Naval Surface Warfare Center test firing of a prototype rail gun in January 2008; a plume of flame is produced behind the projectile

"Warfighters of the future will experience a United States Navy that is safer, lighter, faster, stealthier, more affordable, energy efficient and autonomous than today’s US Navy," writes Dr. Lawrence C Schuette on the US Navy's official blog Navy Live, "thanks in part to the men and women at the Office of Naval Research and the Naval Research Laboratory."

Marcon International's Bob Beegle looks ahead to what may be in store for the global maritime industry in 2013

Will 2013 be better or worse than 2012? It is again time to try to figure out what we may expect to face over the next twelve months. Marcon’s quarterly market reports regularly delve into financial reports from respected companies, such as Caterpillar, Wärtsilä and Tidewater, looking for insight.

Then we mix in predictions from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, International Energy Agency, International Chamber of Commerce, and US Energy Administration and then toss in a sampling of cargo throughput from ports around the world for good measure. After all this we still end up wondering what the future may hold. There are many variables and many paths ahead. All we can do is give it our best shot and move forward.

From Baird Maritime

Brilliant! A very important book of absolutely the highest quality in every respect.

This reviewer has never seen a better explanation of how and why shipping happens. While it celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of one of the world’s leading and most respected shipping companies, and does that very well, it has an additional and, if possible, higher purpose.

Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings has arranged to present a copy of this very large (4.5kgs) and very high quality book to every school library in Hong Kong. What an amazing gesture!

It’s a gesture that should well be emulated by ship owners everywhere. It could not help but lift the general knowledge of shipping from its current dangerously low levels.

Unfortunately, the Hong Kong ship owners are unusual. They are much more far-sighted and forward-thinking than most of their counterparts elsewhere. This amazing book takes those qualities to an even higher level.

Congratulations to Sabrina Chao, Tim Huxley, Basil Pao and Gavin Greenwood on a brilliant concept superbly executed.

Ordering information:

Chapter Ten: Reunion Island-Kaohsiung-Hong Kong-Shanghai - Last of the Irish Rover

By Gordon O'Rourke

Prior to arriving in Somalia, the electrician and I had carried out ultrasonic tests of all the steelwork areas of the ship where corrosion was prevalent. The bilge spaces of the lower holds, the engine room and ballast tanks and so on, as well as the deck plating and bulwark areas, the framing of the side shell plating and anywhere where moisture could collect.

The results were a lot better than I had expected, especially in the bilge spaces in the holds and engine room spaces. It was the bulwarks and deck plating that showed the most wastage due to corrosion.

Now that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commissioned its first aircraft carrier and may be looking to assemble one or more carrier groups over time, what about the rest of the fleet? Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins report

One development that carries broad implications for the enhancement of Chinese sea power is the recent launch of the first editions of the new 6,000-tonne Type 052D Luyang III-class destroyer, which marks a new stage in the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) prolonged period of experimentation with different destroyers.