We were very interested to see that Andrew Simmons, who has been CFO of Stealthgas Inc since June 2005 is leaving the Company…

CONFIDENCE in how the market is going to perform seems to go up and down like a yo-yo. The latest report by accountants Moore Stephens seems to be more gloomy about prospects than previous ones, and there are certainly plenty of people on the party circuit who feel that 2011 is going to be worse than 2010, (or maybe that is more a reflection of the quality of the wine and canapes served at recessionary receptions these days?)

THERE is good news and bad to be found in consultant Drewry's latest forecasts on the state of the reefer trade. According to its analysis, seaborne reefer trade is expected to make a “robust recovery” after the fall in 2009. The analyst expects perishable reefer trade to reach 203 m tonnes by 2015 compared to 157 m tonnes in 2009, with particularly strong growth in meat cargoes over the period from 2000 to 2009.

COMPANIES and organisations will need to get their act together as April this year will see the introduction of the Bribery Act 2010, introducing new offences relating the payment of bribes, receiving of bribes, attempting to bribe a foreign official and organisations failing to prevent bribery taking place…

FOLLOWING 2010, the Year of the Seafarer, this year's focus will once again be on piracy and orchestrating the response to it. Will the industry achieve any more in this respect than it did in the last year to improve the lot of seafarers? In a typically robust presentation to the London branch of the Propeller Club, former Spinnaker Chairman, Michael Grey, made some tough remarks.

The Sailor's Society is organising Woolly Hat Week. The society, which distributes 15,000 woolly hats to seafarers every year, wants everyone to wear a woolly hat to work to support seafarers who have to work in cold and demanding conditions…

MUCH has been said in recent times about quality and training of crews. Crew shortages have led to those on board being promoted more quickly than might have happened in the past, with knock-on effects on experience in each role.

PIRACY remains firmly at the top of the agenda for the industry this year, and statistics make for grim reading. According to IMO secretary general Efthimios Mitropoulos, who spoke at the Propeller Club this month, on 1 January 2010 there were 12 ships and 299 crew members held hostage, while on 1 January 2011 there were 28 ships and 656 crew members…