On Sunday, the pace of assistance picked up as three U.S. Marine KC-130J cargo planes carrying water and supplies became the first flights to land at Sendai airport since it closed after the earthquake struck.

WSJ: Aid Effort in Japan

But more than that, Hopkins's father was the author of A Handbook of Average and A Manual of Marine Insurance, both standard reference books for negotiating, averaging, and adjusting the liabilities to insurance underwriters of cargo losses and shipwrecks, so Hopkins grew up in a world wet with marine accidents and was especially attentive to them.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Exiles'

Also Monday, the Standard Club, a British marine insurer, said that it had stopped coverage for Russian operator Femco's cargo ship, MV Alaed, amid allegations that it is carrying weapons to the Syrian government.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS