It is desirable to monitor and improve vessel performance to optimise fuel economy. Fuel is the largest operating cost of any power – driven vessel, so reducing fuel usage increases profitability and competitive advantage. But using fuel more efficiently also helps to comply with ever more...
What are the main causes of oil spills? Oil spills into rivers, bays, and the ocean are most often caused by accidents involving ships, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, and storage facilities. Spills can be caused by people making mistakes or being careless, equipment breaking down, natural...
At the age of 18, immediately after I graduated from high school, I was so confused and worried of which direction I should take regard- ing my studies and ultimately my future. At that time, I was torn between two completely different directions of studies –...
After WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic on 11th of March 2020, countries closed their borders and normal air travel was grounded to a halt. The result was that all planned crew changes were cancelled. Crewing managers immediately started dealing with inquiries from crew onboard concerned about...
There are things we know, there are things we know we do not know and there are things we do not know that we do not know. What is the best way to find out? To ask! Evolution itself is fundamentally based on the process of...
This newsletter always features at least one article on the safety and well being of our seafarers, but we must never forget that the lives of our crew depend ultimately on the seaworthiness of the vessel in which they are sailing. Safe navigation is, therefore,...
The ability to provide effective performance feedback: a waste of time or a great opportunity?Cybersecurity means protecting the security of all in- formation stored and processed on computers and electronic devices Discussion and feedback between appraiser and appraisee is necessary for professional development in every industry....
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Cybersecurity means protecting the security of all in- formation stored and processed on computers and electronic devices Threats to information security include: Malware (infections from USB sticks) Phishing (mass emails designed to illegally obtain sensitive information from the recipient) Targeted attacks (‘hackers’) ...
Nearly 99% of the world's goods are transported by sea, out of which 77% are containerised cargo. To regulate such a flow of goods and ships, many countries have implemented their own rules, which is why nowadays, we are all busy managing regulations as well as...
New IMO regulations have come into force – mandating the sulphur content of marine fuels in global waters to be less than 0.5%. The aim is to significantly reduce emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx), which are harmful to the environment. This is a relatively big...