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It’s been a shocking summer for the shipping industry. Our industry only ever seems to make it into the mainstream media when things go wrong, and the past month has seen a series of stories make headlines and, as usual, cast shipping in a pretty poor light. The aftermath of the devastating explosion in Beirut has seen fingers point to the ill-fated single decker Rhosus which brought the cargo of ammonium nitrate to Beirut and set in place the chain of events which led to the devastation of August 4. A badly maintained old ship with dubious ownership, registered in a landlocked country under a flag not renowned for transparency or regulatory enforcement and with a crew left abandoned and unpaid. Sound familiar? Nine days before much of Beirut was flattened, the Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground off Mauritius. Initially, this did not garner much in the way of global attention. It was only when bunker fuel began to pollute the pristine marine environment and the bizarre story emerged that the crew were enjoying a shipmate’s birthday party and strayed onto a reef in search of a better wi-fi connection that the story became global news. Soon after we had dramatic footage of a mighty bulk carrier broken in two and a resident of another paradise island, Richard Branson, grabbing the limelight by calling on the shipping industry to contribute to the cleanup (note to Sir Richard: that’s why we all carry P&I cover). Meanwhile, much of the mainstream media were committing their usual error of calling the ship an oil tanker. We need the mainstream media to be part of an informed, constructive and ongoing dialogue In the midst of these two disasters, the shipping industry was being blamed for an upturn in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong as a result of the city’s administration laudably permitting crew changes in a bid to help with the worsening crisis of crews being stranded on ships due to the global pandemic. The result was the suspension of crew changes in Hong Kong and criticism of some of the sharp practices by industry participants which had seen the strict protocols set up for this vital service to be carried out breached. Crew changes were certainly not the only reason for the spike in new Covid cases in Hong Kong, but in the inevitable search for a scapegoat, the shipping industry was an easy target. Of course, no mention of the fact that without seafarers going the extra mile, the world would have ground to a halt weeks ago. Three separate incidents, all united in being human and environmental tragedies. In addition, you can guarantee that as the daily news cycle rolls on at its frenetic pace, they will quickly be forgotten, perhaps only next making an appearance in those annual ‘news reviews’ we will be subjected to come year-end. The media has an obligation not just to be informative, hopefully in an unbiased manner, but also to hold authorities to account and expose society’s failings. Some excellent investigative reporting quickly exposed the dubious background of the Rhosus and her fateful final voyage, but the fact that the shipping industry has kept the world efficiently supplied throughout the current pandemic has gone largely unreported, despite the tribulations stranded crews have endured. Hopefully, it is not asking too much for the continued exposure and weeding out of substandard shipping to be maintained, together with a campaign to get seafarers listed as essential workers and afforded the humane treatment they deserve for keeping the world running. The mainstream media has a proud history of exposing wrongs and effecting change. Let’s not just wait for the next photogenic story of a shipping disaster, or an incident where our industry can be blamed, to get some coverage. We need the mainstream media to be part of an informed, constructive and ongoing dialogue both to raise awareness and bring that change about.

It doesn’t have to be all bad news

Our special correspondent asks the media to go beyond just reporting disasters and help bring about real change

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