Category Archives: political economy

Factory Ships

Posted on 23 April 2014 by Laleh Khalili

Stories about enslaved fishermen on factory ships occasionally appear on BBC and other news sources.   A recent one tells us about the interdiction of one such ship by Thai police, which then lets the ship go.  Apparently Thai fishing … Continue reading →

Posted in labour, literature, political economy, shipping conditions, ships, the sea | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

LA/LB

Posted on 20 April 2014 by Laleh Khalili

There is an amazing bit in Alan Sekula‘s magisterial Forgotten Space where Angelenos of Latino origin sit at an outdoor space drinking beers and watching enormous container ships glide towards the unloading docks and cranes.  Ever since watching that, I really wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in Allan Sekula, infrastructure, logistics, militaries, political economy, ports, transport | Leave a comment

Piracy and Counter-piracy

Posted on 18 April 2014 by Laleh Khalili

There is a kind of romance around piracy.  It is the romance of anti-authority figures and of a life lived not just in the margins but outside the boundaries.   Just think about the masses of novels and films about piracy … Continue reading →

Posted in finance and insurance, logistics, piracy, political economy, ports, readings, shipping conditions, ships, transport | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sailing on dhows and working in the auto industry

Posted on 15 April 2014 by Laleh Khalili

  A facebook friend sent me a URL to a blogpost which introduced Sons of Sinbad by Alan Villiers…  What struck me was the contention that the book was “probably the only work of western travel literature that focuses on the seafarers of … Continue reading →

Posted in finance and insurance, labour, Middle East, political economy, readings, seafaring, shipping conditions, ships, the sea, transport | Leave a comment

London comes closer to the sea

Posted on 26 March 2014 by Laleh Khalili

Dubai Ports World runs London Gateway which will be competing against Felixstowe and Southampton to be the top container port in the UK.  Like many other DPW concerns, there seems to be an iron (or ham-) fisted determination to not let workers unionise – although … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, infrastructure, labour, logistics, political economy, ports, shipping conditions, ships, transport | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Interconnections

Posted on 26 March 2014 by Laleh Khalili

Dead Water by Simon Ings is the most fabulously dystopian novel about shipping, containers, ships, airships, tsunami, shipping, and dastardly deed that can happen when vast numbers of ships are circumnavigating the globes with vast numbers of containers on board.  One … Continue reading →

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Regimes of land tenure

Posted on 24 March 2014 by Laleh Khalili

Regimes of land tenure and ownership must form significant elements in the development of ports.   How quickly do these regimes change? What are the processes by which title deeds are issued, exchanged, bought, and sold?  Are there demonstrable differences … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, Middle East, political economy, ports | Leave a comment

Value in motion

Posted on 22 March 2014 by Laleh Khalili

“The more developed the capital, therefore, the more extensive the market over which it circulates, which forms the spatial orbit of its circulation, the more does it strive simultaneously for an even greater extension of the market and for greater … Continue reading →

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