Just published:Literary Lovestories.

Literary Lovestories: an anthology of heart-warming, life-changing encounters

By James Brewer

Romance is always in the air, but often struggles to find expression in words. UK publisher and writer Natasha Collins set out through a company she formed named Literary Lifestories to help couples tell the world how their relationships blossomed and flourished.

The first result of her venture is the book Literary Lovestories, a collection of ‘how I met’ tales from the county of Hertfordshire and beyond. In the anthology, 16 couples (a figure chosen to coincide with and herald the 16^th year of the millennium) open their hearts to relate a series of ‘happily ever after’ accounts.

Natasha honoured her tryst with the deadline she set herself. She said: “On St Valentine’s Day 2016, I reached my goal and kept my promise. On that day one year earlier I had launched my project. The book launch took place at Waterstones in High Barnet and four dozen copies were sold in just 90 minutes! It was an emotional day for me: the culmination of 12 months of dedication. Many of the couples came to the launch and I was just so happy to have played a part in capturing their love story forever.”

Of the 16 pairs, three couples met online, one couple met while at school, one couple were neighbours, one couple met at a regularThursday night gathering of Club 18 to 30 at High Barnet’s Whalebones venue in the 1950s. A few couples met though youth groups and through friends. One couple met while he was on a call-out to repair her damaged keyboard, and one couple met at a music event in Nashville, Tennessee!
An experienced journalist who has in recent years written about everything from supermodels to insurance markets, Natasha says that the idea for the book “came when one acquaintance asked my husband and me, ‘how did you meet?’ The question came out of the blue and transported us back to a very special time.
“It got me thinking that it might be nice to ask other people that same question, as a feel-good, reminiscing exercise.”

Natasha Collins.

At around that time, Middlesex University’s supportive Enterprise Development Hub, part of the university’s highly rated Business School, assigned to Natasha as a mentor Michaela Hopkins, an encouraging venture guru who inspired her to pursue the love-stories concept as a book for family and friends to showcase her product offering.

Interviewed on BBC Three Counties radio, a regional station, Natasha announced her plan for Literary Lovestories, inviting the public to contact her to tell of their personal experiences, and to star in the book which would be out in time for Valentine’s Day 2016.
“In addition, I approached couples that I knew. So my formula involved spreading the word locally. Further, one person in America saw my call-out via the Association of Personal Historians and so she is featured with her love story, giving her account from Tennessee. How could I say no to her reaching out with her story?

“I asked each couple the same set of questions, such as ‘where did you go on your first date?’ ‘describe your feelings at the time’ and of course ‘how did you meet?’

“The interviews took place by phone or email, or face to face. There was much laughter in the telling of some tales, while some people were philosophical as they gave advice on finding that special someone, or indeed on staying together. It made me chuckle when couples politely disputed facts like anniversary dates with each other.”
For added authenticity, each couple put the publisher in touch with someone who knew them well and asked that friend or family member to describe what made the union unique. “The way each one gave thoughtful accounts was truly remarkable,” said Natasha.

Lastly, she contacted lecturers at Middlesex University School of Art and Design, explaining that as a graduate from the School of Media and Performing Arts, and current PhD student in creative non-fiction, she was looking for an illustrator. The artist’s brief was to draw each couple’s joint portrait from their favourite photo. “Jordon Thompson (illustrator) and Beverley Speight (graphic designer) were sent my way. They proved to be outstanding.”

Natasha said: “What struck me the most about the exercise was how, from the perspective of story-telling, we build up to a moment of big change, where everything transforms for the two people involved from then on. It’s the moment they meet the one who becomes an important part of their life. Where they go on to marriage and children, there is a complete turn-around: it’s really thrilling.”  Turning a life story into a biographical tale can be the balm needed to understand and empathise, says Natasha.

She maintains: “We need more positive narratives out there, in a world where negative storylines are given centre-stage. There are examples all around us of enduring, true love, keeping our societies together like the cement in the walls of a house. The love stories featured in this book are not necessarily shining examples of the best relationships, but they are ordinary tales, a sample of ‘coupledom’ across Hertfordshire and beyond.”

Natasha signs copies of the book.

As to Natasha’s own romantic fulfilment, in a blog she once wrote: “I have a husband and soul-mate who appreciates my diversity and encourages my various outlooks on this great, wonderful, difficult, inspiring thing we call life; and I absolutely adore him for that.  He tells me that I am many things, and boring isn’t one of them.”
Literary Lovestories aims to “touch the hearts of romantics young and old, attached and unattached.” A donation from each sale goes to the relationship counselling charity Marriage Care, whose details are at www.marriagecare.org.uk

Literary Lovestories can be ordered at  http://literarylifestories.com/literary-lovestories-2/; at Joseph’s Bookstore (1255-1257 Finchley Road, Temple Fortune London NW11), Angelo’s Italian Eating Place (1158 High Road, London N20), and other outlets.

• “We ended the week on a nice note securing a new contract from Saab Seaeye for a Leopard buoyancy ROV pack 3000m-rated which will be manufactured at the Rochdale facility using high performance low density TG26/3000 syntactic foam”  David Clayton, Sales Director, Trelleborg  Applied Technologies
• Ashtead Technology has become the first subsea services company to be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS) for its calibration laboratory
• Subsea 7 and 3D at Depth announced the completion of several metrology projects using subsea LiDAR technology in new configurations to help increase overall efficiencies in offshore oil and gas applications
• Nanhal Rescue from China ordered two Teledyne Benthos deep-tow systems with QINSy software from QPS through reseller Geo-Marine Technology. The deep-tow systems will be used in the search for MH370
• Fugro announced a hat-trick of offshore wind contracts  – two in UK waters (Walney Extension; and Aberdeen’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre) and one in the Dutch sector of the North Sea (Hollandse Kust (zuid) wind farm zone)
• Next Geosolutions has been awarded a geophysical, UXO & geotechnical contract from Prysmian SLR for the MONITA project in the Adriatic Sea
• Kongsberg Maritime Ltd, the UK division of Kongsberg Maritime, announced the expansion of its extensive subsea Aberdeen-based rental pool, with the addition of its sophisticated new MUNIN AUV
• The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is to form part of the new Centres of Excellence in Satellite Applications which is expected to aid economic growth in the Solent region
• Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors BV has purchased a suite of Gemini 720is multibeam imaging sonar
• Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) has recently shipped a network of eight MetOcean buoys to the Middle East for use in environmental monitoring
• The UK Marine Industries Alliance (MIA) has launched an industry Code of Conduct in respect of surface maritime autonomous systems (MASs)
• The Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) has formed a seventh focus group for its maritime engineering membership which will be led by the maritime autonomous systems (MAS) Council
• BMT ARGOSS has been appointed by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd to deliver weather forecasting services to support its onshore and offshore operations in the Sakhalin region, off the east coast of Russia
• ASV has completed the construction of four C-Worker 5 vehicles

• Gwyn Griffiths, Founder of Autonomous Analytics, was presented with the OI Lifetime Achievement Award
• Paul Ridout, Executive Chairman of Ocean Scientific International Limited was named the AMSI Council Business Person of the Year
• The Alan Greig Memorial Prize for outstanding contribution to operational oceanography was awarded to Richard Burt of Chelsea Technologies Group
• And, the SUT Oceanography Award for 2015 was presented to Professor Karen Heywood of the University of East Anglia

• Oceanology International China 2016 The fourth show in the annual series will be held 9-11 November 2016, CECIS, Shanghai, China. Developed with government and industry associations it provided organisations with the opportunity to capitalise on China’s rapidly growing offshore energy and marine industries. www.oichina.com.cn/en
• Oceanology International North America 2017 (14-16 February, 2017, San Diego Convention Center). The launch of this biennial conference and exhibition is in line to attract more than 2,000 marine energy professionals and 250 paying conference delegates. www.oceanologyinternationalnorthamerica.com
• Oceanology International 2018/Interspill 2018 (13-15 March 2018, ExCeL London, UK)www.oceanologyinternational.com / Catch the Next Wave 2018 (12 March 2018) www.ctnwconference.com

The Baltic Exchange were the FONASBA offices

The second round of FONASBA’s survey on the status of implementation of the amendments to SOLAS VI.2 shows that with just three months to go before the 1st July deadline, the situation varies widely across more than 50 countries represented in FONASBA membership. The results of the survey, covering a wide range of topics from the nomination of the “designated authority” to how transhipment containers and those shipped under FOB sales will be treated, are available from the FONASBA website (www.fonasba.com/member-survey). For ease of reference, the extensive, detailed and comprehensive full report, listing the information provided by each individual country, is complemented by a consolidated Executive Summary.

Of particular concern at this late stage is that eighteen associations have advised that no guidance has been issued on the practical application of the measures in the country concerned. This situation has been exacerbated by the failure, until very recently in some cases, of governments to nominate the designated authority.

In terms of actually weighing the containers, many countries state that whilst Method 1 (using a weighbridge) is expected to account for a significant proportion of all declarations, they also frequently report that the weighbridges necessary to achieve this are few in number and often in poor condition. The cost of weighing the container also varies widely, with figures from free
of charge to € 200 being quoted. Similarly, for Method 2 (calculating the weight by the sum of the parts), there is evidence that in many cases no provision has been made to ensure the process is regulated or undertaken in accordance with agreed principles.

Commenting on the survey, FONASBA’s President Designate and Liner & Port Agency
Committee Chairman, John Foord FICS, said “It is staggering that with such little time left before
implementation, a significant number of countries had so far failed to take action at national
level to ensure that the required measures will be in place on time. The SOLAS amendment has
been under development in IMO for four years so it is worrying that at this late stage ship
agents, forwarders and shippers in many countries still lack appropriate guidance as to how
they should comply. As supporters of the accurate verification of container weights since its
initial proposal, FONASBA’s members have been proactive in working with their national
authorities and the container transport chain to ensure the measures are in place in good time
and so it is frustrating that little or no progress has been made in some countries”.

