what's quality of life like in your experience, onboard?

Recent developments in mercantile maritime matters worldwide, certainly when in the so-called developed countries and possibly also elsewhere, wherever IMO's writ allegedly runs, tend to also bring out two aspects, neglected or simply getting worse without contest, for far too long:-

1) The quality of life onboard, including accomodation, food, recreational facilities, communication/internet and safe manning. Add to that the kind of care given by the owners for small things like cabin linen/towels, and you get the idea.

2) The real truth behind the ownership and operation of the ship including beneficiary ownerships as well as other details often kept hidden from complement and port state authorities. This is having impacts on seafarers way beyond simple criminalisation.

In other words, it is even more important now than ever before, to be aware of as much as possible before signing up to go onboard a ship. Even if you have been with the company for a long time. Things are changing very rapidly in the real world, and working for the shipping fleets, especially those registered in offshore tax havens, is not as simple as it used to be - matter of fact it is, to give an example, as dangerous as taking a lift on a dark night in an unregistered can going through certain parts of India.

This writer has come across more than a few cases lately, where seafarers suffered because they didn't take basic precautions in advance, and here are some which stand out:-

# Reach on board and discover that cabin accomodation on what was obviously a very shoddily built ship meant that even the top-4 officers shared a toilet. Which may not sound like a terribly bad deal, but what makes it worse is if the single toilet itself keeps packing up all the time, and simply can not get fixed.

# The messing onboard was on some 500/- rupees or equivalent per day pattern, which worked fine as long as the supplies were taken from the more reasonable parts of the world. However, stranded alongside in a port where there was a civil war ashore meant the sum of money did not really manage to do the needful, and for some time the Master went out of pocket till he signed off.

# The actual hidden beneficiary ownership of a particular ship was traced back to a person whose nationality and pending issues were not acceptable in a port the ship called. After some time the ship was released and sailed on, but the Master was held back, in jail, for about 7 months before he was able to buy his own wy out by himself.

# There are, ofcourse, increasingly more frequent cases of owners abandoning vessel and complement on board, not just due to piracy but also for a variety of other reasons. This happens through registered and unregistered agents, and you can not expect too much help from the authorities in such cases.

It is, therefore, increasingly apparent that you as Indian seafarers will have to look after your own interests. Make your own checklist before you sign on the dotted line, or stick with the well reputed companies, which have adherences and policies way better than what the authorities require of them. They may not pay as much, or may be more stringent on documentation and qualifications, but in the forthcoming turbulence in the shipping world and world overall - certainly worth it.

The israelis And russians do it better

More about piracy here.

http://moneylife.in/article/piracy-on-the-high-seas-how-do-israel-and-russia-combat-this-menace/14705.html


Piracy on the high seas: How do Israel and Russia combat this menace?
March 14, 2011 03:19 PM |
Veeresh Malik

A number of foreign flagships have their own armed personnel on board, they call them “seamen”, and organise documents for them from the flag state. But India has made it extremely difficult for armed personnel to sail on board Indian merchant  flagships

In the world of shipping, flags and nationalities often have interchangeable meaning, and it is not unusual for ship-owners and ship-operators to not just burn the candle on both ends, but also cut the candle up into small pieces, burn it at every end, and then burn it lengthwise too.

The history of almost every major shipping company is littered with evidence and anecdotes of what could best be called "extreme free enterprise"-slave trade, narcotics, arms, sanctions, colonial ambitions-nothing is or was impossible.

A roll-call of some of the major shipping interests around today, especially the 'Old Money' sorts from Western and Middle Europe, will show how as recently as during World War II, fleets were literally divided up to serve on both sides. That's nothing new. Somebody has to win, it made sense to cover all bets-this is also called hedging.

Some day soon, we shall also discuss derivates in the same context.

And of course, yesterday's gunrunners making their futures in and around Africa and Asia are today's corporate darlings, with shipping histories conveniently ignoring the truths. The only loyalty is towards turning over a faster profit, at any cost, especially when new flags can be rented by the hour.

Mongolia's maritime ambitions are the latest example, where anything goes.

So, in a way, why blame the poor Somalians-after all, if they were wearing suits tailored from bespoke outlets and could just knot their ties better than they do their lungis, they would not really look very different-and the flag would not really matter. Every European nation worth its colonial history has a few dozen flags lying spare here and there in the rest of the world-so what if they had to let go a Hong Kong or Singapore?

