Tuesday, April 02, 2024

Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to “Wall Climbing Robot"

[By: ClassNK]

ClassNK has granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions* to a “Wall Climbing Robot” from Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., and MOL Ship Management Co., Ltd.

“Wall Climbing Robot” can move to high places that were previously difficult to access by humans or robots, and can take photographs and inspections of the relevant parts. Moreover, it is capable of measuring the thickness of steel plates by remote operation by the operator. This not only avoids the dangers of working at heights, etc., but also eliminates the need for scaffolding, reducing labor costs and scaffolding costs.

Upon the application from those three companies, ClassNK has verified the function of “Wall Climbing Robot”, 1. Remote inspection in high places and various other locations such as hull planning, ballast tank, and boiler, 2. Acquisition of data necessary for periodic maintenance by equipping measurement tools such as thickness gauges and cameras, 3. Reduction of hazardous tasks for workers by remote operation, 4. Reduction of ancillary tasks such as scaffolding construction work, and issued a certificate.

ClassNK will continue to further promote its Innovation Endorsement for Ships, Products & Solutions, and Providers, and strive to support innovative technologies and initiatives.

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

Engine Room Fire Disables Prepositioning Ship Off Mobile

Last week, an engine room fire disabled the Military Sealift Command cargo ship USNS Sgt. William R. Button off the coast of Alabama, MSC has confirmed.

USNS Button got under way from the port of Mobile at about 0945 hours on Thursday morning. At about 1330 hours, as USNS Button was under way about 20 nm offshore, a fire broke out in the engine room, the Navy told local media. The crew used the fixed firefighting system to extinguish it. No outside assistance was needed, though the U.S. Coast Guard was there on standby, according to local WKRG News.

USNS Button returned safely to Mobile's harbor on Friday, under tow. No injuries were reported among her 53 crewmembers.

The Button is a John P. Bobo-class con/ro cargo ship assigned to MSC's maritime prepositioning fleet. The class has a ro/ro loading ramp at the stern for wheeled and tracked cargo, and is capable of supporting the lightering system for over-the-shore logistics. She was built for American Overseas Marine (AMSEA) at the former Fore River Shipyard in Massachusetts in 1986, and was one of the last ships the yard delivered: it closed later that year. Under operation by General Dynamics AMSEA, Button served the Maritime Administration for sealift operations, including Operation Desert Shield. She came under MSC ownership for the Prepositioning Program in 2006.

Based on AIS data, USNS Button has been in Mobile since July 2023.

Last Remaining Survivor of USS Arizona Passes Away at 102

USS Arizona's superstructure after the attack (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Lou Conter, the last remaining survivor of the lost battleship USS Arizona, has passed away at the age of 102. He was one of 335 sailors who survived the Japanese strike on the warship during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 - and just one of 93 survivors who had been on the ship.

Conter was a quartermaster aboard Arizona, which was at her berth next to a repair ship when Japanese bombers arrived at about 0800 that morning. One bomb detonated a magazine, setting off more than one million pounds of gunpowder for her cannons. The blast tore through the ship from the forward turrets aft, and she partially sank at her berth. The wreckage above the waterline continued to burn for two days.

242 crewmembers were ashore at the time of the attack and survived. Just 93, including Conter, managed to abandon ship and escape. 1,177 perished aboard the battleship, including the commanding officer and the and their names are recorded at the USS Arizona Memorial.

Conter helped with the post-casualty response, which continued for five days after the attack. As the U.S. Navy geared up for full-scale war with Japan, he enlisted in flight school, and he was assigned to a PBY seaplane squadron tasked with search and rescue, reconnaissance and antisubmarine warfare. He flew about 200 combat missions across the Pacific Theater. He was shot down twice, survived sharks once, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission to rescue nearly 220 Australian servicemembers.

Then-Lieutenant Conter became van intelligence officer and went on to fly in combat in the Korean War. He took his lessons-learned back to the U.S., where he helped found the Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) program. SERE would be a critical training tool for U.S. Navy aviators in the Vietnam War, and Conter's contributions remain valued today.

