Comments on: Open for foreign supermarkets, but not foreign ships

By: dvoz kdflaz

dvoz kdflaz — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:08:34 +0000

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By: xspfvyoih rvnbwtcpm

xspfvyoih rvnbwtcpm — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:07:34 +0000

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By: Graham Bell

Graham Bell — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:24:56 +0000

Waireesoice:
What’s say You pay Me 115 roubles/year and you can have a large quantity of scrap-iron currently located between Milson’s Point and the Rocks, as-is-where-is. You won’t get a better deal than that anywhere.

By: Graham Bell

Graham Bell — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:23:18 +0000

Graham:
I tend to agree with Fozz here. Cabotage is not entirely evil though; besides, it can be used skillfully to our own commercial advantage.
The one thing that must be done is to keep rustbuckets and coffin-ships right away from our coasts. All you would need is for one of them to create an environmental disaster and any money we “saved” by using them would vanish instantly in the massive costs of disaster-control measures.
Still, it’s not all bleak, trying to pursue the owners and operators recently-unfloating rustbuckets through the courts of the world would be a wonderful wealth-creator for the lawyers involved and provide much-needed mirth and amusement to the whole business world.
There is probably a very good reason why some firms are very careful indeed about choosing which shipping companies carry their goods. As the old Chinese saying goes “That which is dear is not dear; that which is cheap is not cheap” [gui-de bu gui; jian-de bu jian]

By: Fozz

Fozz — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:48:31 +0000

Graham, my father was an active MUA member for over 20 years. I will tell you why foreign, FOC (flag of convenience) shipping is so cheap. The ships are environmentally hazardous (barely) floating rustbuckets and the crews are horrendously exploited third-world labour.
On a number of occasions, the tug skippers refused to put them into our harbour becuase they were afraid that as they bumped against them with the fenders they would punch right through the hull. Since we are on the southern end of the great barrier reef, imagine the environmental consequences of one of them breaking up and spilling it’s nasties becuase it was in such poor condition that it should have been dry docked and cut up for scrap years earlier.
My father investigated cases of men (often Fillipino crews) not being paid for over six months and subsisting on a diet of boiled sausages, boiled cabbage and boiled potatoes – three times a day, seven days a week. I have seen ships where the toilets consist of a board with holes cut in it hanging over the stern. In rough weather, the crews obviously defecate in their quaters so they don’t end up becoming shark food.
Their living and working conditions are apalling.
But yes, all this means they are cheaper than shipping bound by much stricter Australian standards. Who cares as long as we can argue that the customer can buy the cheapest goods, right?