Category: Magazine

The commander stays at home

The commander stays at home

Posted by | 12 Apr 2021 | , | 0

Modern communication and information technology is making unmanned or autonomous weapon systems possible at sea. However, many questions still need to be answered before they can be deployed. Since 1984 at the latest, perceptions and expectations of technical systems that are capable of acting autonomously have been characterised by the "Terminator" and the technical intelligence behind it, "Skynet". A machine state with almost unlimited capabilities that are only surpassed by its will to power, boundless amorality and hostility towards humanity. When we talk about autonomous systems, images and stories of the Terminator are almost automatically conjured up. The technological reality is very different. Flying...

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The downside of global trade

The downside of global trade

Posted by | 30 Mar 2021 | , , , , | 0

The maritime community never tires of emphasising the importance of free sea routes and global trade. Without free maritime trade there can be no prosperity, without free sea routes there can be no security. Behind these political aspects, however, we must not overlook the fact that we are dealing with extreme logistical, technical and financial dimensions. It is also about power, profit, jobs and prestige. Ships are becoming ever more gigantic, the cargoes ever larger. Competition is fierce and profit margins are small. Precarious jobs, dubious loading practices, terrorism, smuggling and neglected environmental protection are the downside of prospering world trade. Does profit come before safety? Heavy losses in the...

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What is the Bundeswehr doing in Africa?

What is the Bundeswehr doing in Africa?

Posted by | 23 Mar 2021 | , , | 2

Wolfram Lacher recently published an SWP study entitled "Unser schwieriger Partner - Deutschlands und Frankreichs erfolgloses Engagement in Libyen und Mali" (https://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/studien/2021S03_deutschland_frankreich_libyen_mali.pdf). What makes the paper so worth reading from a German perspective is not so much the knowledgeable detailed analysis of German and French Africa policy. Rather, it is the ruthlessness with which the author reveals the differences between the two countries and the fundamental German deficits in operational security policy. It is worth reflecting on this on the basis of Lacher's study.France has tried to separate itself from colonial concepts in recent decades, but has repeatedly reverted to the ideas of the Françafrique. It...

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Piled high, fallen low

Piled high, fallen low

Posted by | 16 Mar 2021 | , , , | 0

The MSC Zoe lost hundreds of containers in the North Sea in 2019. Are similar accidents inevitable? The MSC Zoe accident, in which more than 342 containers went overboard off the Frisian Islands on the night of 2 January 2019, was apparently caused by the extreme rolling movements of the container ship in the stormy sea. At least that is the preliminary conclusion of the Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) in Hamburg. According to the BSU, it was assumed that the huge ship rolled back and forth so much in the choppy sea that the lugs on the containers could no longer withstand the enormous loads...

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Nine layers on deck

Nine layers on deck

Posted by | 16 Mar 2021 | , , | 0

Why do serious accidents involving container ships occur again and again at sea? Shipping expert Dieter Becker explains the reasons and shows solutions. Mr Becker, why are so many containers transported as deck cargo on container ships? This has to do with the so-called "clearance", i.e. the stowage coefficient of the containers on board a ship. This is the measurement that indicates the hold capacity in cubic metres per tonne of cargo on a ship. Containers only have a stowage coefficient of around 0.40, so they take up a lot of space compared to their weight. As a result, up to 40 per cent of the container volume is transported as deck cargo,...

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