Tall Ships And Stars

(Tall Ships And Stars)

Aristotle Onassis was at one time the richest man in the world. He made his fortune through the control of global transport of petroleum, from source to market. Onassis tankers, modest ships at first but ultimately the first super-tankers. Onassis' held a virtually monopoly in that regard and while the Greek industrialist has passed on, the tanker routes from the Near East and other petroleum producing areas have been established and the dis-ruption of tanker traffic can have adverse global effects.


The Red Sea is one of those heavily trafficked routes, tankers from the Persian Gulf round the Arabian Peninsula and into the Sea is being suspended for the time being because Houthi terrorists in Yemen are bringing commerce under fire. Linking to the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean and on to European and American refineries. That being said, however, these stresses on the transport of oil are taking place against the back-drop of Biden's war on fossil fuels. The President just issued new prohibitions on off-shore exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.


If BP or ExxonMobil cannot move product, and President Biden wants no product to move, how then can tanker traffic be sustained ? The whole global economy is petroleum dependent, despite what Biden might think and thankfully, most of the industrialized world is beginning to limit its embrace of green technology, instead returning to the traditional use of oil and such.


If one looks at a calendar, an election year starts next month. The President has known all along that inflation is a problem and is probably also aware that if gas prices could be lowered, if more oil was produced. But, if the new declarations about the Gulf are any indication, Biden remains un-willing to take this most obvious step.


If Donald Trump makes a return, however, and restores American energy dominance, those tankers will take on product for export. Also, Houthi threats will be largely neutralized by that point.


A Tall Ship and a star to steer her by.

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