101–110 of 224 posts
Amazing that this happens on top of such low prices for crude oil. What's going on? EDIT: Yes I read the article. Seriously, oil is so cheap and this still happened? It's just mind boggling to me.
This has nothing to do with oil, it has to do with over-capacity in the industry.
This seems like a really good sign. We can only hope global shipping continues to shrink until we can get down to a level of consumer purchasing that is sustainable for the ecology of the planet.
It's quite the opposite. The less money people have the less they care about the environment. That's why as quality of life went up in Western countries the environment became more and more important to people, to the point that it's almost an obsession for some people now.
For example, there may be a missing middle step there - as quality of life went up
(due to massively increased international trade which allowed suppliers in emerging markets to bypass strict first-world environmental regulations and massively pollute)
Then the reaction to the worsening environment because of overall consumption increase caused a backlash and increase environmental awareness...
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What are you going to steal from these ships? Everything's in containers and those are packed really tightly together, there's no accommodation for opening these doors while the ship is loaded. If you have another self-loading container ship you might be able to pull off a big heist, but who has one of those just kicking around?
As a thought experiment... let's say your pirate crew has an unloading port someplace. Why not take the ship and get going to said port? Would the crew alert the navy/coast guard? Probably. But then what? The navy kills the pirates and liberates the vessel... And Hanjin refuses to take it back? The navy now has the responsibility of getting it to port and unloading it, despite ports not wanting to do that?
I'm curious - and surprised nobody seems to have mentioned or asked - what happens to all the sailors working aboard the ships, which are now stranded offshore? Do they continue working aboard, knowing that they probably won't be paid (because the company is bankrupt)? What's morale like? Can they leave, and how would they logistically? What kind of laws and rights (if any) apply to them in these circumstances? It's…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are you going to steal from these ships? Everything's in containers and those are packed really tightly together, there's no accommodation for opening these doors while the ship is loaded. If you have another self-loading container ship you might be able to pull off a big heist, but who has one of those just kicking around?
As a thought experiment... let's say your pirate crew has an unloading port someplace. Why not take the ship and get going to said port? Would the crew alert the navy/coast guard? Probably. But then what? The navy kills the pirates and liberates the vessel... And Hanjin refuses to take it back? The navy now has the responsibility of getting it to port and unloading it, despite ports not wanting to do that?
The sorts of ships routinely subjected to piracy are those carrying an easily transportable commodity (e.g. oil) that can be pumped out or stolen quickly and offloaded on a market without arousing suspicion.
You'd spend weeks going through all those containers to look for anything useful. Many, I'm sure, contain half-finished products, super cheap consumer goods, promotional merchandise, and niche application bulk supplies with almost zero value on the grey market.
If you had someone on the inside that could position the crate you wanted to steal right on top and ready to pick off, you'd just do that with a helicopter anyway and save yourself the trouble of hijacking it.
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This seems like a rather pointless thought exercise, but the Navy has a responsibility to enforce law and order (...in addition to extra-legal responsibilities), and impact on "bottom line" is not really a factor considered directly in military operations.
I didn't say it was. I'm asking "and then what?" Can they force a port to take in and unload a ship? Would they just leave it adrift? Would they unload it themselves?
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So your solution to sustainability is for everyone to just accept a lower quality of life? Yea, good luck with that.
I'll get hammered for this, and I know it would take some time to tool up, but were the 50's through the 70,s that much of a lower quality of life? (Relied a lot less on overseas shipping--for a few reasons.) Oh, yea, we would have to get used to paying more for some things, get used to paying Americans a decent wage, get used not being able to manufacture in the cheapest countries, get used to the poor having better…
I'm curious - and surprised nobody seems to have mentioned or asked - what happens to all the sailors working aboard the ships, which are now stranded offshore? Do they continue working aboard, knowing that they probably won't be paid (because the company is bankrupt)? What's morale like? Can they leave, and how would they logistically? What kind of laws and rights (if any) apply to them in these circumstances? It's…
;-)
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They will just buy insurance, and the insurance companies will figure it out.
> They will just buy insurance, and the insurance companies will figure it out. It's not that simple. Yes, premiums will adjust depending on the finances of the carrier but the cost of insuring the risk itself is quite variable and can be ruinous. The value of a delayed shipment of iPads is much higher than a delayed shipment of board games, yet Apple can tolerate the former while the latter could sink a company. The…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a thought experiment... let's say your pirate crew has an unloading port someplace. Why not take the ship and get going to said port? Would the crew alert the navy/coast guard? Probably. But then what? The navy kills the pirates and liberates the vessel... And Hanjin refuses to take it back? The navy now has the responsibility of getting it to port and unloading it, despite ports not wanting to do that?
Pirates do hit container ships, actually some even hire hackers to locate the high value cargo to steal. A bankrupt shipping company doesn't really change much, since the ship is still worth millions. If pirates stole and abandoned the ship then at worst salvage laws apply, and a salvage company would go out and take over. The ships aren't worthless because the company is bankrupt, there's just an issue with operatin…
These are just random ships at sea. No such advantage here. It's truly a needle in a haystack problem.
If you want to steal the ship, a more practical plan would be to convince the crew to abandon ship (bribes?) and then claim it as salvage.