Well here’s another collection of slightly off-piste marine-related stories that might have passed you by during March.
Philippines charges 15 crew members for smuggling P400 million worth of sugar
Now here’s a strange tale indeed. Smuggling the ‘white stuff’ usually has a very different connotation, but in this instance, it refers to nothing more harmful than sugar! Apparently, on Friday 17th February, the Philippines Agricultural Department charged 15 crew members of a cargo ship for smuggling sugar. The sugar cargo with a value of P400 million led authorities to charge the captain of MV Sunward and the rest of the crew with smuggling.
The incident happened in Batangas. The arrested persons’ identities are said to be 7 Chinese, 6 Indonesian Continue reading “What caught my eye: March 2023”
A new entry to my blog is long overdue. As an aside, the title of this blog – 
Strange and positive things can and do happen at times of great adversity it seems. And let’s face it, the world is facing adversity like no other most of us will have seen. I repeatedly hear from small craft surveyors around the world that they have had their busiest ever year. Yes, the rules of survey have changed, but many people in the world have decided this is the perfect time to purchase a boat remarkably. Equally cargo and commercial ship surveyors are reporting that they too are busy. But again, the rules of engagement and survey are different now.
Of course, we have always known that the sea can be and is a treacherous place at times; but the past few weeks have seen a spate of distressing incidents and accidents, seemingly occurring on an almost daily frequency and resulting in the loss of life with substantial damage to vessels and cargoes around the world. Before I became involved in my role as CEO of IIMS, I was blissfully unaware of the sheer number of lives lost at sea, as indeed are most members of the general public. The reason for that is simply that most marine accidents, apart from the really major ones, never make the general news agendas. When I tell my friends and family about the tragedies that routinely happen at sea, they are disbelieving.
Since I recently published my most recent Coronavirus advice to marine surveyors who travel internationally for work, the situation surrounding the pandemic has worsened dramatically in just a few days. The world we knew has ended abruptly. Put simply, marine surveyors are certain not to be travelling cross-border for work given the alacrity with which most countries are racing to close their borders.