Labor

In a ruling that could set a precedent for the industry, Sweden has asked the the European Court of Justice for guidance in approaching a 10 year old case involving a national labor union's claim against a Panamanian-flagged vessel.

The Argentine Confederation of Transport Workers is boycotting British-flagged vessels in the latest development in the two countries' dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

The Philippines government is responding to questions from the European Union regarding the quality of its seafarer training programs, questions which late last year had the potential to put a large proportion of the international seafarer labor supply in jeopardy.

German training provider MSG MarineServe GmbH has achieved approval from the German Flag State for its STCW compliant ECDIS Training Programme.

In a tragedy being compared to the sinking of the Titanic, the Italian-flagged cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Tuscany late Friday, January 13th, resulting in at least six casualties, approximately 30 injured including at least two in grave condition, and as many as 36 individuals still missing. The cause of the accident has yet to be determined.

In a story that intertwines the issues of piracy and U.S.-Iran relations particularly relevant to the maritime industry, the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis rescued 13 Iranian crew members being held captive by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Oman.

A tonnage tax Taiwan introduced at the beginning of this year in hopes of bringing more vessels to the register has produced less than targeted results.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Finance hoped the tonnage tax would increase the percentage of Taiwanese owned vessels flagged nationally to 15%, yet it currently remains at around four percent.

Today begins the International Trade Federation's second week of inspections of vessels that call on ports in Mumbai, Kandla, New Mangalore, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata and Haldia.

Seafarer training programs in Finland are flourishing as a result of tertiary education reforms implemented ten years ago.

Maritime lawyer John A.C. Cartner provides some ideas on how parties on both sides of the armed guards debate can better reach a middle ground.