“This is one of the most important developments in maritime transport since the introduction
of the container itself and the potential for significant disruption on 1st July (or even earlier in
the case of some transhipment containers) is considerable”, he added. “The shipping lines are
adamant that from that date containers presented for loading without a certificate of verified
gross mass will not be carried onboard their vessels and no amount of posturing by shippers or,
in some cases national authorities, will change that”.

Foord also confirmed that FONASBA will continue to monitor implementation going forward.

About FONASBA

FONASBA is the only organisation representing the global ship agency and ship broking professions. Established in 1969 it now has members in more than 50 countries, including all major maritime and trading nations. Its remit is to “promote and protect the professions of ship agency and ship broking worldwide”, a task which it undertakes through dialogue with its member associations and its consultative status with IMO, UNCTAD, UNCITRAL and the World Customs Organisation, as well with the European Commission and other regional bodies. FONASBA also enjoys reciprocal memberships with the Baltic Exchange, BIMCO, INTERTANKO, the International Port Community Systems Association, indemnity insurer ITIC and the Shipbrokers’ Register and works closely with all other maritime sector bodies, both internationally and in Europe. www.fonasba.com

Nikolas Thedorou

Verifavia Shipping (Hellas) Ltd launched to bring MRV guidance and verification closer to the Greek and Cypriot shipping community 

LONDON & PIRAEUS – 6 April 2016: Verifavia, the world’s leading emissions verification company for the transport sector, has expanded into Greece and Cyprus with the launch of Verifavia Shipping (Hellas) Ltd. The Athens-based team, led by managing director, Nikolas Theodorou, will support the region’s shipping community in effectively navigating the requirements of the European Union’s (EU) Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) Regulation.

MRV Regulation 2015/757 came into force on 1^st July 2015 and shipping companies operating in the EU have until 2017 to prepare plans to monitor and report their carbon emissions. From 2018 onwards, ships over 5,000 gross tonnage calling at EU ports must collect and submit verified annual data on CO₂ emissions. They will also be required to carry a Document of Compliance issued by an accredited MRV verifier.

Verifavia has a long experience of working in the aviation and other transport sectors to provide emissions verification information and services. The company works as a trusted partner with customers to support them in achieving compliance with an independent service grounded in accuracy, integrity and expertise.

Verifavia is already working with several shipping companies to assess their organisations for MRV readiness. Greece-based NEDA Maritime Agency Co. Ltd. was recently considered MRV-ready by Verifavia and is now on course to comply with the requirements of the EU MRV Regulation. Verifavia is also working with ICT solutions providers that are bringing new and innovative MRV solutions to the market for auditing purposes. It is essential that these solutions are fully certified to support monitoring and reporting that satisfies compliance requirements.

Julien Dufour, CEO, Verifavia, commented:  “MRV Regulation and the collection of CO2 data for over 10,000 ships represents a significant challenge for the shipping industry. We are committed to partnering with shipping companies to share our in-depth knowledge of MRV, and our presence in Piraeus will ensure that we are best placed to serve this thriving maritime community.”

Verifavia Shipping (Hellas) Ltd, managing director, Nikolas Theodorou will lead the Athens-based team. His shipping experience spans asset sale and purchase, fuel and lubes supply in the energy sector, investment and finance, as well as human capital development.

Theodorou commented: “I’m greatly excited about this new role. Compliance with MRV regulation will prove a pressing issue for many shipowners and I am certain that we will assist them and facilitate this process in the most successful and professional manner. Verifavia is already a trusted independent partner, respected for its integrity, accuracy and expertise. Our ongoing aim is to maintain the highest levels of service across the board within the shipping industry.”

Testament to Verifavia’s longstanding experience of verification in other transport sectors, the company is an active member of the European Commission’s Shipping MRV group of experts on verification and accreditation, which meets regularly to discuss and agree on the technical details of the Regulation. This involvement ensures Verifavia is influencing the technical details of the Regulation and is constantly up-to-date on regulatory developments.

About Verifavia Shipping:

Verifavia Shipping provides global ship owners, operators and managers with independent emissions verification information and services that enable them to navigate the requirements of compliance efficiently and effectively. Focusing entirely on its area of expertise – independent carbon emissions verification for the transport sector – with no other vested interests in the maritime sector, the company is entirely independent.

Verifavia Shipping aims to be the maritime industry’s first choice for the provision of emissions verification information and services.  The company works as a trusted partner for its customers, supporting them in achieving compliance with an independent service grounded in accuracy, integrity and expertise.

For more information about Verifavia Shipping, visit us at http://www.verifavia-shipping.com. For up-to-date information and news about the MRV Regulation, follow us at twitter.com/VerifaviaMarine

AFEA PRODUCTIONS with the support of LIFE ACTION TRUST presents:

THE GREEK COMPOSER & JAZZ PIANIST
George Hatzinasios LIVE IN LONDON
“The child with the Drum”
Special Dedication to the unaccompanied refugee children arriving in Greece
Friday15th April 2016
St James Church
197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
@20.00

Tickets:  www.childwiththedrum.eventbrite.co.uk

FEATURING
Fanis Mezinis, Singer
Elena Hadjiafxendi, Actress & singer
Andria Antoniou, Singer

Info: afeapro@outlook.com / Tel. 07474198280

“Once in this incurable world FEATURING
There lived a child, forgotten and defenseless
He had a small drum that he’d beat
Dum dum – dum dum

A concert inspired by George Hatzinasios song, ‘The child with 
the drum’ by the Greek poet Nikos Gatsos, will delve you into an atmosphere of hope, celebration, love and happiness with the vibration of the Drum of our souls. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy Greek jazz, Greek – romeiko and epic – classical style and how it ts within the European musical scene without alienating the audience. Hadjinasios’s work – comprising of his arias from
El Greco, his compositions inspired by Byzantine culture, blended with his soundtracks for
the award-winning 1989 British romantic comedy-drama lm Shirley Valentine, and his ‘laika’ (pop) songs – all together with dramatic narration create a synesthesia of rhythms, stories and feelings that can only result in an unforgettable experience!
George Hatzinasios is an icon and pioneer of Greek music history; he is one of the renown Greek composers and jazz pianists, with a national and international reputation. He was the one who introduced European jazz to the Greek musical scene. He composed music for television, cinema, theatre, opera and poetry of Greek poets. As a pianist, he is reputable for his musical experimentations and self-improvisation. One of his most famous albums is “The Eleventh Commadment” with Nana Mouskouri.

Musicians
Andrew Theodorou, Bouzouki A
Peter Georgiou, Bouzouki B

Sponsor by CYTA UK

*SUPPORT UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE CHILDREN ARRIVING IN GREECE
Greece is facing the unprecedented challenge of welcoming, supporting and protecting thousands of children – from newborns to teenagers – arriving in the country alone. Many have lost their parents during the journey, others are sent off in order to flee a war or in search of a better future. Through ‘Giving for Greece’ you can support all necessary services for the protection and well-being of unaccompanied kids such as: guardianship, shelter, medical care, psychological support, clothing, guardianship and escort services provided by the NGOs Arsis, Doctors of the World – Greek delegation, Metadrasi, Praksis, at the entry points of Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos, Leros, Orestiada and the exit point of Idomeni.

Please help if you can. You can donate through one of the following bank accounts of the BODOSSAKI foundation, the organization that supports the teaching of Modern Greek at UEA, among others. You’ll need to add the reference UAM next to your donation. For more information: www.giving.org.gr

BANK NAME: EUROBANK ERGASIAS S.A.
IBAN: GR21 0260 0250 0004 3020 0435 685
SWIFT BIC: ERBKGRAA

BANK NAME: ALPHA BANK
ΙΒΑΝ: GR58 0140 1200 1200 0200 2002 747
SWIFT BIC: CRBAGRAAXXX

Alexa Pearson with Lights of Soho display.

All Lit Up in Bloomsbury: April 2016 edition of The Other Art Fair celebrates neon talent

By James Brewer

Neon is in their genes. The Bracey family has a reputation for being the beacon of the kind of artwork that makes glowing use of the inert gas-filled tubes that lure dazzled spectators to nightclub districts, and these days to art galleries.

A collection of Bracey work adorning the foyer welcomed hundreds of visitors to the April 2016 edition, the 11^th, of The Other Art Fair, at Victoria House, the imposing 1926-built edifice overlooking Bloomsbury Square.

The switched-on display was mounted by the gallery Lights of Soho, which bills itself as “the global home of creative neon and light art formats,” and visitors were welcomed at the gallery’s stand by promoter and film producer Alexa Pearson.

Welcome to the Fair.

Neon art was billed as one of the special features of the Fair, which presented 130 individual emerging artists from the UK and several other countries most of whom were selling their work directly to the public. Many were the artists’ mediums in play, but the Fair was an ideal forum for the ‘cool’ and often provocative neon art form.

Sadly the man whose name and whose work was effectively in lights –Chris Bracey, known as the King of Neon – died aged 59 in 2014, but his shining legacy is honoured in the practice by several members of his family and other noted admirers and followers. Even his teenage grandchildren are in on the act now.

Chris Bracey worked in this bright field of light for almost 40 years, taking his inspiration from his father Dick, who made signs and lights for fairgrounds and amusement arcades. Chris was a true son of Soho, gaining renown by using his mastery of graphic design to manufacture signage for its nightclubs and sex shops.  He powered ahead in other branches of commerce as demand grew for his artistry.

Among the fans were designers of film sets, with the result that he created and installed neon signs and props for productions including Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa, the Batman series, Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  He illuminated fashion catwalks and department store displays.

The year before his death, Chris Bracey had his first solo exhibition in London, and his pieces continue to be in great demand in Los Angeles and many other hip centres worldwide. Jude Law, Kate Moss, Elton John and Lady Gaga have collected his work.

Alexa says the Bracey family continues to inspire.

His technique was based on filling Murano glass from Venice with neon, argon and krypton. Strictly speaking, only red bulbs use the chemical element neon, while other so-called neon lights use other “noble gases,” a category that includes helium, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.

Lights of Soho, located in Brewer Street, Soho, has some of the artefacts from the warehouse “where neon never dies” that Chris set up in Walthamstow, named God’s Own Junkyard, with new and used signs, salvaged movie and circus props and sculptures.  He was a rabid recycler, a snapper-up of discarded lighting.

