UK – In a quite remarkable exchange in the House of Commons this afternoon, in response to a question from Labour party MP Hilary Benn, Michael Gove referred to the Road Haulage Association (RHA) as 'perhaps not the most constructive partner' in the current Brexit negotiations.
UK – It seems finally maritime unions have some good news issuing forth from government offices. The National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020 comes into force 1 October 2020. It will extend NMW rates to all seafarers working on merchant ships between UK ports and from UK ports to installations on the UK Continental Shelf, something they have been lobbying vigorously for.
UK – Strange times indeed, however the presence of the virus which is permeating every level in the fabric of society has not deterred the artistic urges of those who entered this year's Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) annual exhibition, which has now seen the winners announced by the RSMA and partners the Mall Galleries.
TAIWAN – SOUTH KOREA – UK – Evergreen Marine Corp. Ltd. (Evergreen) has been awarded Digital Safe Security certification from Lloyd's Register (LR) for its latest 12,000 TEU, ultra large containership, Ever Forward, which was built and delivered by Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (SHI) on 28 September 2020.
MIDDLE EAST – Sometimes the requirement for a phrase to be diplomatically acceptable can bring a smile to the face. Never truer perhaps than in the mission statement of the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), which was created July 2019 as a way to deter 'unprofessional behaviour' in the waters of the Middle East region through its operational arm, Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel.
UK – With a nod to the past, when the River Thames was packed with barges carrying all manner of goods through the heart of the City of London, a cooperation between DHL Express and Thames Clipper Logistics is seeing freight carried on the waterway once more, albeit in much smaller quantities.
WORLDWIDE – The paucity of passenger flights due to the pandemic has serious repercussions for the availability of space for air freight with the bulk of cargo normally travelling in the belly holds of such aircraft. As expected the latest statistics are depressing, more so in actual fact even than anticipated.
US – Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics is to partner with shipbuilder Metal Shark Boats, of Jeanerette, Louisiana, to supply the US Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) with a new Sharktech 29 Defiant vessel for the purposes of testing and evaluating the capabilities of available autonomous vessel technology.
WORLDWIDE – We have written many times over the years on the dangers inherent in ballast water transfers and, with major changes regarding the reinforcement of regulations appertaining to these due in 2024, one of the major players in the industry has offered a timely reminder of the responsibilities of all ship owners in the form of a short, informative film.
AUSTRALIA – It seems our story last week that the hopeful signs of an agreement to renegotiate a working contract between the stevedores of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the management of DP World container facilities in the country does not apply to other employers, with the escalation of industrial action at the Patrick Terminals Sydney facility, Port Botany.
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