It is five days before Christmas. In the collective delirium of holiday shopping, few Filipinos will remember that today, the 20th of December, is the 28th anniversary of the Doña Paz ferry tragedy. And yet, the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster will forever...
"The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion," Albert Einstein once said. He is absolutely right. Still, it strikes us that Marine Café Blog is six years old today. This is equal to 72 months or 2,191 days. The...
No television cameras are present whenever seafarers pluck boat refugees from the sea. So we're pleased to note that the Vatican-based Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People has drawn attention to these good Samaritans in its...
With more than 50 international protocols now governing the shipping industry, the theme for World Maritime Day 2014 couldn't have been more appropriate: "IMO Conventions: Effective Implementation". It also couldn't have been more ironic. Seafarers are still denied...
We care about the maritime industry. We like all things nautical. And our hearts are with the seafarers, maritime women and all those who toil at sea. But try hard as we may, we can't get ourselves to join the celebration in Manila of National Maritime Week (21st-28th...
Luca della Robbia's Cantoria. Photo credit: Ricardo André Frantz Manila is gearing up to celebrate National Seafarers Day on the 28th of September. The programme kicks off the Sunday before. Amongst other activities will be a grand parade; an ecumenical rite at sea; a...
Our readers must be wondering why the blog has not been updated for some time. After five years and hundreds of posts, we just had to go into dry dock and take stock of things. That the blog has lasted this long (we marked our anniversary last 25th August) is reason...
Eight Bells, oil on canvass by Winslow Homer, 1886 It's been our custom to write about the Day of the Seafarer, which is every 25th of June. How could we not? Is it possible to ignore the chorus led by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as they sing paeans...
The Beatles are no more but Liverpool, the birthplace of the English rock band, is still rocking and rolling as a hub of maritime activity. That point was highlighted this week as Merseyside's maritime sector welcomed visitors to the Maritime, Logistics & Energy...
It's still a full month before the Day of the Seafarer (25th of June), but I decided to celebrate it today, 25th of May, and not wait for the usual din of slogans and speeches. I'd like to honour in particular the viejos lobos de mar, the old sea dogs, by sharing...
In 1906 Henri Matisse painted 'Young Sailor I' and 'Young Sailor II' (pictured above) in the French Mediterranean fishing village of Collioure. The portraits, which are similar but quite distinct from each other in style, are a tribute of sorts to all young men and...
Although it's been another fulfilling year, running a blog for four straight years isn't easy. Frankly speaking, we feel rather exhausted. So, starting today, the 2oth of December, we are taking a much-needed break. We'll be back in early January 2014. To our readers...
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