Here a fact: reading up on the small nation-states that still owe allegiance to the victors of the World War II, ostensibly fought on the basis of "freedom for all", is indeed extremely revealing. Thing is, there are so many of these little-little countries, mostly islands here and there, that it is quite a long read.

But it helps to understand shipping, and to figure out why shipping companies love them, too. It may be a bit difficult to memorise and sing so many new National Anthems, but hey, they can always buy a CD. Here's another fact: newer the country, easier the Flag of Convenience, and often prettier the flag.

But there are always exceptions. For some people, for some flags, never forget. And the Israelis stand very, very tall in this. In fact, their flags are the tallest in the world. Today, their ships sail past the pirate areas of the Indian Ocean, without challenge. A friend who was a Master on one of their Zim Line ships relates an episode of how while other ships would creep past in full black-out conditions, they would barrel through the piracy areas with all lights on and with floodlights shining on the funnel as well as name and port of registry. Every time. Nobody knows if the pirates out there can read Hebrew, so the name is also painted on in English.

Into this world we bring our gentle and loyal readers a small touch, a faint whisper of a part of a chapter in a huge book actually, of the amazing real-life story of the Ofer Brothers. Apart from owning the Israeli shipping behemoth, Zim, the Ofers are also known to own and control Tanker Pacific (one of the largest oil-tanker operators in the world) as well as a few other shipping interests-including the companies that owned the St James Park and the Asian Glory, that were hijacked and released in 2009.

One version is here:

http://www.oferg.com/Aboutus/History/tabid/125/Default.aspx

Another version is here:

http://www.oferg.com/Aboutus/History/tabid/125/Default.aspx

And here too, the third version, where you will notice that our old friends-the banks and the insurance companies-make their now usual grand appearance, as private investors too.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/the-shakshuka-system-a-view-from-2009-1.271235

But this report is about piracy and Israelis. For that, please and kindly look carefully at the timeline below:

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This is a statement issued by the operators after the release of their ship, the St James Park, mid-May 2009. "The company does not wish to jeopardise the safety of crew members held on its second hijacked vessel the Asian Glory or other vessels and crews that are still being held by Somali pirates in the area," Zodiac said in a statement. (The vessel St James Park, with a British flag, was hijacked on 28 December 2008 and released on 14 May 2009, with Indian, Pakistani and Bulgarian crew).

This is the statement issued by the operators after the release of their ship, the MV Asian Glory in mid-June 2009-"Zodiac said in a statement on its website that all crewmembers were well, but declined to provide further details." (MV Asian Glory, with a British flag, was hijacked in early January 2009 and released in mid-June 2009-its crew consisted of Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Indians and Romanians.)

But there has been no statement issued by the owners or operators, as yet, pertaining to the hijack and release of their ship the MV Arctic Sea, from the North Sea, in highly-controlled Western Europe waters. On voyage from Finland to Algeria with "timber", but suspected to have been carrying weapons likely destined for certain Arab interests. (MV Arctic Sea, Malta flag, primarily Canadian owned-beneficial owners unclear-was hijacked in late July 2009 and "found" in mid-August 2009 in the Atlantic Ocean).

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The buzz in the maritime world in India and elsewhere has been loud and clear after this-Ofer's ships will simply not be touched again. In fact, any Israeli interests will not be touched again in the Indian Ocean piracy areas. Buzz also has it that on the waterfront in Puntland and the rest of the Horn of Africa, word is out that you don't mess with the Star of David, or those whom they protect.

So you now have MSC, (Med Shipping of Geneva, Switzerland, another shipping company with a history of its own, operating from that great maritime nation, Switzerland) the largest operators of cruise ships, openly declaring that their "security staff" was and is Israeli.

Here's another episode: April 2009, the MSC Melody with a "large number of passengers onboard" repelled an attack by boats and boats of pirates about 500 miles off Somalia. Apparently it was a planned attack. Initial news reports spoke about the ship taking successful evasive action, but truth is that the security forces onboard used firearms "and more" to drive off the attackers, and then actually doing some more too-which cannot and will not be repeated here.

But put it this way, there are videos circulating on the Internet of how security men from another nation captured some pirates, released the hostage crew who were being forced to operate the mother ship, and then, what the heck, tied the pirates up and then blew up the ship.

Some people got very, very, wet-and unhappy. Russian ships don't get attacked in Somalia any more, either, for some time now.

