JonDLundyn Parker 2 #6
January 7th 2007 18:54
todays tankers
There are a few major bottlenecks for shipping generally and for oil carrying ships in particular around the world. The Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Malacca Straights, the Straights of the Dardenelles and basically anywhere where ships need to round a cape and do so close enough to come within site of each other. These areas have been internationally recognised as threats to shipping firstly for human error accidents and then by terrorists and pirates or sea robbers as some prefer to call them. Ships using those areas are not yet facing extra insurance premiums but any ship using an Indonesian port forfeits its insurance cover while loading and discharging in these ports. They are a recognised threat. Some ships are specifically built to be able to pass through the canals often with only centimetres to spare. Blocking any one of these bottlenecks would be harmful to all world trade.
A well known but not considered as dangerous bottleneck exists in the north of Australia. The Torres Straight has its share of accidents but few so far have caused any alarm. Speculation was however started when an Ultra Large Oil Tanker being over 300,000 tons and known to be carrying crude oil passed through the Malacca Straights, by-passed all Indonesian ports and headed straight for Torres Straight. It was closely monitored by Australian authorities particularly AMSA the Australian Marine Safety Association. It was insisting on a pilot to board the vessel to help it through but the captain ignored all radio calls and steamed straight through without incident. Within a few hours the incident was all but forgotten except for the report writing and ruffled feathers of the authorities.
Several green and animal protection movements very active in the maritime area have for some time been complaining about high altitude sonar experiments to track submarines by the US. This, they claim causes grief to whales, dolphins and other mammals that use their own in-built sonar for hunting and direction finding. Large pods of dolphins and whales were seen and recorded on video leaping in an agitated manner from the water in various off shore sites. The US military denied that any of their long range and particularly their experimental “Star Wars” style satellite launched sonar tracking and sonar blocking devises could be the cause. There was however concern that a portable unit had been stolen from a Hawaiian Air Base. Perpetrator unknown, designation and country also unknown. Apart from being a top-secret piece of equipment it was also a weapon in the wrong hands. And if you went about stealing this sort of equipment you were not a Boy Scout!
| 52 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
