Fires at Sea!

Crimea and Sea of Azov!

Accidents will happen at sea, when dangerous processes such as refuelling take place as in this case! We have heard about it because of the disputed waters and the loss of life, but generally something similar happens everyday around the globe and we hear nothing about the tragedies?

Merchant shipping is a more dangerous world that it ever has been in the age of metal ships, prior the wooded vessels were attacked in various piracy incidents. Refuelling and moving cargo such as explosives, along with chemicals and gas are the most dangerous?

We can try to make safety an issue, but we humans are in the habit of making mistakes! We can say oh the Russians were drunk, the Irish are thick and so on, while the English are some of the most arrogant in the world when it comes to safety issues!!!!!

The Super Tanker!

Vulnerability at Sea?

This week we are seeing the results of an accident off Shanghai involving a Iranian Super Tanker carrying an extremely flammable fuel and a Chinese cargo ship! This incident occurred one-hundred and sixty miles from the Chinese coastline, but as yet the cost of the ecological damage is unknown?

Bulk carriers, container ships and Super tankers are now some of the largest vessels at sea, they are followed by the Aircraft carriers of the worlds powers and the giant cruise liners. All of them create hazards in the worlds shipping lanes because of their huge size, and the length it takes them to slow down!

The world has many busy straights, where shipping moves along in various lanes such as traffic on a motorway. They may be miles apart, but bad weather and trying to avoid or time other smaller vessels crossing your lane will from time to time be missed and a collision is likely?

There is no real way of controlling individuals who choose to flout the laws of the seas, monitoring unfortunately is becoming more electronic and less visual with the closing down of various Coast-guard stations and lighthouses/ships!