The sea is your mirror. You contemplate your soul in the infinite unfolding of its blade, wrote Baudelaire. 53,000 commercial ships cross paths on the roads of globalization. They transport 8 billion tonnes of goods per year. 90% of world trade. They fly the flag of Panama, Liberia, Bahamas, Marshall Islands for more than half of the world fleet. Who controls the sea. Who controls world trade? Who controls the world economy? In Piraeus, Marseille, Hamburg, Shanghai, Brussels and at sea, we will take the pulse of shipping. The ocean flow of goods. It is, it is often said, the blood flow of the global economy. This system is fragile. The arteries of globalization are at the mercy of a heart attack, an embolism, hypertension. And yet maritime transport is invisible. The shores of the earth draw the contours of a world without borders: the sea. An inverted map. On one side, the routes, the roads. The highways. The barbed wire. The walls. On the other, a moving continent, constantly renewed. The oldest of the worlds, with Atlantis at its heart. A space without rules where the only rule would be vertigo. I believe that in the modern world people don't know and in fact don't want to know how things get on their plate. The things they eat, the objects they buy in stores, they want to find them there, that's all. Whereas behind that, there is a gigantic supply chain, a global supply chain, mainly ships that transport oil, cereals or containers of toys, clothes or even food. Expanses of anonymous and identical boxes came to take the place of the docks which were teeming with sailors and dockers. Maritime adventure, the romance of life at sea are today locked in these boxes. First stop on our journey to the shipping planet, the sea of containers. Shanghai means above the sea. Shanghai is the largest port in the world, but the docks have left the heart of the city for an offshore terminal connected to the mainland by a 30 kilometer bridge. Yang Chang Terminal can accommodate the world's largest ships. Yang Shang Port is 100 kilometers away from Shanghai city. It is the first artificial port in the world. It was opened in December 2005. The first month, we handled 30 thousand containers. After a year, 330 thousand containers. The second year, we crossed the 600 thousand containers mark. And finally, in 2013, we reached 7.6 million containers. These numbers prove a big change. Previously we were poor, but now we are rich. This is the great change symbolized by this port. In two or three years. If we manage to complete the entire port, Yang Shan should be able to handle more than 20 million containers. That’s 30 years ago! This figure clearly proves that one of the currencies of the Yang Chang port is real. A number one port for the number one country. At the end of the 1970s, under the reform leadership of Deng Xiaoping. China becomes the world's factory. But without maritime transport, without ports, cargo ships and containers to import raw materials and export manufactured goods, Chinese growth would have remained a bureaucrat's dream. And economic openness a slogan. No market in the world today is comparable to the Chinese market. Yes, most carriers focus on the Chinese market. When their ships leave China, they are full. Who would be able to fill their boats elsewhere. India. Vietnam, right? There is only China, only the Chinese market. Measurements. Vertigo. Mayor McKinney Moller is the largest container ship in the world to date. 400 meters long. 59 meters wide. Placed end to end, the 18,000 boxes they transport would form a steel snake 120 kilometers long. The size of the ship. That's about four football fields. It's a pretty good boat. You see, the containers are placed. By following this plan, we make sure they are secure and hang them. Load, unload as quickly as possible. Day and night, in the boxes carried by Mayor McKinney Mauler. We find furniture, household appliances, computers, clothing, automobile parts, toys, fertilizers, iron, glass, stone and tiles, fur, household items. sports, works of art and antiques, umbrellas, parasols and canes, but also dairy products, wine, plants, meat or seeds. The container is one of the commerce revolutions that we perhaps have not talked about enough, because without the container, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to have the level of exchange that we have at present. Something exceptional happened. In maritime transport. It is a standardized box, determined by its size. This is the VP, the 20 foot equivalent. It is a measure, a standard that works everywhere. There are 20 to 40 foot containers that can fit on any means of transport. There is therefore no break in the transport chain. Globalized. Globalization existed long before the arrival of the container. But the engine of this globalization, in any case the central element of this globalization, is the container. The container was invented in 1956. An American entrepreneur, Malcolm McLean, had the idea of separating truck trailers from their chassis to be able to stack them on a boat. It was during the Vietnam War that the box used to supply the American army gained popularity. Today's globalization, like previous waves of globalization in human history , is the product of technological revolutions. The sextant which allowed us to know approximately where we were. This is what made the crossing of the Atlantic possible. Then there was the steam engine, there was the propeller and each time the cost of transport. Has shrunk and the container is to be placed in the same rank as these great inventions of humanity. Because the impact it had on the cost per tonne transported is gigantic. Technological revolutions are not enough in themselves. When Christopher Columbus set sail to discover a new world with sextant and rudder, people still believed that in the southern hemisphere, we had our feet in the air and our heads on the ground. And this despite the stories of Portuguese sailors , traveling monks, Arab traders. Despite Ptolemy's maps. Yes, the container is a major invention of the 60s, but without the Chinese desire to open up to the world, it would have remained the exclusive prerogative of the American army. Inventions are just necessary adjustments to our needs. Otherwise they become games or gadgets like the steam engine was for the Ancient Greeks, because they had slaves. The port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. At the end of the 20th century, it was the world's largest port, but it was overtaken by Shanghai, Tianjin and Singapore. Around Mac Cain and Moller. The ballet of cranes and straddle carts is finally over. This is one of the longest stopovers we were able to make because of the bad weather, of course. The wind was force eight or nine, so they couldn't start loading operations before the wind calms. Yesterday, cities were built around their ports. Today, the platforms are secure spaces, away from prying eyes. And the bigger the boats, the more invisible shipping becomes. We are going to the port of Tangier in Morocco. We arrive on the sixteenth. In two days. We provide a Europe-Asia line. Rotterdam is a regular stopover and Morocco too. This is a regular stop on the boat. The tugboat ballet never stops. The sea giants cannot maneuver in the harbor on their own. You have to hoist them up, push