Marine energy – for instance energy from tidal and ocean currents – is the ‘best of the best’ amongst green energy sources: it has the greatest potential (in theory, the planet’s oceans could supply the entire world with renewable energy), tidal and ocean current  power plants are under water and therefore completely invisible, they produce electricity from 100 per cent renewable energy sources (the water in the globe’s oceans will always move around, well, at least until the sun swallows the moon), they are safe, and the icing on the cake is that they actually have positive environmental effects. Positive? Yes, studies have shown that marine life thrives in marine energy installations.  

The case for LNG as a major bulk trade is compelling. Methane is a green fuel with vast onshore and offshore reserves “stranded” far from consumer markets. The technology to transport the gas as a liquid was developed in the 1940s and the first cargo shipped in 1959 from Lake Charles, USA to the UK on board a converted Liberty ship the “Methane Pioneer”. It’s a natural.

It’s not predicting the future that is problematical, it’s the realisation that you have to relive the past again and again when you fail to learn from your mistakes. So much so in fact that, like a scientist studying the formation of the universe, it should become possible to predict the past too. 

The definition of piracy has evolved over time through a series of legal acts and scholarly works.  One of the earliest instances was the establishment of admiralty courts in 1340 by Edward III of England to prosecute pirates, treating those captured as the maritime equivalent of bandits. 

NO, he has not overslept, nor does he have a hangover from the good old days. He has probably been more awake and sober than the rest of us over the past twenty years. And he is certainly not ignoring the major problems facing the shipping industry these days. His intention is simply to put the actual situation into a wider context – to evaluate how shipping fits into global developments. He continues:

A stable legislative framework, clear financial incentives, a transformation of energy efficiency and radical changes in stakeholder dialogue are all needed if sustainable energy is to be anything other than a pipedream, says DNV Two Tomorrows’ Jon Woodhead

It was proclaimed in 2012 that the Somali pirate business model had been broken by a combination of coordinated naval patrols, heightened vessel security, and the ubiquitous presence of armed guards aboard valuable ships. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) attributed only 71 attacks to Somali pirates in the first 11 months of 2012, down from 237 the previous year. However, attacks are on the rise across the continent in the Gulf of Guinea, with 51 incidents recorded for the same period.

The context of the EU-India relationship has changed radically with a spiralling eurozone crisis and a recent fall in India’s growth rate. Slow paced relations incur a higher cost and the partnership must begin delivering with urgency to help generate new growth. The long drawn out EU-India free trade agreement can boost market confidence and mutual prosperity but must be concluded as of this year.

The Arctic may contain 20% of the world’s undiscovered hydrocarbon resources. Of these resources, 84% are believed to be offshore, mostly in waters less than 500 metres deep.Although yet undiscovered, these resources drive a significant interest in more industrial activity in the Arctic.

Improving energy efficiency in industry should not be the challenge that it is. If manufacturing businesses are being run for profit in a competitive marketplace, then major cost-saving opportunities should be diligently sought out and implemented. Most industrial processes use electricity or heat and, with energy prices rising relentlessly, it should make efficiency an obvious area to pursue.