So this is what the MSC Melody's ship-owner's statement said: "Security work onboard our cruise ships is very popular with young Israelis just out of the army, the job is seen as a chance to save money and travel at the same time. Hundreds of veterans and reservists of elite Israel Defence Force units, including Naval commandos, are employed in security work on cruise ships and oil rigs in areas subject to pirate attacks."

And in the bargain, another amazing factoid is emerging in Africa-the Israelis are fast becoming important players in all forms of commercial enterprises in and around the emerging African countries. One country, (actually three of them), is reported to now permit nuclear tests as well as Armed Forces "training" on their territories. (South Africa stopped in the post-apartheid era, that is what one understands, and Angola is not all that big).

The Chinese are now facing competition, because cheap labour costs the same for both of them, especially if it is from Third World countries. And most of all, Israeli interest ships continue to flow through safely-which is more than what many other countries can claim.

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Where is India on something like this?

1) All sorts of important people in Delhi are debating on whether Indian ships should have armed guards on them or not. Popular sentiment fashioned on some old traditions going back to, where else, the British, has it that merchant ships should not be armed. This is usually after lunch and before dinner, after which they all go home to their well-protected homes, mostly with heavily armed guards outside.

2) The Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai, in its own brilliance has made it extremely difficult for ex-Indian Navy personnel to sail onboard Indian merchant flag ships. The background of this is somewhere else totally, and involves Supreme Court judgements, so it will not be discussed here, other than a single simple comment: "own goal". Or better, still, "self
hit-wicket."

3) Foreign flagships which have their own armed personnel onboard declare the security people as "seamen", and organise documents for them from the flag state. The actual arms are either declared and kept in bonded locker stores, or simply, sometimes, not declared, that's also life. Releasing a ship from official pirates in India is easier than getting it released from unofficial pirates in Somalia.

4) The ITF, BIMCO, Intertanko, Interbulk and the International Chamber of Shipping are meeting in London again next week. Apparently they plan to issue another joint appeal, after lunch and before dinner, and then launch another Web campaign. However, they are also not in favour of placing armed guards on merchant ships-though this is also being debated. To the best of my knowledge, the Indian government is not represented here this time, though some other Indians in shipping are.

+++

There is no too ways about this-piracy at sea is now a very important component of what is increasingly being referred to as "MCO". (Multinational Crime Organisation). History teaches us that the New World was conquered by buccaneers and they were supported brilliantly by their backers-state, church or commerce. Things really haven't changed that much lately, either.

Post Piracy care of Seafarers

The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) has published Preliminary Guidelines: Post-Piracy Care for Seafarers, outlining preliminary strategies on caring for seafarers (merchant mariners) affected by piracy. The document, based on cutting-edge mental health research and ongoing discussions with shipowners, crewing agencies, representatives of governments, and other stakeholders in the industry, provides practical guidelines for the maritime industry.

SCI presented the Preliminary Guidelines to Working Group 3 of the United Nations Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia on January 27, prior to the Plenary Meeting of the Contact Group the following day. SCI also plans to submit the document to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the meeting of the Maritime Security Committee in May.

Based on experience gained through the clinical study and stakeholder responses, SCI will update Preliminary Guidelines, available online at:

http://www.seamenschurch.org/law-advocacy/piracy-trauma-study

SCI desires to speak with seafarers who have experienced piracy, including attacks, hostage-taking, or simply sailing through high risk piracy areas. Contact Clinical Researcher Michael Garfinkle, PhD at +1 212 349 9090 ext. 240 or by email at mgarfinkle@seamenschurch.org.

SCI researchers strictly protect privacy.

Hijacked ship with captured crew attacks Spanish naval warship . . .

Good heavens! So now, first you get pirated or hijacked, then you get forced to use your ship to try and ram into a naval ship, which then fires back at you.


http://www.eaglespeak.us/2010/11/somali-pirates-using-big-mother-ship-to.html



The Izumi, a Japanese cargo ship captured in October 2010, was used to try and ram into the Spanish warship Infanta Cristina, which was escorting a merchant ship in the area, off the East Coast of Somalia on the 14/15 of November 2010.

Read the full report . . . amazing.

Really, is your Merchant Ship insured against piracy? How do you know?