them, turn them in the right direction. Your desktop displays well. The maneuvers are led by a pilot from the port of Rotterdam who will guide the boat to the open sea. In my job. The problem with these giants is draft and length. Especially when it's windy because they take a lot of wind per square meter. For tugboats, it is a problem in the turn leaving the port of Europe, Haven agrees with Kit. There is also the canal. There is too much activity and we have to be careful. The open sea and other dangers await the ship. In the North Sea, then in the Strait of Pas de Calais, barely 30 kilometers wide. Hundreds of ships pass each other every day. Our job. Our job is to avoid collision. We constantly watch the trajectories where the boats risk crossing each other. In short, if we. Sees a collision point, we plan a course change to starboard. These are the rules for avoiding collisions. You have to go to starboard, so we always check in advance if we have room on the starboard side. And in the worst case, we stop the machines. Works mechanically. Mayor McKinnon. Moller travels between Europe and Asia. We call it the ten-man road. It goes from Gdansk in Poland, to Rotterdam in Holland, then the Bay of Biscay and along the coast of Portugal. The Tanger Med port in Morocco is the last stop in this part of the world. Then we go directly to the Suez Canal, the Red Sea. The Gulf of Aden. And when we pass the Horn of Africa, we head straight towards the southern tip of Sri Lanka. And from there, the Strait of Malacca which is very close to Singapore. Yes. We continue through the South China Sea to Hong Kong and Korea, and return from Korea to serve the Chinese ports of Ningbo and Shanghai. In the central part of China. But for me. As I have been doing this European service for years, I don't even think about ports anymore. In fact, container ports these days all look the same. Mayor McKinney Moller will take 41 days to reach China. Seen from the footbridge, Yang Chang Port will look like a huge field of metal boxes. It's just a door. It's just a port. When we. Dock, we unload containers, we load containers and I see cranes outside and that's it. No more ditches and sailor girls. No more exoticism of travel stories. The sailor of the 21st century no longer sets out to discover the world. The world comes to him, people from all over the world come here. They share their experience, which allows them to better understand the stories of others. The history of other countries, their culture and all that knowledge you can acquire. Only here is it possible. You can't do it at home, you can't do it over the Internet. I think this is a very good place to learn all this. I'm actually from northern India, near the Himalayas and no one from my family since. I don't know. For six or seven generations, no one has been in the navy. I'm the first and I like working on machines. Here, we have Filipinos and at the machines, we have Indians and Danes. On deck, we have Danes, Filipinos, Indians and an Indian iron. They always ask who is the cook? Do you know the cook? Because there are certain cooks? He doesn't like them. But I'm lucky, everyone. Well, can't say. All, but most, like the way I cook. Is this the right source? Today we are going to make European cuisine and tomorrow I will make Asian cuisine. And the next day, it's Indian cuisine. What if I serve pork. I always serve it with red cabbage. If I serve beef, I serve beetroot. I learned this when I was in Denmark. He was a man. Like the bricks invented by Lego, the other Danish industrial giant. Containers are synonymous with globalization. The Europe-Asia line has replaced the route to India, but it still involves transporting goods produced here to sell them where they are wanted. When the first commercial ship left port, globalization was born. The Greeks invented maritime transport. They also invented globalization because the first containers were the amphorae which transported oil, which transported wine and transported them to countries which did not manufacture it or which did not drink it. From the Mare Nostrum of Antiquity to the oceans of great discoveries. Sailors and shipowners have redrawn the map of the oceans. If we all know Christopher Columbus and the great discoveries which invented a new world economy centered on Europe, we are less familiar with the expeditions of the Chinese admiral type which, at the beginning of the 15th century, created trading posts in India, in the Persian Gulf and explore the African coasts. 600 years after his travels to discover the world, the Chinese rediscovered Jung. This goes for us Chinese and for myself. So one of our great long-term naval heroes is Shanghai. Despite his large fleet during his journey to the west of the sea, our ancestor Tsang did not invade a single territory. Nor was he granted special rights for trade. It's a Chinese tradition. We Chinese trade in a balanced manner for common development. The new Shanghai Maritime Museum was built around a replica of the Shanghai Jungle. It was at least three times larger than Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria, built 80 years later. China today is reflected in the maritime voyages of its past. The man tried. The 15th century. During the Ming Dynasty, the agricultural economy was extremely strong and so China used the sea routes to trade with every country in the world. But this maritime policy will come to an abrupt end with the advent of a new Yankee emperor. the Emperor declared At that time. We will no longer have contact with foreigners via the sea and following this decision, everything has stopped. After Chinese and Arab domination of the seas, Europe returned in force at the end of the 15th century. The navigators offer land and wealth to their king and the pope. Europe shares the world. Triangular maritime trade and slavery will boost European growth. The shipping capital became London, which saw the birth of maritime institutions that have survived the centuries until today. Louis Lotz Register was founded in 1760 by a group of eleven men who met in a cafe. They decided that we needed to know a little more about the condition of the boats that were being used. All the boats, wherever they might have gone. Worldwide, have been recorded in these registers. This ship. Ships rated AG were first class and if you had Uber, it was last class. The register can be considered to be the beginning of globalization, because it is the registration of all the boats that were in service to our knowledge. Two and a half centuries, two world wars and decolonization later, a new globalization imposes its rules on the planet's economy and causes maritime flows to take off. Maritime ization. Globalization. The two are indissolubly linked. You know, it's a chicken and egg story. Globalization could not happen without the maritime sector, which is naturally driven by globalization. And this is still the case in the early 60s I think, or 70s, I don't know anymore. It was 2 billion tonnes that were transported per year. Today, we are at 8 billion. In 2020, we should be at 16 billion. You realize ? It's not just that it's very important, it's that the acceleration is absolutely maximum. Twice as much goods to transport, more boats. Larger ships traveling freely on the seven seas. The world of the shipowner reinvents a benevolent liberalism, a happy globalization. An invisible hand that regulates the market for the profit and happiness of all. This philosophy, inspired by Adam Smith, an 18th century English philosopher and economist , is the credo of all the shipowners we met. It's the best trad. Free trade is extremely important. To create wealth in the world. It's obvious. I think we all studied Adam Smith and. Since then, the development of trade has been the instrument that increases the abundance and wealth of countries and peoples. The entire industry is very proud of having played an important role in the development of trade over recent decades. Because there is no doubt that, through globalization, hundreds of millions of people have emerged from poverty, have had access to a level, a standard of living that their parents, perhaps, could not. dreamed only a few decades ago. Shipping has helped raise living standards around the world. 