Lights of Soho says that it has the support of artists including Tracey Emin – who has for a quarter of a century used pastel-coloured tubes to convey intimate messages in the style of handwriting – and that it “breaks down the boundaries of typical art galleries and offers itself as the home for all creatives and ‘Cultural Lights.’”

Chris’s widow Linda has vowed to keep aloft the “neon baton”, supported by their sons, Marcus, Matthew and Max. Looking ahead, as it always does, The Other Art Fair welcomed neon pieces by two Bracey grandchildren: Charlie aged just 18, and Amber aged 17.

www.theotherartfair.com

Venetia Norris and Yukako Shibata

A wealth of eclectic fare at The Other Art Fair London 2016 bids for modest share of UK’s annual $13.5bn art turnover

By James Brewer

Organisers of The Other Art Fair say that their venture, founded five years ago, is aimed at a new generation of art buyers – and it is certainly resonating with that target demography. A predominantly young crowd turned out for the latest edition of the Fair, at London’s Victoria House from April 7-10 2016. While the contents of their virtual wallets might be trendily skinny, their wealth of enthusiasm is a tremendous morale booster for the independent artists showcasing up-to-the-minute and alluring wares.

In the UK economy at large, there is plenty of money sloshing around to splash out on available artworks, but the dosh is mostly nestling in the bank accounts, onshore and offshore, of the rich. In 2015, the UK on sales of $13.5bn overtook China to recapture the number two spot behind the global art market giant, the US, according to the latest report by the European Fine Art Foundation. This was amid global sales of $63.8bn, down 7% on the year. Of this whopping amount the UK has a 21% share, pipping China’s 19%.

Encouragingly for the current artist cohort, most of the total sales value emanates from post-war and contemporary and modern art, but dismayingly for some, transactions are heavily weighted towards sales at the highest price tags.

The Other Art Fair was started to raise the profile of individual emerging artists and allow them to sell directly to the public. It has spread its wings beyond London with editions in Bristol and in Sydney, Australia. The latest London show featured 130 participants – and just as many personal styles – and catered for modest and medium budgets, with items for sale at £50 upwards.

No-one absolutely had to buy: as one exhibit had it, there were six options. These were “flirt, buy art, be a critic, Instagram, day dream, drink tea.” The exhibit was Time to Kill, a large spinnable wheel of fortune by Julia Vogl, whose social sculpture is designed to respond to its siting. On the wheel, the options were in equal segments. The Fair chose the piece as one of its publicity motifs.

Ryan Stanier, the fair director, said that the enterprise he established “was born from a realisation of the disparity between a London audience eager to discover the next big thing and talented artists struggling to gain recognition… the effects of the fair’s growing reputation are not only demonstrated through the support of leading individuals in the art world but also the frequency of success stories from past exhibitors.”

The contemporary fare is widely distinctive, and only occasionally disconcerting, so that any sceptics of the genre find their curiosity piqued by the brilliant orchestration of ideas and themes – the forms of expression are usually readily accessible.

This was reflected by any peregrination through the galleries set up at Victoria House – at the time of its completion, 90 years ago, the edifice was the second largest office block in Britain outside Whitehall. What must be one of the most people-friendly of the large art fairs brought one into contact with admirable souls eager to explain their ambitious projects and liberal visions of nature and society.

Carolina Mizrahi.

Carolina Mizrahi, who has featured in The Other Art Fair’s publicity campaigns, and has a background as an artistic director and in fashion design, showed some of the first photographic portraits she has made for a coffee-table style volume she is preparing about Diversity. The book will comprise 100 portraits of women of various ethnicities and interests, some of them in extravagant dress and cosmetics. She is collaborating with another expert on the maquillage of her models.

As with most of Carolina’s projects, this is a rose-coloured spectacle, for all of her precise photography is imbued with her trademark pink hue. The choice of pink is meant to highlight gender stereotypes and the hijacking and exaggerating of femininity and beauty rituals by commercialism.

Glorious landscapes dominated by weighty skies were on display in the canvases of Hertfordshire-based Alex McIntyre, who was exhibiting at The Other Art Fair for the second time. Her paintings are interpretations of the changing light of winter as the season softens into spring, often inspired by the scenery of her home county and Cornwall. Her work is “very much a visceral and emotional response to light and weather,” she says.

Alex McIntyre

In her studio, Alex pushes and sandpapers ink and gesso into marine ply to build up layers, so the viewer, rather than sensing that the ink is just on the surface, gains the feeling that “there is a history to it.”

Hot, or rather cool, off the press was the latest work of Yukako Shibata, completed with just four days to spare before going on show.

Her statement describes her practice as “a hybrid of sculpture and painting” in which she “explores the subliminal colours of both the natural and man-made world and questions the complex interplay of light, atmosphere and the way in which we perceive these things.”

Yukako’s series Traces comprises oil-painted rectangles and squares of plywood and mdf board. Leisurely contemplation reveals the subtleties involved in the delicate paintings: “I start work with a strong colour, but it becomes softer and softer,” although sometimes the initial strong colour is insistent.

Yukako Shibata: intense preparation.

It is intense work, but “when you have ideas, you have to be able to materialise them. I enjoy the making and feel that the preparation is part of it, including cutting the board and sanding it down. I paint not just the surface; I paint the edges to extend the frame, so you feel that the light is coming through. This time I really wanted to show my painting because I am trained as a painter. You never get bored with painting.”

An earlier important series from Yukako is Colour Shade, with titles including Dancing Shadow, Shade: Triangles Green, Shade: Unveiling, Green; and Shade: Orange Scape. Just reciting the titles is soothing. The works speak to her sculptural competence: they are of paper relief inside a frame. In this Shade series, most of the coloured surface is deliberately hidden, so that what is visible is the colour reflection.
By contrast, Venetia Norris has a unique layering technique to enhance the spontaneity of drawing from life which forms the basis of her collages.

Sense of place is important to Venetia, whose current and recent work on paper in ink, paint and graphite has been inspired by residencies in Ireland, and at North London Collegiate School and its surrounding Canons Estate parkland. She combines her fascination with the world of plants with rubbings of architectural detail of historic buildings she knows well.

Of the Fair, Venetia said: “It is exciting for me to have the opportunity to see my work in a completely different context alongside wonderful contemporary artists, and it allows you to see your work with fresh eyes. It gives the work itself a second life.”

Now that the Fair is over, Venetia plans to commit to paper the compositional ideas spurred by her spell in March completing a fellowship at Ballinglen Arts Foundation, County Mayo.

Of the Victoria House event in April, “The only thing that´s left is the memory,” as the title of one of the mixed media works shown by Ana Lorena Nuñez had it, but scores of artists are readying their submissions for the next ‘Others,’ at the Arnolfini, Bristol, from July 22-24, and the Old Truman Brewery, London, from October 6-9 2016.

www.theotherartfair.com

Blue Poles (Number 11, 1952) by Jackson Pollock.

Royal Academy to roll out Abstract Expressionism exhibition in September 2016

 By James Brewer

After World War II, the US was quick to make use of the enormous economic and political power it now enjoyed – and in parallel, the nation’s rebellious artists were beginning to assert their ascendancy in their sphere. The cultural pendulum swung decisively from Paris to New York, where Abstract Expressionism, “the most important movement in our modern time” became firmly established.

The quoted phrase is that of Edith Devaney, contemporary curator at the Royal Academy of Arts, speaking as the London institution unveiled details of its huge exhibition Abstract Expressionism, which will run from September 24 2016 to January 2 2017.

Woman II by Willem de Kooning.

The show is billed as “the first major exhibition of Abstract Expressionism to be held in the UK in almost six decades.”

In his assessment, Christopher Le Brun, president of the Royal Academy, went further.  “I think it will be the greatest Abstract Expressionism exhibition ever,” he declared. He is an unashamed partisan: “I am passionate about this movement,” he said. “There is something about this movement which still has momentum.”

Despite its kicking over the traces and its affinity to mores such as Afro-American jazz, the unbounded genre was seen amid a climate of Cold War hysteria as an American standard bearer of “freedom.”

The movement, best known for its large, splashy oil paintings, put the Big Apple centre stage, usurping the French capital as the art superpower. It usually exuded a brash confidence in its wrenching away from conventions by its unrestrained use of colour and scale.

Why has this group as a whole not previously been surveyed so thoroughly? “The subject is so daunting and complex, it is almost too formidable to have been done,” said independent art historian David Anfam, the co-curator.

The Eye is the First Circle, by Lee Krasner.

The show’s 150 paintings, sculptures and photographs from public and private collections across the world if put on the auction block would together yield an enormous sum, given that the average auction price for top-notch work of this kind is $75m – so it is just as well that the Royal Academy is fully insured through the UK government indemnity scheme.

The school of largely non-representative art took hold in the 1940s, and by 1956 major institutions were eager to acquire more and more works from artists of the ilk of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning who were sometimes characterised as “the bad boys” because of their turbulent personal lives, but who had their art rather than their bank balance in focus. It tended to be a boys’ club, but “most were no more or less sexist than anyone else of that period,” said Dr Anfam.

“Cubism, surrealism, German expressionism, and then Pop Art… of all the movements Abstract Expressionism was at once the most manifold, diverse and extensive,” asserted Dr Anfam, who is said to be the pre-eminent authority on Abstract Expressionism.

Water of the Flowery Mill, by Arshile Gorky.

Hitherto, Abstract Expressionism has hitherto been classified as either “action painting” – a dynamic act of creation – or as “colour field painting” with its expanses of wilful colour.

Dr Anfam said that much of the output was known for its epic scale, but many of the artists were “masters of scale both very big and very small.”

In this context, given the gargantuan size of some of the works, the huge agapanthus triptych by Monet, which has been on display at the Royal Academy as part of its Painting the Modern Garden exhibition, is seen by Mr Le Brun “as the beginning of modern painting.”

