Super-Yacht

This is the MY YAS, spotted in the Narrow Seas on Saturday afternoon. It is owned by Hamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan who is a member of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi. He has an estimated net worth of $1 billion.

There are at least two versions of capitalism.

The version that most of us live in which is oppressive and based on the exploitation of our labour. This is true the world over. The other version is of tax havens, off-shore island companies, and great wealth and power.

There have been huge political struggles, including the Arab Spring, which have sought to introduce democracy, workers’ rights and much else across north Africa and the Middle East. Many of these struggles over time have been defeated by military interventions from the USA, Russia, Britain and and local ruling classes.

Oil is the key to this. And oil workers. And seafarers. There is immense wealth but it is unevenly distributed.

The British government have just announced a 1 percent pay ‘increase’ for front line health workers who have spent the past 12 months working in extraordinary conditions during the global Covid-19 pandemic. Let’s not forget that at the start of this pandemic, nurses and health staff lacked proper PPE and equipment.

The bulk carrier Graecia Nautica sailing from Hamburg to New Orleans.

It’s possible that the other ship is the LNG Mezger which is sailing from the Tianjin, China, to Milford Haven.

Tianjin was one of the centres of the Boxer Rebellion. It was recaptured from the insurgents in July 1900 by the ‘Eight Nation Alliance’ who occupied the city and surrounding area. The alliance included representatives from the governments and ruling classes of Russia, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, USA, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.