Limerick Lecture – ‘Piracy: Then and Now’

You are cordially invited to the annual Limerick Lecture at London Metropolitan Business School. The event will take place on Tuesday 29th of November 5.30 for 6.00 pm.  Proceedings shall commence with a presentation on Piracy: Then and Now by Professor Christopher Bellamy, Director Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich and chaired by Dr. Robyn Pyne. This will be followed by a presentation ceremony of student prizes for the graduating class of 2011 and a networking reception.  

RSVP Dr. Reza Mirmiran r.mirmiran@londonmet.ac.uk

Tel: 02073201576

Venue: Room MG1.17
           London Metropolitan University
           84 Moorgate, London EC2M 6SQ

Maritime History Seminar – Monday 7th November 2011, 5pm.

Hosted by the University of Greenwich History Department, Emeritus Professor Sarah Palmer will be presenting ‘The Power of Prestige; the Cunard Line and the British Government in the Postwar Era’ on Monday 7th November at 5pm in Queen Mary, room 368, University of Greenwich.

Everyone is welcome.

Singing for the Nation, Wednesday 2nd November 2011, 6pm

Dr James Davey, Research Curator (Naval and Maritime History), of the National Maritime Museum will be presenting his paper ‘Singing for the Nation: Balladry, Naval Recruitment, and the Language of Patriotism in Eighteenth Century Britain’.

The ballad was one of the most important vehicles of mass communication during the eighteenth century, geographically ubiquitous, and available to a broad spectrum of the British population. Ballads concerning the navy were a consistent and popular theme, particularly in times of war. In this seminar, James Davey will analyse the nature of these ballads, considering their market and potential political and social roles. Almost without exception, these ballads painted a positive picture of naval service, forwarding patriotic stereotypes alongside more tangible pecuniary benefits. This seminar will consider how ballads contributed to eighteenth century ideas about the navy, about patriotism, and indeed how this form of cultural media influenced the contested subject of naval recruitment.

This seminar will take place in room 075, Queen Anne Court, Old Royal Naval College, University of Greenwich at 6pm. Tea & Coffee will be available from 5.30pm and a glass of wine afterwards. The seminar is free and there is no need to book, everyone is welcome.

MV Iceberg – Hostages released after 19 months

On Tuesday 25th October, MV Iceberg, along with 23 hostages has been released from Somali pirates after 19 months with the help of Dubai Government.
The ship carried a crew including people from several countries.
MV Iceberg, a Panama ship, was hijacked by pirates on March 29, 2010 and later demanded 8 million dollars for the release of the ship along with crew.
The chief engineer of the ship had committed suicide after it was hijacked by the Somali pirates.
The BBC made no reference to the release on their website at all and Lloyd’s List published a small article on page 2 in Wednesday’s edition.