Keith, If that is the case and true....................... It beggars belief there is no way these guys could be Efficient on deck :ban00000:
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A small piece taken out of an article in today’s W..A. s paper today. Entitled, “ our Island Nation must right the ship on sea power”. ...
Could very well apply to Britain also.
“ The world we live in is an island existence whose brute realities we ignore at our peril. As the biggest island in a region of archipelagos, our lifeblood is the sea and our lifeline is shipping.
Our connection to the rest of the world depends not on the internet, or flight paths but on ports, sealanes and ships. Without a Sovereign shipping capacity our economy and security are at risk”.Instead of writing about what Harry and Megan had for breakfast , this is what journalists should be doing informing the public of the state of the country. JWS.
I agree there John, but one small problem.
You will know that from WA large amounts of iron ore are shipped to China and other countries.
But who owns the ships that transport it?
Are they owned by BHP, Rio or any of the other miners?
Think you may find the answer is no, many are owned by other entities and hired on a needs basis.
As the demand for iron ore varies so the need for ships will also vary so owning the ships is for other companies not the miners.
The shipping companies will use the cheapest form of labor they can find so doubt there will be many Australians as crew on them.
My neighbor works on the cranes in Port Melbourne and as he told me this morning, bigger ships with smaller crew are now the norm with many coming here to Oz.
#23 I think you will find that China now owns most of the iron ore ships trading with Australia and only last year purchased all four of the 400,000 tonne Vale class of ships from Brazil. China has a registry of over 17,000 vessels over 100 grt, when you consider at the last count by IMO there are just over 50,000 commercial vessels of over 100 grt plying the world's seas it is China that now rules the waves, they may many more than the 17K as they will have many on long term Bareboat Charter where-in they supply their own Chinese crews but flying various flags
Found this article in the Pulse and thought some may be interested.
Re-thinking the role of the seafarer
Last year, ICS and BIMCO projected that shipping would need nearly 150,000 more sailors by 2025 to meet the current anticipated demand growth. Much has changed in the last 12 months, but the need for crew hasn’t become any less acute. Almost all of these newcomers will be digital natives who have been brought up with digital technology and are familiar with its capabilities. Their common language is likely to remain English, but many of them will be equally comfortable in computer programming languages, such as Python or Java. Similarly, the roles and responsibilities of a chief engineer in 2020 are likely to be broadly similar to their current daily duties. However, as ships become more digitized and depend upon data connectivity to function at their fullest, it will take crew that are fully versed in the latest technologies to maximize their vessel’s operational potential. At first glance, it might seem like smart ships and automation are the simple answer to seafarer shortages. I don’t believe this to be the case. But even if it is, we’re some years away from that being reality. Shipowners who have endured the last decade’s challenging freight rates and global instability need solutions that can deliver immediately. Realising increased safety, welfare, efficiency and timely operations Guaranteeing that seafarers’ rights under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 – in particular access to communications by ship’s crew – are fully adhered should be a given. So when it comes to recruitment, more fundamental questions need to be asked. What kind of seafarers are we trying to recruit? What do sailors of that caliber expect on board? Can we provide them with lifestyles that are similar to the ones they can enjoy ashore? Much of that - from the training that’s the bedrock of career growth to Skyping loved ones from the middle of the Atlantic - can be achieved via the provision of reliable, high performance and cost-effective data services. Investments to make this a reality for mariners often pay dividends in unexpected ways. I’ve spoken to a number of operators this year who brought internet aboard for their crews in the early part of this decade as they sought to ensure a better quality of crew. The improvements they’ve seen in morale, reduced social isolation, and improved crew retention were expected in large part. What really surprised them was how well positioned this had left them for the data-enabled services that have become vital to the efficient operation of their ships today. Already many of them are now taking the lessons they learned from those experiences and the competitive advantages they gained, and using them to project future capacity requirements. They understand that shipping’s digital transformation is well under way, exponential data growth is now the norm, and that they need to scale their connectivity accordingly. Empowering the global shipping industry with always-on connectivity But connectivity needs to be reliable, always available and ensure high speed throughput both on vessels and onshore. As the only provider in the industry to offer multiorbit (GEO and MEO) satellite-enabled connectivity solutions in multiple bands (Ka-, Ku- and C-band), SES Networks can flexibly deliver the capacity that ship owners, operators and seafarers need to make better informed commercial decisions, and enable them to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging and commoditized marketplace. Additionally, new service innovations, such as SES Networks’ Maritime+ solution, are making VSAT networks simpler to use, more cost efficient, and more powerful. This drives even bigger ROI for owners and operators through simple, straightforward access to customizable bandwidth and tailored service level agreements and scalable throughput options, and standardized pricing regardless of region or season of operation. The 2020s will be shipping’s first fully data-enabled decade. Almost every form of communications from a ship – wherever it is in the world – already travels via satellite for some part of its journey. In the years to come the volume, variety, and velocity of data will increase stratospherically. Indeed, DNV GL now estimates that, in two years, the data capacity of the VSAT network has increased from 8.7 Gbps (Gigabits per second) to 16.5 Gbps – nearly doubling. If this trend continues – and there’s no reason to think it won’t – this capacity will reach 217 Gbps by 2025. If the next generation of captains and chief engineers are to realize your fleet’s full potential, it will take the provision of reliable, available, and high performing satellite-enabled global managed data services. Stephen Conley is Maritime Market Segment Lead at SES Networks. Source : MAREX The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive
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No place for semaphore flags then John. Flash Gordon here we come. Cheers JWS.
Hi Terry.
I,m sure I did my lifeboat cert at the Vindi, we did all the the sail exam and rowing in the Canal, and then had to pass an exam in front of Captain Dugaid using a model of a sailing boat with a dipping lug, the lowering test for the class was off the ship, I also got the steering cert on the motor barge.
Cheers Des
Hi Des, i was not at Vindi, at Gravesend 1957, and we did do exams on the lifeboats, rowing on the thames etc, but was not the official lifeboat ticket, as i said mine was done just before my AB ticket, some years later, so i had sailed as Deck boy , jos, sos, without a lifeboat ticket, so be interesting if you were before or after my time, and if the system had changed, kt