Category: Shipping

War in the shadows

War in the shadows

Posted by | 30 Apr 2021 | , , , | 0

Mine warfare in the North Sea Uwe Wichert In the North Sea, mine warfare began with a modest operation in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. The approach to Wilhelmshaven was secured by mine barriers to prevent French forces from entering, as a French squadron had briefly flown the flag at Heligoland beforehand. These barriers were then intensively guarded by the existing coastal defence units, but not a single French ship came anywhere near the restricted areas during the war. After the war, the development of mines, at that time still combined with torpedoes, was further promoted, but without producing any spectacular activities. The first real naval mine, the C 77 model,...

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An admiral for the ice

An admiral for the ice

Posted by | 29 Apr 2021 | , , , , | 0

In 1994, the Chilean navy bought a Canadian icebreaker from the late 1960s and put it into service as the Almirante Óscar Viel. A successor is now being built. Sidney E. Dean Access marineforum digital+ Are you already a registered user? Log in here now - also MOV members: Username Password Remember meLost your password? Don't have access yet? Click here for the marineforum digital+ subscription: Access to all articles from the marineforum magazine Easy payment via PayPal, direct debit or credit card The subscription can be cancelled at any time free of charge For MOV members free of charge To the subscription options...

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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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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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