Articles written by Tanja Lohrmann



Is Supply Chain Visibility in China at Risk?

in Updates, Trends by

We share our view on China’s AIS Coverage Drop.

Recently the maritime industry became aware of what has been stated in the media as “China’s terrestrial AIS data blackout”. Following two new data security laws in China, the reception of data from China became challenging. The new Data Security Law (DSL) and Personal Information Protection Law, both coming into effect on Nov 1, 2021, intend to increase government control over domestic and overseas companies collecting and exporting China’s data. Industry experts are concerned about how those changes might impact ocean supply chain visibility in China, especially taking into account the country’s leading role in global container shipping and coal and iron ore import. Besides, mainland China is home to six of the world’s ten largest container ports.

FleetMon collaborates with several Chinese companies and AIS Partners to receive terrestrial vessel position data from Chinese coastal waters. The new rules restrict foreign access to important data like vessels’ AIS signals collected in China without the government’s prior notice and approval. Some of our loyal AIS Partners and data sharers from China have paused transmitting data in fear of massive fines announced by the Chinese government in case of law violations.

Now, how severe is the impact of China’s new Data Security Laws on AIS coverage in the region?

Read more…



FleetMon Maritime Gallery October 2021

in Community by

Welcome to the fifth edition of the FleetMon Maritime Gallery. Each month, you’ll find a special section on our blog featuring the Best Maritime Photos in a certain category. You’ll not only get to view the most popular photos being voted by our community for “Photo of the Week” and “Photo of the Month”. We also present special shots which are less noted but in the same way extraordinary.

To finish off October, we want to showcase popular shots of one of the most important vessel types in terms of carrying heavy loadings. We’re proud to have a collection of around 2,570 heavy lift cargo vessel photos on FleetMon.com. Let’s take a closer look at selected photographs and tell their story.

To all our ship spotters out there: We truly appreciate your work. Keep it up, guys!

Read more…

Why Is a Ship Referred to as “She”?

in Maritime Knowledge by

There is no clear explanation but there are different theories we want to introduce you to in this article.

1. Personal relationship

English grammar states that we use it when referring to things, while he and she are personal pronouns and should only be used for persons. However, when the relationship to the subject is personal, it is extremely common to use he or she for animals, depending on their gender, or even for inanimate objects. Ship as a feminine noun first appeared when shipping came along, that is, in the early 18th century, when it was more than normal for only men to be aboard ships. Ancient sailors were known as “married to the sea” and often named their ships after the women they loved to compliment them.

Photo of SANTA BARBARA ANNA by FleetMon Ship Spotter FeWu
Read more…

FleetMon’s data add to a study on bilge water waste risk in the Gulf of Antalya

in Updates, Research, Sponsoring, Partnering by

Visit our Research & Development section to read the original paper published by Ömer Harun Özkernak and Gönül Tuğrul İçemer of the Azdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey.

Abstract:

Bilge water waste poses an environmental risk for humans and marine creatures by causing cancer and developmental disorders due to the toxic substances. This study aims to create a calculation method to calculate the amount of bilge that a ship can produce. The number of ships and the amount of bilge water that they have given the port waste reception facilities in the past years were collected to prevent marine pollution caused by ships in the Gulf of Antalya.

The amount of possible future bilge water discharge in the gulf was estimated by using the collected data by linear regression method. The risk distribution of the amount of bilge water that a ship can produce was determined with the data obtained by the Monte Carlo method for the first time in this study. As a result, although the number of ships in the gulf will decrease in number, it is predicted that the amount of bilge water discharge and the needs of a waste receptions facility will increase in the coming years.

Read more…

Why the Command Center of a Vessel Is Called ‘Bridge’

in Community, Maritime Knowledge by

In our maritime knowledge base, you will find many exciting articles on maritime terms and expressions. If you’d like to contribute to this section, just get in touch with us and submit a question or marine topic that you would like to add to FleetMon’s Marine Knowledge Library. This article explains why the command center of a vessel is called the bridge.

A modern bridge contains all the necessary elements for the control of the ship.

In the early days of sailing, the rudder was connected to a tiller, which was operated by a helmsman. The term helmsman translates as “servant of the boat”. The tiller was located in the so-called cockpit, a pit in which the steering elements of the boat were located. Over the years, the tiller was replaced by a wheel. This was not connected directly to the rudder but was connected by ropes and pulleys. This allowed the wheel to be moved. Ships became larger and were built with more and more decks. The largest deck was the main deck. The ship’s steering wheel was located on the quarterdeck. The raised profile of the aft deck allowed the captain to walk around and have a good view of the entire ship as well as the sea around it. As he walked around, he could give verbal orders to the helmsman.

Read more…