My favourite source of news about the shipping industry is the international shipping newspaper TradeWinds. It is published in Norway, and issued weekly. It has all the information about markets, trends, legislation etc. that I need to stay up to date.

There is an online edition as well at http://www.tradewinds.no/

Sand! And in the desert of all places. Who would have thunk it? This fine warning sign is from Namibia.

I was up early this morning, mainly because part of the ‘electrical system with Chinese characteristics’ in my house decided to go up in flames at 6am. I fled to the basement, and let the ‘electricians’ do their job. With a little luck they will finish this week.

I took the time to surf some of the blogs I follow, and stumbled on this little gem. Famous historian MyLaowai had me in stitches with his ‘A True History of the P.R.C.’ This is so funny, and also ensures that this fine blog domain stays blocked in China.

Nothing new for those who have been following the attempts of the fascists in Peking so far, to gain more control over the use of the internet by their population. Also the systematic collaboration of western companies like Cisco with this criminal regime are still fresh in our memories. Then recently Yahoo’s betrayal of one of their users to the Chinese communists.

We seem to go out of our way to bend over and get shafted by the government of this ‘mother of all rogue states’. Here’s the latest from Yahoo and MSN. Hitler would have thought it’s Christmas.

BEIJING (AFP) - Yahoo China and MSN China confirmed Friday they had signed a code of conduct for their blogging operations that committed them to protecting the interests of the Chinese state.

The firms and other blog providers in China this week signed the “self-discipline” pact, under which they pledged to “safeguard state and public interests,” according to a statement from the China Internet Society.

The pact “encourages” Internet firms to register the real names, addresses and other personal details of the bloggers, and then keep this information.

The firms also committed to delete any “illegal or bad messages,” according to a copy of the pact posted on the society’s website.

Along with sex and violence, China’s communist rulers have also deemed that opinions critical of it or the spreading of democratic ideology are not allowed.

Yahoo China and MSN China told AFP they had signed the pact, but did not give any further comment.

“I can confirm that we signed the pact this week,” said spokesman Dou Xiaohan of Yahoo China.

MSN China spokesman Feng Jinhu said: “We’ve signed the pact but there is no press release on that.”

Some Internet companies have caused uproar abroad for bowing to the Chinese government’s demands by agreeing to censor websites and content banned by the nation’s propaganda chiefs.

They have repeatedly insisted that they have no choice but to follow local rules and regulations in China.

Yahoo has been criticised for passing on information to Chinese authorities about one its users, who got a 10-year jail sentence for divulging state secrets.

The user had posted a Chinese government order, forbidding media organisations from marking the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising, on the Internet.

International press freedom group Reporters Without Borders condemned the new blogging pact.

“The Chinese government has yet again forced Internet sector companies to cooperate on sensitive issues. In this case blogger registration and blog content,” it said in a statement.

A friend passed this on to me today, a truly great quote:

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?”

- Sterling Hayden

What if you could write yourself a letter, to be delivered in 1 year, 2 years, or 10 years time? A letter in which you could write down where you are, what you think you have achieved, or what has happened in the world up to that specific date in the future.

This is possible now thanks to FutureMe.org. Simply send an email to yourself or your friends, to be delivered in the future on the date of your choice. Cool!

From Harbin:

A friend took this picture in Suzhou. Seems that quality control is in good hands here…

After many months, if not years, of thinking and talking about it, I have finally made up my mind. I am going to have a sailing boat built. Big enough to live on, and use as my future home. But also not too big to handle by myself.

I have chosen for the Dix 43, with a steel hull and centre cockpit, designed by Dudley Dix Yacht Design. I like steel hulls, because they are easy to maintain and repair, without needing sophisticated tools and methods. I don’t mind the extra weight, as speed is not really an issue for the cruising that I have in mind. The centre cockpit allows for a good view in all directions, important when cruising and maneuvering alone. Also it lets me build a nice big cabin aft, in addition to the 2 possible double cabins ahead. I will sacrifice one of the cabins ahead to build a little workshop and storage room.

The Dix 43 is a radius chine steel cutter with the following main dimensions:

LOA 13.35m, LWL 11.87m, Beam 4.10m, Draft 1.80m

Displacement 14.3 tons, ballast 4000kg. Sail area (Main + Fore-triangle) 91.44 m2

I am still looking for a place to build her, preferably in China, Vietnam, or Thailand.

Also I am considering a number of modifications to the hull, and I am making a ‘wish list’ of how I want to do the outfitting. I hope to be able to start in the second half of 2008. I expect the hull construction to take about 3 months, and the outfitting another 9 -12 months. I will regularly report on the progress here.

Last week I went to visit shipyards in North-East China, together with two of my colleagues from Shanghai.

On Tuesday, day 1 we flew from Shanghai to Yantai in Shandong province. Yantai is famous for its wine and fruit, like apples and peaches. It also has a small beach, which is very popular this time of the year. The weather is quite pleasant this time of the year, and not as hot and humid as Shanghai in summer. Above all, the air is much cleaner too. After arriving in Yantai we first looked for a place to have lunch. The Japanese restaurant in the ‘Machinery Hotel’ was closed unfortunately. Instead we went to one of the many good Korean restaurants in this town.

The first yard we visited was Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry. Originally this company used to be in the fishery business, and as many others tries to jump on the bandwagon of the booming shipbuilding industry in China. The yard itself is still under construction, but there already 20 vessels in the order book, of which 16 confirmed. The first two will be two 5,500 dwt product tankers for a Swedish owner. They will save about 30% by building the ships here, instead of Europe, and take the massive delays and substandard quality for granted.

On day 2 we went to Yantai Raffles Shipyard. The yard has been around for quite a few years, and has built up a name in the offshore industry. They are building semi-submersible drilling rigs, FPSO’s, pipe laying vessels, and specialized heavy lift and transport vessels, but also bulk carriers and mega-yachts like the 76 meter motor yacht ‘Nero’ for a Turkish owner. On the pictures the entrance of the yard with the nearly completed 20,000 tons gantry crane, and the nearly completed ‘Nero’. Also at this yard the projects suffer from delays due to incompetent management and workforce.

The next day we were supposed to be in Dalian. However plane tickets were sold out for the next two days. So we took the night ferry from Yantai to Dalian, which does the passage in about 7 hours. Our vessel was the ‘Bang Chui Dao’, built together with her sister vessel the ‘Hai Yang Dao’ by Van der Giessen-de Noord in the Netherlands in 1995.

In the morning of day 3 we visited Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, which is a fusion of Dalian Shipyard and Dalian New Shipyard. This is one of the top new building yards in China, with an impressive order portfolio. After an excellent seafood lunch (the seafood in Dalian is the best in China, and I believe the only that is safe also) and visiting some purchasing agents in the afternoon, we continued our trip by plane to Qingdao, the capital of Shandong province. On Friday, day 4 we visited Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding, a joint venture between a local yard and the famous Korean ship builder. Finally in the afternoon it was time to go back to Shanghai, and enjoy a well earned weekend.