Seasonal variability of the Black Sea chlorophyll-a concentration

The optimal spectral decomposition (OSD) method is used to reconstruct seasonal variability of the Black Sea horizontally averaged chlorophyll-a concentration from data collected during the NATO SfP-971818 Black Sea Project in 1980–1995. During the reconstruction, quality control is conducted to reduce errors caused by measurement accuracy, sampling strategy, and irregular data distribution in space and time. A bi-modal structure with winter/spring (February–March) and fall (September–October) blooms is uniquely detected and accurately documented. The chlorophyll-a enriched zone rises to 15 m depth in winter and June, and deepens to 40 m in April and 35 m in August. The June rise of the chlorophyll-a enriched zone is accompanying by near-continuous reduction of upper layer maximum chlorophyll-a concentration.     

Management and labour in shipping: A role for co-operatives

The employment and management policies of the shipping industry are in legal and administrative confusion. The shipping industry is struggling with an unworkable global governance based on flag state sovereignty and a sanctionless international regulatory regime. Seafarers suffer most from this state of affairs, but so do the shipping industry’s public image. Few co-operatives of maritime workers exist in national or international shipping. A new employment theory is long overdue. Human centred management policies can only attain their full potential through co-operative or mutual associations. This paper describes the application of enlightened and socially conscious management principles to the shipping industry. Seafarers’ co-operatives are the future organisational building blocks of the shipping industry. Co-operatives can rescue maritime workers from developing countries from exploitation and the debilitating effects of casual labour by providing “all in one” seagoing and shore based professional careers. Seafarers’ co-operatives can solve the shipping industry’s maritime training and education problems. The seven universal principles of co-operative management will guide shipping management in setting human centred objectives that command respect of those who come in contact with the shipping industry.     

马不扬鞭自奋蹄 Mazda CX-9

马自达在北美发布了一款7人座的SUV——2007 CX-9，CX-9是针对北美市场开发设计的，它提供了独特而充满活力的设计以及高档的内饰和宽敞的空间。     

The Northwest Passage: A simulation

We model shipping through the Northwest Passage in northern Canada in order to see if reported recent ice thinning has made this route economic relative to the Panama Canal. Container shipping between Yokohama to New York and St. Johns, Newfoundland is simulated by VSLAM for the two routes using bluewater ships for the Panama Canal and identically sized Canadian Arctic Class 3 (CAC3) ships for the Northwest Passage. Each route is broken into a series of logical legs, and environmental conditions and wait times are assigned. Ice conditions are modeled from historical records. Average speed through the Northwest Passage shows little seasonal variation. Round trips per year are higher through the Northwest Passage. The required freight rate (RFR) to recover all costs including capital recovery is calculated. RFR is slightly lower for the St. Johns to Yokohama transit using the Northwest Passage, and higher for the New York to Yokohama route, as compared to the Panama Canal. Possible future thinning of Arctic ice would further improve the economics of the Northwest Passage.     

Factors influencing the choice of flag: empirical evidence

The aim of this paper is to analyse the decision-making process of shipowners when adopting flags of registration. More specifically, it is interested in examining the relative importance of the factors related to an individual company's decision to flag out. The decision to change flag is viwed as similar to any other strategic decision by a profit maximizing firm (shipping company) and therefore those variables which influence the attractiveness, for a given firm, of taking the flagging out decision are analysed. The approach is two-fold in that it employs both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The research is innovative in the sense that it uses an econometric approach and the analysis is based on original data which has been obtained by the authors via a questionnarie and personal interviews with members of the UK shipping industry. The results deal with two particular sectors namely the tanker and general cargo markets and provide an insight into the magnitude and significance of various factors which affect the choice of flag. It is able to provide indications of the likelihood of a particular vessel being flagged out under different cirumstaces and, further, to consider how changes in these circumstances might affect the probability of the event occuring. The paper is structured in six parts comprising an introduction, back ground, methodology, qualitative analysis, econometric analysis, and conclusions.     

The British port transport industry part 2. Employment, working practices and productivity

The abolition of the national Dock Labour Scheme presented with the oppurtunity radically to transform their cargo handling operations. Port employers have seized this oppurtunity and introduced radical changes to workforce compositions, their skills, work practices, and employee relations. The main factor behind these changes has been the desire of operation to minimize labour costs and maximize labour utilization in order to amintain traffic volume and competitive advantage. The short-term effect has been to improve productivity and profitablity(at least for the major port authorities), but it has also produced iinstablity in employee relations ans may in the long term prove counter productive>