Book Review News

The following excerpts are from the new travelogue by Captain Sean P. Tortora, titled, “Steaming to Djibouti…My First Hitch on an Underway Replenishment Ship.”  Join a motivated young merchant marine officer on his first journey onboard a venerable navy auxiliary steamship. Accompany him through the convoluted reporting for duty process through his truly surreal first tour onboard. Meet the oddball characters in the crew and follow their outlandish daily routine. Listen in to the truly jaw-dropping crew interactions.

The Norwegian Continental Shelf’s journey from the very first basic marinized subsea trees to today’s complex and sophisticated subsea processing equipment has been a rapid, at times turbulent, but always remarkable.There are many engineers who have seen through that journey, from the first exploration wells using Norwegian rigs in the mid-1970s to today. One has now written the history of subsea technology in Norway and this year’s Underwater Technology Conference (UTC) has been chosen for its launch…

My Friend the Sea is a story about growing up at sea, set against the background of ships and the beauty of the oceans. It's a tale of ambition, adversity and dealing with prejudice. Packed full of adventures and stories of traveling the world on ships, visiting far off lands, and meeting all manner of people, including eccentric distant relatives in Australia, a drunken captain, another who was a tyrant, and natives in Fiji, plus shipboard romances, a mutiny, and a growing need for the author to change the way he lives.I am a doctor…

Global demand for maritime shipping picked up last year, but the pace was still below the historical 3 percent average and continued to lag behind supply, keeping freight rates and earnings low in most segments, a new UNCTAD report says. The Review of Maritime Transport 2017 says that seaborne trade grew by 2.6 percent in 2016, reaching 10.3 billion tons. Although this was a welcome improvement to the 1.8 percent growth recorded in 2015, the boost in demand was offset by a 3.2 percent increase in the industry's carrying capacity, which reached 1.86 billion dead-weight tons earlier this year. A supply-demand imbalance continued therefore to weigh down industry profits, with the container shipping market, the largest in terms of value, reporting a collective operating loss of US$3.5 billion.

Severe winter weather has slowed rail deliveries of crops to shippers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, sending freight rates soaring and prompting Asian buyers to seek fill-in loads as they wait for the backlog at ports to clear. Blizzards, avalanches and heavy rain in recent weeks have hit transport of corn, soy and wheat to ports where they head for the lucrative Asian market, adding to the struggles that have plagued U.S. exporters since harvest. The setbacks come at a critical time for U.S. exporters, who are trying to move as much grain as possible before buyers turn their attention to South America when corn and soybean harvests in Argentina and Brazil accelerate in the coming weeks.

Having been an independent marine surveyor and consultant for many years, author and educator Mike Wall has based his new book Marine Surveying and Consultancy – An Introduction on experience. Primarily aimed at those wishing to become independent marine surveyors and consultants, the book covers many aspects of their work with some covered in depth. Marine surveys are of two types, proactive and reactive. In the former the surveyor inspects a vessel before a voyage or activity to ensure that it meets relevant requirements, standards and/or international conventions.

The American P&I Club was founded in New York nearly a century ago. To celebrate its first 100 years, a book entitled The American Club: A Centennial History has just been published. The book tells the story of the Club across ten decades of maritime and marine insurance history both within the United States and across the world. Its author is Richard Blodgett, a former Wall Street Journal reporter whose previous credits include histories of the New York Stock Exchange, Kohler and Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The American Club was founded in February, 1917.

Bad ship design can make life onboard difficult and uncomfortable, cause accidents and even kill. Naval architects have a huge responsibility, but few of them have direct experience of how their designs affect those who use them. Improving Ship Operational Design, published by The Nautical Institute, hopes to make maritime operations safer and more effective by giving ship designers an insight into how those onboard work and live. The book was launched at the Royal Institution of Naval Architects’ (RINA) conference…

Privateers of the Revolution: War on the New Jersey Coast 1775-1783 is the revelatory narrative of the 538 Pennsylvania and New Jersey privateers, privately owned ships of war some called pirates. Manned by over 18,000 men, these privateers influenced the fight for American independence. From the halls of Congress to the rough waterfronts of Delaware River and Bay to the remote privateering ports of the New Jersey coast and into the Atlantic, a stirring portrait emerges of seaborne raiders…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published a new edition of the ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, shipping industry guidance on best practice for safe navigation, which is used by seafarers and training institutes worldwide. The fifth edition has been comprehensively revised by an expert working group nominated by ICS’s member national shipowners’ associations, and replaces the previous edition published in 2007. The new edition has been updated to address the 2010 amendments…

“Early in 1864, a young man names James McAllister stood on board a sailing vessel where he served as a mate. The opening lines from the first chapter of the new book, McAllister Towing – 150 Years of Family Business, begin a voyage through the history of a tugboat and marine transportation firm that runs five generations deep, taking readers on a journey of deepsea adventure, family tragedy and company triumph. The book includes never-before published material and photographs illuminating how Americans lived and worked in the maritime industry over the last century and a half…

The Nautical Institute’s latest book, Human Performance and Limitation for Mariners, builds on a concept first introduced in the aviation industry that was responsible for a massive reduction in accidents. This concept will enable seafarers to make the best use of their physical and mental abilities in the challenging shipboard environment. “In aviation the concept of human performance and limitation (HPL) has been credited with great advances in safety,” he explained. “Pilots came to understand the realities of human limitations and their implication for delivering consistent overall performance. “ This publication will help seafarers to benefit from those advances.

