OPINION: From risk to root cause - a smarter approach to driver safety
THE SAFETY of drivers and other road users remains a major concern for fleet managers, with human error estimated to contribute to as many as 90% of road traffic collisions in...
OPINION: The safety paradox of decarbonisation - new fuels, new risks
AS SHIPPING accelerates its transition towards lower and zero greenhouse gas fuels, the industry is entering one of the most significant periods of operational change in its...
OPINION: Global piracy figures are cause for concern
THE LATEST global piracy figures should concern Australia and Papua New Guinea not simply because they represent a threat to international shipping, but because behind every...
Smuggling, ‘piggybacking’ and a history of government intervention in the supply chain
THERE is a long history of government intervention in the international supply chain undertaken for a variety of reasons, whether related to the conduct of war, recovery of...
OPINION: The border is not the problem. The gap behind it is.
THERE is a moment in every trade digitalisation working group that I have come to recognise. Someone presents a framework. Someone else presents a system. A third person presents...
Trade security: The tech disconnect threatening Australian ports
IF YOU'VE ever been involved in importation, you know the Australian border runs on paperwork. But this week the Australian Border Force (ABF) dropped a bombshell in announcing...
OPINION: Is the Northern Sea Route the new black?
LATELY, the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has seen increased interest due to the ongoing trouble in West Asia and the war between Ukraine and Russia. So, what are the pros and cons?...
OPINION: Shipowners as political negotiators - about time too
IT IS not uncommon for private citizens to be involved in resolving conflicts between nations. At one time, Scandinavians were often the ‘go-to’ guys. Closer to home, the...
Human factors are not sidelined. They are at the heart of marine safety investigations
A criticism occasionally levelled at transport safety investigators is that we spend too much time examining the specifics of an incident and not enough time understanding the...
Redesigning cargo reporting for modern supply chains
INTERNATIONAL supply chains have transformed over the past two decades. Australia's cargo reporting framework has not kept pace. The current review provides an opportunity to...
DISCUSSION: AMSA’s priorities are well-intentioned but ineffective
AT AN industry Q&A session following an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) board meeting held in Brisbane I was pleased to have the opportunity to provide some feedback...
DISCUSSION: 2005–2026 - what happened to the liner shipping commercial chain?
ON 30 June 2026, the Australian Shippers Alliance (ASA) lodged a formal complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) requesting an investigation into...
ACFS insolvency issues create confusion and supply chain risk
PARTIES in the commercial world have been exposed to insolvency, which has increased and unsurprisingly spread to the international supply chain. As a consequence, they likely...
OPINION: Force Majeure is a verb, not a declaration
MOST people treat force majeure like a light switch. Something goes wrong, a port closes, a strait gets dangerous, a supplier collapses and someone sends a notice invoking the...
OPINION: 150 Days in: Why carriers are about to start exercising liens
WE HAVE officially passed 150 days of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Surcharges have been climbing steadily, peak season surcharges, congestion surcharges, bunker adjustment...
