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

Oil on Water: Tankers, Pirates and the Rise of ChinaAuthors: Paul French, Sam Chambers
Publisher: Zed Books
Category: Book

List Price: $29.95
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Seller: ANGELFIRE
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 3 reviews
Sales Rank: 473539

Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.7

ISBN: 184813469X
Dewey Decimal Number: 553
EAN: 9781848134690
ASIN: 184813469X

Publication Date: June 15, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Out of sight, out of mind. That's the general public's 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 globalization 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.



Customer Reviews:
5 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to a little-known subject   August 14, 2010
Edward G. Nilges (Hong Kong, China)
Even if I had not been cited as a source for this book, I would unreservedly recommend it. It reminds me of the best of the Very Brief Introductions to a variety of topics from Oxford University Press, for this is a quick read which makes one at least feel terribly *au fait* about international oil shipping.

French and Chambers point out, based on exhaustive and numerate research nicely balanced by personal adventure, sailing on actual oil containerships, that oil has to get to its point of use, and that not only has the USA been dependent on imports being actually shipped, now China has joined this unwilling club.

I was also impressed by their combination of business "savvy" and a compassionately critical spirit alert to the downsides of the industry including pollution and the mistreatment of officers and crew.

Oil containerships, after all, burn low-grade fuel merely to keep their lights on and their DVDs running for their crews...who are often not permitted ashore. Officers are criminalized far too many times in accidents.

French and Chambers link the mistreatment of officers and crew to the long term viability of oil shipping as a business and that of the societies they serve, but also seem genuinely concerned about this issue. Too often, those who work in such unfashionable, yet critical, industries are overlooked.

Read this book if you're in any kind of business that is dependent on oil imports or merely curious as to the Leviathans of the sea which carry the black heart of prosperity from where it is found to where it is used.



5 out of 5 stars A must read !!   September 1, 2010
W Morgan Bagley
I do not usually review books I read but felt that this book by French and Chambers certainly warranted comment.I purchased the book after having heard Mr. Chambers speak at a luncheon in Hongkong and finding the topic very timely considering the world was watching the oil spill disaster off the Gulf Coast of the US and the large spill off the coast of Dalian, China. The book read like a novel rather than a scholarly tome. I could not put it down. The material covered was at once interesting, informative, factual and more than a little bit frightening.A must read from not only a financial standpoint but also from a geopolitical viewpoint.High marks indeed for French and Chambers.


4 out of 5 stars Modern pirates   July 6, 2010
Al Atsy
This is the most athorative book yet on the scourge of the modern marine industry, written by two men who know a little something about piracy. I highly recommend it.

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