Conter retired in 1967 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander, after nearly three decades in the Navy. He pursued a career in real estate in California after his service. He was married to his late wife, Valerie Conter, for 45 years; She passed away in 2016, and Conter will be buried next to her, the family told AP.

“This is a heartbreaking loss. Lou Conter epitomized what it meant to be a member of the Greatest Generation, Americans whose collective courage, accomplishments and sacrifices saved our country from tyranny. He had an exemplary career in the Navy and was steadfast in imploring the schools, parents and everyday Americans to always remember Pearl Harbor," said said Aileen Utterdyke, president and CEO of Pacific Historic Parks.

Israeli Drone Strikes Shut Down First Maritime Aid Corridor to Gaza

On Tuesday, a series of Israeli drone strikes hit a road convoy attached to the only maritime aid corridor to Gaza, killing seven aid workers and forcing the operator to suspend all land-side and water-side operations.

According to Haaretz, Israeli drone operators executed three successive missile strikes on three separate aid vehicles. The convoy belonged to the aid NGO World Central Kitchen, and had just finished transporting a cargo of food from WCK's receiving pier to a distribution warehouse.

The first and last airstrikes have been geolocated to positions about 2.4 kilometers apart, indicating multiple engagements, as confirmed by Israeli outlet Haaretz. One vehicle showed a perforation in the roof that appeared to pass through the World Central Kitchen logo.

Haaretz reports that after the first vehicle was destroyed, the drone operators pursued aid workers as they moved wounded into the second vehicle. Another missile destroyed the second vehicle, and survivors moved to the third vehicle. This was also targeted and destroyed, according to Haaretz.

All seven humanitarian personnel in the convoy were killed, including two Palestinians and five foreign citizens: one U.S.-Canadian dual national, three UK citizens and one citizen of Poland.

World Central Kitchen says that it notified the Israeli Defense Forces of the convoy's route and timing in advance.

The event raises new questions about the security of operations for the soon-to-launch American maritime aid corridor, which will be of much larger proportions. World Central Kitchen says that after the strikes, it canceled its maritime delivery mission in the middle of offloading and sent its vessels back to port in Cyprus. The government of the UAE, which provided support for the operation, has also suspended involvement until it receives security guarantees. Another aid organization, Anera, has also paused food distribution operations, citing the loss of a staff member in a previous Israeli strike.

The IDF and the Israeli government have described the strikes as an accident, but World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore alleged Tuesday that it was an attack.

"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war," Gore said in a press release Tuesday.

Israel has sharply curtailed land-side food aid convoys into Gaza, and the UN and NGOs have warned of an impending famine affecting 1.1 million people. The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the EU's foreign policy chief have alleged that the food situation in Gaza may be a policy choice.

Israel's security minister has opposed the operation of food convoys for Gaza until after a critical national objective is achieved: the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, including approximately 100 survivors and the remains of approximately 30 deceased.

BOEM Approves Eighth Offshore Wind Farm Surpassing Third of U.S. Goal

Regulatory efforts continue to accelerate pushing forward with the plans to develop the U.S. offshore wind energy sector. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the eighth large offshore wind farm for the U.S. surpassing 10 GW of approved capacity and the ability to power nearly 4 million homes.

The federal Record of Decision was issued to Avangrid, a member of the Iberdrola Group, for its two-phase New England Wind project. The decision comes a little over a month after BOEM completed the final Environmental Impact Statement for the project. The final step in the federal process is anticipated for July 2024 with the approval of its Construction and Operations Plan.

The proposal calls for the development of a project comprising 129 wind turbines, with up to five offshore export cables. They are proposing to bring the power ashore in Barnstable and Bristol County, Massachusetts. Last week, Avangrid submitted proposals in the coordinated wind solicitation between Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The states plan to announce the selected projects in August with Avangrid highlighting that New England Wind is an advanced project and “shovel-ready” set to proceed quickly once the approvals are in place.

New England Wind would be located approximately 20 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and 24 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket. The projects were previously known as Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind but united into a single identity during the permitting process. Combined they are expected to generate up to 2.6 GW of electricity. New England 1 would border Vineyard Wind 1 which Avangrid currently has under construction.

"With the approval of the New England Wind project, we have now approved more than 10 gigawatts of offshore wind projects in under three years," highlighted Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein.