So, dear Seafarer. Shipowner, Shipmanager, regulatory Authority, Fleet Personnel Manager, Union Leader, family members and everybody else interested in this subject of seafarers going off to dangerous waters . . .  would you please like to come out with cogent statements involving not just pleasantly couched words, but hard facts and numbers,  what really the insurance protection for the man on the ship is in case of piracy or hijack? Modern day piracy, of which just about 40% takes place in the Arabian Sea waters, is now a global phenomenon. Somalia gets a lot more attention because it appears to have become a hub lately, and is closer to India, but the rest of the world is not far behind, and the "business" of hijacking ships seems to be growing. Just like other streams of crime, for example prostitution, narcotics, arms trade - this too now seems to be settling into a pattern and a system.

That's as far as the relevance to the fact that this is now another business, and all business is about numbers, so what are the numbers, and where do the numbers go? What does it mean when somebody tells somebody else that "insurance for piracy" exists on such-and-such ship?

To start with, the piracy numbers include:-

# Investment versus returns, and a whole flotilla of numbers and words persons, and also some mercenaries, to keep the whole business well-greased. Imagine, can a transaction of almost 10 million dollars (9.8 million was the reported figure) plus costs involved in enabling this payment for releasing the supertanker SAMHO DREAM (say, another 5 million dollars) have been able to move across the globe without the direct participation of a whole lot of number crunchers  and shysters all over the world, especially in the "developed' world? So, modern-day piracy is not about to simply go away, for any reason.(Source - bankers unwilling to be identified in Europe and UAE.)

#The definitions of piracy and hijacking also appear to vary worldwide, and this in turn impacts the question of whether a vessel is a total loss or not, after the incident, whether hijack or piracy. Either way, in some countries, the insured shipowner/operator has not been "ir-retrievably deprived" of the vessel, so insurance claims for piracy or hijack, even interim, can not be paid out. Never mind what happens on the ship. In addition, it is the duty of the shipowner and his Master/crew to prove that they made all attempts to mitigate losses, and whether this includes the ransom payment or not is an open issue. So, a Master and his crew, who have not been paid, not received decent food, have been under capture, whose families may be starving - they still have to prove that all attempts were made to "mitigate" losses.

# In the UAE, it is even more complex, since they demand a "special provision" for piracy. The difference between "war risk" and "piracy" is there, not sublime, but complicated. However, one can not substitute the other, so a special cover in advance will be needed. At what point does piracy become an "act of war", given the current pronouncements of the attackers, claiming that they are working for their countries? No clear answers here, either - and carrying armed guards on board through somebody else's territorial waters, does that impact right of innocent passage? What does the Master of a ship have to say, if armed guards are on his ship, and the ship is then considered "hostile" - where do the crew stand as far as insurance goes, then?

# So while "piracy insurance" may have been taken by a shipowner/operator, please remember that "even though piracy is an insured peril, the onus to prove the act of piracy for successful recovery remains with the assured, in particular to establish that the act occurred was piracy and not terrorism, i.e. that the persons committing the act did so exclusively for their own material benefit, rather than pursuing a political, ideological or religious scope."

(Fichte & Co. http://www.fichtelegal.com/en/news_article.php?news_id=71)

Many of the latest episodes of piracy are defining their activities stikingly close to this.

# There is an estimate, provided by the Professional  General Insurance Research Organisation (GIRO) that each piracy attack on a merchant ship costs around 9 million dollars, and from another un-named source, that it is eventually between 10 and 15 million dollars, ransom and all costs. This is just a ballpark estimate, and rising lately. Working backwards from here, the average cost per merchant ship transiting the Suez Canal and going through the Gulf of Aden works out to between 70 and 110 thousand dollars, another rough estimate, and rising. Higher on ships carrying higher value cargoes, ofcourse, so assume a 10000 teu ship is paying about 300,000 dollars per trip each way - that's 30 dollars per teu extra costs. But what are the owners, cargo interests and seafarers getting out of this, incase of attack? That's not very clear.

# The number of seafarers kidnapped in piracy/hijack incidents as per the London-based International Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Crimes Services was 867 in 2009, and 790 so far this year. There are some 'carry-forwards' who have been kidnapped in the previous year/years, and some simply 'missing'. However, this does not in any way provide any information on the disruption to seafarers even way outside in the Arabian Sea, in terms of mental tension and actual attacks.

# Allianz Global Corporate & Strategy, a leading insurer of ships and cargo, says that in most cases, piracy is covered under "normal" hull and insurance cover, even for ships not trading in piracy prone areas. The efficacy of this "normal" cover when a piracy or hijack takes place is very much under debate and till then, may well be slightly ineffective at best. So the solution would be to take additional cover. However, truth is that many owners or operators or charterers simply do not take additional cover when going through these areas - because special piracy covers are not easily available that offer special, flexible and tailor made cover for such ships.

