View allAll Photos Tagged GlobalTrade
This breathtaking aerial view captures a moment of tranquil grandeur over the Bay of Bengal near Patenga, Chattogram. The scene is dominated by the intense, radiant glow of the setting sun, which casts a vivid orange and gold hue across the entire frame. Hundreds of cargo and container ships are anchored in the calm, deep water, forming a dense pattern that stretches to the horizon. The sunlight hits the water's surface, creating a long, shimmering reflection that adds a dramatic, ethereal quality to the seascape. The combination of the fiery sky, the placid water, and the quiet, imposing presence of the ships conveys a powerful sense of both global commerce and natural serenity at dusk.
The image captures a striking maritime scene at Dublin Port, where the massive car carrier Swallow Ace is being expertly guided by the smaller but robust tugboat Beaufort. The Swallow Ace, a modern roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel, is designed to transport thousands of vehicles across the globe. Built to handle the demanding conditions of international shipping, this car carrier boasts a capacity to hold around 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles, making it a vital link in the global automotive supply chain. On this particular journey, the Swallow Ace has traveled an impressive distance, starting from the port of Bantagas, Japan, and making strategic stops at major hubs like Shanghai, Singapore, Tyne on Weir, Zeebrugge, before reaching its final destination in Dublin. This voyage underscores the ship’s role in connecting automotive manufacturers with markets across Asia, Europe, and beyond, ensuring vehicles reach dealerships and consumers efficiently.
Assisting the Swallow Ace into port is the Beaufort, a Dublin Port tug known for its reliability and power despite its smaller size. Named after the Beaufort Scale, a measure of wind speed used by mariners, the tug is well-suited for maneuvering large vessels through the often tricky waters of busy ports. The Beaufort is part of Dublin Port’s fleet of tugs, equipped with advanced propulsion systems and a bollard pull capacity that allows it to handle even the largest ships with precision. Its green hull and sturdy build are a familiar sight to those in Dublin Port, where it plays a critical role in ensuring safe docking and departure operations. The collaboration between the Swallow Ace and Beaufort highlights the intricate teamwork required in maritime logistics, where vessels of vastly different sizes work together to keep global trade flowing smoothly.
This moment at Dublin Port marks the culmination of a long journey for the Swallow Ace, which has navigated thousands of nautical miles to deliver its cargo of vehicles to European markets. The overcast sky and calm waters of the port create a serene backdrop for this industrial ballet, with the Beaufort carefully nudging the car carrier into position. For Dublin, the arrival of such ships is a testament to its importance as a trade gateway, while for the crews of both vessels, it’s another successful leg in the complex web of global shipping. The Swallow Ace will soon unload its cargo, likely a mix of Japanese and Asian-manufactured cars, before preparing for its next voyage, while the Beaufort continues its tireless work, ready to assist the next ship entering or leaving the port.
A vivid pink cargo ship, "ONE HARBOUR," adds a bold and colorful touch to Hamburg’s bustling port. Contrasting against the industrial backdrop of stacked shipping containers and cranes, this eye-catching vessel stands out as a symbol of modern maritime transport. With seagulls in flight and deep blue waters below, this scene captures the dynamic energy of international shipping and trade.
Packed and ready to go — these Ecuadorian roses leave Hacienda La Compañía and can be sold in Amsterdam or Brussels within 24 hours, no repacking needed.
We are headed for a global currency reset in which cash will be phased out and replaced with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The role of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency will soon come to an end. It will be substituted with a multipolar system of reserve currencies that will be placed under the oversight of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) will be expanded to support global trade and investment. This will reduce the dominance of any one country in the global financial system, providing greater stability to the global economy.