The bureau notes that it is making strong progress on the goal to have 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, although most analysts expect the U.S. will fall short of having that capacity operational in this decade.

Last week, BOEM also announced the Record of Decision for Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind project also to be located in the same general area as these projects. The project calls for a capacity of 924 MW with Ørsted currently working to complete a new power agreement with New York State for the wind farm.

After years of permitting and reviews, the first of the U.S. offshore wind projects are now showing progress. South Fork Wind was recently completed as the first larger offshore wind project in the U.S. powering New York state, while construction is progressing with the first five turbines energized at Vineyard Wind 1. Among the other projects, Dominion Energy is gearing up for the construction of its first wind farm off the coast of Virginia.

BOEM has recently announced that it was proceeding with the next phase of reviews for the Vineyard Northeast and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. They have also approved Empire Wind’s construction plan. They highlight that during the Biden administration, four lease auctions were conducted including the opening of the Pacific Coast off California and the Gulf of Mexico. They are also moving forward with development for the Gulf of Mexico and the Central Atlantic coast while the Treasury Department also recently issued guidance on the tax credits available to wind farm developers.

“We’ve made remarkable progress scaling up America’s offshore wind industry – with eight large-scale offshore wind projects now approved under this administration, totaling more than 10 gigawatts,” said President Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. The administration touts that it has built an offshore wind industry from the ground up after years of delay from the previous administration.

Master and Shipping Company Convicted Over Pilot Ladder Failure

broken pilot ladder — Broken ladder which caused a serious injury to the pilot (AMSA)

For the second time in less than a year, the Australia Maritime Safety Authority is reporting the successful conviction of a ship’s master and the shipping company for the failure of a ladder which resulted in injuries to a pilot during a transfer. While these accidents happen periodically, they are rarely prosecuted but, in this instance, the Australian authority is calling these preventable accidents that place the lives of seafarers at significant and unacceptable risk.

“Pilots rely on a ship’s master and crew to properly maintain, stow and rig pilot ladders, and neglecting a pilot ladder can have deadly consequences,” said AMSA Executive Director Operations Michael Drake. He highlighted common issues ranging from ladders that were too short, attempts to combine ladders, and the unsafe use of shackles as well as issues with inspections and maintenance.

In this instance, a pilot was boarded the Panama-flagged general cargo ship Boshi 58 (12,000 dwt) on May 25, 2023, when the ladder broke during the transfer. The pilot was seriously injured in the incident. The ship, which was built in 2006, is owned and managed by companies based in Hong Kong.

AMSA reports during the court proceedings, it was established that the pilot ladder had not been checked regularly. It had also been stored improperly which they said lead to degradation.

The master of the vessel and the shipping company Fe Ye Shipping each pled guilty for failing to ensure the pilot transfer arrangements complied with the regulations. The master was fined A$5,300 (US$3,450) and the shipping company A$32,000 (US$20,850).

AMSA focuses on safety issues for vessels and the welfare of crewmembers. They have frequently cited and on occasion banned vessels for repeated safety violations.

Last year, in June 2023, the company also successfully prosecuted a similar situation. The Cyprus-flagged cargo ship AAL Dampier (18,700 dwt) was departing the Port of Fremantle, Australia in 2022 when the pilot fell and was serious injured. AMSA inspectors called the condition of the ladder “shocking” citing the master and ship for improper storage and inspections. In that case the master was fined A$5,500 (US$3,600) for two offenses and the shipping company was fined A$30,500 (US$20,000).

AMSA has also issued a marine notice and safety bulletin on safe pilot transfer arrangements.

Maritime Mishaps and the Circadian Clock

The container ship Dali hit Baltimore's Key Bridge at 0129 on March 26. The circumstances are under investigation (Image courtesy USCG) — The container ship Dali hit Baltimore's Key Bridge at 0129 hours on the morning of March 26. The circumstances are under investigation (Image courtesy USCG)

The tragic allision of the container ship Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is sure to produce a good deal of speculation as to causal and contributing factors, and the NTSB investigation will certainly provide specific insights when it is completed. One area that will certainly be of interest is the impact of fatigue on maritime operations.

