Jim Wilson

Maritime industry associations, BIMCO, ICS, IMCA, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO & OCIMF supported by over forty maritime stakeholders, have released a consolidated and enhanced publication Best Management Practices for Maritime Security. As an interactive online publication, BMP Maritime Security consolidates previously published regional publications into a single, comprehensive publication with actionable insights and advice. It focuses on...

“Unfortunately, USTR’s proposed port fees and restrictions on carriage of exports fail as a matter of policy and law. These proposed remedies would cause serious harm to wide swaths of the U.S. economy… The path to revitalizing the U.S. maritime industry is forward, and not backward through the imposition of retroactive fees that amount to...

A proposed, cumulative, penalty on Chinese shipping in the U.S. might be unconstitutional, several submitters to the U.S. Trade Representative Office have said. For example, internationally-regarded shipping expert, John D McCown, wrote in his submission that “the courts may very well determine that the proposed actions if implemented are not even legal”. If so, that would...

Internationally regarded container shipping expert, John D McCown, has slammed the U.S. Trade Representative’s proposal to heavily penalise China-connected shipping in the United States, arguing that it appears that whoever wrote the proposal doesn’t know, or care, how maritime supply chains work. The USTR proposal is to add a series of accumulating penalties on ships...

A U.S. proposal to impose cumulative, severe, financial penalties on China-connected shipping calling at the U.S. could lead to widespread business failures, increasing unemployment in the United States, a disruption of import and export trades, disruption to U.S. markets (multiple sectors) and ongoing supply chain disruption. Words like “disastrous”, “reckless” and “catastrophic” have been used...

Terrorist groups plaguing shipping in the Red Sea have resumed attacks on warships in the area, after the U.S. launched a series of air strikes in Yemen on or about Saturday 15 March. After Hamas, a political-militant group, carried out terrorist atrocities in Israel on 7 October 2023, this led to the Israeli invasion of...

A safety alert on structural failures and improving stowage of cargo transport units in Australian ports has been issued by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The aim is to raise awareness of packing, structural and stowage requirements of shipping containers and other cargo transport units in Australian ports. AMSA advises that there has been a...

The first MO32 Checklist Development Workshop, in collaboration with AMSA, was held on 20 March at the Shipping Australia office. The MO32 checklist development is part of an initiative project by Shipping Australia (SAL) to create a reference tool and educational guide to assist all types of vessels (container, bulk, break-bulk, tanker, Ro-Ro vessels) in...

A tsunami originating from a major earthquake at the Manila Trench could potentially cause widespread and lengthy east Asian port closures, scientists have discovered. There would also a greater disruption to ocean freight shipping than any earthquake-induced tsunami than ever seen before, they also found. Up to 11 ports – including some ports that are...

Engage Marine prevailed over Poseidon Sea Pilots and MIRRAT to take out the annual Shipping Australia Phil Kelly OAM Trophy in Victoria. The trophy  was presented to the team by Shipping Australia’s Deputy Chair, Sirisha Gunde. The team left to right is Adam Rowlison, Joel Evans, Matt Grybas and Shaun Janetski. Joel Evans additionally took...