500 years ago, it helped raise Western Europe's standard of living. And now it increases the standard of living of one party. From Africa and India. This will continue to make it possible for people around the world to access resources they don't have at home. Men are for shipowners. Globalization equals happiness for others. Globalization is synonymous with relocation and crisis. Globalization is synonymous with maritime transport, I would say. In fact, it is the essence, the very essence of maritime transport, it is the vector of globalization in all its excesses. Unfortunately, since we are all certainly consumers and we all have the possibility of enjoying the benefits of this globalization. But maritime transport, I believe, sometimes excessively embodies the excesses of globalization. I think he's pragmatic. It is in fact a global model which tries to impose itself and which concretely kills the acquired rights of workers and on the other hand, which negatively influences the rational development and the future of all countries. Is he going? When I hear the word globalization, I get scared. You know. We workers, when we hear the word globalization, we see. I can't say it better. We see blood behind this word. Some blood. And that's it. To think that these gentlemen who lead globalization want to drown us, they want to eat us, they want to suck our blood. We are terrified when we hear this word. It's pure fear. But I don't know how else to say it. It's fear. It is in Greece, the most maritime country in the world, that the paradoxes of globalization have exploded. Greece is the sick man of Europe. Greece is on fire, Greece is bankrupt, Greece is for sale. The troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund has imposed severe austerity measures on workers and retirees. The only ones who escape the rigor are the Orthodox clergy and the shipowners whose tax advantages are enshrined in the Constitution. Every time left-wing parties propose reform, shipowners threaten to leave for Monaco or the Bahamas. After tourism, shipping is Greece's second largest economic sector. It is in these offices, concentrated on Niaouli Avenue in Piraeus, that the 800 Greek shipowners manage the largest fleet in the world. While a few own more than 100 ships and their share on the New York or London Stock Exchange, the majority own less than ten boats. The Greek loves the sea. He was born on the open sea. The know-how of ship-owning families is passed down from generation to generation. So Greek, thanks to his experience. Knows when to buy. And when to sell. He knows when to sell and at what price. It is no coincidence that the Scandinavians, who also have a maritime tradition, always observe what the Greeks do. And when the Greek buys, they say He must know something. And they do the same thing. There is even an expression that says We must follow the Greeks. In the port of Piraeus. The legend of the Trojan horse is experiencing new relevance. Timeo Danaos is dona Ferrante becomes Beware of the Chinese who bring gifts. To pay off its disastrous debt, Athens put its public companies up for sale. Cosco, the Chinese shipping giant, has acquired the concession for the main container terminal at the port of Piraeus and has applied to buy what is still for sale. Our project plans to privatize the entire port. Since 2008, part of the port and two container docks have been sold to Cosco and it was a very good deal to have signed this contract. Today we are offering a concession on the entire company that manages the port of Piraeus. It was a disaster and it is a disaster. The port of Piraeus is one of the largest in Southern Europe. It can play a strategic role in the development and industrial restructuring of our country. And above all, it was above all selling it to the Chinese Cosco or any other international group which will condemn Greece and its economy and more particularly Piraeus to decadence. That was the impact on the channel. Of course. People are afraid that our investments in Greece are a way to infiltrate us and that we will get our hands on Greece's wealth. But these worries are unnecessary. In Athens. It's sales time. During his first visit to Europe in June 2014, the new Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang signed contracts worth 3.5 billion euros, mainly in the maritime sector. China will finance the construction of Greek boats and connect the port of Piraeus to all of Europe. We want to connect China to Europe. We have Piraeus as a platform to serve the eastern Mediterranean. The Black Sea, North Africa as well as the Adriatic Sea and northern Europe, all very easily. If this terminal. In good weather, it's not like there are typhoons or cyclones. And now we can accommodate the largest ships in the world. Container carriers of 18,400 boxes. Here is the model. And this is the picture for Greece. Chinese culture linked to Greek culture. Culture gives way to tourism and the globalization of trade has replaced friendship between people. What if the global village was a port? We are indeed international entrepreneurs and our business has an international character. They are not only European or Greek. They are European as well as Greek or international. There are a large number of Greek shipowners operating in Latin America, Asia and Africa. What does that mean ? Is it a European or Greek shipowner? He is an international entrepreneur. In Greece, the word globalization is seen as something negative, although this is not the case. Between the port of Piraeus and the island of Salamis. 57 crews representing maritime companies and institutions compete. Tradition obliges. It is with a regatta that the largest maritime meeting in the world opens for Cydonia. The Hellenic thalassocracy receives ministers, ambassadors, European commissioners. With more than 300 giant cargo ships ordered this year, Greek shipowners are the best customers in the world. My country is currently recovering from a very serious, very severe financial crisis. Crisis for over 3 billion. For more than three millennia. The Greeks experienced moments of glory and moments of distress. But they always relied on the sea. That's where people learned how to trade goods. It was there that they learned how to communicate, how to make profits by trading, how to accumulate wealth and how to generate income. I really liked the Greek Prime Minister's speech. He was excellent. Greece needs good news and the maritime industry provides it. Now. We are here to. Celebrating the Greek maritime community. And then it’s a way to meet and create links with all the players in the industry. All this to sell and buy, to find the right people in the right place. You have to do it. World Tour. But once a year, we meet in Athens. It's easy to come here and see everyone. 