered lost. Continue readingSymbols of maritime decline
By Clay
Posted on | January 3, 2012 | 2 Comments
Our government’s present inability to land a cargo of gasoline in a U.S.-flag vessel in icebound Nome, Alaska, symbolizes the shortage of foresight of our maritime policy makers. We are unable to provide a U.S.-flag ice-strengthened tanker to lift cargo between points in the United States (within Alaska), and will apparently have to secure the services of a Russian vessel instead. Continue reading keep looking »