# Here is a map of the piracy prone areas worldwide:-

http://www.aida.org.uk/AIDAEurop/AIDAStellaspaper.pdf

It is clear that marine insurance is the oldest form of insurance worldwide. War risk and piracy insurance have been linked for a long time. However, war risk insurance, and also piracy, can be unilaterally cancelled by the insurer at 48 hours notice. What does the seafarer onboard know about this, is the regulator able to provide any form of guarantees here?

It is in your interest as a seafarer to actively seek out the full details of the insurance cover taken for piracy, and to see that it is kept valid throughout your tenure - which obviously you can not do. But certainly the regulators, DG Shipping, can frame some rules urgently in this context?

Or, as is often the case, keep sailing "Ram Bharose".

Here's an article published by me at MONEYLIFE, referring to the commercial aspects of claims and counter-claims when cargo ships meet accidents.

This one was with reference to the MSC CHITRA / KHALIJA III collision off Mumbai Harbour.

http://www.moneylife.in/article/8/8064.html

It is always sad to see ships collide, break their backs, capsize, and sink, especially if they are so close to port. Here major media make a circus out of what is actually one of the saddest spectacles.

The MSC Chitra / Khalija III collision outside Mumbai Harbour once again brings into focus the sheer neglect of maritime matters on the Indian coast by the various organisations responsible.

(read on)

http://www.moneylife.in/article/8/8064.html

shippies, Diwali, festivals - and more.

Diwali is increasingly a festival for all Indians, across social, religious and other barriers, more as a sort of get home and be with the family than anything else. That the markets of the shopping sorts are almost abandoned, traffic on roads is down to very low, and most commercial establishments that would otherwise be open, are shut, is typical. Keep aside the essential services as well as those that need 24x7 attendance, and you have the picture - here, also, people do manage to celebrate either a wee bit early or maybe later on. And then, ofcourse, people can always speak with each other on phone, even if they are not really there.

There are, ofcourse, some categories of people who simply can not be anywhere near their families on Diwali - and don't have the option of simply calling up easily either. Prisoners in jails, for example. Or seafarers on ships at sea, as another example. A satellite call to or from a ship still costs a minor fortune, though some ships now have V-SAT and other internet options available, which are sometimes shared with seafarers for their personal use. All routed through the office, of course, and with hardly any privacy though. But these are more the exception, than the rule, and even that - if people working on ships have the time from their typical 90+ hour working week.

Easy to say this:- seafarers are the invisible wire and glue that keep the world of commerce actually ticking over. Unfortunately, the only time seafarers make the public's mind through the news is when disasters, especially of the environmentally polluting sort, take place. Over a few hundred ships sink every year with a few thousand losing their lives, over 500 seafarers are currently held hostage by pirates off Somalia while family members back home get calls to pay off mini-ransoms, but the "shippie" works on, invisible to all but friends and family, keeping the wheels of commerce - and banking - turning.

Never mind what anybody has to say about the "new economy", and all the rest of it, including profits made for services as well as industries which do not involve the physical movement of goods or people - if there were no seafarers, then almost all of the world's trade would simply come to a grinding halt. That they do this job unseen and unheard, for centuries now, is part of the larger picture. One reason for this silence is  the nature of the whole ship-owning and operating business. The other reason is that most seafarers themselves are, by definition, majorly disconnected from the rest of the world - by the nature of their job - and take a lot in their stride.

It is, no doubt, a tough life. And that is why, currently, it is reported that there is a major shortage of trained seafarers worldwide, especially in the deck and engineer officer categories. The traditional supply from European countries has almost totally died down. Other countries are still about a generation behind in setting up training as well as certification pipelines - though China, despite the disadvantage of being behind in English skillsets,  is catching up rapidly, also because of a rapid expansion in their coastal shipping, fishing as well as shipbuilding industries. Likewise the ex-Soviet East European countries, they too have rich seafaring traditions, and are rapidly catching up.

One would have thought, therefore, that this provided another opportunity for India and Indians to fill in the breach worldwide. Yes, certainly, there already are a lot of Indians in the seafaring industry, both at sea as well as ashore. Many, most of them, do very well indeed lately - with high tax-free salaries and fairly short contracts/tenures at sea. But in the midst of all this, many of tomorow's generation of seafarers seem to have hit on a wall, and for them, Diwali has been anything but happy. Stuck with heavy loans taken in the name of "Government authorised training", and then unable to get the correct documentation enabling them to work on ships, there is a whole generation of trained cadets and crew who are currently stuck ashore. Worse, after their pre-sea training, some who manage to go to other countries to look for jobs, find themselves at great risk working on sub-standard ships and other vessels.