1800 exhibitors, 96 countries, 20 thousand visitors in Pau Sidonia. You can buy a flag, hire mercenaries or order an oil tanker. How much does it cost the shipowner to buy this ship? In fact, it is. Difficult to give a price for these ships, but if you are interested, make an appointment. Posidonius celebrates Greece's heritage of Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras and the Liberty Ship. A boat that changed the history of the Greek navy after allowing the allies to win the war. From 1941 to 1945, American shipyards built 2,710 Liberty Ships to supply their troops and their allies on all fronts around the world. Never before had so many ships been built. Standardization, assembly of prefabricated modules , welding, but also work of women and black workers. The construction of Liberty Ships is an industrial and social revolution. From 1943, a boat manufactured in 42 days was launched every three days. Slow, unwieldy. They are the target of German submarines which will sink 400 Liberty before being overwhelmed by their numbers. After winning the war, the Liberty Ships will participate in the reconstruction of the Allied merchant fleets. Greek shipowners acquire 100 then more than 700 Liberty Ships. This is the origin of the world's first merchant fleet. The last Liberty restored and moored in the port of Piraeus, serves as a reminder of what Greece owes to this cargo ship. I was at the café on the other side and I said to myself the Liberty, the Liberty. Sadly, I am writing to you! And I say to myself, Holy Mother, this is the one. There's an entrance over there. I'm there. Aisle. I was so moved, I was in tears. You understand ? I was barely fifteen when I boarded at 66, an old man like me. Do you understand the emotion? General. It was these old Libertys that revived the Greek navy. Narco, Onassis, Cali, Manu, Paulo, all made their fortune thanks to these boats. When we say shipowner, we think Greek. The fault is Rastapopoulos, the evil ship owner of Tintin, but also Onassis and Anarco. In 1946, just after the Second World War, two young Greek shipowners who came to buy cheap freedoms from the American army surplus fell in love with the same young woman, Athena Ivanova, daughter of a powerful Greek shipowner. Tina eventually marries Aristotle Onassis. His competitor, Stavros Mirco, sets his sights on Tina's sister, Eugenia. It's the start of a total rivalry that will launch the biggest oil tanker, who will own the most luxurious yacht, who will have the most private island, who will receive the most prestigious guests from the jet set, from the aristocracy , politics. The world will follow the soap opera of the Golden Greek's total fight. The golden Greeks, as the celebrity press calls them in business , but especially in their private lives. Suspected suicide of Eugenia Nikos with a rumor accusing her husband Stavros. Passionate relationship of Onassis with Callas. Divorce from Tina who remarried Nico and also committed suicide while Onassis married Jackie Kennedy. Onassis and Narcose will become the authors of their own saga. These bad. The hot Christina Aristotle, the Nazi arrives at the island of kiosk in the agencies. The Board of Famous Passengers. And Fellow passengers Tina Onassis and Oprah Star Maria Callas. He was to spend a few days a show Mr Onassis drive in his baby car at ten years old, From so Winston live to Very Good holiday. Worthy heir of Annecy which transformed Monaco into a tax haven and of Narcos which ended its life in Switzerland. Today's shipowners choose to register their ships in a state that is not too strict in terms of control, taxation and labor law. The flag is the nationality of the ship, but the link between the country where the boat is registered and the country where the shipowner is domiciled is increasingly weakened. Three quarters of the world fleet are registered on a free registration register and now sail under the colors of Panama, Liberia, the Cayman Islands, the Marshall Islands and even Malta. What we offer. It is a reputation for quality and a good level of service, without bureaucracy. No paperwork. We have a European register. Malta has become a European register of. Quality. And Malta. Can also influence debates at European Union level. Currently, we are the first in the world with almost ten thousand boats registered in Panama. And for these 10,000 boats. We provide. Services around the world. Entire. Services 24 hours a day. And if a shipowner registers five or more boats with us, they benefit from a reduction. Shipping has become a global Monopoly where everything is allowed to win increasingly globalized markets. The flag is a fiscal and social identity of the ship. Which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. The real economy behind it, that is to say where the ship owners are. The flag of convenience. It's a paradise. Floating tax. That is to say what you. Put as a flag behind with the port which refers, it is the search for optimization, fiscal, social, regulatory optimization. And this optimization is indeed part of the search for a tax haven, but also a social paradise, or even a regulatory paradise. The flag of convenience is an American invention. It was created by shipowners for trivial reasons to escape the Siemens Act which gave union rights to sailors in 1915 and to produce alcohol on the open sea during prohibition. But he also served for a good cause. In 1940, the Roosevelt administration used Panama-flagged cargo ships to supply England, even though America was officially neutral. After the war, shipowners very quickly realized the financial benefits they could derive from the flag of convenience. When the Liberian registry was created in 1949, the first to register a boat was Stavros Mirko. The flag of convenience has become widespread and the major maritime countries of yesterday have turned their backs on the sea. France, which had more than 500 ships under the national flag in 1975, only has 200 today. The shock of this bulk transport activity has always been there, almost since we existed. But it was necessary, and. We did it under various British, Brazilian, Argentinian, of course, French flags. Today, we have decided to no longer do it under the French flag. Because managing a fleet of bulk carriers under the French flag would no longer be reasonable. Competition with foreign armaments, Asian in particular, does not. Would not. Allows us to do so in satisfactory conditions. On the other hand, over the past fifteen years we have enormously developed a fleet of high-tech vessels under the French flag. The other major French shipowner CMA-CGM is number four in the world for container transport. On June 4, 2013, President François Hollande came to Marseille to christen the Jules Verne, the largest ship flying the French flag. I name this. Ship is my CGM Jules Verne. And I wish good luck. To her crew