Oil on Water : Tankers, Pirates and the Rise of China

About the Authors Paul French is a writer and analyst specialising in China’s consumption economy and markets. He is currently the Chief China Representative of independent research publisher Access Asia, based in Shanghai. He is the author of several books on China as well as the well-received North Korea: The Paranoid Pensinsula (Zed Books). Sam Chambers is a freelance travel and transport writer based in the north-eastern Chinese port city of Dalian. Sam has been covering China’s thirst for raw materials for the past decade. He writes for a variety of Asian and European titles and provides analysis on Chinese transport matters for a variety of firms, including JP Morgan and CNN. Out of sight, out of mind. That's the general reaction to the crucial movement of oil around the world's oceans. Yet this vital supply chain that allows the world to function is constantly under enormous, largely unreported pressure. The uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalisation, and increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move Eastwards to Asia. However, it is threatened by conflicts between nation states, pirates and global warming.All too often the movement of oil by ocean is something taken for granted by the majority of the world yet it is fraught with difficulty, and could haemorrhage global growth if issues covered in this book are not resolved or allowed to escalate.From reporting onboard giant tankers to looking at the geopolitical shift in oil consumption, Oil on Water is holistic, all encompassing and engrossing look at the way oil is moved and consumed; mixing reportage, examples and hard-hitting facts. The movement of oil around the world's oceans is constantly under enormous pressure, from conflicts between nation states, piracy and climate change. Yet, while the uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalization, increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move eastwards to Asia, this threat is largely unreported. Out of sight, out of mind is the general reaction. From reporting aboard giant tankers to examining the geopolitical shift in oil consumption, Oil on Water is an engrossing, all-encompassing look at the security of this vital supply chain. The uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalization and increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move Eastwards to Asia. This book looks at the way oil is moved and consumed mixing reportage, examples, and hard-hitting facts 1.Life Without Oil -- 2.The Shift East -- 3.The Great Voyage -- 4.Securing the SLOCs -- 5.Piracy: The Nebulous Threat -- 6.The Criminalisation of Crews -- 7.Flags of Convenience -- 8.Green Shipping? -- 9.The Politics of Pipelines Paul French And Sam Chambers. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.