The abstract expressionists wanted to extend their canvases to have an impact on the viewer as a physical being. The wealthy art collector Peggy Guggenheim, whose father perished with the Titanic, commissioned a mural by Pollock in 1943, “an amazing statement of colour” said Dr Anfam, in the light of the fact that Pollock is not usually associated with that approach to colour. The mural, 243 cm by 63 cm, was hung in the hallway of Mrs Guggenheim’s town house, and within two years of it being installed there, “everyone” in the New York art world had seen it.

No.15, by Mark Rothko.

Pollock’s monumental Mural, 1943 will be on loan from University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa, alongside Blue Poles, what Dr Anfam called Pollock’s “barnstorming swan song.” The stick figures of the earlier mural were echoed in Blue Poles, which is enamel and aluminium paint with glass on canvas, 212 cm by 489 cm, and is held by the National Gallery of Australia. Their juxtaposition, in London, is unlikely to ever be repeated.

The Royal Academy is devoting its main galleries to the show.

The biggest gallery, Gallery III, will house a mini-retrospective of Pollock’s work, including the works mentioned above. Pollock (who was a heavy drinker and who died aged 44 in 1956 in a car accident) is renowned for pouring or dripping paint onto large canvases on the floor, the process amounting to a kind of performance. Pollock’s wife Lee Krasner will be represented by The Eye is the First Circle, 1960, courtesy of Robert Miller Gallery, New York.

Gallery I will begin with two sets of portraits, one an oil on canvas by Rothko with eyes blanked out from 1936, and Male and Female, 1942, by Pollock where the distortion of the human form stems from Surrealist and Cubism art forms. It portrays a man and woman in an extreme abstract form.

Gallery II will feature Arshile Gorky (1904-48) who committed suicide after a car crash in 1948. Gorky assimilated the extensive colours of Wassily Kandinsky, a pioneer of modern abstract art. Gorky said: “Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes.” Born in Armenia, Gorky was a survivor of what his compatriots and others describe as the genocide which killed millions. His Water of the Flowery Mill, 1944 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) will be on show.

PH-950, by Clyfford Still.

Switching to west coast US, Gallery IV will examine “gesture as colour” considering artists including Janet Sobel who had an impact on Pollock, although at least one sexist critic of the time went to some lengths to downplay that. Others from the West will be Sam Francis, Mark Tobey and Minor White.

Gallery V will have 13 works by de Kooning (1904-1997) such as scenes of New York by night and his 1948 enamel on board Dark Pond. An entire wall will be taken up by his depictions of women from a series begun in 1950 after meeting his future wife. These will include Woman II, 1952 from the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The Royal Academy’s octagonal central hall will have seven canvases by Rothko, deliberately hung to respect his wish that they loom over the spectator.

Gallery VII will feature ‘colour field’ specialist Barnett Newman (1905-1970), and Ad Reinhardt 1913-1967) known for his Black Paintings in which a Greek cross can just be made out. Gallery VIII will be titled Darkness Visible, a phrase from Paradise Lost. In Plato’s Cave, an acrylic by Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) will feature.

Abstract Expressionism encompassed a much wider range of media than is often realised, and Gallery IX will have sculpture and photography exhibits. There are large-scale outdoor sculptures and public art, and in his photography Aaron Siskind sought to capture the same kind of energy and movement that Pollock sought through action painting. Pollock has famously been recorded at work by among others photographer Hans Namuth.

Finally, the Lecture Room will reintroduce the “irascible outsider” Clyfford Still, who is exhaustively chronicled through the 845 works at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver (which will loan nine paintings) but otherwise is often overlooked. Still (1904-1980) in his canvases presents “a battle of darkness and blazing light,” said Dr Anfam, who is senior consulting curator at the Clyfford Still Museum.

Six of the many women artists at the forefront of the movement will be honoured, including Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Nevelson and Joan Mitchell (1925-1992) “a fantastic painter,” said Dr Anfam.

Dr Anfam said: “Abstract Expressionism … will bring together some of the most iconic works from around the world in a display that is unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime.”

BNP Paribas said it was proud to sponsor the exhibition, “a once in a generation opportunity to explore one of the most influential movements in art history.”

Abstract Expressionism will be at the Royal Academy from September 24 2016 to January 2 2017, and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, from February 3 to June 4 2017.

Captions in full:

Blue poles (Number 11, 1952). Enamel and aluminium paint with glass on canvas. By Jackson Pollock. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

(c) The Pollock-Krasner Foundation ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016.

Woman II, 1952. Oil, enamel and charcoal on canvas. By Willem de Kooning. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller,

1995. © 2016 The Willem de Kooning Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London 2016 Digital image (c) 2016. The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence.

The Eye is the First Circle, 1960. Oil on canvas. By Lee Krasner. Private collection, courtesy Robert Miller Gallery, New York. (c) ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016.

Water of the Flowery Mill, 1944. Oil on canvas. By Arshile Gorky. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (c) ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016. Digital image (c) 2016. The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence.

No. 15, 1957. Oil on canvas. By Mark Rothko. Private collection, New York (c) 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko ARS, NY and DACS, London.

PH-950, 1950. Oil on canvas. By Clyfford Still. Clyfford Still Museum, Denver (c) City and County of Denver / DACS 2016. Photo courtesy the Clyfford Still Museum.

The Battle of Jutland. By Norman Howard. Courtesy of Darnley Fine Art.

Naval history and age of steam yachts feature at Spring 2016 Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair

By James Brewer

A classic painting of the ferocious World War I Battle of Jutland is among marine-themed artworks for sale at the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair from April 19-24 2016. The vivid depiction of the only full-scale naval clash of the war is being offered at the Fair in Battersea Park, London, by dealer Darnley Fine Art of Chelsea.

Evoking the smoke and fury of the conflict in darkly muted tones, the canvas was painted in oil by British artist Norman Howard (1899 – 1955), whose subject matter over his lifetime was frequently nautical and coastal, in oils and in water colours.

Xanthe off Dartmouth, yachts flying Royal Thames Yacht Club burgee. Courtesy Anderson Wallrock.

With horrendous casualties, the battle was fought in the North Sea from the afternoon of May 31 1916 overnight into June 1. The British fleet had sought to blockade the German coast o stop supplies entering the country by sea, but Kaiser Wilhelm had built up his navy to challenge British sea power.

Hoping to gain the advantage of surprise, the German fleet broke out of its ports to attack the enemy, but its code had been cracked by British intelligence. In all, some 250 ships vied for dominance, costing the British had 14 vessels and 6,094 men and the Germans 11 ships and 2,551 men. Among the victims were most of the 1,000 crew of the battle cruiser Queen Mary, which was destroyed.  Hurt by the cost of the encounter, Germany then turned to submarine warfare.

The Norman Howard work is among Darnley Fine Art’s extensive stock of paintings from the 16th to the 20th centuries.

Many of the 150 exhibitors at the Fair are bringing antique items with a regal theme, given that the Queen’s 90^th birthday falls on April 21. The foyer display will have many objects relating to royal collections, palaces and homes, and in the body of the hall will be much classic furniture of period design.

Shipbuilder’s model of SS Fusilier. Courtesy Anderson Wallrock.

A new exhibitor at the Spring 2016 Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair is Anderson Wallrock Nautical, although the firm’s partners are well known for their previously separate ventures in antiques circles.

The firm, based in the harbour town of Lymington, Hants, is a collaboration between “sailing mad” duo Tim Anderson and Charles Wallrock. The “passionate yachties” have “amassed a wealth of knowledge and have become leading global maritime dealers,” says their website. Mr Anderson’s offices and boardroom are filled with ship’s models, marine paintings and artefacts, many with an Americas Cup flavour. Mr Wallrock started out as a “man with a van” and later founded Wick Antiques and was a supplier to Harrods antiques department until it closed in 2011.

He and his business partner are bringing a wide array of work to the Fair.

Gouache of Royal Yacht Squadron steam yacht Sapphire, 1893. Courtesy Anderson Wallrock.

Among their offerings is a pair of water colours of yachts flying the Royal Thames yacht club burgee (a burgee is the distinguishing flag of a yacht club).

The framed watercolours dating from 1891 show the gaff racing cutter Xanthe with Dartmouth in the background, and are signed by the painter Barlow Moore (1834-1897).

The Royal Thames is the oldest such club in the UK and said to be the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the world. It was established in 1775 when the Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III, put up a silver cup for a race on the River Thames and formed the Cumberland Fleet. As the name implies, yachting originally took place on the Thames but the Solent became increasingly important in the 1850s as the steam train improved access to the south coast.

Anderson Wallrock’s display at the Fair includes an unusual colonial dockyard-made model from 1820 of a Royal Navy 36-gun man o’ war. The hardwood hull has satinwood decks, decorated around the bulwarks and transom in a later glazed mahogany case. The dealers say the model was probably made in Bombay Dockyards for the Admiralty.

Another feature is a shipbuilder’s model from 1924 of the SS Fusilier with detailed decks fittings in a glazed mahogany case with builder’s plaque. The Fusilier was one of three passenger steamships belonging to Edinburgh Shipping Co to carry passengers between Leith and London in the 1920s. Built in 1924 by Caledonian Shipbuilding the ship was badly damaged in an attack by the Luftwaffe in June 1941. The Fusilierwas towed to shallower waters by two Royal Navy destroyers but later sank.
The accompanying model of the sister ship the SS Royal Archer is on display in the convening room of Trinity House museum, Edinburgh.

En grisaille watercolour of Britannia prepared for George V, signed by Charles Dixon. Courtesy Anderson Wallrock.

Still in the area of models, Anderson Wallrock has an exhibition-quality shipbuilder’s model of the yacht squadron steam schooner Helen, built in 1864 by Thomas B Seath & Co of Glasgow with finely detailed superstructure and silvered metal fittings.
Original ship details:
The schooner was built during the halcyon days of private steam yachting for the 2nd Marquess Conyngham, who served under Lord Liverpool as Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and later under Canning and the Duke of Wellington as Lord of the Treasury.
As well as his political career he held senior military rank becoming a general in 1874. Upon the death of William 1V in 1837 he went to Kensington Palace to inform Princess Victoria that she was now monarch and was the first to address her as ‘Your majesty’.
The model of the Helen was formerly in the collection of London socialite, Mark Birley, founder of Annabel’s Club, Mayfair.

Another rarity are two finely-cast, Admiralty-made bronze ship’s plaques of a lion atop a rocky outcrop, the symbol of Africa, with the name of the Royal Navy battleship, HMS Africa, highlighted in red script and cast on the reverse Property of Capt Leveson.

The plaques were commissioned for the pre-dreadnought battleship of the King Edward VII class, launched in 1906. HMS Africa served in the Atlantic Fleet, the Mediterranean and off South America and was flagship to Vice Admiral William Henry May. HMS Africa was the first ship successfully to launch a plane from deck in 1912. Capt Leveson commanded HMS Africa from1909 into the early years of World War I. He was mentioned in despatches, promoted Admiral and became aide-de-camp to George V.

Two mirrors which were on board HMS Blanche at the battle of Copenhagen 1801 remarkably have retained their original glass, which survived “probably many more battles for over 215 years,” says the catalogue.

Another gem is a gouache of the Royal Yacht Squadron steam yacht Sapphire. The painting is dated 1893 and signed and inscribed L Papaluca and SY Sapphire RYS. One of the last grand steam yachts before the Great War, Sapphire was designed by GL Watson & Co and built in John Brown’s Clydebank yards in 1912. The craft was ordered by Herbrand, 11th Duke of Bedford, to replace his existing Sapphire. The sumptuously fitted out successor was registered at 1,207 tons gross and had an instantly recognisable profile.

Although nominally owned by the Bedfords until 1919, the Sapphire spent most of the war as an armed auxiliary patrol yacht until released by the Admiralty and bought by Lord Furness before being sold to Urban Broughton (later Lord Fairhaven) under whose colours the yacht sailed the world. At the beginning of World War II, theSapphire was purchased initially as a convoy leader but then became a submarine tender in Campbeltown Loch in 1940 under the name of HMS Breda. Accidentally sunk in a collision in 1944, the yacht was deemed not worth raising.

A 1933 en grisaille watercolour on paper, prepared for George V by keen yachtsman Charles Dixon RA has outstanding detail and depicts the Royal yacht Britannia rigged like a J class, with the sail number K1 and flying the Royal signal flag. Here, Britannia is racing in the Royal Yacht Squadron regatta with competitors around her, the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert flying the Royal Standard indicating that the Queen is on board.

www.decorativefair.com

The LAT committee; l to r:  Gabriel Iliopoulos, Eleni Malatou, Maria Hadjipateras, Evelyn Stefanaki, Paola Pavlou, Chrysanthi P. Lemos, Sophia Konstantopoulou-Papadopoulos, Alexia Souferi and Makis Peppas (photo credits Cynthia Tzitzis)

We are still carried away with this mind and soul-blowing musical event at the heart of London’s West End last night, for the Life Action Trust’s very special evening, for which we had been honoured and fortunate to support too via  this medium! A private charity reception at Maison Assouline – one of the most elegant hidden cultural treasures of the British capital, dedicated to the homeless refugees supported by Bodosaki foundation.

Maria Hatzinassiou, Nicholas and Katia Trimmatis (photo credits Cynthia Tzitzis)

Chrysanthi P. Lemos and her LAT team lead by Alexia Souferi and Gabriel Iliopoulos, welcomed the Greek Ambassador and Mrs. Konstantinos Bikas, and other international distinguished guests,  amongst them Baroness Marie- Claire Von Alvensleben, John Kenendy, Takis and Georgia Chatzis,  Nonika Galinea, Demitra Moutzouris, Maira Vagionis and her daughter Natali, Paola Pavlou, Maro Papathomas-Limnios, Maria M. Hadjipatears, Pavlos Horn, Roula Zeritis, Dr. Angelica Kavouni, many members of the greek shipping fraternity, the business world, the media, and the London Greek diaspora.

Anny ZAde, Nonika Galine and Demitra K. Moutzouris

After the excellent dips and drinks, Chrysanthi Lemos introduced Xenia P. Papastavrou from the Bodosaki Foundation, who spoke on the Foundation’s support for the homeless refugees in Greece, particularly the young ones!

Afterwards, the one hundred or so guests were ushered next door at the historical church of St. James to join others already there for the exclusive concert by Greece’s iconic  composer and jazz pianist George Hatzinassios who was accompanied by the talented musicians Elena Hadjiafxendi, Andri Antoniou and Fanis Mezinis – evidently depicted in the live video herebelow. A great aspect, which also contributed to the event, as was stressed by Hatzinassios, was the Fasioli piano, more than …instrumental! The very special songs written by top greek composers of the last sixty or so years were excellently performed by this trio, and we were thrilled to hear Elena Hadjiafxendi on such a great day!

Elena Hadjiafxendi performing

The song dedicated to Panagiotis Lemos by George Hatzinassios, the 220 Volts by Yiannis Parios, was also another touching point of the event.

George Hatzinassios, Andri Antoniou, Fanis Mezinis and Elena Hadjiafxendi

The continuous applause by the audience after each song and in particular at the end was unique, as were the “revisired”  classic ancient greek outfits of Hadjiafxendi and Antoniou proving the meticulously organised event.

Special thanks goes also to Athina Scholarships and Nicholas Trimmatis family for their support; special mentioning goes to Makis Peppas and Sofia Konstantopoulou-Papadopoulos doing also their utmost best to make the event memorable.

We look forward to more of such events which raises also the moral of Greece given the difficult times the country goes through.

The President of the Propeller Club Cdr Ian Millen, RN, with Ana Delgado

A full house earlier on today at the Naval Club attended one of the best ever events of its kind organised by the Propeller Club of the United States, Port of London. Ana Delgado, partner at the Panamanian law firm Solis, Enara, Delgado & Guevara and former Ambassador to the United Kingdom delivered a detailed account and answered over a dozen questions on the developments of the Panama Canal which is about to open, following an expansion construction project which still keeps the world guessing and eager to see it operating in full scale, enhancing international trade and in particular that of Panamax and post-Panamax ships, which we numerous times refer to in our daily now shipping markets reports. The Canal is Panama’s trade livehood!

A view of the audience with Cdr Ian Millen introducing the event

After a great lunch, Ana Delgado delivered a very detailed and up todate speech, supported with exellent photographs and slides which included projected graphics and sketches. She was in full command of the presentation, and as mentioned above, she anwered to over a dozen questions. She was warmly applauded by the 39 strong international audience!

What follows is the entire text of her presentation, point to point numerically marked,  with respectie pictures supporting same. On all counts a speech worth being re-delivered to Academias around the world; excellent!

1. The Panama Canal

• 80 km long while connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans
• Vessels are raised 26 m above sea level using three sets of locks
• Vessels transit through the continental divide – Gatun Lake and its rivers provide the Canal with fresh tropical water.
• Each vessel transit consumes 52 million gallons of fresh water
• Transit including waiting time averages 30 hours, vessels with reservation achieve it in 16 hours
• Was transferred to Panama on December 1999 by the US

2. Today, Panama faces the challenge of consolidating its geographical position and extending its role from a place for interoceanic transits and multimodal transportation corridor to a global logistics center.   In order to drive the growth of the logistics and transportation sector of the country, the Panama Canal conducted a series of studies to evaluate the creation of new businesses that will further consolidate our service platform.

3. In 2007, the ACP started the Third Set of Locks Project works, which consist of the building of a third traffic lane parallel to the existing ones. The project will double the Canal´s capacity and will allow for the transit of larger, wider and deeper-draft vessels.  The expansion will be a game changer for world trade as it will open new trades and will provide economies of scale and will improved transit times for vessels.

4. What is the capacity of the expanded Panama Canal?

The existing locks allow the passage of vessels that can carry up to 5,000 TEUs. After the expansion, Post Panamax vessels will be able to transit the Canal, with up to 13,000/14,000 TEUs.

Neopanamax lock chambers will be 427 meters (1,400 feet) long, 55 meters (180 feet) wide, and 18.3 meters (60 feet) deep.

5.

• Generates economies of scale to carriers due to the use of larger vessels = reduced costs per unit of cargo.
• Improves the vessel’s efficiency and productivity with fuel cost reductions.
• Reduces CO² emissions per cargo unit.
• Increases/matches the competitiveness of the Panama route.
• Increases the competitiveness of a range of export commodities for some countries.

6.  The Panama Canal Expansion is the largest ACP project since its construction. The project creates a new traffic lane alongside the Canal with the construction of a new set of locks, doubling the waterway’s capacity.

The Program consists of several components/projects:

• New Locks (Third Set of Locks), consisting in the construction of two lock complexes, which will create a third lane of traffic.
• The Pacific Access Channel, also known as PAC4, which is the excavation of a 6.1 km-long access channel for the new Pacific locks to bypass Miraflores Lake.
• Dredging of the navigational channels along the waterway.
• Improvement of water supply and draft capacity by raising the Gatun Lake´s maximum operational level 45 cm.

7. Locks Design and Construction Project

The international consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) is comprised by Spain’s Sacyr , Italy’s Impregilo, Belgium’s Jan de Nul and Panama’s Constructora Urbana, S.A. and is in charge of the design and construction of the new locks.

This project involves the design and construction of new locks with neopanamax dimensions on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Canal.

Each locks complex will have three chambers, nine water saving basins a lateral filling and emptying system and rolling gates.

It has 96% progress by the end of the month of February 2016.

8. What are the water-saving basins?

Each lock chamber will have three water saving basins, which will reuse 60 percent of the water in each transit. There are a total of nine basins for each of the two lock complexes. There are a total of 18 basins for the entire project. Each water saving basin is approximately 70 meters wide and 5.50 meters deep.

9. Today, the Canal has two lanes of locks. The project consists of adding a third lane, through the construction of two locks facilities, one at each end of the Canal.  A locks facility will be located at the Atlantic end of the Canal, on the east side of Gatun locks.   The other facility will be located at the Pacific end of the Canal, southwest of Miraflores Locks.

The project also includes the excavation of new access channels, from the Culebra Cut to the new locks, and the widening of the existing navigational channels; and, the deepening of the navigation channels and the elevation of Gatun Lake’s maximum operating level.

How will it work?

Each locks complex will have three levels or chambers. The configuration will be similar to the existing Gatun Locks. The project will create a new lane with one lock on each side, providing a capacity to handle vessels up to 49 meters (160 feet) wide, 366 meters (1,200 feet) long and 15 meters (50 feet) deep, or with a cargo volume of up to 170,000 DWT and 13,000 – 14,000 TEUs.

The new locks will have 16 rolling gates operating from concrete recesses located perpendicular to the lock chambers. This is different from the current locks which use miter gates. Such gate configuration turns each recess into a sort of dry dock which will allow the to perform maintenance of the gate on site without the need to remove it and interrupt operations. This design increases the capacity and flexibility of locks operations, and allows for shorter maintenance time.

10. Agua Clara Locks

Located on the Atlantic side of the Canal, to the east of Gatun Locks.  For the construction, the area and alignment of the original excavations performed by the United States in 1939 was used.

This picture shows the Agua Clara Locks (from south to north), with is water saving basins on the west  (right side).  You can also see the buildings that have been finished and the visitor center at the south end of the locks.

11. In these pictures we can see work progress up to the month of April 2015, and in the next picture, taken a few days ago, specifically April 3, 2016, you can compare the progress, especially in the control tower building, access roads, as well as the gates and cameras already with operating water levels.

12. In this view April 3, 2015 of the Agua Clara Locks (from southeast to northeast), we can see the progress of the work in the middle and lower chambers.  Gates are ready for installation in addition to the construction of buildings; and, compared to the following photo dated April 3, 2016, you can see the latest optimization works of the facilities.

Pacific Cocoli Locks

13. The following photograph of the Pacific side of the Canal shows Cocoli Locks.  In this area, during the period between 1939 and 1942, a community was built for the personnel who would be in charge of the original Third Set of Locks.

In 1952, after the project was cancelled, Cocoli was turned over to the United States Navy. According to newspaper reports of the time, by January of that year, there were only 58 families and 12 single men living in the area and they were moved to Balboa, Pedro Miguel and Gamboa.

With time, Cocolí became a ghost town with abandoned structures. This lasted until 2007, with the beginning of the Expansion Program. Cocoli became the protagonist for Canal matters as it became the central point for many of the of its most important projects.

Another view of the Cocoli Locks

The Panama Canal and the contractors’ headquarters in charge of  the second phase of the dry excavation of the Pacific Access Channel during the period between the years 2007 and 2010.

Beginning in 2009, Cocoli became the epicenter of the construction in the Pacific side of the Third Set of Locks , the most complex project of the Expansion Program.

14. In this picture of April 2015, you can see the works in the northeastern part of Cocoli Locks, such as the east side of the dam, excavation work in the access channel to the locks and the approach wall.

A recent photograph, specifically from April 3, 2016, shows the changes and progress, the finished dam, the already flooded access channel, and the majority of the structures and buildings in their final phase.

15. This photograph (April 21, 2016) shows part of the Cocoli Locks´middle and lower chambers.  Up to April  3, 2016, you can see the finished locks wall structures, functional gates in the respective lock heads, and part of the pending works such as drains and access roads.

16. In this photograph you can see the lower and middle chambers at Cocoli Locks, and on the wall are the rubber fenders that have already been installed. You can also see the control tower.

17. The locks control towers, one in Cocoli and one in Agua Clara, are stunning and striking structures. From there, all operational functions of the locks machinery, such as valves and gates, as well as monitoring of vessel traffic, will be observed.

18. PACIFIC ACCESS CHANNEL

What is the Pacific Access Channel?

Work to expand the Panama Canal officially began in September 2007 with dry excavation works for the creation of the Pacific Access Channel that joins the Third Set of Locks on the Pacific side with the Culebra Cut. This project consists of four phases known as PAC1, PAC2, PAC3, and PAC4.

Ana Dellado durind the deliery of her speech

The work calls for the excavation of some 50 million cubic meters of material. The first three dry excavation phases have already been completed (PAC1 – PAC3).

To date, the required depth to enable navigation by vessels with deeper draft requirements has already been achieved and the channel has been flooded.

Who is in charge of the fourth phase of the project, known as PAC4?

Consortium ICA-FCC-MECO is in charge of the fourth phase of the new 6.1 kilometer-long channel.

A 2.3 kilometer-long dam (Borinquen Dam) needed to separate the waters of Miraflores Lake from those of the new Pacific Access channel being built under this project.

19. In these photographs we can appreciate the work of the northern part of the Pacific Access Channel and the Centennial Bridge in the background. In a more recent photo (April 2, 2016), you can see the channel already flooded, and the dredges working on the final removal of material from the bottom of the channel.

20. This photograph was taken before the beginning of the Expansion Program works (September 3, 2007). You can see Paraiso Hill, which according to the design made by Panamanian engineers, needed to be removed to make way for the access channel to the new Neopanamax  locks on the Pacific side, in Cocoli.

In this recent view (March 28, 2016), taken from the top of the east  pillar of the Centennial Bridge, you can see that Paraiso Hill was completely removed and the Culebra Cut is connected with the new Pacific Access Channel and the giving direct access from the Gatun lake to Cocoli.

l to r: Cenan Whiting, deputy head teacher, George Green’s School, Nouhaila Saadani and Shahid Chellanipporath (head girl and boy of George Greens’ School), Ana Delgado, Lord Ambrose Greenway and Cdr  Ian Millen

Dr. Aleka Mandaraka-Sheppard, the LSLC’s founder and chairman

The legal position of the ship’s Master when tackling the day-to-day pressures of today’s shipping industry, will be the subject of this year’s Cadwallader Debate, organised by the London Shipping Law Centre, Maritime Business Forum.

The debate, to be held at the Lloyd’s Building in the last week of October, will be chaired by the Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony and will be attended by over 400 delegates from across ship owning, ship management, insurance, law, class and regulation.

Entitled: The Master Under Attack –What is the Legal Position?, the debate will discuss the problems Masters face and suggest possible solutions.

The problems include:

•        Erosion of the Master’s Authority
•        Increase of the Master’s responsibility
•        The Master as a legal ‘hostage’
•        The powerful position of charterers
•        The global vulnerability of the Master
•        External interference
•        Bullying and harassment by authorities in the port
•        The demands of modern technology

Suggested solutions include the need to support the Master; the need to reinforce his authority – or reduce the liabilities; and the need to consider carefully, the consequences of maintaining the status quo by doing nothing.

For more information about the debate and how to get tickets, please contact Gerard Matthews on +44 (0) 20 7936 3417 or by email: Shipping@ShippingLBC.co.uk

About the Cadwallader Debate

Professor Cadwallader was a teacher of maritime law to many international students at University College London (UCL) between 1963 and 1982. In tribute to his memory and his contribution to the advancement of knowledge in maritime law, the Cadwallader Lecture was established by London Shipping Law Centre (LSLC) Founder and Chairman, Dr Aleka Sheppard in 1998.

Dr. Abdul Rahim, FIMArEST, FRINA

This interesting paper, a meticulous organised slides presentation by Dr. Abdul Rahim*, the Managing Director for Europe and Africa of ClassNK, took place earlier this evening at the IMarEST’s head quarters’ boardroom at Birdcage Walk at Westminster in London.

It was an excellent presented preview of the practical R&D initiative of ClassNK with respect to the development of energy efficient technologies.  The speaker stressed that the R&D initiative is twofold: to support new regulations and to develop next generation technologies including fuel saving technologies.

As for new regulations, some of the NOx reduction technologies including SCR and EGR were briefed.

Dr. Rahim delivering his speech

Some of the next generation technology development projects detailed include the hybrid tug boat, use of lithium batteries on board, fuel emulsion in reducing NOx emission, CFRP propeller, liquid hydrogen transportation, and maritime big data centre.

Over ten questions were asked and interesting replies were appropriately given. We hope to be able soon to insert the respective slides when same are received.

Question time…

*Abdul Rahim started his career with Cochin Shipyard building Panamax bulk carriers and the first generation of double hull tankers.  Later, after receiving masters and doctoral degrees in Ship Structure from Hiroshima University, Japan, he joined ClassNK in Tokyo, and worked for ClassNK ever since. After long stints in Japan and Singapore, he is currently the Managing Director, Europe and Africa of ClassNK, based in London.

Siegfried Konig, executive chairman of LWP Technologies.

How to get cracking with fracking: Proppants Investment Forum in the City hears the options

By James Brewer

Fracking – the hydraulic fracturing of solid ground to reach for oil and gas – has recently sometimes hit the financial rocks as a result of the collapse in commodity prices.

The decline in the sector has led to a shortage of proppants, the sand-like substances used to prop open fractures caused by high-pressure pumping of fluid into the hydrocarbon-bearing shale.

This is a surprisingly huge challenge, as delegates to the first Proppants Investment Forum in the City of London, heard. Proppants are the largest single cost item in the fracking process.

Gabriel Didham, managing director of corporate research business Objective Capital, who organised the forum, said that as a result of the woes of the extractive industries, many of the high-end proppant manufacturers had closed their factories, but he added: “as investors, we know that where there is disruption, there is opportunity.”

The gathering heard an analysis of the global proppants industry, estimated at $6bn to $8bn ($2.3bn of it in North America), from Alison Saxby of independent consultancy Roskill; and from executives of an Australian Stock Exchange-listed company LWP Technologies, which has begun to commercialise what it calls a “superior alternative” to the commonly-used types of proppants. It is claimed that new technology could dramatically reduce fracking costs.

Ms Saxby, director and manager for industrial minerals research at London-based Roskill, told the meeting, on April 21 2016, said that horizontal drilling to squeeze out oil and gas from rocks dated back to the 1930s, but the system took off in the 21^st century so that by 2010 there were more horizontal than vertical rigs in the US. More than 1m wells that would not have been economic earlier were drilled using fracking, which involved vertical drilling to between 5,000 and 10,000 ft and then a turn above the target area.

Alison Saxby

Ms Saxby said that the average total cost of a horizontal well was between $6.5m and $9m – costs that were driving innovation in drilling and fracking.

There were three main types of proppants: silica sand, resin-coated sand grains and ceramic materials. Others included walnut shells and glass beads. If you asked someone from the industry, the ideal proppant had the specific gravity of water, the strength of iron and was cheaper than dirt. Ceramic proppants were a high performance product at a premium price. They were stronger, more durable than other forms and of uniform density. There were relatively few producers worldwide – they were mainly in the US, Brazil, China (more than 100 manufacturers) and Russia.

Output of shale gas, light oil and oil sands was increasing, and all will need proppants in the extraction process. “We need energy from different sources, and fracking is an important part of that,” said Ms Saxby. “Renewables are not going to represent a big enough share to fill that gap.”

Analysts at the forum said that there were 5,000 wells in the US that were “drilled but not fracked,” and Siegfried Konig, executive chairman and driving force behind LWP Technologies, said that companies wanted to hold on to their acreage.  “Everybody agrees [the wells] are going to be fracked some time when there is an oil and gas recovery.”

He went on: “Everybody in the US knows that the rig count has fallen off a cliff, but the output per rig because of the adoption of new technology is up significantly. In the US 200 rigs are producing 30% more than when there were 1,000 rigs drilling.”

The output of ceramic proppants had halved. Working with ceramic proppants was expensive and difficult, claimed Mr Konig.  Chemicals had to be added to thicken them. Mr Konig said that with proppant manufacturing plants closing, “we cannot see ceramic proppants coming back in a hurry.”

He said that LWP, which has a market capitalisation of A$12m, had spent eight years developing a technology originated by the University of New South Wales. The technology recycled fly ash, an abundant by-product of coal-fired power stations. Some $16.5m had been invested in developing the technology, including significant support from the Australian government.

Traditional ceramic proppants made from clay and/or bauxite were often transported thousands of kilometres to end-users. The most widely-used fracking material is sand, but not any old sand. It has to be sand that has withstood the weight of glaciers over centuries, and high-grade silica known as Ottawa sand is the leader in that context. Mr Konig said that his company’s product would be able to compete with mined sand in some locales because of “low transport and logistics costs.”

Fly ash-based proppants were 100% recycled material, 40% lighter than bauxite proppants and could withstand the high pressures and heat of deep wells. The raw material was abundant and often near oil and gas shale resources. The main use of fly ash is in cement.

LWP designed, built and commissioned an A$3.5m paid-for 3,000 tons per year pilot-scale proppant plant which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2015 in Brisbane. The company raised A$6.6m in July 2015. It has a first joint venture with Hallmark Minerals at a plant in Pune, India, which previously manufactured ceramic-based proppants, and where the start of fly ash proppant production will depend on the international oil price: production will need to be pre-sold a year in advance.

LWP is inviting enquiries from companies to partner it in joint ventures and from technology licensees to commercialise its proppants in global markets.

Mr Konig rejected criticisms of the fracking process. He cited a well treatment monitoring study by the USDepartment of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory which found no evidence of damage to groundwater; he said that common chemicals used in the process “are not toxic at all”; and that earthquakes “are another fallacy: there is no proof.”

Dr David Henson.

David Henson, chief executive of LWP Technologies, said that heavier proppants reduced productivity of a well. Cheap sand could cause permanent reservoir damage.

Dr Henson, a former Siemens Oil & Gas man, said that Saudi Arabia, facing a gas shortage, was starting to look at fracking and importing sand from the US. Sand was being imported by Australia from Minnesota  – “there is plenty of sand in Australia, but there is no glacial sand. The purest source is Minnesota.” Often more than 50% of the price of a proppant was associated with moving the product to the point of use.

Fly ash comes out of every coal-fired power station, 455 of which were still active in the US, and a form of energy showing growth in China and India, said Dr Henson.

An artist impression

The Armitt Group, a respected UK shipping agent and specialist logistics company, has signed a heads of terms agreement to build a 120,000 ft.² multimodal terminal at London Thamesport.  Freight could start moving through the new facility as early as autumn this year.

The long-term agreement was signed by The Armitt Group, and the port’s owners Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group.

Construction of the site and warehouse will start in early May with shipments due to begin later this year. Armitt Multimodal Terminal South, as it will be known, is the first in a three stage investment by the Armitt Group to develop similar facilities in the Midlands and North of the UK within the next three years.

The company already offers vessel agency, chartering services and bunker supplies throughout the UK, including Thamesport.

Nicholas Marshall, Commercial Director at Armitt, said: “What we are bringing to Thamesport, through this agreement, is our expertise in breakbulk handling, which is why Hutchison finds us attractive as a partner. We see this deal as being the start of a very long-term successful relationship with Hutchison Ports.

“We also see the deal as a great opportunity to open up a new supply chain corridor to service European and Far Eastern markets, and it is a crucial link in our plans to develop a fully integrated supply chain across the UK. The investment also ensures we have access to an excellent deep water, rail-connected and un-congested facility that is important to the needs of our clients,” he added.

Armitt also has plans to handle additional breakbulk cargo from the port and is currently in talks with Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group to secure an additional area to handle shipments of aggregates for consumption within the M25.

Apart from providing professional logistics services to the steel industry, Liverpool-based Armitt Group also provides shipbroking , chartering and vessel agency services nationwide. It has grown over the years to become a global supplier of marine fuels and lubricants and is one of the most successful and trusted logistics providers in the UK.

Thamesport was chosen by Armitt because of its deep-water berths as well as its excellent road and rail communication links to high population areas in the south east and unrivalled access along the corridor to the North West.

The port has, in the past, handled up to seven train loads of containers, each way, per day. Armitt is confident that in time, it can move up to two million tonnes of high quality steel products through its warehouse per year, by attracting up to 50 deep sea handy size vessels and up to 100 short sea port calls a year to the facility.

The Armitt Group

The Armitt group of companies commenced trading in 1950 when Frank Armitt & Son Limited was formed. It initially provided shipbroking, chartering and shipping agent services across Merseyside but has grown over the years to also become a specialist supplier of marine fuel and lubricants for the UK & Ireland and one of the most successful and trusted logistics providers in the North West.

The Group now provides expert logistics support to a diverse customer base within the UK and overseas.  Its success has been based on high professional standards and an emphasis on quality and customer service. It is proud to be BS EN ISO 9001 certified (click here for certificate 1 and certificate 2).

The Group operates across a broad sector of products and has significant experience in the handling of steel products, bulk chemicals and dry bulk cargo.

www.armitt.co.uk

The Future Smile, by Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados.

The Vision of the Gods. Artist-photographer Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados seeks to reflect the ‘soul’ of North India

By James Brewer

Artists can produce monumental output without depicting monuments, but it helps to be inspired by grandiose and enduring structures such as are the glories of India. A professional photographer and journalist, Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados was captivated in his travels across the north of the vast and varied country by the majesty of tourist showpieces and energy of the bustling cities, but what he sought above all to record with his camera was something more intimate: “the heart and soul” of the people.

Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados. Photograph by Christopher Vootz.

The fruits of his photographic odyssey will be on display at the London cultural centre, The Bhavan, on May 26 and 27 2016. His empathy with what he understands as the spirit of India leaps to the fore throughout his work. In his exhibition title The Vision of the Gods. North India, he shares his admiration for the life force he identified, and identified with.

Andrés gives each picture a caption that is a gentle image of purity. Examples are Generations of Love, The Future Smile, Promise of Eternal Love, and Touching the Sun.

Sometimes architectural wonders dominate, but more often pride of curiosity is given to individuals: young devotees, a woman in a gorgeous yellow sari, a courting couple just visible in the outer courtyard of a temple.

Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados is a Colombian who has dedicated the last five years to travelling – 36 countries in five continents. He is, he says, “searching for images that represent traditions, culture and history of man and woman in the real world.” His global perspective finds a reflection in an abbreviation of his full name, which yields the brand Anmundi Photography

Generations of Love. By Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados.

He said: “All my life I have followed a path of spirituality that has a strong meaning in India and in other Asian countries. Then in December 2015 I went to India looking for an exotic paradise and for a sacred place. I found the real India, the one that integrates spirituality and day-to-day life in the amazing heart of her people.

“I travelled to the huge and chaotic city of New Delhi, to the domain of love in Agra, to the city of life in Varanasi, to the sacred lake where priests offer blessings in the Rajasthan holy city of Pushkar, to the pink city Jaipur which is the capital of Rajasthan, to Udaipur city palace with its crystal gallery and lake, ending in Mumbai, the city of contrasts.

“It was an amazing trip which showed me the force of the people, their hearts and souls, the real representation of the Indian people with their kindness and the love for their gods.”
At the human level, what touched him most? “I have to say, the kindness. What a wonderful people, men and women with smiles and gratitude, with love and hope. They receive strangers as friends and share with them who they are and what they have.”

Promise of Eternal Love. By Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados.

We asked Andrés more generally how he had derived his inspiration as a photographer. “I found my inspiration in beauty,” he replied. “I am privileged to view realities and take part of them to create a new dimension of this beautiful world. When I take a picture, I express my faith in humankind; I am sharing what is intrinsic to nature, to animals, to mother earth. When I look at the world I find inspiration in the real meaning of love.

“People call me a romantic and if being romantic is seeing beauty as inspiration, then I could be even more romantic!”
As to the creative photographic element, “photography for me is light, shadows, reflections and love. The first three are present in all the world and show the energy of the universe through people, animals, landscapes, buildings… it is everywhere. The fourth quality, love, is the potential that shows the value of life in all its diversity.”

Touching the Sun. By Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados.

Andrés composed a poem to accompany his London exhibition:

The Vision of the Gods

Her eyes are the path of love,
In a world of hope.
They look at me with calm and joy;
They reflect the mountains, the lake and the trees –
The beauty of India in the soul of a child.

His eyes guide the future.
They embrace Shiva yearning for transformation;
They are prayer, love and truth;
They are at home in tradition and progress,
In respect and dignity.

My eyes are the eyes of a stranger
Looking on an exotic country.
But what I find is more powerful:
I find step-by-step in my journey
That every man and woman
Are telling me with their souls in their eyes
That I am India, I am Shiva
I am they in the Vision of the Gods.

The London show is organised by Angel Consoultancy (spelled in such a way as to embrace the word ‘soul’); by The Bhavan; and by Anmundi Photography.

Future plans for Andrés include an exhibition in the Belgian embassy in Colombia. The topic will be how a Colombian sees Belgium through living there and sharing the experiences of its people.

The Vision of the Gods. North India. Photographs by Andrés Muñoz Diazgranados is at the MP Birla Millennium Art Gallery at The Bhavan, 4a Castletown Road, West Kensington, London  W14, on May 26 2016 from 1400hrs to 1800hrs, and on May 27 from 1100hrs to 1800hrs.

Chris Trelawly

05/05/2016

IMO’s work to address maritime piracy has been highlighted at the launch of The Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) report on “The State of Maritime Piracy 2015 – Assessing the Economic and Human Cost of Piracy” in London, United Kingdom (3 May). In his opening address, IMO’s Chris Trelawny set out the Organization’s various anti-piracy initiatives. These include IMO’s GISIS database of reports on acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships; development of a comprehensive range of guidance on prevention, repression and investigation of piracy and armed robbery, including guidance on the carriage of armed security personnel; and successful regional initiatives.

Mr. Trelawny emphasized that IMO’s long term strategy is focussed on helping its Member States to create conditions for increased employment, prosperity and stability through enhancing the maritime sector and sustainable blue economy, underpinned by good maritime security. He went on to welcome the report, saying that it will not only address the human and economic costs attributable to piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, the western Indian Ocean, and Southeast Asia, but it will also underscore the plight of seafarers who continue to be at risk of violent attacks at sea.

Find out more about IMO’s work on maritime security and piracy here.

The Winners of the 2016 Seatrade Awards

Eminent figures from across the shipping industry gathered in London’s Guildhall last  Friday night to honour the achievements of the past year and the distinguished careers of winners at the 28th Seatrade Awards.

The prestigious evening, attended by more than 300 of the industry’s leading personalities, was hosted by Editor of Seatrade Maritime Review, Bob Jaques, in the presence of the guest of honour, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.

Among those collecting awards were key industry names that included:

• Philippe Louis-Dreyfus OBE, Chairman, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs received the Seatrade Lifetime Achievement Award;
• Jorge L. Quijano, CEO, Panama Canal Authority who received the Seatrade Personality Award;
• Stavroula Betsakou, received the Seatrade Young Person in Shipping Award;
• Philip Pascoe accepted the Seatrade Award for Countering Piracy on behalf of the Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre – Gulf of Guinea whilst Special Commendation was given to Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) and accepted by Jamal Al Ali;
• Andrew Baldwin, Head of CARE and Customer Change, Carnival UK, accepted the Seatrade Global Performer Award on behalf of Carnival Corporation and plc
• Peter Hinchliffe OBE accepted the IMO Themed Award 2016 “Shipping: indispensable to the world” award.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim commented: “Each year shipping faces an ocean of challenges. Some planned and some unpredictable. It is our task, together, to navigate these with all the skill, dedication and cooperation that we can muster. This is why it is so encouraging to have these Seatrade Awards as a vital reminder of shipping’s ability to tap into rich currents of innovation and excellence, because by recognising and celebrating those who have demonstrated a clear ability to make improvements in key areas such as safety at sea and clean shipping, others may be encouraged to strive for similar achievements.”

Quijano accepted the Seatrade Personality Award as recognition not of himself but of the 10,000 staff of the Panama Canal Authority, the 40,000 people who had worked on the expansion project over the last nine years, and finally ‘”the Panamanian people” where an overwhelming 77% majority had backed the project in a national referendum. ‘This is a gift to them,” he said.

The awards, in time old tradition, remain a secret until the night and are unveiled to great fanfare and celebration.

All the Seatrade Awards 2016 winners:

1.Safety at Sea

Sponsor: Lloyd’s Register

Announcer: Tom Boardley, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Corporate and External Affairs, Lloyd’s Register

Recipient: IMABARI SHIPBUILDING CO., LTD

Kazuyuki Higaki, Executive Senior Managing Director

2.Clean Shipping

Sponsor: RINA

Announcer: Michele Francioni, CEO, RINA Services SpA

Recipient: GAC EnvironHull Limited

Simon Doran, Managing Director

3.Innovation In Ship Operations

Presented by: Seatrade Cruise Review

Announcer: Mary Bond, Managing Director of Publishing, Seatrade

Recipient: ExxonMobil

Nathalie Freeman, Global Marketing Project Advisor

4.Investment in People

Sponsor:DNV GL

Announcer:Martin Crawford-Brunt, Regional Business Development Manager, DNV GL

Recipient: Marine Society

Carla Rockson, Head of Seafarer Education

5.Corporate Social Responsibility

Presented by:Seatrade Maritime News

Announcer:Vanessa Stephens, Global Events Director, Seatrade

Recipient: Drydocks World Dubai LLC

Mohammad Abdulrazaq Alawadhi, Director – HSSEQ & Business Excellence

6.Deal of the Year

Announcer:Fergus Bird, Global Sales Director, Seatrade

Recipient: Topaz Energy and Marine

Geoff Taylor, Chief Operating Officer

7.Seatrade Young Person in Shipping

Presented by: Seatrade Cruise News

Announcer: Mary Bond, Managing Director of Publishing, Seatrade

Winner: Stavroula Betsakou

8.Seatrade Award for Countering Piracy

Sponsor:DP World

Announcer:Dirk van den Bosch, Commercial Director, Europe and Russia, DP World

Special Commendation: Kuwait Oil Tanker Company

Accepted by: Jamal Al Ali

Winner: Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre – Gulf of Guinea

Accepted by: Philip Pascoe, Project Lead

9.IMO Themed Award 2016: “Shipping: indispensable to the world”

Presented by: Seatrade Maritime Review

Announcer: Fergus Bird, Global Sales Director, Seatrade

Winner: Peter Hinchliffe OBE

10.Seatrade Global Performer Award

Presented by: Vanessa Stephens, Global Events Director, Seatrade

Winner: Carnival Corporation and plc

Accepted by: Andrew Baldwin, Head of CARE and Customer Change, Carnival UK

11.Seatrade Special Contribution Award

Presented by: Andrew Williams, General Manager, Seatrade

Winner: China Classification Society

Accepted by: Zhang Hui, Director, Europe Regional Center

12.Seatrade Personality

Sponsor: ClassNK

Announcer: M Abdul Rahim, Regional Manager, ClassNK

Winner: Jorge L. Quijano, CEO, Panama Canal Authority

13.Seatrade Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsor: ABS

Announcer: Kirsi Tikka, Executive Vice President, Global Marine, ABS

Winner: Philippe Louis-Dreyfus OBE, Chairman, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs

_

Source: Seatrade

IMarEST Ship Salvage Conference
29 June, ICO Conference Centre, London

Salvage past, present and future: Lessons learned and challenges ahead

IMarEST’s upcoming ship salvage conference is a chance to revisit one of the most challenging salvage operations of recent memory in the Amoco Cadiz, and evaluate the challenge posed by salvaging ultra large container ships.

The Amoco Cadiz

• Recounting the chain of events leading up to its sinking and salvage.
• Comparing contemporary regulations, safety measures and salvage techniques to those at the time of Cadiz.
• Review of lessons learned and their impact on subsequent salvage operations.

Salvaging ultra large container ships

• A review of equipment and techniques required to salvage such large vessels
• Discussion on current regulations and safety procedures; are the fit for purpose?
• What are the potential implications for vessel owners? Reputational damage? Insurance?

For further information email: maria@conferences.imarest.org. Quote ISS/A to receive an additional 10% discount when booking your place.

Website: http://conferences.imarest.org/iss/

Viewers can log herebelow and read the full programme:

IMarEST Ship Salvage Conference 2016_Agenda_v3gh_Low Res[1]

So powerful and tranquil; like the ocean

Celia Kritharioti, internationally established Greek designer in London, at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery

Celia Kritharioti presented last night her exquisite haute couture line to her British and international clientele, at the impressive pavilion of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London. The pavilion stands proudly at the centre of Hyde Park and was designed by the late Zaha Hadid, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Christina Pappas-Sinopli was there and reports on Celia’s latest success:

Celia Kritharioti has been identified by Vanity Fair UK as one of six couturiers to watch worldwide. Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, and many others have chosen Celia’s creations for their special ‘red carpet’ look, while Gwyneth Paltrow was captured for Vogue Mexico in a Celia Kritharioti haute couture creation. Celia’s collections are the ideal blend of femininity, finesse and elegance, combining the finest quality fabrics and materials with her vision.

Unique outfits

Last night many came and enjoyed her latest designs while international models strolled down the catwalk wearing the fairytale gowns. Little princesses walking hand in hand with international model icons like Ana Beatriz Barros the Brazilian model and Marietta Chrousala the Greek fashion model and television presenter, were applauded by the audience. Among spectators were Princess Marie Chantal, Christiana Goulandris, Bessy Lemos, Ana Irene Delgado, Mariela Tsavliris, Dorrit Moussaieff, Juliet Angus, Christina Estrada, Andreas Tsavliris, Nikos Tsakos – Celia’s husband, and many others.

The young ones, always making the difference

Guests were encouraged to place donations for the Bodosakis Foundation through the programme “Giving for Greece” which helps refugee unaccompanied Syrian children arriving in Greece.

Celia warmly greeted her guests at a cocktail reception that followed.

Exceptional

Allaboutshipping.co.uk among other fields in its specialist coverage is a great supporter of all fine arts, creations and fashion, needless to mention charities, given that all these four elements are interwoven with shipping to all intents and purposes. There are dozens of articles on all four sectors, so do have a cruise around our site!