Such a system will only last for so long, because it’s a repackaged fiat currency scheme. This system is designed to crash, so that it can be further centralized. In the march towards a one world government (open borders and global citizens), all CBDCs will eventually be consolidated into a centralized One World Digital Currency. The quickest and easiest way to integrate the world’s populace into such a system will be through the introduction of a microchip ID system. Therefore, this new global currency system will be linked to a mandatory system-on-a-chip smart tattoo. A person’s information will be tied to their bio-compatible tattoo. They will be tracked in real time all the time. All their data will be analyzed by AI and stored on the cloud. As a security precaution, piezoelectric biometric nanomachine technology will monitor the inside of each person’s body; this will protect their biometric information from unauthorized access from ever-evolving cyber-based vulnerabilities.
The Bible warns that a day is coming when no one will be able to buy or sell without a mark (stamp of servitude) on their hand or forehead. 666: only transhumans will be allowed to participate in the Beast system. Indeed, the future comes in small packages.
John Rice, Vice-Chairman, GE, Hong Kong SAR at the India Economic Summit 2016 in New Delhi, India, Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s
Samir Saran, Vice-President, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India at the India Economic Summit 2016 in New Delhi, India, Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
I can’t be sure of the dates — spring of 1988 I believe. I’ve left Pakistan, travelled across India by rail, flown on Thai Airways to Nepal and having no success with poste restante in Katmandu, proceeded to hike around Annapurna Circuit.
Nowadays I understand the 15-20 day trek has been cut shorter as roads climb higher on either side.
At the last collection of tea houses before crossing over 5416m Thoroung La pass, at the edge of the Tibetan plateau, there were some medics who would check people for altitude sickness. I took the advice and acclimatised further for a couple of days before proceeding over the pass.
Just before the pass this yak herder and trader had a shelter and served tsampas.
Some photographs are firmly of a time and remain so. Other photographs, it seems, change with the passing of time or perhaps seen with different eyes, serve different purposes. I feel like this photograph provides access back in time.
I remember a conversation with the man, whose hardscrabble existence turned out to be only part of the story. He’d travelled widely in region, mostly trading, and regularly got as far as Hong Kong. I didn’t have any preconception — just naiveté — but his wide travels had’t occured to me.
Since then I’ve read more about early exploration in the Himalaya. Ed Douglas’ rich, compelling _Himalaya: A Human History_, says that
‘The fault line in this web of ethnicity and trade was always between ethnic Tibetan populations, genetically adapted to life at high altitude, and those from the south; to paraphrase the Italian anthropologist Giuseppe Tucci the "rice-lama line" between rice-growers from the south and Tibetan Buddhists from the north. Growing food at altitude is difficult and limited to particular crops, and so the risks inherent to trade become more worthwhile. For most of Himalayan history, traders could make a small fortune in the space of a few harvests. Trade also encouraged a more cosmopolitan outlook; hospitality in a tough environment like the Himalaya is not desirable, it's essential.
‘The anthropologist Christoph von Ffirer-Haimendor described ‘a system of hospitality ideally suited to the needs of long-distance traders not only in need of shelter in an inclement climate but dependent for their business on relationships of personal trust established and strengthened by occasions for conviviality’. It was on the trade routes of the eastern Himalaya that the Sherpa reputation for hospitality was born.’ (p154)
and later
‘Tibet's experience of the world extended far beyond its immediate neighbours. Although Bogle was the first European whom Lobsang Palden Yeshe, the sixth Panchen Lama, had met, the lama had a wide range of European objects in his possession: a French pocket compass and a camera obscura with scenes of London, for example. … This exchange of knowledge flowed both ways. Bogle was given instruction in Tibetan history and law, as well as more arcane subjects like cosmography. He was also presented with a map, a gift from the Panchen Lama himself; it was an almost casual offer but one resonant with significance. It also challenges western assumptions about what remote Tibet knew of the world beyond the mountains.’ (p202)
Affable British George Bogel was ‘pressing the East India Trading Company’s trading interests’ in 1774. 1774!
In Clare Harris’ excellent _Photography and Tibet_ she describes the importance of the photographic record. (I realize I am muddling Nepal and Tibet, but the thinking is similar.)
