There is a great deal for operators to take on board with the arrival of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), which is such an integral part of the “e-navigation” world of the future.

High levels of unemployment among young people in the UK and other parts of Europe are being tackled by government policies that do not always work as intended.

If one is a regional or national politician, it is very easy to make a great deal of noise about the atmospheric pollution allegedly emitted by shipping. The chances are that shipping around one’s coasts will be mostly foreign-owned and even if it flies the national ensign, it will not be too much of a problem to demonise it in the eyes of a gullible public. It would not be like taking on the motoring lobbies, which could bite back with their own campaigns and threaten the withdrawal of political support. Shipping is a far easier target.

Hong Kong always cheers, its bustle and busyness and sense of optimism invariably serving as a tonic after exposure to the pessimism found in rather more gloomy places. So, while so much sentiment around the world is profoundly negative, China’s Special Administrative Region (SAR) seems determined to look on the bright side.

The news in recent weeks that the world’s population has passed the seven billion mark caught everyone’s attention. The first question that springs to mind is how did we get here so fast? Since hitting three billion in 1960, the number of people on the planet has increased by a further billion more or less every 13 years.