WE shipping folk have always had a very keen interest in the Suez Canal, that rather important shortcut from the Mediterranean to the Gulf. But, it's debatable whether many of us have ever given much thought to the lives of the people living alongside it…

Piracy has never been more in the news than it is at the moment. With over 700 seafarers in captivity as a result of attacks, the mood of the shipping industry seems to have changed, with a new view that armed forces on merchant ships are an alternative…

FPSOs, FSOs, FSUs and all that stuff, have been around for a good few years now, but they still feel like the newer side of shipping and they still need explaining to many a conventional shipping bod. Ditto LNG…

IMO Secretary General Efthimios Mitropoulos will be opening this year's IPTA/Navigate Chemical & Product Tanker conference in London on 8-9 March. The event is the industry's leading gathering of specialist tanker owners and, judging by the number of companies already signed up, this year's conference will be bigger than ever before…

“WE pay competitively.We pay market.” The number of times we still hear people say this but – when challenged, admit that they either have no idea what market levels are or that they “just know” – is remarkable…

This is an issue we have been discussing a lot recently as crew shortages mean people are promoted too rapidly to gain the vital onboard experience they need. Our recent comments on superintendents have rung a few bells at DNV…

More gloom and doom following the UK changes in capital allowances on January 1, 2011. Shipping accountants Moore Stephens say that tax advantages on capital expenditure on ships could be hard hit by the changes…

If, like me, you've read CVs and never fully understood what the Latin phrases alongside American degree results really mean, here's this month's golden nugget…

Hats off to Colin de la Rue, who has recently climbed no fewer than eight mountains in aid of eight good causes, including the Sailors' Society…