and all those who sail on board. It is a strong symbol. The last time a French president celebrated shipping was in 1960. When General de Gaulle launched the France liner. We are lucky to have one. Major shipowner. With MCG, but you know that there are almost 400 ships, around twenty between 20 and 25 under the French flag. The rest is under third party flag. So we see very clearly that even shipowners who are French branded use a different flag. All our competitors, and I'm not talking about the flags of Panama or the flags still described as convenience on the other side of the world. But I'm talking about our neighbors. So Germany, Belgium, Italy, England, not to mention Denmark, made a revolution in their pavilion. And if France wants to keep a little bit of power because it is also a given of power to have a flag, it must also adapt to this new environment. In France, the maritime economy is as important as the automobile industry and twice as much as the aeronautics industry. Yet she remains invisible. In international maritime competition. States have understood that the departure of companies towards head offices, towards headquarters was a threat and a threat in terms of management jobs, management jobs, employment of crew members. Tax maritime activity as little as possible or see its fleet leave for other flags: this is the dilemma facing European states. Competition within Europe itself is ruthless. Thus, Luxembourg, known for the discretion of its banks, has overtaken France as a maritime country. But the champion of this tax optimization remains Greece. After all that is. In Greece since 1975, the tax rate has not changed. It is 40,500 per ton. So a large boat of 200 thousand tons pays less than $90,000 per year to the Greek state. And the most. Important is that he pays at the current dollar rate and not in 1975 dollar value. You therefore understand that with inflation, the value falls. And. The tax is less and less important. This means that the tax paid by Greek shipowners has been divided by 32 due to inflation and the variation in the dollar rate. When the left-wing Syriza Party revealed this calculation, a wave of indignation arose at the scandal. Greek shipowners have promised to pay an exceptional contribution. That's what. We announced with the Union of Greek Shipowners an agreement to increase the tonnage tax. For the years. Crisis. Also. It is a voluntary contribution from shipowners to the Greek budget. But this measure has not yet been implemented. Yes, we had technical problems. But when you. Show your documentary, it will be done. Apodictic. It is now proven that this policy carried out by the State under several governments on behalf of shipowners did not have the expected result, the one they advertised, quite the contrary. 17 In fact. Marine. Merchant. Particularly long-term, today more than ever, does not contribute in any way to the economy. Neither. To the nation. Neither. To our country. Where it's all about supply. It is not only for tax reasons that the flag of convenience was imposed. It has also been adopted by shipowners around the world, because it shrouds the world of shipping in a secrecy that sometimes allows it to evade its responsibilities. Torres, Canyon, Amoco Cadiz, Exxon Valdez, Erika Prestige. These are shipwrecks and disasters, in particular oil spills, which reveal the flaws of shipping. As such, the Erika case, its history, the trial and its consequences are exemplary. On December 7, 1999, the Erika, a small tanker chartered by Total, left Dunkirk bound for Livorno, Italy, with a cargo of 30 thousand tons of heavy oil on board. The storm is raging. New force wind battered by seven-meter waves, the hull of the Erika cracks. The tanker will never reach a port. Breaks in two and sinks off the coast of Brittany, spilling its cargo onto the French coast. Local residents, municipalities, associations and fishermen are demanding accountability. But to whom? Then begins a legal drama that will last thirteen years and reveal how impenetrable the laws of the sea are. When the accident occurred on the high seas. International maritime law. The Montego Bay Convention provides that the applicable law, the applicable jurisdiction is that of the flag of the ship which caused the disaster. For example, in the case of the Erika, it is a boat under the Maltese flag, so it is the Malta Maritime Authority which should have managed the consequences of this disaster. The sinking of the Erika once again highlights the opacity of the maritime world. Sovereignty of the flag of convenience. Delegation of security control to private actors. Offshore company. For example, it took a year of investigation for us to discover who was the real owner of the ship, for example. This is information that is not obvious. The president of a company in France, you find him in the next two minutes. Knowing who is the owner of a ship is something that requires a certain legal expertise, international investigations, etc., etc. The Erika, registered in Malta, is controlled by two Liberian companies, owned by an Italian who is domiciled in London. The tanker was chartered by a Bahamas company acting through a Swiss company on behalf of a British company which represents a Total subsidiary based in Panama. Some of these countries. Some flags of convenience have incorporated rules into their own legislation that prohibit disclosing the names of natural persons who own companies. For example. This is the case of Liberia in Liberia. You can't ask for the law. It does not allow you to ask who is the legal representative of a particular company, for example. When the trial opened in February 2007, we encountered no fewer than four candidates for the presidency of the Republic in the corridors of the Paris courthouse. The sinking of the Erika became a political affair and its trial a platform to demand that the world of shipping assume its responsibilities. What we first expect is for there to be an outcome that ends with a conviction, that is to say that we cannot continue to pollute the environment as we have done until now. now, without anyone paying, that responsibilities are established, obviously that the victims are compensated, but above all, for the associations of the civil parties, that the ecological damage is recognized at its fair value, that the ecological damage is compensated . Cassation appeal. The Erika's legal drama ends with the conviction of the shipowner of its classification society manager Rina, who had checked the ship. And finally, from total freshness to the maximum fines provided for by law. It is a symbolically important decision since it is a criminal conviction and it is a criminal conviction which recognizes It is an embryo, but which in any case recognizes a right to compensation for environmental damage. That wasn't a foregone conclusion either. Damage to the environment is compensated from the Erika before the environment. It didn't belong to anyone. So the Erika has introduced an embryo of compensation, which is shaking the maritime world a little. A year after the Erika verdict, another trial, that of the Prestige oil spill, will demonstrate that nothing is taken for granted. The court failed to determine who owned the 63,000 tonnes of crude oil transported by this Liberian tanker registered in