Clay Maitland

On a quest for quality in shipping

Lessons learned again?

April is said to be the cruelest month. It is memorable for disasters, from the Titanic to Texas City, Deepwater Horizon and so on. Continue reading

Does industry lack integrity when it comes to dangerous cargo safety?

Shipping industry conspicuously silent about Vinalines Queen death toll Continue reading

The changing face of flag authorities

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… Continue reading

Marintec China 2011

As NAMEPA’s (North American Marine Environment Protection Association) founding chairman I was asked to speak at the recent Senior Maritime Forum held in conjunction with Marintec China 2011 in Shanghai. Continue reading

Oversight, assessment of risk and management: Part 3

As we all know the ISM Code was adopted by IMO in 1993. The Code was drafted as a self-contained document. However, its provisions were bought into force internationally when, at the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Conference in 1994, compliance with its provisions became mandatory under a new Chapter IX to the SOLAS Convention. The Code differs from other quality assurance systems in that it is mandatory; it has been amended over the years, and is generally incorporated in OPA ’90. Continue reading

Oversight, assessment of risk and management: Part 2

In my last post I began looking at risk management and would like to elaborate further and see how this applies to shipping, the offshore oil industry, and particularly oil spills? Continue reading

Worse to come for shipping

The true state of the world economy was shown on August 1, with the release by JPMorgan of a series of indicators making up the global manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices (PMI). Continue reading

Stronger steps needed to clamp down on rogue ROs

Here is some good news, even if it isn’t very new: we now have the first MARPOL conviction in an American court of a “recognised organisation (RO) inspector” (I use the term loosely) for issuing fraudulent certificates. Continue reading

The cost of Catastrophic events

It seems sinful, in the face of the tragedy unfolding in Japan, to relate today’s news to commercial matters.

But as CMA Shipping 2011 kicks off in Stamford, there is, however, much to reflect on in the dramatic events of recent months. Continue reading

Shipping enters new risk era

You wouldn’t know it from reading our favorite trade journals, but the shipping industry is not immune to “country risk.” Continue reading

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