This week Maritime CEO, the flagship of Singapore–based Asia Shipping Media (ASM), came out out with a review of my newly released e–book, Maritime Double Shots. It is the first public scrutiny of my entrée into the world of book publishing. To say that I was...
Yesterday I took the plunge and released my first e–book, Maritime Double Shots. It's a collection of aphorisms and reflections gathered from hundreds of articles posted in Marine Café Blog over the past several years. This little project was not motivated by any...
For sure, there are still some maritime journalists around who follow the old tenets of journalism. They take the time to gather information, cross-check the facts, interpret events and write news stories that help readers make sense of it all. But the maritime press...
Corporations as well as persons thirst for recognition. So it should not surprise anyone that maritime awards have become as common — and as cheap — as Starbucks coffee. The thirst needs quenching. But what business does the maritime press have giving awards to...
The maritime establishment — the groups that exercise power and influence over industry policy and opinion — is not only as resistant to change as the rock in Ivan Aivazovsky's 1885 painting 'Rocky Island' (pictured above). It is also often regarded as sacrosanct. As...
No, I have not joined a monastic order. The reason this blog was not updated for more than a fortnight is that I have been immersing myself like a 15th-century monk in an exciting new project. I am writing a book entitled ‘Close Encounters in Maritime Manila’. If all...
Marine Café Blog is now being updated twice a week at most. This is to give myself more time for certain projects I had put on hold for too long, including two upcoming books. Nonetheless, I hope readers will enjoy the flavour of what is served and maybe talk about it...
The gender-neutral language mania has not spared the shipping world. Several times I have been knocked on social media for advocating the use of "seaman" or "seawoman" in lieu of the over-inclusive and less accurate term "seafarer". The objections usually come from...
The most grievous sin committed by many in the maritime press is not copy-and-paste journalism, which is rather common these days. Nor is it sloppy writing by reporters. It is the obliteration of the once-sacred line between editorial space and advertising space, the...
Calling a spade a spade is not exactly the style of writing that would earn one plenty of fans. Indeed, Marine Café Blog has elicited some harsh reactions over the last seven years. Some of the harshest have come from Filipino readers, which makes me feel like an...
Marine Café Blog silently marked its seventh anniversary last 25th of August whilst I was on extended leave from my normal activities. Seven years is not a long span, but it has taught me a few lessons. The first is that some maritime institutions are considered...
Marine Café Blog recently took the bold step of completely dropping the use of the term “seafarer” in favour of “seaman” or “seawoman”. Not many, I'm afraid, will follow suit. The International Maritime Organization has virtually buried the word “seaman” with the...