the Bahamas. Lack of responsibility. The ecological damage, that is to say the pollution of hundreds of kilometers of Spanish and French coasts, is not recognized by the Spanish justice system. But the emotion aroused by the sinking of garbage boats and oil spills will change the face of maritime transport. Brussels imposes measures to prevent new oil accidents. Erika packages. The double hull is made compulsory for sailing in Europe. Controls are strengthened and a European Maritime Safety Agency is created. The European Commission also imposes control on classification societies. These private law companies, which are sometimes venerable institutions such as Lloyds Register, RINA or Bureau Veritas, are responsible for controlling the construction and maintenance of ships and responsible for issuing navigation certificates. Ok. The prestige of the Erika on the Atlantic coasts has greatly advanced maritime security. Maritime transport is progressing, not by constraint, main and regulatory constraint and regulatory constraint. Very often, public pressure and public pressure born from the accident. Oil spill, oil shock, carbon footprint. In the light of crises, the world is discovering that maritime transport not only has an economic impact, but also an ecological impact. A cargo ship can consume more than 100 tonnes of heavy fuel oil per day. With the sharp increase in maritime transport, pollution is increasing accordingly. When we talk about. When we talk about cost. The most expensive. Today, it's fuel. It's not the men who work. In a shipping company for example, in mine. The cost of fuel is almost triple the crew salaries. As for fuel. So the price of fuel is really exorbitant. And of course, this implies that shipowners are doing everything to reduce costs. Reduce this cost. My job. My job as captain is to navigate from point A to point B. Making maximum savings. Everybody. Anyone who has been involved in shipping for years knows that since the 2008 crisis, the objective has been to save money on fuel consumption. Consumption. To meet these economic requirements, a new concept has been developed in shipping: slow streaming. While at the beginning of the 2000s, the average speed of ships was 25 knots, Mayor McKinney Moller reduced its speed to 19 knots to halve its fuel consumption. Container ships have traditionally been built with a speed-oriented design. That's changed over the last five or six years. The goal is no longer speed. The goal is. To improve fuel efficiency for machinery and limit consumption, as well as emissions such as CO2 emissions. When we arrive in Northern Europe, that is to say when we cross the Channel. We change to better quality fuel, which of course reduces the sulfur released into the atmosphere as well as particles. Certainly, the carbon footprint of a tonne transported by sea is fifteen times less than that of a truck. But shipping is not necessarily green transport, as shipowners say. The heavy fuel oil used as soon as ships leave northern Europe is 40 times richer in sulfur and other particles than diesel. With the increase in maritime traffic, air pollution caused by ships cruising off the coast of Europe has become more important than emissions from factories and cars. In response to this threat, a timetable was adopted by European states to reduce sulfur discharges called SOX by 90% and extend the controlled zones to the Mediterranean. This new. From January 1, 2015, there are new regulations on sulfur. Unfortunately, it has the side effect of increasing the cost of our fuel by 40%. This is a huge challenge for the industry which is currently under considerable pressure. Meeting in Brussels, the shipowners' lobby is trying to put pressure on the European institutions in order to obtain deadlines and subsidies to deal with these additional costs. Many people have a stereotypical idea of what a lobbyist is, someone with money in their pocket who tries to bribe people. It may still exist, but I don't think it's really our job. Our job is really to make our industry's position known to legislative leaders so that they know that when they propose something, whether it's a new law or a new regulation, they know what the consequences could be for the industry. industry of industries. The legislation on sulfur emissions was ratified by the International Maritime Organization, the UN of the sea, in 1997. But for more than fifteen years, shipowners have been burying their heads in the sand. One of the biggest problems. What we had is that in 2011 2012, no one was talking about respecting the rules. Everyone sat there dreaming and thinking there would be a miracle. Okay, okay, no one, that's an exaggeration. Well, most companies said it won't happen. The maritime profession waited a bit , thinking perhaps that things would resolve themselves. So the shipowners. Meet up. Today we are faced with a deadlock situation and they will have to manage it and perhaps there will be postponements. But in any case, what is imposed on us will be imposed on us. As happened with oil spills. Air pollution has become a red line for European voters vis-à-vis shipowners. The European Transport Commissioner whistles the end of the game. Leaving. Ladies and gentlemen, the issue of sulfur has been one of the nightmare issues for me as European Commissioner since the start of my mandate. Industry must be. The industry must make a profit. This is my great conviction. No profits, no jobs. But of course, corporations also have other interests. And for Europe, environmental objectives are key objectives. Objective, the standoff has only just begun. And in this battle, shipowners know that they can count on support, including within Union governments. I say to Europe and the Greek Parliament. Boats have a propeller and a mast rope. You can very easily lower the pavilion and raise another one. We can turn the propeller to go elsewhere. We Greeks must understand this well and protect the status of our shipowners. Our friends in Brussels must also understand this. It seems to me that you have a problem with Brussels? Very clearly, very clearly. I would say the threat of butterflying. Is a constant threat that has. Been restless such a. Red rag for decades. And in truth, I believe it is simply behind this speech. The desire to escape everything. Social or environmental regulations which could represent a cost. On board the 50 thousand ships that drive world trade, there are 1,000,000 and a half sailors. 