Plea for transparency in Costa Concordia case
By Michael Grey
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | No Comments
What on earth are we to make of the recent hearings in Italy where prosecutors were seeking indictments against the former master of the Costa Concordia and five others involved in the wreck of the ship sixteen months ago? The process has involved the defendants seeking to plea bargain, which seems a very strange way of establishing either what happened or indeed any culpability.
Most bizarre of all is that one of the defendants was the wretched Indonesian helmsman of the ship, who presumably was obeying helm orders in the last few minutes before the big ship ripped herself open on the reef.
It has been suggested that his addition to the “charge sheet” is practical, in that he probably would not wish to remain in Italy and might (if he had any sense) absent himself from the proceedings. With a twenty month potential sentence hanging over him, he can thus be suitably detained within the jurisdiction of the court.
There is still some doubt as to when and even whether the trial will take place, all of which presumably delays even further the publication of the final report of the technical inquiry into the incident which cost so many lives.
The International Maritime Organisation, and indeed anyone operating passenger ships and might hope to learn from the investigation report, will not be amused at the pedestrian processes taking place. It is worth noting that the ability of a flag state to produce independent and transparent reports into marine accidents is one of the criteria for that elusive badge of “Flag State Compliance” that the best hope to earn, voluntarily, of course.
Vessel ‘blackouts’ on the increase
By Michael Grey
Posted on | May 13, 2013 | No Comments
That was a truly appalling accident in the Port of Genoa, when the ro-ro containership Jolly Nero, manoeuvring in the harbour, brought down the VTS tower with several deaths and injuries Continue readingClay on Maritime TV – the end of the US merchant marine debate Part II
By Clay
Posted on | May 8, 2013 | No Comments
Clay speaks to Dave Gardy regarding what happens next for the US merchant marine. Continue readingA PEC for the cat
By Michael Grey
Posted on | May 4, 2013 | 1 Comment
The latest Marine Bill has made its passage through the UK Parliament and now awaits the Royal signature. Continue readingIt’s an ill wind
By Michael Grey
Posted on | April 30, 2013 | No Comments
A trip around the lighthouse was always a popular excursion in the Victorian seaside, while coastal paddle steamers could make a decent living when the weather was not too stormy. Sea voyages to nowhere have rather gone out of fashion in recent years, so it was good to see that offshore windfarms are now becoming a popular tourist attraction in European waters Continue readingA heavy heart
By Michael Grey
Posted on | April 23, 2013 | No Comments
Forty years or more after containers really started to be seen on the world’s steamship routes, what a song and dance we are still making about the importance of weighing containers. Continue readingTerrible thing, freedom
By Michael Grey
Posted on | April 15, 2013 | No Comments
There are some people around who get terribly angry at their inability to “control” shipping. Listening to one Carl Schlyter Member of the European Parliament, declaiming about the recycling of ships at the World Maritime University conference on the subject last week, one feared for the fortunes of the shipping industry. Continue readingWatertight bulkheads – full of holes.
By Michael Grey
Posted on | April 8, 2013 | No Comments
It is not a brilliant idea, once you have installed a watertight bulkhead of sufficient strength to withstand the sea, should it be lapping at one side of it, to then drill it full of holes to accommodate pipe and cable runs. And while you obviously have to pierce such bulkheads for very good technical reasons, there are ways of going about it that do not effectively render the barrier about as much use as a colander (possibly a more relevant comparison than a chocolate teapot). Continue readingTags: Emma Maersk > watertight bulkhead
Clay on Maritime TV – the end of US Merchant Marine debate
By Clay
Posted on | March 28, 2013 | 1 Comment
Delighted to be interviewed by Dave Gardy for Maritime TV and give my thoughts on the need to save the US Merchant Marine. Continue readingWalport video highlights dangers of ‘human element’
By Michael Grey
Posted on | March 23, 2013 | No Comments
An exhausted Mate, with real fatigue kicked in and at the end of his tether, bawls out the ordinary seaman who appears dimmer than he should be (although he is barely qualified to be taking the lookout because all the qualified hands were “out of hours”). Continue readingTags: Accident Investigation > Walport