Oil on Water Tankers, Pirates and the Rise of China

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 Wateris holistic, all encompassing and engrossing look at the way oil is moved and consumed mixing reportage, examples and hard-hitting facts.

Paul French has been based in Shanghai for many years as Chief China Representative of research and analysis consultancy Access Asia. He is a regular commentator of China and North East Asia on the international media. He is the author of a number of previous books including the well received North Korea The Paranoid Pensinsula for Zed Books.

Introduction * Chapter 1 - A Life Without Oil * Chapter 2  - The Shift East * Chapter 3 - The Great Voyage * Chapter 4 - Securing the SLOCs * Chapter 5 - Piracy: The Nebulous Threat * Chapter 6 - The Criminalisation of Crews * Chapter 7 - Flags of Convenience * Chapter 8 - Green Shipping? * Chapter 9 - Politics of Pipelines * Chapter 10 - Conclusion: The Future of Moving Oil * Further Reading and Sources * Index