The World Moves With Mariners

Better be criminal than seaman On 2020 May 22 14 Tunisian migrants on board of passenger ferry MOBY ZAZA, serving as migrants quarantine ship at Porto Empedocle, Sicily, rioted, and demanded immediate landing. Their demand was satisfied, all were taken ashore to a “reception center”, so the only question still unanswered is the question of Italian authorities – did they plea for forgiveness, for being as cruel as that, and confine illegal migrants on board of a luxury Mediterranean passenger ferry? Earlier this week, one Tunisian migrant fell overboard from MOBY ZAZA and drowned, switching all related NGOs and media into a “righteous rage” mode. The cost of keeping illegal migrants on board of MOBY ZAZA is some 4,000 Eu/month/per-migrant, and there already some 250 of them on board of unfortunate ferry. All mainstream media are presently, full of pathetic stories of cruise and merchant ships crews, being stuck on ships and having no perspective or hope, of leaving them soon. Cr...

BY Chevnav Charles  04-29-2020 08:16:22  There is a saying that goes that "without seafarers, half the world would starve while the other half would freeze." The shipping industry would grind to a halt without seafarers, and their contribution to their countries is a key factor in economic development. Hundreds of thousands of seafarers are currently stranded on ships and cannot disembark because of lockdown policies. The novel COVID-19 coronavirus has caused many nations to close their borders, leaving the welfare of seafarers in question.  Many seafarers go to sea for many months at a time, but with the change that this pandemic brings, there is a legitimate cause for concern. The emotional, financial, and psychological well-being of seafarers onboard ships that are currently caught between a rock and a hard place is a tremendous ordeal.  This problem has sparked a lot of debate over who bears responsibility for the return or repatriation of seafarers...

COVID-19: Impact on Global Shipping and China’s Economy What are the three key impacts of coronavirus COVID-19 on the global shipping?  With international transport at the forefront of trade and dependent on travel and human interaction, the shipping industry has been impacted materially both directly and indirectly from the outbreak of COVID-19. Operations of shipping companies and related industries, including terminals, ports, etc., have been affected due to personnel having been advised to refrain from traveling or reporting to work. Lower demand for commodities and raw material, and thus need for shipment, has pushed freight rates lower. Several shipping companies have started warning about reduced earnings visibility and weak future earnings results. Cruise, travel, and related industries, i.e. conferences, etc., have also suffered, and it’s noteworthy that North America’s largest container line conference, Trans-Pacific Maritime TPM2020, was cancelled this week...

Crew restrictions drive a shift to Chinese seafarers after Chinese virus First the coronavirus epidemic trapped on-duty crews at work without relief. Then it kept off-duty crews cut off from their ships. Now — with China holding a near monopoly on crew changes at times during the pandemic — it has driven some managers and owners to reconsider the sourcing of their workforce. Asia's shipmanagers are adjusting their businesses to cope with a shifting set of constraints to keep their vessels running as crews are held back whether by law, by fear of disease, or by the lack of airline services. For Hong Kong-based Fleet Management, it means a fleet-wide challenge as it takes deliveries of newbuildings and purchased ships, and adjusts to the new realities of crew rotation and newbuilding supervision. At the start of the epidemic, Fleet Management had only about 60 of its 550 ships crewed by Chinese nationals. Today, Chinese crews are the only option. Crew lockdown ...

How to get your SID (Seafarers Identification document) now !!!!  Indian government has started issuing Seafarers Identification document. Please follow the procedure below to apply for it. The concept of an universal Identification system for the seafarers was mooted in 1950s. Accordingly, International labour Organization (ILO) brought forward the ILO Convention C-108 on seafarers Identity Document. India has ratified this convention and issuing a Continuous Discharge Certificate cum Seafarers Identity Document to its seafarers in the form of a booklet. The world maritime community had felt the need for a more uniform and robust Identification system for the seafarers consequent to the discussions. The ILO had adopted another Convention C.185 on Biometric Seafarers Identity Document to be given to all seafarers. The new biometric SID has the provisions for the bar coding of the biometrics based identity of seafarers and a centralized data base maintained in the issuing ...

We all know that taxes collected from citizens is the foundation of Indian Economy. Section NRI Taxation under the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, applies to those earning outside the home country. The income tax rules and perks allowed to them are drastically different from those applicable to resident Indians. In this article, we will discuss Income Tax for NRIs in detail. 1. How do I Determine My Residential Status? You are considered an Indian resident for a financial year: i. When you are in India for at least 6 months (182 days to be exact) during the financial year ii. You are in India for 2 months (60 days) for the year in the previous year and have lived for one whole year (365 days) in the last four years If you are an Indian citizen working abroad or a member of a crew on an Indian ship, only the first condition is available to you – which means you are a resident when you spend at least 182 days in India. The same is applicable to a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) who i...

Ever thought of leaving sailing onboard and do a business of your own. Try our small business ideas and you might achieve that dream of yours!!! The hunt for funding has been the bane of an entrepreneur’s existence from times of yore. Many abandon their dream to build, create, and innovate in the face of this difficult struggle without realising that a good business idea will eventually pool in the bounty-full once it has secured a place in the market. Your idea will bring you your company, your company will bring you the people, and the people will bring you the market. And as we all know, a good idea has no monetary value, just a whole lot of bursting potential. Today, the world’s most successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk may hold the possibility of building pyramids out of notes, but none of them started at the top of the ladder. Facebook was created out of a Harvard dorm room at minimal cost and Microsoft was formed two years after Gates dec...