Maximo Q. Mejia

Is maritime piracy random

Far from being an extinct phenomenon, piracy still exists in the modern world and is a growing menace to the security and safety of shipping. Using the data on attacks against vessels reported between 1996 and 2005 merged with the data on the total world merchant fleet, this article inquires whether acts of piracy are a truly random occurrence. Results show that both flag of registry and type of vessel are significant factors in explaining maritime piracy.

An econometric analysis of deficiencies noted in port state control inspections

The factors to consider in selecting which vessels to board for port state control (PSC) inspections are crucial. This paper tries to identify these factors using 4080 reported PSC inspections from the Swedish Maritime Administration for the period 1996–2001. It relies on count data models and compares results from the Poisson, negative binomial, random effect and random parameters models. The results suggest that three factors are the main determinants of the number of reported deficiencies: the age at inspection, the flag of registry and the type of ships. Conversely, the year when the inspection occurs does not seem to be a significant factor. Estimations also stress that the relationship between the age at inspection and the number of deficiencies detected is not similar for different vessel types. For instance, the number of deficiencies detected decreases for chemical carriers and Ro–Ro passenger vessels older than 25 and 22 years old, while for instance the effect is rather small for tanker and bulk carriers and only occurs when vessels are older than 35 years.

The STCW Conference in Manila

This paper reports on the recently concluded Conference of Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers, 1978, in which major revisions to the Convention and its associated Code were adopted. The diplomatic conference was held in Manila, Philippines, from 21–25 June 2010.