Although not a sleep scientist, I am an experienced Mariner and Human Factors Engineer who studies fatigue for a living and assists in creation of policy for fatigue management and crew endurance for the United States Navy. In our training, one of the key areas that we focus on is the circadian clock, which is part of our human biology. In fact, looking back at historical precedents, the vast majority of significant maritime incidents involving loss of life occurred in the natural circadian dip between midnight and 4:00 am.

Having stood my share of midnight watches, I can attest that the combination of fatigue, darkness, confusing lights, and stress can definitely impact performance and decision making. My own close call occurred in 2002 while in command of USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) during a strait transit under the Copenhagen Bridge. Having been up all day and into a night transit under the bridge, I dozed off at a critical moment. I opened my eyes as the panicked crew scrambled to figure out what was going on. It was quickly apparent everybody lost track of where we were . . . including me.

Out of caution I gave the order to stop the ship - and then I realized that I had no idea what was going on. I had forgotten that there were three ships behind me that could have run into me had not an alert watch stander announced on the Bridge to Bridge radio that I was stopping my engines. I was so tired that I didn’t think it through; in my foggy state, I could have driven us into shallow water (or into the bridge) or caused a multi-ship collision! Everything turned out OK, but in retrospect I let myself get so tired that I basically caused a near miss[i].

The author fell asleep while piloting the USS Oscar Austin in Denmark. This photo, published on www.navsource.org, was taken from one of the three ships following the vessel on the night of the near-miss. (Kevin Elliott / U.S. Navy photo)

After a series of fatal collisions in 2017, where fatigue was found by both Navy and the NTSB to be a contributing factor[ii], most of the Navy adopted a circadian watch rotation which takes into account the body’s natural cycle and places watch and sleep periods at the same time each day. According to most experts, the majority of the commercial maritime industry is a similar schedule, with four hours on watch followed by eight hours off. However, manning shortages, excessive workload and scheduling anomalies can create a situation where a circadian watch rotation is not enough to ward off excessive fatigue.

While it is too early to tell, historical precedent is fairly consistent. The following graph from my colleague at the Naval Postgraduate School, Dr. Nita Shattuck, shows a few key incidents and their location on the circadian cycle:

Figure 1. A study of ship collisions and other major incidents shows that the vast majority of them occur during the naturally adverse phase of the circadian rhythm where reactions are slower. MV Dali hit the Key Bridge at 01:29 AM (Courtesy of Dr. Nita Shattuck, Naval Postgraduate School.

A 2021 Cambridge study of over 1600 maritime collisions concluded that:

“The result of the analysis confirms that collisions between vessels are more frequent at night and that these accidents are usually more serious than during the daylight watches. This does not mean that bridge officers and lookouts are not affected by fatigue during sunlight shifts, but that the necessary absence of light to improve the vision during the night watches diminishes their skills. As a result, the probability of shipping accidents fluctuates according to a circadian rhythm with peaks during the night. Although this analysis has focused only on collisions, it should be accepted that it affects any kind of task carried out by watch keepers, which means that the results obtained in this investigation can be extrapolated to any type of navigation incidents.[iii]”

In the case of the MV Dali, however, the watchstanders appear to have had the presence of mind to announce an emergency situation with a “Mayday” call that quite likely saved lives, allowing authorities to stop traffic from crossing the bridge, but unfortunately not in enough time to warn the workers in their cars on break[iv]. Despite the historical precedent and personal examples cited in this article, it is entirely possible that the master and crew were taking preemptive measures to reduce nighttime fatigue in a close maneuvering situation, and that these practices paid dividends in a casualty situation – only time will tell.

Captain (retired) John Cordle completed two Navy surface ship command tours including a wartime deployment in command of USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and a counter-piracy deployment in command of USS San Jacinto (CG 56). He was awarded the Navy League John Paul Jones Award and the Bureau of Navy Medicine Epictetus Award for Innovative and Inspirational Leadership for his work in crew endurance and circadian watch rotations.

