UK PR agencies doing work for Gaddafi???

More and more PR agencies are being approached by foreign dictatorships officials to deal with the current crisis.

I'm just flicking through PR Week where on the cover page I can see there is yet another UK PR agency to be targeted by protesters because of its links to the Gaddafi regime. Shocking!Disappointing! But is it really true that agencies are currently helping dictatorship regimes such as Gaddafi's?

Joy! Lybian officials were trying to hire PR agencies but fortunately it came to nothing! Yes, Brown Lloyd James did do work for Gaddafi but back in 2009 when Lybia was recognised by British and American governments. So, is it that bad?

Panta rei! Things always change - what was good yesterday might not be good today and PR practitioners know this best! It's PR professionals who best know how fragile a reputation is and it's them who best know how to take care of reputation, especially their own!

Do you really think a decent PR practitioner would risk their own reputation with doing work for somebody who is generally hated? Certainly not!

I'm a bit disappointed! Is it becoming fashionable to attack PR agencies?  Why activists don't  target governments that do business with such dictatorship regimes all the time instead of turning the PR industry into notorious spin?

Blue is the new Green: building the world's biggest and most efficient container ship

Maersk Line has recently announced its order of world's largest and most efficient ships - Maersk Triple - E.

The company has long been a frontrunner in such innovations but that's not the only reason why Maersk Triple E fascinates me. The introduction of these new vessels is a turning point for the whole industry as container companies started placing more emphasis on reliability and promt delivery rather than speed in order to meet both new economic climate's requirements for low-cost operations and customers' demand for transparency and sustainability. 

Maersk Triple E will not only offer significant economies of scale but will also help reduce energy consumpion and lower CO₂ emissions. Apparently these new vessels fits well with Maersk Line's new green strategy and attempts to reshape the whole industry. Now when "the sustainability boom" is spreading throughout all industries I believe that complying to this trend is the only way to remain competitive. 

While worldwide container trade fell more than 10 percent in 2009 many vessels were sitting out of use. 

However, now the demand is expected to grow again (Maersk Line is expecting 5 to 6 percent growth) and it seems to me that Maersk Triple E is worth investing in both in terms of cost and environmental footprint reductions.