web statisticswebsite tracking software
bradskelton.com theshippingbloke.com

Thursday 28 November 2013

The fastest ship in the world

The fastest ship in the world is the "Francisco" which is a 99 metre long vehicle and passenger ferry built by Incat in Hobart, Australia. She is capable of speeds of up to 58.1 knots or 107.6 km per hour with 150 cars and 1000 passengers on board.


The technology in the "Francisco" is amazing. She is a wave piercing catamaran and is powered by two GE gas turbines with modified Boeing 747 jet engines. The two engines combined produce 59,000 horsepower!

The primary fuel is LNG and Incat claim it to be the fastest, environmentally cleanest and most efficient high speed ferry in the world. The vessel will be operating between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Below is a short YouTube clip about the ship.


The technological advances in the maritime industry producing vessels with capabilities like the "Francisco" are game changers for the industry. Much like what the Concorde did for world air travel when they were first launched although fuel economy and environmental impact were not really a big consideration back then.
All for now,

Thursday 14 November 2013

Depth Logistics is a finalist for Freight Forwarder of the Year in the Australian Shipping and Maritime Awards

I am very proud to advise with less than a year of operations +Depth Logistics is receiving recognition from it's industry peers.

We have been told this week that the company is a finalist in not one, but two categories of the 2013 Australian Shipping and Maritime Awards!

Depth Logistics stands to win the "Freight Forwarder of the Year" category and +Jenny Ruffell Smith of our team is in the running to win the "New Generation" award.

The awards ceremony is Thursday the 21st of November in Melbourne and I'll make some Google+ posts to keep you updated as the night unfolds.

Thanks to our great team and everyone else who has supported the company and enabled us to create some innovative new shipping services, powerful logistics and technological resources that makes shipping easier for our clients.

Depth Logistics - The Art of Logistics Management and Technology

Please wish us luck!

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

Wednesday 13 November 2013

So why do we still need phone numbers?

All of my companies and I use Google Apps for Business as our communications platform. It gives us the full suite of Email, Instant Messenger, Hangouts(video conferencing) and Drive(cloud storage) and Google+ for social networking. It is cheaper than any other platform I am aware of to run and in our experience hangouts have proven to be far more reliable and easier to use than Skype and we can have up to ten of our team members around the world in a single Hangout simultaneously. The connectivity to our Android phones is seamless too.

Whether you personally prefer Google, Apple, Microsoft or others, the one thing that has become a common denominator among them all is that you set up an account that creates a unique personal ID or profile and gives you access to the online resources. The advantage Google+ has is that from this single platform you can initiate hangouts, IM and emails as well as access to numerous other Google based applications such as YouTube.

I believe applications like Hangouts and Apple's FaceTime are gradually taking over from phone calls. After all they are more personal if you choose to video conference than a phone call and cheaper too. They also go beyond international borders for no extra cost per minute. Not to mention you can share photos and other files which you can't do in a phone call. 

Instead of having a phone number and using the phone system to speak to someone you can use the internet and mobile data connections to do the same. So why do we need a personal phone number anymore when you have your profile or account ID that allows people to find you and then connect more easily than ever?

If you are not familiar with Hangouts, check this 1.23 minute YouTube clip out to see what I mean.


Retailers are suffering because in many categories of goods buying online now provides the superior consumer experience. Communications are the same. With modern smartphones enabling Hangouts, FaceTime and the like so cheaply and internationally, phone calls and texts no longer provide the superior communications experience. Increasingly mobile phone plans will be about the data plan you have and not the voice or text.

As for email...well if you really want feel old....the younger generation sees this as "old school"! Their main communication is done via their preferred social network.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Super Typhoon Haiyan

Last Friday at 4.30am local time Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. There are unconfirmed reports of up to 10,000 people dead and millions now homeless and currently without food and water. UNICEF estimate 4 million children are seriously impacted right now. 

A "super typhoon" is defined a by it's wind speeds. A typhoon with wind speeds over 241km per hour that are sustained for longer than a 1 minute in duration is classified as "super". Can you imagine the affect of sustained winds at this speed? Devastating!

Typhoon Haiyan from space
Haiyan hit the south of the Philippines hardest. Depth Offshore has it's team located in the north so I am relieved to report that everyone is okay there. Some of our team members have been unable to contact family and friends in the south since last Thursday as communications infrastructure has been wiped out.

The people in the Philippines need help to overcome this massive natural disaster.

There are numerous aid agencies with appeals running. Our team and associates outside the Philippines are going to support UNICEF and I urge anybody reading this blog post to do the same or make a donation to another reputable aid agency.


Please make a donation and share the link or this blog to friends and family. Thank you!

All for now,