BBC’s “The Box”, the year long experiment that explores globalization and world trade, has made its way into the States via the Port of Los Angeles.  According to the BBC website, the box arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday full of consumer goods including tape measures and fashion accessories.  The Box is continuing its journey on rail to New Jersey via Chicago.

The Box’s trip started in Southampton, UK last September, transporting Scotch Whiskey to Shanghai.  During that first voyage, the Box passed through the pirate infested waters of The Gulf of Aden.  gCaptain has actually received unconfirmed reports that a group of pirates did board the vessel and searched the cargo, but was quickly released when no rum was found.

In all seriousness BBC tells of the real problems facing The Box: [Continue Reading →]

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The BBC World Service has recently released an audio documentary that takes a look at Piracy around the world. You can download the program HERE

Robbery on the high seas is not just confined to 18th century literature or Hollywood films, it is still very much alive today.

In the second part of his series on pirates, Nick Rankin travels to Mombasa on Kenya’s east coast to investigate the extent of the problem.

From ship-owners who have had to pay ransoms to terrorised crew-members, he finds out what is being done at an international level to make the seas of the world safer.

[Continue Reading →]

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Yesterday, BBC News kicked off an exciting and unique experiment in hopes to tell the story of international trade and globalisation.  In the year long experiment called “The Box”, BBC will track a standard 40 foot shipping container around the world.  A GPS transmitter will be bolted to the container and so you can track its progress.  BBC News reports:

It is a project which plans to deliver content for television, radio and online audiences – telling the individual stories behind what makes the global economy tick.

The Box will hopefully reach the US, Asia, the Middle East , Europe and Africa and when it does BBC correspondents will be there to report on who’s producing goods and who’s consuming them.

From the start of the voyage in Southampton this journey will be a real one and whilst we are controlling some aspects of the process for logistical reasons the story it tells will be a truly representative one painting a picture of what globalisation really means.

The experiment is named after the book by Marc Levinson titled “The Box“, which is a great story of how the shipping container changed the face of world trade.

Links:

BBC News

Tracking “The Box”

Marc Levinson’s “The Box” on Amazon.com

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John Clandillon-Baker of pilotmag has been featured along with his fellow London pilot (retired) Geoff Taylor in an article written by Libby Purves of The Times. This quote seemed to ring particularly true;

The human aspect of the job fascinated me. “I know what I’m getting into, from the first rung of the ladder and the angle of the captain’s head,” says Geoff. “I’m a psychologist, have to be. You get a sense of the ship – is it well run, is it happy, is it tense, how has it been for that month at sea? Is the master assertive or co-operative?” “Or bonkers,” says a Thames pilot. “A bad ship, you feel the rust on the ladder, you look up at the scruffy individual at the top who looks as if he’d like to stick a knife in you . . .” “You smell it,” says another.

The article can be found HERE and be sure to check back for a link to the BBC radio show of the same title.

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The BBC has a great photo slideshow of the M/V Ice Prince sinking. You can find it HERE.

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Video of the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill In South Korea.

Video not working in your browser? Try the direct link.

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In this modern age with AIS tracking and global satellite coverage you may ask how a pirate can get away with stealing an entire ship. Occasionally referred to as Seajacking this video shows how legal ships are stolen and redocumented to appear legitimate.

Seajacking and phantom ships:

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