Overspeed caused the grounding of the Italian oil tanker Gelso M. on March 10, 2012, when its captain, grappling with rough seas stirred by unusually high winds, over-throttled the propeller engine, forcing it to cut out. Without engine power, the storm carried the ship aground against the whitened rocks of Syracuse’s coastline, near Capo Santa Panagia. Overspeed means pushing too hard on the throttle, trying to push an engine beyond its maximum rated power.
Overspeed is the pace of today’s frenetically overheated global economy, straining to deliver the goods required by the unbounded demands of commerce. Every day, across all corners of the globe, we attend as captains of our economy take leave of the shore, preparing to brave the headwinds of an avoidable storm and run the chances of a shipwreck.