(Case in point: Cadets were recruited from India at great cost, 6-8 lakh per annum plus recruitment and other fees, and sent onboard a "training ship" known as the RAK SINDBAD in Ras Al Khaimah, run by Indians. The website http://www.merchantnavyeducation.com/ shows as faculty a Capt. Suptd., an Indian mariner, who unfortunately passed away a few months ago. A sister ship, RAK AFRIKANA, with over a dozen Indians onboard including 11 cadets placed without much by way of official authorisation from the Indian authorities, was captured by pirates in March 2010, and there is no further news on their status. But they, like other training institutions, merrily kep advertising and looking for more youngsters to "train".)

But the bigger issue is to do with an organisation in India known as the "Indian Maritime University" (IMU). Formed with the charter to provide higher education to seafarers, it has conveniently moved into the more lucrative business of providing "affiliation" to a large number of pre-sea training institutes all over the country to churn out vast numbers of deck cadets and ratings for crew, many of whom have now started clogging the back-streets and bye-lanes of port cities all over India, unable to find jobs simply because their training is often sub-standard and their certificates are not worth the paper they have been printed on. It is these youngsters, the number now running into thousands and growing every year by leaps and bounds, who are certainly not celebrating Diwali, as they groan under the burden of heavy loans or move out to work on the sub-standard fleets of the world without any sort of protection.

Training for seafarers in India is something which was under the purview of the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) for decades. The DGS, incidentally, also provides approvals for a separate cadre of pre-sea training institutes, but has a far more rigrous regime, something that has over the decades ensured that certification for seafarers from DGS in India is on top of the rest of the world in terms of judging and declaring competence for all levels - which is a simple fact. DGS also has a system which links training to placement, as well as documentation to ensure compliance by ships and companies that employ Indians to the standards set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Not perfect, certainly, but it works. And it ensures that Indian seafarers are able to celebrate Diwali, whether onboard or ashore.

The paralel IMU system, however, is at best in a shambles, and at worse close to creating a major disaster for young Indians looking to taking up seafaring as a profession. Which is a shame, because in the existing shortage, which looks like becoming worse, an opportunity for large numbers of properly trained and certified Indian seafarers is likely to pass us by, providing a window of opportunity to other nationalities.

Which is not good Diwali for Indian seafarers, larger picture, as we seem ready to lose out on another opportunity to dominate what is, in essence, the root of all world trade - shipping.

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Mariners Welfare Guild - and you

Want to do something to help improve things for seafarers?

Take a look here:-

http://www.marinerswelfareguild.com/

And then, if you agree, join.

Costs nothing but a wee bit of time.

Georgia, the country, capital is Tbilisi.

I have a regular reader in Georgia, come on, who that?

OK, here's something more on Georgia - the country - their "ticket" is acceptable and on the white list. Helps a lot of people who, for any reason, may be stuck with their CoCs.

http://maradgeorgia.org/Circ_No_10_280409.pdf

Norwegian pattern exam, objective, go for it. And Tbilisi is a lovely place for a lot of things, not too expensive either. And Batumi beats the whole lot. Can get there by train, too, from many places.

Curious shipping accidents, and photos therein

This is not morbid, but in a way amusing - you wonder how some of them got there?

http://curiousphotos.blogspot.com/2009/08/marine-accidents-19-pics.html

And here's one of the most amazing ones I read about - the Second Mate thought the radar showed a huge big cloud, de-selected it around 0330, and then handed over watch to the Chief Officer at 4am.  Nobody looked at the other radar, nobody looked at the charts, both electronic and paper, and nobody apparently looked outside at the breakers too.

Clear visibility as far as you could see. And then this tanker simply climbed onboard the island. What sort of coffee were they serving on the SICHEM OSPREY, then?

http://maritimeaccident.org/2010/10/sichem-osprey-athol-story-of-pirate-island-clouded-judgement-and-coffee-grounds/

(Thank you, Bob Couttie)

During the investigation, the Second Officer, who was the only passage planner on board since the others weren't competent apparently (????!!!!) did not know if it was a great circle course or a rhumbline, from Panama to Ulsan

http://cdn.tahitipresse.pf/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/clipperton.jpg