David Hughes

新加坡港口。港务集团(PSA)集装箱码头。
STRAIT TALK

A look back on three decades of change in liner shipping

Singapore is making the right moves to roll with these changes, but who knows what other challenges will come to container shipping?

Crew members walk on the deck of the bulk carrier Klara Oldendorff, one of the ships stuck in the Port of Baltimore following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., March 29, 2024. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
STRAIT TALK

Abandoned seafarers: an unacceptable face of the shipping industry

The issue often involves unscrupulous owners, shell companies, ineffective flag states and corrupt crewing agencies

The IMO has so far not addressed the possibility of offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from ships with carbon capture ashore.
STRAIT TALK

Decarbonisation schemes are generating hot air

IMO is trying to come up with a net-zero strategy that has a chance of being generally accepted

Iranians carry a model of a missile during a celebration following the massive Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel on Saturday.
STRAIT TALK

Geopolitics overshadows the shipping industry

“EVENTS, dear boy, events,” was reportedly British prime minister Harold MacMillan’s answer to the question, posed by a journalist back in the...

There will be a lot to talk about on decarbonisation next week, including about the relative advantages of various alternative fuels and technologies.
STRAIT TALK

Issue of decarbonisation to dominate talks at Singapore Maritime Week

But much of the industry remains preoccupied with the newly implemented European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, and would prefer a simple levy...

Wreckage from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the cargo ship Dali in Baltimore, Maryland. The global supply chain impact of the bridge disaster may be limited but this is nevertheless a catastrophic event.
STRAIT TALK

Baltimore disaster again highlights fragility of global logistics chain

IT HAS certainly not been a good start to the year. We have had the near-closure of the Suez route, and the...

Having AI on the bridge might help vessels avoid collisions, but manning levels and fatigue are big issues that need addressing.
STRAIT TALK

Using AI to reduce collisions at sea is a good idea, up to a point

A recent report on a collision between two relatively small ships in northern European waters should provide food for thought for anyone...

The issue of harassment and bullying should not be looked at in isolation – the culture onboard a ship is also crucial.
STRAIT TALK

Stopping bullying and harassment at sea by being kind

LAST year, a survey by ship manager Danica found that one in 20 seafarers – “roughly one on every ship” – reported...

Following the sinking of the Rubymar  (above) and the attack on bulk carrier True Confidence in which three crew members were killed, seafarers' union Nautilus has called upon shipowners "to urgently reassess the necessity of any planned transits" through the Red Sea.
STRAIT TALK

Red Sea could be a seafarer no-go area following crew killings

IT WAS inevitable. If you keep on firing deadly weapons at people, sooner or later, you will kill them.