International multidisciplinary marine surveyors and consultants Braemar (Incorporating The Salvage Association), (Braemar SA), has published the third edition of its Guide to Hull & Machinery. The publication is primarily designed to help those with a nontechnical background and who are possibly unfamiliar with some or all of the nautical and engineering technical terms used in marine survey reports. Braemar SA launched its Guide to Hull & Machinery in 2010 and then published a second edition in 2012.

Labelmaster offers the 2016 edition of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) – a must have for anyone who handles or transports dangerous goods (hazardous materials). The ERG is a go-to manual to help responders quickly identify the specific or generic classification of the hazardous material or materials that may be involved in an incident, which helps protect themselves and the general public during the initial response phase. The ERG is published every four years by the U.S.

Owners, operators, masters, senior officers and all others on board a tanker ships have a responsibility to comply with good and correct tanker practice, including all proper safety and operational standards. Oil Tankers – A Pocket Safety Guide, the new pocket-sized book from Witherby Seamanship, provides a back-to-basics crash course on proper oil tanker procedure by offering a fundamental introduction into safe tanker practice, including terminology and standards for ships carrying crude oil and petroleum products.

MarEngine English Underway by Wieslawa Buczkowska is a marine engineering English handbook that can be used as a practice teaching tool or for self-studying. The book helps students to visualize and organize thematic content of marine engineering vocabulary. All the readings are followed by a number of practice tasks which are provided with answer keys. The book is also intended for novice teachers of marine engineering, particularly at marine engineering faculties and colleges…

Responding to the recommendations arising from the STCW convention on the knowledge of maneuvering required of deck officers, the book Ship Handling analyzes all aspects of a vessel's maneuverability, whether passing through open water or confined waters. The book consists of three parts: the first sets out the ship's capabilities and its maneuvering gear, the second considers the forces which set the ship moving, and the last describes the ship as it maneuvers (mooring, sailing in shallow waters, port maneuvers, etc.).

The mantra of recent times has been the worldwide trend to ‘mega’. Mega container ships created the need for mega ports which required mega dredging projects. These in turn demand mega dredging vessels. All this is true but disregards another development: the consolidation of the major dredging contractors into larger companies with long-term strategies that have resulted in diversification. Today’s major dredging contractors do more than dredge. They are partners in the development of a project.

The new photo book, Avondale: A Model for Success, tracks the story of an American shipyard from its humble beginnings in 1938, through years of growth achievement, up to its eventual acquisition in 1999. Assembled by Rene Pierre Meric, Jr. and Philip J. Meric, the book is a pictorial account of Avondale Shipyard, taking readers on a journey that follows the shipyard’s storied history, from its foundation as Avondale Marine Ways through decades of production and expansion as Avondale Shipyard and Avondale Industries…

John Guy’s newest effort, The Reluctant Pirate, is an entertaining tale of modern day pirates and a primer on what really happens when today’s merchant ships are boarded and held for ransom, and more importantly, why. And unlike the better known movie (Captain Phillips) that tackles a similar subject on the big screen, The Reluctant Pirate digs a bit deeper into the politics of today’s piracy business model, the players involved (and their motivations) and reaches into the psyche of the Somali pirate himself. At about 160 pages, The Reluctant Pirate is an easy read, but not because of its relatively short length. Fast moving and chock full of action, John Guy skillfully moves us back and forth between London, Norway, Somalia, Greece and out to sea on the waters in between.

The new quarterly issue (Q3) of Douglas-Westwood’s (DW) World Drilling and Production Forecast (DWD&P) has been released. Major changes have been seen in the forecasts for Iraq, Libya and Uzbekistan. DW inform that the report now also includes forecasts for Bangladesh, Israel, Mozambique, Republic of Congo and Sudan & South Sudan. Through to 2020 and utilizing a proprietary methodology, DWD&P provides data analysis on 58 key countries, offering near-total coverage of global onshore and offshore hydrocarbon production. Based on detailed models, the report examines each country in turn and includes a summary of hydrocarbon potential and sensitized production outlook, with associated development drilling requirements segmented into oil & gas for the onshore sector and shallow vs.

Drewry inform that the 2014 edition of their Annual Review of Global Container Terminal Operators is now available to purchase online. Drewry add that this industry review, with forecasts, has some of the most insightful and detailed analysis available in the market today. Entering its 12th year of publication the report is unmatched by others and Drewry continue to enhance and add new content each year. Global container port throughput will exceed 840 million teu by 2018, with the fastest growing regions projected to be Africa and Greater China. This represents an average annual growth rate of 5.6% over the next five years, an improvement on the 3.4% recorded last year. The overall growth in trade will boost average terminal utilisation from 67% today to 75% in 2018.

The new book “Performance by Design: Hydrodynamics for High-Speed Vessels” will be introduced on October 30 at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Donald L. Blount, founder of Donald L. Blount and Associates, announced. A limited number of books will be available at Booth 685 for purchase and signed by the author. The hardback book may be preordered prior to the boat show through online book sellers. “My intent has been to share the technical information, decision criteria…