1.5 million invisible workers. Night falls on the Atlantic Ocean and the smoke is lost in the dark. Mayor McCain and Mauler arrive off the coast of Lisbon. An Indian officer and a Filipino sailor keep watch on the bridge. Overnight. I have to go to the bridge. I am the lookout with the officer on duty. It's really peaceful, it's calm. So the night is good. In addition. During the day, you cannot see the lights of the ships. But at night we can see at a distance, we can see the lights. So we know there is a ship. That. This is the radar console. This is mainly for detecting targets and controlling the boat. We use this little joystick that is there. We can deviate from the course to port or starboard, so we go to port and like that we go to starboard. When I was young. When I was young, the reason I wanted to be a sailor was because I wanted to travel the world. But my dream came true and what's more, it helps my family because I have this job. There's no real reason. It's just the call of the merchant marine of adventure. You will visit other countries and what's more, the salary is good. That's the most important thing. Most people don't admit it, but money is the most important factor. You can see you Me can me. Seeing in the middle of the night in 45 degree weather in the engine room, standing with a cup of coffee smiling and thinking that life is great because I'm here and working on this huge machine. The engines sound like music in my ears. I feel completely at ease. I feel like I'm happy here. But of course, there are also times when we think What am I doing here, on the other side of the world, far from my family? A boat is a factory operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At any time, sailors are working and relieving other sailors who are on break. In the age of globalization, Skype and Facebook have replaced the love letter that the sailor would post to L'Escale. Coming back to my. Mother, my mother. Baby love you. So the Internet has become the thread that connects these men to a world of which they will only see the docks. Until the end of the contract. Happy birthday. To you, Happy birthday, L’ado wish you happiness in your life every day. Every Wednesday, I make them a cake. I like Marin's life. And I stay here for six months. Yes. Six months and. Then vacation for a month or two, it depends. Often, I do extensions. And do you know why ? Because I love the Danes. We, the Danish sailors, the Danish mechanics, go out to sea for eleven weeks and also come home regularly for eleven weeks. I do five months, then two and a half months. So I work on board for five months and I go home for two and a half months and come back. Recently, young Danish mechanics have seen their conventions change. They do the same as foreigners. Now four months out and two months at home. What also changes from one sailor to another are the salaries which vary from one nationality to another, on the same boat for the same position. On board ships, even if the number of sailors is decreasing, here, there are only 22 sailors to maneuver the largest container ship in the world. Payroll is the only item where the shipowner can reduce its costs. There are no adjustment variables. Yes, yes, freight rates are increasing. No variable adjustment. Fuel cannot be reduced and shipping costs cannot be reduced. Maintenance is minimal. What's left? We hit the sailors, even if there's not much, but. Most of the sailors come from China, Turkey, the Philippines, India or the former Eastern countries. Recruited by mining companies, temporary work from the sea. They must abandon fundamental labor rights on the quay. We remember the garbage boats abandoned with their crews in distress by unscrupulous shipowners. The last one failed in a French port and the Antigone Z. A Lithuanian refrigerated cargo ship flying the Panama flag with ten sailors on board. It had been six months since the Greek shipowner had not paid the crew. The boat will remain at the dock in Douarnenez for a year before the International Seamen's Union manages to have them repatriated home. I hope that in ten years, there will be no more shipowners. Will not have. Interest. To hire Russians, Africans or. Chinese because. That they will have rights and they will know how to enforce their rights. In 2013, a new international convention MLC 2006 came into force to regulate working conditions at sea. It aims to definitively put an end to these practices. This convention aims to protect and improve living conditions and working conditions. Of all the sailors on the ships, This doesn't really concern us at the European or Western European level, but the third world countries. Protection was minimal. There will always be trash boats , rogue shipowners and exploited sailors. Controls and regulations are strengthening. No more long stopovers to unload cargo by crane and on the backs of men. Maritime adventure is relegated to the past. A sailor today leaves his family to join a multinational crew that he did not choose. Finds himself forced to live as a single person for months without going ashore, with a fairly hard pace of work on a ship where alcohol consumption is prohibited. To survive in these conditions, you have to be not an adventurer or a party animal, but a psychologically balanced ascetic. Now they don't say we're sailors anymore. They say we are professionals, global maritime professionals. We are proud of that. As soon as there was maritime transport, there was piracy. The Strait of Malacca, Somalia and the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea are the fragile areas at the start of the 21st century. Over the past fifteen years, 2,300 global maritime professionals have lost the freedom to ensure the precious flow of goods. At least 50 have been killed, others tortured and 47 remain prisoners because no one will ever pay their ransom. To face the pirate threat. The marines were mobilized. Since 2008, a European naval force has protected the 20 thousand ships which sail each year between Asia and Europe, passing through the Suez Canal. The fourth is always. Of two factors. The first. Wealth passing away. Just in front of. Countries that are very poor. And then the incapacity of the State. To monitor and control your coasts. Authorities. Control. Nevertheless. Some traffic, but there is some. Lawless areas and therefore. There are. Arms trafficking problems. There are also concerns about terrorism. Shebabs causing problems. Security in Somalia. Are an example. And then there is also. Al-Qaeda in the North Zone in some places. So, there are real threats, real groups that are monitored, that we fight against to try to reduce the threat. WE are in the operating room of the. Currently, we are in the operations room of the French ship Le Sirocco. Of course, the majority of the crew is French, but we have different nationalities , people who come from other European countries, that is to say today Italy, Portugal, Spain, Serbia , Greece, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. Yes, in this region of the world, piracy is a seasonal phenomenon which depends on the monsoon. Flat seas for three months of the year allow the skiffs, the long fishing canoes equipped with powerful engines, to catch up with the cargo ships. The team usually used for attacks has more powerful engines. This is part of the clues that indicated. The large gasoline reserves which are generally located in. The peak was reached in 2011 with 176 attacks, up to 600 sailors taken hostage. The action of the naval forces and the protective measures barbed wire, water lances, higher speeds and private guards have borne fruit. This figure dropped to seven in 2013, two in 2014 off the coast of Somalia. I command a European force and it is undoubtedly a success story for Europe, this force for protecting world trade. And because it is Europe's economic interests that are at stake in this part of the world, in the Indian Ocean. I believe that, like France, Europe is opening its eyes to the importance of its economic power and the wealth it can draw from the sea. Despite the successes achieved by the navies, piracy will remain a threat until