References:

[i] You Have To Close Your Eyes To See The Military's Powerful New Weapon, Sarah DiGiulio, Huffington Post, Jul 30, 2016

[ii] Comprehensive Review of Recent Surface Force Incidents, VADM R. Davidson, United States Navy, 28 October 2017

[iii] The effect of circadian rhythms on shipping accidents, Juan Vinagre-Ríos, José-Manuel Pérez-Canosa, and Santiago Iglesias-Baniela. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 April 2021

[iv] What to know about the cargo ship Dali, a mid-sized ocean monster that took down a Baltimore bridge, Rick Perry, AP News, 28 March 2024

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Report: U.S. Navy's New Frigate May Deliver Three Years Late

The U.S. Navy's future Constellation-class frigate program is on track to run as much as three years late, according to USNI. Weighed down by workforce recruitment issues and design maturity challenges, the program may not deliver its first hull until 2029, according to a formal program review document.

In 2020, the Navy selected a design based on the proven and popular French/Italian FREMM frigate to serve as its future guided missile frigate platform. The fast-track plan called for the first hull, USS Constellation, to deliver in 2026.

However, the Wisconsin-based builder of the Constellation has experienced challenges in recruiting and retaining workers. The U.S. Navy has provided direct assistance in the form of a $50 million grant for retention bonuses, payable to yard employees who stayed for a year or more. Those workforce challenges continue, according to USNI, and extend to the white-collar workforce as well. (Most American shipbuilders and shipbuilding supply chain companies have reported similar staffing problems, and the Navy has experienced the same difficulties in filling its own ranks.)

The Constellation-class has also been affected by decisions to improve upon its survivability through design modifications. From the start, the frigate program was intended to leverage a proven hull design to reduce risk, a lesson taken from the Littoral Combat Ship Program. A source close to the Constellation-class program told USNI that the ship has changed so much that it now has approximately 15 percent design commonality with the FREMM. These design alterations have contributed to the delays.

The U.S. Navy may add a second "follow-on" shipyard to build additional Constellation-class frigates, in parallel with the initial shipyard. That second round of procurement is expected to begin once production at the first yard is under way, in order to leverage any lessons-learned from the first hull.

Samsung Returns to FMC with Complaints Against OOCL and COSCO

container loading — Samsung is filing complaints against carriers for fees incurred while they are hiring "store door" delivery which includes inland transit (file photo)

The U.S. division of consumer electronic giant Samsung Electronics has returned to the Federal Maritime Commission for the third time filing additional complaints related to service failures from carriers and what it calls unreasonable and excessive charges. The latest filings made at the end of last week are against Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) and COSCO Shipping Lines.

Detention and demurrage charges have long been a hotly contested issue between shippers and their carriers and became the focus of complaints and the FMC during the pandemic. Two years after the surge in container volumes the FMC continues to receive a large number of complaints. The commission also recently issued its ruling on D&D Fees as part of the 2022 reforms to the Ocean Shipping Act.

Samsung is already involved in two cases with the FMC on these issues. In October 2022, they filed a complaint against Zim and followed it with a complaint in April 2023 against SM Line. In each case, the issue related to the ”store door” delivery service ordered by Samsung from the carriers and the D&D fees they were being charged by the carriers. Both of the prior complaints are still in process with the FMC with the Zim complaint currently expected to have its final ruling by the end of this year while the SM Line complaint is still in discovery and hearings.

Carriers offer “store door” as an added service for the shipper. The programs make the carriers responsible for arranging and paying for inland movements. They also include the removal of containers from U.S. marine and intermodal terminals with the program providing for the delivery of containers to the designated inland locations.

In the new complaints, Samsung alleges that it has paid over 4,400 erroneous demurrage, detention, and associated charges from OOCL. They report since approximately 2021 OOCL has repeatedly billed them for the charges and increased the costs. Samsung alleges it is a failure to properly perform the inland transportation of the contracts.

The parallel complaint against COSCO alleges many of the same issues in “store door” services. Since 2020, they content Samsung has been presented with in excess of 5,000 individual demurrage charges and over 17,000 individual detention-type charges from COSCO.

The complaint alleges that carriers failed to take necessary steps to move the cargo from the yards and deliver the containers. They said this was despite the issues that emerged during the pandemic being well-known conditions to the carriers. OOCL’s actions for example they allege resulted in Samsung having to pay for rail storage charges when delays occurred for which OOCL was responsible under the contracts.