[I]n concluding this discussion of British photography in Tibet, we should note that the photographs accumulated in the period before 1950 when Chinese Maoists began to encroach upon Tibetan territory in earnest, are hugely important. Archived in the United Kingdom, they constitute the most extensive visual record of Tibet under the rule of the Dalai Lamas in existence in any nation … Tragic though it may be, pictures created by the likes of Bell, Richardson and other British colonial agents before 1950 provide rare documentation of a Tibet under Tibetan governance and organized according to Tibetan religious principles. They are therefore greatly valued in Tibetan and Tibetophile circles around the world, if steeped in nostalgia for a place that has been radically transformed since then. Thus, in the case of Tibet photography (unlike that of India or Africa in the postcolonial era, for example), the imperial archive has a particular kind of afterlife in which critique of the contexts of its production has often been muted in deference to the politics of the present. (Loc 962)
The Wikipedia article has some interesting historical detail:
‘The Annapurna area was opened to foreign trekkers in 1977 after the disputes between CIA backed Khampa guerrillas operating from the area into Tibet, and the local populace and Nepal army were settled.Road construction started in the early 1980s both from Dhumre to the north and from Pokhara to the west and then up the Kali Gandaki valley. [I remember starting from Dhumre.]
Nostalgically, ‘of the trek's original 23 days, only 5 walking days of the trek are now without a motor road. … The existence of the road has nevertheless changed the area, appearance, and atmosphere of the villages.’
Financial District in Mexico City, Mexico.
As a reminder, keep in mind that this picture is available only for non-commercial use and that visible attribution is required. If you'd like to use this photo outside these terms, please contact me ahead of time to arrange for a paid license.
Richard Samans, Head of the Centre for the Global Agenda, Member of the Managing Board, World Economic Forum, Marisol Argueta de Barillas, Head of Latin America, Member of the Executive and Eric Parrado, Superintendent of Banks and Financial Institutions of Chile
A nighttime image of Liverpool2 container terminal, capturing the scale and energy of one of the UK’s busiest shipping hubs
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s
Marisol Argueta de Barillas, Head of Latin America, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of
Cuba and María Claudia Lacouture, Minister of Trade Industry and Tourism of Colombia
at World Economic Forum on Latin America 2016 in Medellin, Colombia. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Alem Tedeneke, Media Specialist - World Economic Forum USA, Becky Johnson, Executive Director, Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and Mary Rollins, Senior Vice President, Discovery Education, USA at World Economic Forum on Latin America 2016 in Medellin, Colombia. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Robert Cox, Global Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Reuters Breakingviews.com, USA, Eric Parrado, Superintendent of Banks and Financial Institutions of Chile; Young Global Leader; Global Agenda Council on Latin America, Richard Eldridge, Chief Executive Officer, Lenddo, Philippines; Technology Pioneer; Global Agenda Council on Social Media and Matthew Blake, Head of Banking and Capital Markets Industry at World Economic Forum on Latin America 2016 in Medellin, Colombia. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Sure I knew it was possible, but it actually happened, and now there is just so much to think about.
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s
EverPort Terminal aerial view - Evergreen freight ship Ever Chivalry and cargo in Port of Oakland, California - © 2020 David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions aerial photography archives - performanceimpressions.com
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s
Landon Downs, President and Co-Founder, 1QB Information Technologies (1QBit), Canada at the India Economic Summit 2016 in New Delhi, India, Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Big Ship Tourism at the Agua Clara locks on the Panama Canal 16 Apr 2025. The Super Panamax MV Ever Memo approaches the locks eastbound toward the Caribbean.
Model of the Dutch East India Company ship "Valkeniss" (60-gun Dutch East Indiaman), c.1717, wood with hemp-and-cotton rigging, 228.6 x 96.5 x 203.2 cm fully rigged; the actual ship was 160 x 40 feet and was wrecked off the coast of Java in 1740 (MFA, Boston); conserved by Rob Napier who recreated the lost masts and rigging in the 1990s