Blog Writing Competition 2026

How I Ended Up Here It started with an obsession — jet engines, specifically. That particular roar and thrust, the way an F1 car engine screams at full throttle. Machines doing impossible things. That fascination was what first pointed me towards mechanical engineering. But it was the stories from relatives working in the marine industry…

Amidst the flash of digital screens and the promise of alternative fuels, it is easy to forget the most critical component of the maritime industry: the human element. The ships of tomorrow cannot run without a new generation of highly skilled, adaptive maritime professionals. The role of the seafarer is fundamentally changing. The marine engineer…

Starting a maritime academy is both exciting and terrifying — and if you have no idea what you're walking into, that’s normal. This is for first-year cadets, incoming maritime students. If you're about to trade your comfortable bedroom for a ship-shaped dormitory and a strict daily schedule, you're in the right place. Here's what we'll…

A few months ago, while researching a paper on maritime security, I kept running into the same strange fact: ships in some of the world's most dangerous waters are switching off the very systems designed to keep them safe. Not by accident. On purpose, and with growing regularity. The more I dug into it, the…

The shipping industry is the backbone of global trade, transporting nearly 90% of the world’s goods by sea. From food and clothing to fuel, automobiles, and industrial machinery, maritime transport plays a vital role in connecting countries and supporting economic growth. However, despite its importance, the shipping industry has a significant environmental impact. It contributes…

There’s a saying that sailors have learned from their experiences with weather. It says that when the weather is good, you should watch out for storms when one sees the drop in pressure on the barometer. Sailors may not be able to see them yet themselves, but there is a storm brewing. In three years,…

Introduction For decades, marine engineering ran on two maintenance approaches: fix it after it breaks, or service it on a fixed schedule regardless of actual condition. Both waste resources or invite failure. Predictive maintenance offers a third path, using live sensor data and diagnostics to catch machinery problems before they become breakdowns. What makes this…

The maritime industry has been the backbone of global trade for centuries, with ports serving as vital gateways that connect economies, industries, and people. Today, as global trade volumes continue to rise and sustainability becomes a priority, ports are undergoing a remarkable transformation. Port innovation is no longer limited to expanding infrastructure—it now encompasses digital…

Every day, thousands of ships travel across oceans carrying food, fuel, medicines, electronics, and countless other goods that keep the global economy moving. Behind this vast maritime network are millions of dedicated professionals whose expertise and commitment make international trade possible. These individuals—known as seafarers—form the backbone of the maritime workforce. Who Are Seafarers?…

For decades, the lifeblood of global shipping was measured in metric tonnes of heavy fuel oil and the rhythmic, deafening RPMs of massive two-stroke diesels. The smell of grease, the heat of the boilers, and the physical rotation of a propeller shaft were the only languages a marine engineer needed to understand. But today, the…

Picture a mega-containership sliding past the horizon — 400 metres of steel, stacked twenty containers high, carrying more cargo than the entire fleet of a mid-sized nation just a few decades ago. It is one of the most efficient machines humanity has ever built. And yet, buried deep in its hull, that same marvel is…

There's a part of shipping that almost nobody outside the industry has heard of, and honestly, until I started digging into this topic, I hadn't given it much thought either. I'm only a first-year cadet, so most of what follows comes from reading up on the subject rather than anything I've witnessed on board, but…

The world's oceans are more than vast bodies of water—they are the lifelines of global trade, environmental balance, and international security. Nearly 90% of global trade by volume is transported by sea, making maritime routes essential to the movement of goods, energy, and resources. As maritime activities continue to expand, the need for maritime awareness…

“DECARBONIZING MARITIME TRANSPORT ISN’T JUST ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IDEAS; INSTEAD, IT’S ABOUT HARD NUMBERS. WE TOOK A DEEP DIVE INTO THE DATA TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT IT WILL TAKE, FROM STRICT TAXES TO THE PRICE OF BUNKERING VESSELS, TO MAKE HYDROGEN A FINANCIALLY VIABLE FUEL OVER TRADITIONAL HFO." NAVIGATING THE ENERGY TRANSITION: IS HYDROGEN THE FUTURE…