Somalia emerges from the chaos caused by years of civil war and plunder of coastal resources by foreign factory ships. Piracy has become the only way for many young Somali fishermen to get their share of the global economy. For these young pirates, the dream will end in a prison in the Seychelles. Okay, okay, let's go. It's good for you ? It's good for you. Okay, that's it. It's good. It's good. Okay, here we go. The Pirates. Even if they carry weapons, these are not. Not combatants in the sense of law. War within the meaning of the law of armed conflict. These are not soldiers who do not benefit from everything that may be the Geneva Convention on the status of prisoners of war, etc. They are nothing more and nothing less than delinquents. If we catch pirates and put them on a French ship, we apply French detention law. These pirates are held on board until they are handed over to the police. A magistrate, that they have access to a lawyer like everyone else. After Somalia, new fronts opened in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Brazil, in the Caribbean and in the China Sea. The fight against piracy is costly for States and shipowners. 7 billion dollars for 2011 alone , including 2 billion in insurance premiums. The action of the navy is not enough. So shipowners are increasingly calling on mercenaries who board their ships. We have a very. Good cooperation with NATO forces as well as with vessels of the European Union naval forces in. Indian Ocean. Now the main security provider is private companies. Soldiers who returned from Afghanistan or Iraq are unemployed and we also have Greeks working in security. So I think it's a great job market for ex-soldiers who can't find well-paid work in other sectors. I believe it is very important, not only for safety, but also in social matters. Considering that sea routes are the blood circulatory network of the world. What can cause a heart attack? Well here you have important straits Bab el Meddeb, The Gate of Tears, the Straits of Malacca, the Sunda Straits, the Suez Canal. All these places are obligatory passages for commercial traffic. Whoever controls these places controls free maritime traffic and can block them as well as let them pass. These are international straits of free transit. Now, these are points of weakness. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. Between 1859 and 1869, tens of thousands of Egyptians dug the desert under the direction of Ferdinand de Lesseps. Located in the heart of the Middle East, the canal is the issue of all wars and all crises. In 1956, in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Colonel Nasser, France, England and Israel attacked Egypt. But the expedition was condemned by the UN. In 1967, during the Six Day War, Israel captured the Sinai and the canal became the front line between Egypt and Israel. Ships engaged in the canal will remain blocked. I am happy that now once the world's It will take a new war and eight years for the Suez Canal to be returned to traffic and for the fifteen cargo ships trapped by the conflict to be free. It has an impact. The impact of the 1967 war was severe because the canal was closed for about eight years. In 1973, after the war and the peace treaty with Israel, we reclaimed the canal and now it plays an important role in our economy and the economy. The Suez Canal is vital for global maritime traffic, but also for Egypt. After tourism and the foreign exchange sent to the country by emigrant workers, the Suez Canal is Egypt's third source of income. With 18,000 passages per year, it brings in $6 billion. At the end of August 2013, an Islamist group attacked the Chinese container ship Cosco Asia without any real damage. But this failed attack highlighted a point of fragility, an aneurysm. During the Arab Spring in 2011, there was a threat to national security that can be characterized by the collapse of security forces in Egypt, including the military apparatus. And certain. Terrorist groups began carrying out some attacks on ships passing through the Suez Canal. And on Canal. Despite this, I believe that the Suez Canal is safe because the Egyptian army secures free passage in the Suez Canal. What was the target of this terrorist group? Probably Egypt, its economy and the army, a few weeks after the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government. But we must not forget, still in this region, the suicide attack against the American destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden by Al-Qaeda. Terrorism on land was transposed to the sea and inspired maritime terrorism, which was unfortunately facilitated by globalization. Economic financing of this type of activity is ensured quite easily. Industry Industry The maritime industry, which represents the Western developed world, has become a target. The threat is a powerful and dirty bomb, hidden in one of the millions of containers that travel anonymously around the world. The attacks of September 11, 2001 had a significant impact on maritime security. Controls at entry to countries are reinforced for men, but they are increasingly simplified for goods engaged in fierce competition. Ports compete on the fluidity and speed of the flow of containers. Would an efficient port be a port without control? We still endeavor to carry out some control of the controls which are carried out intelligently, in particular on the basis of targeting criteria. The objective is to control as few containers as possible. But we are on a basis of one in 1000 to avoid wasted time which is a concern for our economic operators and which also allows us to be competitive compared to other European ports. We can put it another way: 99.9% of the containers that are transported around the world are never checked and will only be checked after a terrorist attack. The rules of shipping will only be rewritten after the disaster. The Big One, the one that will paralyze major ports and global trade. And if what you are asking is that we open all the containers and check the contents of each box, that will clearly strangle world trade because speed is important and the economy depends on it. . Economies of scale. I believe that countries consider that this is the price to pay. They will have to fight at home to try to dismantle the criminal organizations involved. But you are right, we could imagine a more secure system where nothing goes in, nothing goes out, like in North Korea. Maritime trade has always shaped the world. On the Bund, the right bank of the flooded river which crosses Shanghai. There are the majestic buildings where banks and colonial companies were headquartered in the 1930s. Opposite, on the other bank, rise the tallest buildings in the world, a symbol of Chinese economic power. Who controls the sea. Who controls world trade. Did the east wind prevail over the west wind, as Chairman Mao predicted? It would be too simple. 60% of Chinese exports are made by companies with foreign capital and it is European shipowners who direct the great ballet of global trade. Today, it is neither China, nor Europe, nor the United States that controls the oceans. An invisible iron fist holds the helm of world trade and imposes its laws on States. The global market? He has no nationality. Like three quarters of the ships that crisscross the oceans.
