The vulnerability of Australia’s trade routes to military coercion was highlighted by both last year’s Defence Strategic Update and by government commentary on the rationale for AUKUS. In his critique of ASPI’s new report, The trade routes vital to Australia’s economic security, Richard Dunley...
Harold Macmillan was supposedly once asked what the most troubling problem of his time as British Prime Minister was. “Events, my dear boy, events,” was his reply. I thought I had this week’s column nailed well in advance, but offshore is an industry especially susceptible to unexpected and hard to predict “events”. So, we must […]
The post COLUMN | Correcting course: Aramco and jackups; Siem Offshore and Kristian Siem; Ferguson Marine; MMA Offshore; Maersk/Svitzer [Offshore Accounts] appeared...
It’s a mark of our turbulent times that China’s dangerous and illegal actions against the Philippines at the Second Thomas Shoal currently only sit in the second tier of international security headaches confronting the United States and allies such as Australia. It’s worth stating the obvious...
Best Police Boat – 12-metre police patrol boat – Norman R. Wright and Sons Although Australian shipbuilder Norman R. Wright and Sons has been in business for well over a century, it has not survived for so long by ignoring modern designs, materials, construction methods and equipment. These very...
Best Small Ro-Pax – Frey – Oma Baatbyggeri This is a fascinating little ship, a comparatively fast aluminium catamaran Ro-Pax ferry of only 30 metres in LOA. Serving the sparsely populated coastal communities of western Norway, this first of two new vessels illustrates the long-developed capability...
Western Australia port operator Fremantle Ports has confirmed the sad news of the sudden passing of Michael Parker, its Chief Executive Officer, on Wednesday, April 3. Parker, aged 52, was appointed CEO of Fremantle Ports in May 2021 after a long career with Alcoa, which culminated in him assuming...
https://www.bairdmaritime.com/ship-world/port-world/obituary-michael-parker-ceo-of-fremantle-ports/
Innovative Patrol Boat – Matawha – One2three Naval Architects & Sentinel Boats These impressively versatile and innovative patrol/workboats were recently delivered to the Royal New Zealand Navy by their Tasmanian builder Sentinel Boats. Classed by the navy, in typically clumsy naval parlance, as littoral manoeuvre craft (LMC), they are, given their intended roles, revolutionary. Constructed […]
The post AWARDS 2023 | Innovative Patrol Boat – Matawha – One2three Naval Architects & Sentinel Boats...
The recent bridge collapse incident in Baltimore in the US state of Maryland was a tragedy that I believe could and should have been avoided. The bridge was built in 1977 and as can be seen from media footage, it can hardly be described as robust although it was probably adequate in the 1970s. Dali...
It seems appropriate to get all biblical this week, just after Easter. When Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians that “a man reaps what he sows,” he probably wasn’t thinking about corruption in the oil and gas industry two millennia later. But the last month has seen no less than four...
If push comes to shove between China and the United States, Australia’s international trade with Asia is at risk of becoming collateral damage. The sea routes through Indonesia and to Asia around the east of Papua New Guinea account for 90 per cent of Australia’s sea-borne exports and 83 per cent...