At times, they contend the carriers have also refused to release containers due to alleged outstanding fees. Samsung reports it had to step in at times to make arrangements to move the containers despite them being covered by the store door agreements. They also list issues including alleged retaliation, refusal to deal, and invoicing without information. Under the reform act, they cite unreasonable charges, asking the FMC to rule.

Samsung has been in contact with each of the carriers and reports that they were not able to resolve the claims. They do not report the amounts of the claims saying that they are still being calculated. As with the other complaints, this begins a long process where the carriers will respond and the FMC will conduct a fact finding before issuing a ruling.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces revolt over new homelessness law

A lot of colleagues believe that the bill as it stands is completely unacceptable because it would have the effect of criminalising people who have no choice but to sleep on the streets. We are urging ministers to think again, says Tory MP Bob Blackman

PTI London Published 01.04.24,

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a potential revolt from within his party ranks over new legislation that is set to criminalise homelessness and hand police powers to crack down on rough sleepers on the country’s streets.

According to a report in ‘The Times’ on Monday, several Conservative Party MPs have warned that they will vote against the measures in the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through the House of Commons and set to become law before a general election expected later this year.

The proposals, which had been unveiled by former Indian-origin home secretary Suella Braverman, would mean rough sleepers in England and Wales could be fined as much as 2,500 Pounds or face prison terms.

“A lot of colleagues believe that the bill as it stands is completely unacceptable because it would have the effect of criminalising people who have no choice but to sleep on the streets. We are urging ministers to think again,” said Tory MP Bob Blackman, who is also joint secretary of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former deputy prime minister Damian Green are among the other Tory MPs who have signed amendments that would remove the new police powers. Green said he supported Blackman’s amendment because it represented “a practical way forward to help people off the streets” rather than criminalising them.

“People are not homeless because they want to be. These plans are even worse than the vagrancy act that was first introduced after the Napoleonic wars that this is supposed to be replaced,” an unnamed Tory MP was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The Criminal Justice Bill is designed to present the Conservatives as tough on crime as it prepares for a gruelling general election campaign, with the odds stacked against the governing party due to intense anti-incumbency sentiments.

The proposals within the legislation include expanding police powers to test suspects for drugs on arrest and enter premises to search for stolen goods such as mobile phones. It would also give probation officers the power to administer lie-detection tests to sex offenders and terrorists after their release from prison and also increase sentences for some offences.

However, ministers are concerned the bill will be overshadowed by controversies such as the homelessness debate.

“That’s just part of the things we’re looking to do in terms of making sure that people don’t sleep on the streets and that’s not right, we want to provide the resources for people, housing, improving the number of refuges people can sleep in, and the amount of social housing and affordable housing, which we’ve done,” said UK Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake.

Polly Neate, chief executive of the homelessness charity Shelter, stressed that the legislation was unfair.

“Instead of punishing people for being homeless, politicians should be trying to prevent them from ending up on the streets. Everyone at risk of sleeping rough should have a right to suitable emergency accommodation, and to end homelessness for good it must invest in genuinely affordable social homes – we need 90,000 a year,” she said.

‘Why are you laughing?’: Rishi Sunak blasted as he mocks calls for a general election

As Jess Phillips pointed out on social media, he is a leader who was "beaten by a woman who was beaten by a lettuce", after all...

by Jack Peat
2024-04-02 09:12
in Politics

Ian Forsyth/PA

Rishi Sunak was blasted by a BBC Radio Tees presenter after he laughed off calls for a general election.

The prime minister, who has been dubbed “Squatter Sunak” due to his reluctance to go to the polls, recently shut down suggestions that there could be a general election to coincide with local elections in May.

Despite pledging an election this year, the PM was clearly in no mood to call a spring election with the economy in dire straits and the Conservatives failing on the vast majority of their five pledges for Britain.

As Jess Phillips ruthlessly pointed out here, there are other reasons why Sunak might be harbouring a degree of fear about going to the electorate.

In the original battle to replace Boris Johnson, he was beaten by Liz Truss, who famously had a shorter shelf life than a lettuce, per the Daily Star campaign.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment