If there was only a book to be read to learn about the unknown aspects of the maritime business, it would be “Ninety percent of everything” from Rose George. The New York Times says of this book that “it is consistently absorbing, timely as well as deft and that it cracks open a vast, treacherous, and largely ignored world“.
This book holds real surprises. The author was authorized to come aboard the container ship Maersk Kendal to make the journey from Rotterdam towards Singapore, via the Suez Canal. The reader thus learns about the daily operations on these immense ships. But there is more: because the book is extremely well documented, links are established between significant facts of the maritime history and today’s events.
Maersk is Denmark’s biggest company and its sales are equivalent to 20 % of the gross national product of the country. Maersk’s fleet counts more than 600 ships. Its 2011 income was established at 60 billion dollars, which places it just under Microsoft.
Trade carried by sea increased by 400% since 1970. A majority of ships (68 %) navigate under flags of convenience, such as those of Panama or Liberia. It allows for tax reductions and the hiring of low wage immigrant workers. The seafarers are also less protected because the laws of a specific country differ from those in effect once the ships are in international water. The statistics show that 2000 sailors die at sea annually. On the flags of convenience black list: North Korea, Libya, Sierra Leone and Montenegro.
According to International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) ” the maritime and fishing industries “ continue to allow astonishing abuses of human rights of those working in the sector…Seafarers and fishers are routinely made to work in conditions that would not be acceptable in civilized society””. A striking example: a Manila company requires that seafarers looking for a job work for free for several months before they can be hired officially. It is worth reading this book, if only to acquaint of the MV Philipp seafarers story. The owners of this vessel, Vega Reederei in Germany, paid their Philippine sailors only a third of the agreed salary.
Given that a container ship can unload and reload thousands of containers within 24 hours, the crew does not have time any more to leave the vessel to profit from stop overs in the various countries like that was done in the past. A seafarer is confined on the boat for months.
There is no efficient way to know what is in all the containers. The United States receive annually 17 million containers and can inspect physically only 5 % of them. In Europe, the percentage is lower, between 1 and 3 %. This means of transportation is thus favored for weapons, drugs and human trafficking. Illegal weapons are regularly sent in separate parts, through several containers, and then reassembled once at the destination.
When a container ship goes through the Suez or Panama Canal, there is no rest authorized for the staff. The captain can be on watch for up to 36 hours in a row. The Suez Canal is nicknamed Marlboro Canal because of the packages of cigarettes handed to the customs officers, the police, the security guards and other official representatives in order to avoid delays that would immobilize the vessel for the most improbable reasons. The transit expenses, as for them, amounts to $300,000 for a ship the size of Maersk Kendal.
The reader learns about the facts surrounding the wreckage of several ships, among which the Danny FII and the Erika. He also acquaints with obligations that bind the companies when a maritime shipping accident arises. The bodies and conventions dictating these procedures are UNCLOS, SOLAS and MARPOL.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) considers maritime transport as “a relatively small contributor to atmospheric emissions”. However, if we consider the global scale of trade carried by sea, it then becomes a top issuer of greenhouse gases. The fifteen biggest ships were the cause, in 2009, of a pollution equal to 760 million cars. It is interesting to note that “seventy percent of the pollution occurs within 250 miles of land, near coastlines linked to busy shipping lanes […]. In Los Angeles, half of all smog from sulfur dioxide comes in from ships”.
Part of the book deals with hijacking at sea. Again, Rose George offers extremely pertinent information. She explains what the easiest preys are for the Somalian and Yemenites pirates and indicates that the cargo does not present real interest for the pirates. They wish only for the ransom. The chapter covers the adventure of Maersk Alabama, the recent hijacking of MV Golden Blessing, the international recommended transit corridor (IRTC) along the Yemen coast, the protection obtained by the EU-NAVFOR, the pirate’s behavior once aboard ships and the effects on the equipage, before and during the lengthy negotiations.
She unveils surprising information as to the ways negotiations are made during situations of K&R (Kidnap and ransom). The negotiators, often working from London, know the habits and particular requests of the pirates and kidnappers of every problematic region. They know what amount of money will be demanded and how long it will take to solve a crisis. Act too quickly and the demands will increase. If an owner agrees to pay a high amount of money within a short time, the sums are going to increase. The negotiators thus respect the established scales.
There are so many interesting subjects in this book. The reader even learns about the help offered by rare volunteers to needy sailors, during certain stopovers. It is also possible to learn about the increasing noise pollution at sea, a pollution which largely affects marine mammals. There is also a very interesting section covering rescues at sea and the exploits of the merchant navy sailors in period of conflict.
This is a book that I strongly recommend. You will not see a container ship the same way after reading “Ninety percent of everything “.
Title: Ninety percent of everything
Author: Rose George
©Picador Edition September 2014
ISBN: 978-1-250-05829-4