This is a good article which may go some way to explain why the container job is not too good at the moment.
Not wanting to sound like an alarmist,but surely all those ships together is an ideal target for milatia and terror groups,if they took them out,the whole world economy would collapse.Once the recession is over,there would no time to build replacement vessels.
Bet the goverment didn’t like that article. Recession over,what a joke.
Its only like Cherwell Vally Services, with the maritime equivilant of Willi Betz waiting for their next jobs 
The line that got me was that the cost of shipping a 40 ft box from China to the UK has fallen from £850 to £180. That’s less than you pay to cross the channel.
i don’t get it.
they are loaded with containers.
limeyphil:
i don’t get it.
they are loaded with containers.
could they be empties? using the storage space?
limeyphil:
i don’t get it.
they are loaded with containers.
yes, all empty containers.
the container bases have run out of room to put them, so they have been left on the ships
marinetraffic.com/ais/#
Here you go you can see what ships are lying of the coast line , its been the topic of conversation here in Lowestoft for a while now 
That’s a great website. Quite amazing that all that’s available. I was in Southampton yesterday, there’s a couple of what look like brand new car carriers just ■■■■■■■ next to each other with no work. Must be costing someone a fortune.
Ex Haulier:
That’s a great website. Quite amazing that all that’s available. I was in Southampton yesterday, there’s a couple of what look like brand new car carriers just ■■■■■■■ next to each other with no work. Must be costing someone a fortune.
there about a dozen car boats anchored around southampton and the isle of wight. plus there are a similar amount of bulk carriers.
Fantastic website! It really works! Shows Natalie Ehler currently ■■■■■■■ at Mussalo; I’ll bet that tomorrow I’ll be bringing her another container…
Think i’ve just found my new obsession!!!
CRISPY:
MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic
Here you go you can see what ships are lying of the coast line , its been the topic of conversation here in Lowestoft for a while now
That’s some web site, very impressive. It even shows the Woolwich ferry. I couldn’t find the Pride of Bilbo though. What’s happened to that, sunk or what?
From a famous rivals site, this doom and gloom appears, although not showing the full article.
STAND BY for another round of contract renegotiations across the shipping industry as the crisis for many deepens.
Container shipping would appear to be in the worst shape of all, with most on the inside braced for at least another year of terrible conditions that some will not survive.
But as the financial predicament worsens - not withstanding some modest freight rate increases - so there is likely to be another push to take costs out of the system.
That will be fuelled in part by a rumourmill that has reached fever pitch as containership owners and operators react to a dripfeed of information about who has agreed what with whom.
Few really know what deals have been done so far to delay newbuilding deliveries and stretch out downpayments. Neither is it clear which lines have fixed new charter terms, or the size of rate concessions that some carriers may have been obtained.
But that does not matter. As long as there is suspicion that a competitor might have secured a better deal, so the merry-go-round of renegotiations will continue.
Contracts are being torn up right along the business chain, and are certainly not confined to shipbuilders, owners and operators. As lines demand lower terminal handling charges, for example, so the ports are looking at their own commitments and are even prepared to withdraw from terminal concessions. And so on throughout the industry.
This is a highly fluid situation. What may have seemed like a firm agreement yesterday could be worthless tomorrow as customers return with “me too” demands after hearing talk that someone else may have landed more of a bargain.
The shipyards are probably bearing the brunt of this pressure right now as the boxship owners face the fight of their lives. Those that grudgingly accepted offers to delay deliveries by a few months are likely to call for more help, especially after reports that Zim has managed to postpone delivery of some boxships by two to three years.
This is exactly the scenario the yards were hoping to avoid. Instead, they should brace for pleas to do even more from “poverty-stricken” shipowners.
There was an item on the radio t’other day (possibly Radio 5) about all the tankers anchored off Yarmouth … they were talking to a guy who supplies the ship’s stores … he was rubbing his hands good for the “local” economy.
Feel a bit sorry for the poor blokes stuck on the ships … can see the “bright lights” of Yarmouth 
but can’t get ashore.
Apparently a lot of the tankers are full of oil. Because it’s cheap to borrow money and charter ships, speculators have ben storing oil in them and betting that the price will rise and they then sell at a profit. Lets all keep out fingers crossed that the price falls and they all get there fingers burned !.
Ex Haulier:
Apparently a lot of the tankers are full of oil. Because it’s cheap to borrow money and charter ships, speculators have ben storing oil in them and betting that the price will rise and they then sell at a profit. Lets all keep out fingers crossed that the price falls and they all get there fingers burned !.
That is how it used to be around the harbours and outlying islands of Greece, but it appears from this shot that the ships are riding the tide waiting for a backload or just weathering the financial storms.
I cannot remember the minimum crew numbers that are required to keep watch, but an engineer or able seaman, and a couple of ordinary seamen may suffice to keep a 3 watch system in operation. A scary thought.
Wheelnut, the pictures in the Daily Mail article are of container ships not tankers. I can tell you that there are about 30 or 40 loaded tankers moored around gibralter, just hoping for the price to rise. There are no empty boxes on those ships either, what you can see are the racks that the boxes slot into.